The Governance Committee (GC) met remotely Thursday afternoon, 4PM, in an open meeting when they conversed with Town Administrator (TA), Travis Ahern, in another information-gathering session. Chair Sam Tyler reviewed the direction of the Committee’s work with Ahern prior to eliciting his knowledge of Holliston’s Finance and Fiscal Procedures.
“The last Town Administrator didn’t do the finance piece, but with the new TA with a finance background, we thought we’d look at other town charters with procedures,” said Tyler. Tyler noted that the Finance Committee has filled in the gap as necessary, setting the budget calendar and establishing guidelines. Tyler also noted that in other towns, some Articles have a structure in place designating the person/entity and its responsibility in the budgeting process.
Ahern spoke about the importance of a uniform application of budget guidelines and a transparent process of the budget document. “All need to be on the same page,” said Ahern. With inevitable retirements, an outgoing person may be leaving a gap that one person alone will not be able to fill. Len Engle said, “Replacing some people is very difficult. The structure in other towns clarifies roles.” Ahern said he would get in touch with the MA Division of Local Services (DLS) for its technical assistance. (From its website, “DLS promotes sound municipal finance management practices and supports local officials by providing guidance, training and oversight.”) See Click HERE.
Some discussion about the Capital Budget followed. Tyler noted that some towns do not separate the presentation their Operating Budget from their Capital Budget, thus allowing residents to see the complete picture of the town’s finances at once. Ahern said, “Here [Holliston] the Capital Budget is the reason for the Special Town Meeting in the fall.” He noted that he had also attended a meeting held on September 29, of the Capital Budget Sub-Committee of the Finance Committee, comprised of Tim Maxwell, Chair, (FinCom) Ken Szajda (FinCom Chair), James Keast (Facilities Manager), Keith Buday (Business Manager), Travis Ahern, Ben Sparrell (Select Board), and Anne Louise Hanstad (School Committee), meeting in preparation of this year’s Special Town Meeting, which has been postponed until Saturday, December 5th, at 1:00PM at Holliston High School Auditorium.
Scott McKechnie asked Ahern if he had any recommendations about the budgeting process. Ahern noted that the MA Municipal Modernization Finance and Government Act (2016) describes some aspects of procedures that Holliston is not able to perform and, “We would want to pursue some that have become Best Practice.” According to Ahern, “This would help me and move the organization forward.”
The Governance Committee thanked Ahern for his time and sharing his thoughts with them, and resumed its agenda at 5:20 PM, to consider its next steps. “We have a lot to figure out,” said Tyler. He reviewed the GC’s progress, concluding they have reached everyone in town that they intended and should continue to reach out to others in identified communities. The information from members’ conversations with Town Administrators/Managers will be shared at the next meeting in two weeks’ time. (No date was set.) The meeting adjourned at 5:50 PM.