2026-08-20 - Advisory Finance Committee

01:31Oh, there she is.

01:33>> [clears throat]

01:34>> Awesome. Good evening, Westboro, and

01:38welcome to the very first meeting of FY

01:412026

01:442027, actually. FY, I'm sorry. I

01:46apologize. 2027

01:48for the Westboro AFC

01:51committee, AFC, and

01:54pursuant to chapter 2 of the acts of

01:562025 and act extending certain COVID-19

01:59measures adopted during the state of

02:01emergency.

02:02This meeting will be conducted in person

02:04and via remote means in accordance with

02:07the applicable law. This means that

02:09members of the public body as well as

02:11members of the public may access the

02:12meeting in person or via virtual means.

02:17In person attendance will be at Memorial

02:19Hall and it is possible that all

02:22members of the public body may attend

02:24remotely with in-person attendance

02:25consisting of members of the public.

02:28This meeting may be accessed remotely

02:29via the link provided in the agenda.

02:32When required by law or allowed by the

02:34chairperson wishing to provide public

02:36comment or otherwise may participate in

02:38the meeting may do so

02:40by in-person attendance or by accessing

02:42the meeting remotely as noted in the

02:45agenda.

02:46Additionally, the meeting will broadcast

02:48live in real-time via Verizon channel 28

02:51and Charter channel 192 or via

02:54Westborough TV's online platforms at

02:56westborotv.org

02:58and youtube.com/westborotv.

03:02With that, we thank Westborough TV for

03:05accommodating us through the Westborough

03:07TV despite all the chaos that happened

03:10last minute and we are ready to start.

03:14So first of all, we have got

03:18John Arnold and then we will as part of

03:20public comments, I don't see anyone else

03:23in the public comments on the chat.

03:27So John, why why don't we kick off with

03:30you?

03:31>> Thank you.

03:32It's my pleasure to introduce to you

03:34tonight our newest member of the

03:35Advisory Finance Committee,

03:37George Grosner. I should say my name's

03:39John Arnold, 251 West Main Street. I'm

03:41the town moderator and the Finance

03:43Committee's appointing authority.

03:45So in a moment, I will let George

03:47introduce himself more thoroughly, but I

03:49just want to let you know I've met with

03:50George a few times. He's not only I

03:52think been to a few town meetings, but

03:54he's been involved in other sort of

03:55organizations around town discussed and

03:58he's ready and

04:00to serve. So I welcome him to that. And

04:02I also wanted for one last time to thank

04:04Beth Bloomberg whose place George is

04:07taking. Beth was actually one of my

04:10first three Finance Committee

04:11appointments when I first became

04:13moderator and this year decided that she

04:17no longer had the the time and the the

04:19resources to commit and didn't want to

04:21under commit.

04:23So I wanted to thank her for her many

04:25hours and years

04:27of service to the committee

04:29and wanted to thank her publicly for

04:30that as well as an email that I sent her

04:32to thank for that.

04:33But with no further ado, I will let

04:36George introduce himself and then I'll

04:38Thank you very much. Welcome George.

04:40>> Thanks John. Hello everyone. So I'm

04:42George Brosner. I live at 49 Warren

04:44Street. I'm really excited to join the

04:46Advisory Finance Committee.

04:48As a 33-year resident of Westborough, I

04:50raised my family here and have

04:52established roots in this community. I

04:54spent over 40 years in the tech world

04:56working on everything from engineering

04:58to operations with leadership roles in

05:00both startups and Fortune 100 companies.

05:03Along the way, I've led some complex

05:04teams and made it a point to use data to

05:06drive decisions always aiming for solid

05:09planning and execution.

05:11Right now, I'm retired and I'm focused

05:13on volunteering and getting more

05:14involved in the Westborough community.

05:16I'm currently serving as the president

05:18of the Westborough Civic Club. I also

05:20volunteer at the Westborough Food

05:21Pantry. My past activities include

05:24coaching youth sports, leadership

05:25positions in Boy Scouts.

05:27I even did a stint as a technical

05:29support person at Shillman House in

05:31Framingham.

05:32I'm drawn to the AFC and I have to admit

05:34I've watched many of the meetings online

05:37because I care really deep about

05:38responsible fiscal stewardship and

05:40transparency. I have extensive

05:42experience in aligning budgets and

05:44priorities. I truly believe in making

05:46decisions based on solid data. It's

05:48important to evaluate our options

05:49thoughtfully while keeping in our

05:51long-term financial health in mind. So,

05:53I'm ready to dive in. Look forward to

05:55working with everyone on the AFC to

05:57support the residents and employees of

05:58Westborough. And thank you.

06:02>> Welcome.

06:03>> Welcome. Thank you very much, George.

06:08And a big welcome. I'm sure that your

06:10experience will count for a lot to not

06:12just the Westborough town, but all of us

06:15in the AFC as well.

06:17And uh

06:18we look forward to your contributions as

06:20well as we'll seek your guidance or

06:23opinions on the areas, I'm sure, as we

06:25move along

06:26in this.

06:30Okay. So,

06:32that's for our new newest AFC member.

06:37And then next, we come into the upcoming

06:40It says Well, the agenda says FTM, but

06:42it's actually STM, so it stands

06:44corrected there in the agenda. It says

06:45FTM, it's actually not Oh, it's actually

06:48fall FTM. Yeah.

06:50Fall town meeting. So, we have a fall

06:52town meeting that is coming up. Uh let

06:55me do one thing.

06:58Somehow, you're so not used to the

07:01remote that

07:03kind of find it very strange to be on

07:05remote even though at work every day you

07:08are remote.

07:10>> Can we confirm that Dee is a passenger

07:12in that moving vehicle?

07:14Or is she working on the edge here?

07:17>> Is she?

07:18>> I hope so.

07:19>> Dee, how are you feeling now?

07:24>> In here.

07:26>> Yeah, let her pay attention to the road.

07:29>> [laughter]

07:30>> Okay. So,

07:32>> side of the car, so she must be a

07:33passenger.

07:35Unless she's in England.

07:37>> [laughter]

07:38>> It's also not as funny, for what it's

07:40worth.

07:40>> Yeah, yeah.

07:42>> [laughter]

07:42>> Anyways, um so I believe or I have

07:45forwarded the first draft of the warrant

07:48to all of you.

07:49And uh

07:51I'm not sure if any of you had a chance

07:53yet to look at it, but I think the

07:55purpose for

07:57forwarding this warrant is uh with an

07:59expectation that all of the AFC members

08:03will start going through line by line on

08:06the warrant. What it means is

08:09what each article means, where the

08:12funding source is for each article, and

08:16how much is the amount and the purpose

08:19for

08:20bringing up that warrant as well as who

08:22is the proponent. So, those are the

08:24pieces of information that you will find

08:26in your warrant. And if something in any

08:29of these pieces of information, the

08:32proponent of this warrant, the warrant

08:34article itself, the funding, how much

08:37money is being asked for as part of this

08:39warrant, if there's any

08:41it could be uh you know uh

08:44not be related to funding, but a bylaw

08:46sometimes as well. So, it could be a

08:49change in the um wordings as well. So,

08:51it may not be everything that you find

08:53with the funding, and also what is the

08:55funding source. So, that's the Those are

08:57the pieces of information that you look

08:59for in the article

09:01in the warrant articles that I have

09:03forwarded. Of course, this will keep

09:05changing and getting revised, and you'll

09:07get to hear more of that since our town

09:09manager is

09:11here as well in this meeting.

09:14And what is expected from us as AFC is

09:18please go through this if you have any

09:20questions.

09:22We should have a first round of

09:24discussion internally about these, and

09:27then we can as a group discuss and take

09:31it from there whether we need any kind

09:34of presentations or further questions

09:36beginning with the town manager and of

09:39course going to the departments if

09:42needed as well basically not the

09:44the departments are the specific

09:47proponents of those articles. So

09:51with that I take a pause Walter or

09:53anyone has any questions or would like

09:55to add anything to it.

10:01>> No no exactly I mean it's a nice small

10:06warrant so far.

10:08>> [laughter]

10:09>> optimistic

10:10>> Don't change it Walter.

10:11>> Yeah I'm sorry.

10:13But

10:16anyway

10:17looks good.

10:19And and I know that some of them are

10:23placeholders so

10:26only so much digging you can do at this

10:27point.

10:29I did have a

10:31>> That's right.

10:31>> question for Christie on it if she's

10:36available but then chair approves but

10:38I'm

10:39I'm curious why

10:41article four is separated from article

10:43three cuz they

10:45fiscal budget adjustments but then

10:48article four specific fire department

10:51adjustment

10:52or is that for convenience or

10:55something I don't know.

10:57>> [clears throat]

10:58>> Sorry I'm here I'm driving back from

10:59town hall since I saw the

11:01>> Since you saw the note that Aiden left.

11:04>> Yeah. Um

11:06Yeah it's really just to call out

11:09the I mean the fire contract we always

11:12we typically would would put a contract

11:15in its own article so

11:16>> Okay.

11:17>> Um it's really just just it's a

11:18separation but to your point it's the

11:20same thing it's a it's a budget

11:21adjustment.

11:22>> Okay. Yeah that is fine.

11:26>> If if

11:27um if it's okay with the chair I can

11:30speak a little bit to the placeholder

11:31articles. Um

11:35>> Sure. Sure. Please go ahead. Yeah, we

11:38were anyways

11:39thinking about having you

11:41speak about

11:42anything you would like to add more in

11:44these

11:45for these articles as well as our

11:47favorite question, right? Do you see any

11:50updates coming up for the first draft?

11:53>> So, there will definitely be updates. Um

11:55the first draft I believe I I believe

11:58the draft that you have unless you pull

11:59that off of the website

12:02um says that the town meeting is on

12:04Tuesday um because we did have to change

12:06it last year due to a holiday. Um but it

12:08is Monday. So, I just want to make sure

12:09that everyone has that on their

12:10calendar. Um the date is correct. The it

12:13just says Tuesday but it's Monday. So,

12:16we'll fix that. Um and then uh the prior

12:20year bill, I will um

12:23the article information was pulled

12:26forward from the last draft. Um so, I

12:29will say that at this point we actually

12:31do not have any prior year bills

12:33identified. Um so, we'll fix that uh

12:36article information.

12:38Um and then the placeholders

12:41um the road acceptance is definitely a

12:43placeholder meaning we're not sure if it

12:45will stay on the warrant. Um the other

12:47ones that are capital we're still

12:49working through this new capital

12:52improvement program um and we would like

12:54to have the capital planning committee

12:56review those. So, before we move them

12:59from the placeholder section to the full

13:01warrant, we want the capital planning

13:02committee to weigh in on those. But, I

13:05would expect to see at least some of

13:07them if not all of them on the on the

13:09warrant.

13:11Um

13:16>> Got it.

13:19And I'm assuming Yeah. Sorry. Anyone has

13:22something to add?

13:23>> Yeah, I was just going to say I see the

13:24first one was free cash, but would the

13:27would these both be free cash Oh, no,

13:29one's uh water. So, it's from uh

13:32retained earnings there, weren't there?

13:33>> Yeah, so right. So, there's one

13:35[clears throat] water, and then the

13:36other ones would be free cash.

13:37>> Got it.

13:38>> Yeah.

13:42Um

13:43and then you know, if you're if you want

13:45the one of the revolving account is

13:48similar to what we've done before.

13:50Um we're adding a new revolving account

13:52because we are anticipating getting

13:54revenue from that uh firearms range.

13:58Um and so, that would just go back into

13:59that revolving account, so we could

14:01uh directly use that money for any

14:03maintenance of the range or any costs

14:06associated with the range.

14:08Um

14:09and then

14:12I'm just trying to remember what the

14:13other what the other articles are. So,

14:15we do anticipate

14:16>> American American Revolution giving back

14:193,000, and then transfer

14:22how affordable housing trust.

14:24>> Oh, great. Thank you. Um so, the 250th

14:28uh anniversary committee, as you know,

14:30uh completed their work with the 4th of

14:32July block party, and there's a

14:34remaining balance of I think it's

14:35$3,101.

14:38Um that money can be transferred to uh

14:41to funds in something that is because it

14:44was donated to us, it needs to go to

14:45something that has similar purpose, um

14:48which the 4th of July block party is a

14:50similar purpose, and so we're

14:52recommending that that be transferred to

14:54the 4th of July uh block party account.

14:57As you remember,

14:58most of you probably remember that's a

14:59regularly recurring article at that

15:01annual town meeting.

15:03So, we would just be adding that money

15:05over to that uh event.

15:07And then um the affordable housing

15:10trust, um that's you have seen that many

15:13times. Um

15:14when the poultry project was approved,

15:17there was um

15:18uh

15:19waiver uh given by the planning board at

15:22that and there was mitigation that the

15:24town received. Um and then so we're kind

15:27of getting to the end of receiving um

15:29that mitigation money and that money was

15:32very specific to the affordable housing

15:34trust or to the affordable housing. We

15:36didn't have a trust at the time so

15:38didn't go directly to the trust. Instead

15:40it comes to us and then we have to

15:41transfer it uh or town meeting has to

15:43transfer it to the affordable housing

15:45trust for them to be able to use it. Um

15:47that is different than the other Pulte

15:50money that we talk about which is the um

15:53the money that is a result of the ZBA

15:55decision um that was done a couple was

15:59years later a couple years later.

16:03Uh and we do anticipate uh budget

16:05adjustments. I just haven't put them in

16:07a table yet. Um that that's not all

16:09increases.

16:10Um we do anticipate some decrease as

16:13well.

16:19>> Sorry.

16:20Quick question, Kristy. This is Chris

16:21Collupy here.

16:22So, you mentioned that the placeholder

16:25articles

16:26uh they may or may not make it to the

16:28town meeting. At what stage would we

16:31know whether they're going to make it to

16:32the

16:33uh fall town meeting?

16:36>> Um

16:37Well, we have to the select board has to

16:39close the warrant um which I anticipate

16:42them doing at their meeting on September

16:4322nd. Um so you would know that for

16:46sure.

16:47But I but the capital planning committee

16:49will need to meet ahead of that. So, um

16:52you know, as versions come forward

16:54you'll see that the those articles will

16:57either fall off or move the

17:00um the the regular part of the warrant.

17:03>> So,

17:04some of them don't even have a dollar

17:05amount associated with that. So, if the

17:08town meets in September and the planning

17:11committee meets in September to make a

17:12decision,

17:14would this committee have enough time to

17:16review it and do our due diligence of

17:19waiting it out properly before we can

17:20make a decision.

17:24>> Um

17:25>> Pretty easily.

17:26>> Yeah, I mean it's it's really it's this

17:28is it's not different than um your

17:31typical process with the town meeting

17:32warrant and the timing of that closing.

17:35Um but I think I think what the finance

17:37committee has often done is

17:40review the articles in anticipation of

17:43them being um coming to the town meeting

17:45on the warrant, especially with this

17:46warrant being

17:48um so short, I think.

17:53>> When is the fall town meeting again?

17:55October

17:58>> It's October 19th.

18:00>> 19th.

18:00>> Yeah.

18:00>> 19th, Monday, October 19th.

18:04>> Okay.

18:08>> So,

18:09um it uh the warrant actually closing on

18:12the 22nd is actually refreshingly early

18:16than

18:17than usual.

18:19Than a lot times.

18:20>> And Chrissy, I I'll say this is the

18:22first time we've seen the warrant with

18:23so many placeholders coming up. I think

18:25it's a great idea. I think especially as

18:27this committee starts getting its legs

18:29back under it, you know, for our regular

18:30meetings, it's super helpful to have a

18:33decent line of sight for things we can

18:34start thinking about. So, thank you.

18:36It's great idea.

18:40>> Thank you.

18:43>> I think

18:44>> Yeah, sorry, go ahead.

18:45>> Yeah, my my comment is as the liaison to

18:49the Affordable Housing Trust is

18:51even though this one is pretty much

18:55um this is the purpose at money and it's

18:58a very simple thing. We've often used it

19:00in the past as an excuse to have the

19:03trust come in and give us an update in

19:05general on what they're working on.

19:07And if um if this committee wants that,

19:11um I can

19:13um, reach out to them and arrange that

19:15at some point.

19:21>> I like the idea, yeah. Let Let's I think

19:23we're working on our calendar later in

19:25this conversation. So, I think that's a

19:26good idea.

19:28>> Exactly. I I I agree with you. I think

19:30it may be uh Walter, thank you for

19:33offering that. Uh I think uh like Andrew

19:35said, I think let's

19:37get to that next agenda item, which is

19:39the meetings planning in lieu of the

19:43uh upcoming fall town meeting.

19:46Uh how often we want to meet. I know

19:48that there will be couple of holidays

19:50coming up very soon as well, like the

19:52Labor Day. So, some of the days may not

19:54be available to us.

19:56But, uh let's discuss on the calendar.

19:59One thing, Kristy, uh I just wanted to

20:01be reminded because I know uh you had

20:03mentioned the date. I've noted that

20:04down, but since you are there, there is

20:06a tri- uh tri-board meeting coming up as

20:09well. Great. I'm uh um

20:11if you can mention the date, then we can

20:13actually talk about what that tri-board

20:15meeting is expected to, since some of us

20:17in this

20:19committee are new as well.

20:21>> Uh sure.

20:23Just

20:26Sorry, I'm trying to get on your meeting

20:28from my computer now.

20:30>> No worries. I have the date uh and maybe

20:34I don't want to put you on a spot.

20:35>> No, it's okay. I think it's um June uh

20:38sorry, not June. September 20 4th.

20:42Yeah.

20:44>> So,

20:46some of you may be aware uh before the

20:49annual town meeting, we have a tri-board

20:51where uh we go through all the warrant

20:53articles and talk about um

20:56those articles together and each

20:59department presents. So, this one is the

21:02tri-board meeting where Sorry, Kristy

21:04joined. So, let me

21:06>> This meeting is being recorded.

21:10>> Oh.

21:11>> Sorry.

21:12>> No worries.

21:14So, yeah. So, we do have a tri-board

21:17meeting coming up before the fall town

21:20meeting as well with a different agenda.

21:23Christie, maybe you would like to talk

21:25about that to the committee.

21:28>> Sure.

21:29Um right. So, that So, we do that

21:32tri-board meeting in September. It's

21:34It's um even though it's right before

21:37the October town meeting, it's really

21:39not intended to talk about the October

21:41town meeting warrants.

21:43Um it's the school committee, the

21:45advisory finance committee, and the

21:46select board to come together sort of as

21:49a kickoff to our budget season. So, this

21:51would be a kickoff to the budget season

21:53for fiscal 2028's budget. Um and so So,

21:58typically, I will present and the

22:01superintendent will present

22:03um kind of where we're at in fiscal 27.

22:06So, we'll only be We're only a few

22:08months in. Um and the any closeout

22:12information related to fiscal 26. And

22:14then

22:15um and then any budget pressures that we

22:17see coming for fiscal 28. So, an example

22:20of that is if there are collective

22:22bargaining agreements that are expiring.

22:25Um

22:26I know in the years past, the school

22:29department has identified their if their

22:30transportation contract is expiring.

22:33Um you know, just anything that we have

22:34been seeing uh in the market or across

22:37the Commonwealth um that would just

22:40serve as a budget pressure just in

22:41anticipation of preparing that fiscal 28

22:44budget. Um So, we have that meeting.

22:48The three boards have discussion at that

22:50meeting.

22:51Um last year

22:53the three boards agreed um

22:57to have the superintendent and and I

22:59come forward with a level service

23:02budget Um to to be able to present that

23:06and then

23:08and then yeah then we sort of were off

23:09and running. I'll just say just for

23:11people who don't know our budgets from

23:15all of the departments come to us

23:17in the fall and then we meet with that

23:20we meet with all of our department heads

23:22myself and the finance director and then

23:24superintendent obviously has her own

23:26process as well and then the budget is

23:28due to the finance committee and the

23:31town

23:32December 21st. So

23:36and then we're off and running with all

23:37of our meetings and all the information

23:40so

23:42Oh and and I should add just for

23:44everyone's calendar the we do an all day

23:47budget meeting the budget summit which

23:51we always do the last Thursday in

23:52January it's a full that's a full day

23:55the one in September is an evening

23:57meeting.

23:58January the last Thursday that is a

24:01meeting of the select board and the

24:02advisory finance committee

24:04where we bring in all of our largest

24:06departments police fire DPW school

24:10other smaller departments if they have

24:11something significant changes in their

24:13budget and we talk through capital

24:17and budgets and then

24:21just give an update of where we're at.

24:23So

24:24>> Thank you.

24:25>> Thanks.

24:27>> So I think we have been going through a

24:29few next steps. The first one was to go

24:32through the warrant articles. The next

24:34one is please mark September 24th

24:37October 19th as the dates where you

24:40would not be expected to be there entire

24:42day but you would be expected to be

24:44there in the evenings. Of course

24:48urgencies and things happen but yeah if

24:51you can earmark those two dates

24:54that's where AFC and the other boards

24:56like Kristy said, are expected to sit in

24:59and listen and understand as well as

25:03um

25:04clarify if they have any questions on,

25:06you know, what they hear about the

25:10the financial aspects of what's going on

25:13with the town.

25:16>> Prashant.

25:17>> Prashant.

25:18>> Yeah, go ahead.

25:20>> Can you repeat the dates, please, if you

25:22don't mind?

25:22>> September 24th

25:25and October 19th.

25:28>> 19th?

25:29So, is this typical 7:00 to 9:00 in the

25:31evening?

25:34>> Uh we the October 24th we usually start

25:36at 6:00 o'clock.

25:38Um and then the October 19th date is the

25:40town meeting, so that starts at 7:00 and

25:42then goes probably later than than 9:00.

25:48>> And the budget summit that I had to look

25:50it up at the fir- the last Thursday of

25:52January is I believe January 28th,

25:562027?

25:58>> Yep, that looks right to me.

26:01>> Didn't want to bury the lead. Thank you.

26:03>> [laughter]

26:04>> And that that one is all day. I think

26:05that one usually starts at 8:30 um and

26:08and wraps up around maybe 4:00 o'clock.

26:12>> Yeah, the 25th.

26:15>> Thank you, Christie.

26:22Awesome.

26:23Some awesome.

26:24>> Can I just add um just go if you don't

26:26mind going back to the warrant? I just

26:28wanted to note that um

26:30uh

26:31as some of you may recall last fall town

26:33meeting uh the select board brought

26:35brought forward uh

26:37um

26:38uh

26:39warrant article to town meeting to

26:40change the charter to require a higher

26:42signature

26:44um threshold.

26:46I think it's

26:47um

26:48for the uh

26:49petition articles. No, I'm sorry. To

26:51give a um

26:53This was the one where it set a schedule

26:56for when petition articles could come

26:57in.

26:58Um

27:00The like we sent it on to the town

27:02meeting approved it, we sent it on to

27:03the legislature.

27:04Um they had some questions at the Senate

27:07level

27:08uh that caused the select board to have

27:10some additional discussion about length

27:12the language change and and ultimately

27:15identified that in addition to what was

27:18intended, there was some other changes

27:20that had and maybe an unintended

27:22consequence.

27:23Um and so the select board

27:27uh uh is discussing whether or not

27:28they're going to bring that back. They

27:30they want to bring it back to town

27:31meeting. They're discussing whether or

27:32not they're going to bring it back at

27:34this October town meeting.

27:36Um so that's an amendment to section 2-8

27:39of the town charter related to petition

27:41submissions.

27:46>> Did you hear that correctly? Are you

27:47saying Kristy it was discussed by in the

27:49Senate?

27:51>> Uh the Senate Council flagged some

27:53questions, yeah.

27:54>> Okay. Got it.

27:55>> Yeah. Yep.

27:57But that's that is the process for those

27:58charter changes is it has to go through

28:00the legislature. Um so Senate Council

28:02flagged some questions and then we

28:05um we came back and talked to the board

28:07and ultimately wanted to bring it back

28:09to the board decided to bring it back to

28:11town meeting.

28:12>> Got it. Walter, you have a question?

28:14>> Yeah, um and I don't know that

28:17I'm just want to throw I I know they uh

28:20there was an an issue with one of the

28:22planning articles on the downtown about

28:24posting the public meeting or something,

28:27so that may have to come back.

28:29Uh it wasn't clear whether it was coming

28:31to fall town meeting or not too as well.

28:34>> So right, so that one had a procedural

28:36defect in its posting. Um

28:39so it wasn't in the language, but a

28:41procedural defect, it wasn't posted

28:44uh in town hall

28:46uh within the correct time frame. So,

28:49they put it on a 299 hold, um, and then

28:52we did receive claims. Um, so, now the

28:56AG has to review all of the claims and

28:58make a decision. So, I know the I

28:59believe the planning board is intending

29:02to discuss it at their meeting on

29:04September 1st.

29:05To and I think one of the questions is

29:07are they planning to bring it Are they

29:08thinking they'll need to bring it back

29:10for October?

29:19>> All right.

29:21Any other questions for Kristy before we

29:23move ahead?

29:27Okay, then. I think we have

29:30plenty of information. Thank you,

29:31Kristy, and especially for repeatedly

29:34sharing this with us every year with

29:36everything that goes on. Thank you.

29:39Awesome. Uh, so, having said and

29:42listened to that, let me share my screen

29:45because

29:46the next topic we have is planning

29:49around the

29:51next set of meetings. I And before that,

29:53I I just want to thank each one of the

29:55AFC members as well, because I think I

29:58did get couple of requests. Uh, sorry,

30:00Kristy. Uh, again, I'm coming back to

30:02you, but you did have couple of asks to

30:06let you know about the municipal

30:08building committee liaison as well as

30:11the capital expenditure liaisons as

30:14well. If you could briefly So, it was

30:15good actually that uh, the AFC had met

30:18before the fiscal year closed couple of

30:20times. We reviewed all the liaisons and

30:22we had those names. So, it was fairly

30:25easy for me to say, here you go, the

30:27list, and please go ahead with that.

30:28But, yeah, Kristy, if you could just

30:30little bit talk about that as well, that

30:31would be wonderful.

30:32>> Sure. Um, so, the capital planning

30:35committee, uh, is as established, uh,

30:38has an advisory finance committee member

30:41on it. Um, it also has a member of the

30:43planning board, the school committee,

30:44the select board, and then there are

30:46residents on it as well. Um, and the

30:48treasure collector.

30:49Um, so every year we reach out to see

30:52who your representative is and so we

30:55know Andrew, I believe it's continuing.

30:57Yeah.

30:58As your your representative to that

31:01committee. Um, we've we've backed up the

31:04we're trying to back up the capital

31:06planning process so that we do it a

31:07little bit earlier.

31:09Hoping that we'll be able to wrap that

31:11up

31:12sooner and which I think will help with

31:14your meetings as well because you'll

31:16know what the capital articles are a lot

31:19sooner so you can kind of get started on

31:20that before the budget

31:22is is you be able to read through it.

31:26Um, and then relates to municipal

31:28building committee. That committee has

31:30not historically had a member of the

31:32advisory finance committee on it. But it

31:34is something that we've seen with like

31:36the library building committee and some

31:37of the school building committees. So,

31:41a couple few years ago I had asked the

31:43advisory finance committee to name

31:44someone and so you had Rod Schaffer on

31:47the

31:48municipal building committee.

31:50Municipal building committee hasn't met

31:51in a while, but we see the community

31:54center project ramping up. Um, and so we

31:57needed we reached back out to the AFC

31:59because there were a bunch of vacancies

32:01with the municipal building committee

32:02and so you would Prasanth had let me

32:04know that D is your representative to

32:06that committee. Um, so that committee is

32:09um,

32:10you see is probably going to meet soon

32:12and work with the select board on the

32:14community center project which they're

32:15intending to bring to the March meeting.

32:23>> Thank you, Chrissy.

32:24And I guess Andrew and D would now have

32:27more updates in our AFC than just the

32:29library updates, I guess very soon.

32:33>> [snorts]

32:33>> So,

32:34I guess

32:34>> Well, I say that the first the regular

32:37schedule run for the the capital

32:39expenditures planning committee starts

32:41in early November. Um but I also did

32:43note that there was a conversation about

32:45capital planning um perhaps touching

32:48base before then. So I'll reach out to

32:51um you know, to see if there's there may

32:53be an earlier meeting we'll jump on at

32:55I'll I'll follow up with Kim.

32:57>> So Andrew, just so you So Kim's actually

32:59not running the capital planning this

33:01year.

33:02Um and we're going to our first meeting

33:05will be in September. So you should have

33:07If you haven't, you should have received

33:08an email about that, but let me know if

33:10you didn't. Um and we've sent out

33:12meeting invites I think as well. So

33:14>> I accepted a bunch. I I think they

33:16started in Septem- November. I I

33:17apologize. I missed the September

33:19>> I just want to make sure that we got

33:20you. We got you. Okay.

33:22>> Thank you.

33:23>> Yeah.

33:25>> Yep. And

33:27we'll get to D you will also get to hear

33:29soon with some work on the municipal

33:31building committee as well.

33:34Perfect.

33:35Uh good good. Thank you, Christie.

33:37Hopefully

33:38you have the day off now.

33:43Okay. All right. I'll just share quickly

33:45my screen so that we can go through

33:50applications. Okay.

33:57All right. So I know this is a pretty

33:58empty calendar because it just started

34:00with FY 2027.

34:03Uh

34:04Are you able to see the calendar as well

34:06or just the meetings? I'm sharing the

34:08full

34:10browser.

34:11>> We see a 2026 calendar right now.

34:14>> Oh, perfect. Okay. So then you are able

34:16to see everything. Awesome. Awesome.

34:18So yeah, I mean

34:20So this is uh pretty much the blank

34:22slate that we have which we will start

34:24filling in. This is the calendar of

34:26all the meetings that AFC does and

34:30pretty much it's a cycle which repeats

34:33every fiscal year for all the ones who

34:36um know about it before as well. So, if

34:39we go back to FY2026,

34:42you would see that there are like

34:4430 plus meetings that we have uh

34:47recorded uh since uh the fiscal year

34:50started. So, similarly uh we will have

34:53fiscal year 2027 meetings begin which

34:57has begun now, today. And obviously, we

35:01have a few holidays. So, this is more of

35:04Uh one thing I was wondering and I was

35:05trying to find out uh when is the Rosh

35:07Hashanah uh

35:09holiday, Walter? Would you know or

35:10anything?

35:11>> don't have to worry about it this year.

35:12It's a it it uh begins on a Friday

35:15night.

35:16>> Oh, so it's a weekend.

35:18>> Yeah. [clears throat]

35:19>> Okay. Okay.

35:20>> Um and uh Yom Kippur, looks like it's uh

35:26starts Sunday night. Um so, by

35:29Monday

35:30Uh I don't know if we have anybody that

35:32would miss the meeting Monday night

35:33because of that

35:35or not. But,

35:37that's on the 21st.

35:38>> Okay. Yeah, the reason to know that is

35:40because uh just for other AFC members,

35:42it's because uh

35:44we typically AFC keeps their meetings on

35:47typically Mondays and Thursdays. That's

35:50how we would we typically have

35:53like to do our meetings. Now, I know I

35:56know that there are few new folks as

35:58well. Um some not in this call George,

36:00you are um

36:02I would say new today, but if you have

36:04any preferences to

36:06keep the meeting any other days,

36:09uh

36:11I'm all for here.

36:12>> Yeah.

36:12>> Mon- Monday, Thursday works for me and

36:15kind of the more notice the better, so I

36:17can kind of work around some other stuff

36:19I do.

36:20And I guess a general question would be

36:23is how do you handle like trips and

36:25vacations that I know people have during

36:27the year.

36:29>> Oh, yeah.

36:30So, absolutely and that's the reason why

36:32John Arnold has got nine folks on us. We

36:35need five to be there. The obviously, I

36:38mean uh

36:39if folks have vacations and travel

36:41plans, it's good to know ahead so that

36:45we can plan the quorum. The quorum is

36:47five out of nine. We need at least five

36:49to have the AFC meeting. So,

36:51uh

36:52yeah, I mean, I hope I've answered your

36:53question.

36:54>> Yeah, so if So, I should send you my

36:56plans just so you know what they are and

36:58you can

36:59work them in.

37:00>> Work them in. Yep, you can bake them in

37:02as soon as if you know that you're going

37:04to be out for some time. Yep.

37:05>> Yeah, I'll send you a list.

37:06>> And that as well, to be very honest,

37:08George, is typically more like we

37:11haven't We probably just met once in

37:13June and once in July or yeah, no not in

37:16No, not a single meeting in July. And

37:18this is one meeting in August. So,

37:20typically our

37:22mid-September to October is when it

37:24starts getting busy. And then again from

37:27Jan

37:28uh till March of the start of the year.

37:31So, those five months or and a half

37:34months are typically the busy ones.

37:36Apart from that, I think

37:37uh there typically one or two meetings

37:40in a month. Typically.

37:41>> Right. So, yeah, yeah, I booked the trip

37:44a year and a half ago before this

37:45opportunity came up and that's coming up

37:48uh

37:48this September 21st, actually.

37:51Uh

37:52so, I'm going to be gone for for about 2

37:54weeks.

37:55>> Nice.

37:55>> And then uh

37:57and then typically in January is I

37:59relocate to South for 4 weeks. So, I can

38:03definitely do remote stuff, but I won't

38:04be, you know, here in person for a bit.

38:08>> Sure. Sure. Sure. Yeah, so

38:11yeah, absolutely, George. So, yeah, uh

38:14we typically would also uh put those

38:16meeting calendars uh ahead for AFC

38:19meetings, especially when it comes to

38:21the

38:22uh annual town meeting because like

38:25so yeah I mean we can work together on

38:27that not an issue.

38:28>> Okay, thank you.

38:29>> Absolutely.

38:30>> It's also helpful to know when you will

38:32be here so we can assign you things. You

38:33know, it's just so we can plan ahead for

38:35that.

38:36>> [laughter]

38:38>> Okay, I'm learning a lot in this first

38:40meeting.

38:41>> I never let them know in advance just in

38:44case George.

38:45>> [laughter]

38:46>> All right.

38:48>> Yep, yep, yep. All we hand you over like

38:51December is a good time. You will get a

38:52good big handbook of finance papers and

38:56numbers from the town office.

38:58>> Okay, yeah.

38:59>> I don't know if you have seen that.

39:00>> Some light

39:01light reading.

39:03>> Light reading, yeah, yeah, yeah.

39:05>> Bedtime stories.

39:08>> Okay, all right. So yeah, I think let's

39:11get to

39:13understand exactly how we want to plan

39:15the meeting. So working out reverse,

39:17right? The dates I'm just filling up as

39:20we talk. So

39:21we had Warren closes for

39:24the special town meeting which is 10:19

39:27which means that if we work it backwards

39:30we have to approve our report and

39:32recommendations

39:34the R&R that AFC publishes before the

39:37town meeting

39:38by October 11th. It has to go to the

39:41printer no

39:44later than October 11th. Let's put it

39:46that way.

39:47Um

39:47>> Um it could probably well

39:51I think your problem is the Monday the

39:5312th is a holiday. So normally we could

39:56have met and approved it then.

39:59This is going to be a smaller booklet

40:00that probably we probably have sent it

40:02Tuesday or

40:05Tuesday or something and still gotten it

40:06there but

40:08for practical point of view that means

40:09for us on a Thursday meeting we have to

40:11be done by the 8th.

40:14>> And 8th, yeah.

40:15>> We have to at least approve it and you

40:16can final approve it etc. And send it to

40:19following Tuesday or something.

40:22>> Makes sense.

40:22>> But I think we should plan on approving

40:25it on the 8th.

40:27>> Yeah.

40:28Yep. Okay. So,

40:31that's that and then we also heard about

40:34the try board budget meeting which is on

40:389/24.

40:46Which means that if we have to go

40:50through the warrant articles uh

40:53uh my suggestion would be there that

40:56let's meet once at least. I think let's

40:59give a week's time or maybe after the

41:01Labor's Day.

41:02Let's meet once. Let's

41:05By then, I'm hoping all of you would

41:07have gone through warrant articles.

41:10Uh

41:11and you would have some perspective on

41:14where you need more information or if

41:16you have any questions.

41:18Uh let's start then

41:21planning in terms of what other meetings

41:24do we need and who do we need to invite?

41:26So, let's meet right after the Labor Day

41:28once. And in that meeting, I would think

41:32everyone has gone through the articles

41:33and comes up with the you know, any

41:36questions or discussions. We decide in

41:38that meeting what other

41:40departments or where you need more

41:42information, where we need to invite the

41:44folks. And from there, we start planning

41:48out the Thursdays and the Mondays as

41:50everybody seems more comfortable

41:53continues to be comfortable with those

41:54days. Does that work?

41:57>> That's the 10th of September?

41:59>> That would be the 10th of September.

42:02That's why I had the calendar pulled.

42:04Uh 10th of September. Do do do do do do.

42:06Yep, that would be the Thursday. You are

42:08right, Walter.

42:10Would 10th work with folks?

42:12>> Sure.

42:13>> Yeah.

42:16>> Okay, so I will put something for 10th.

42:30Perfect. Awesome.

42:32>> Um, that was quick.

42:34And then we'll go from there.

42:37>> Well, so so but then we have a follow-up

42:39meeting like a week after that before

42:41the

42:43>> I think you should plan on if you're

42:45around any Monday or Thursday in

42:47September would be in play.

42:50>> Yeah.

42:51>> Okay.

42:52>> We we typically put them all down and

42:54then we just say, "Oh, we don't need one

42:56this Monday or this Thursday." but

42:58it

43:00it's really just these weeks leading up

43:02to the um

43:06you know, like you said the 8th where

43:08we'd have to be done by.

43:10>> And I think the wildcard here really is

43:13the the warrant and right now it does

43:15look really light. So, that's

43:17optimistic, but if for some reason a ton

43:19of things come on like we can all do the

43:22reading, but it's going to be harder to

43:23get guests to come in and talk to them.

43:26So,

43:27like just so we know that I think the

43:29schedule right now looks okay.

43:33But I I we just have to be careful that

43:36that if anything major happens to the

43:37warrant that we may want to revisit this

43:40and we'll be meeting again, so we can.

43:44>> Right, so I think what I'm hearing is

43:46staff from

43:47September 10th on through 10/8 through

43:51October 8th, just block out Monday

43:53Thursdays and

43:55>> And we'll get rid of some.

43:56>> We'll get rid of some.

43:57>> Yeah.

43:58>> Okay.

44:05>> Okay, so we have our AFC meetings

44:08planned.

44:10>> Yeah, I mean it's unlikely on the 10th

44:12unless we already posted for that

44:14following Monday that we'd have a

44:15meeting then cuz you got to post

44:18uh by Thursday afternoon for Monday

44:20night. So

44:22um

44:25So we probably won't meet on the 14th,

44:27that'd be my guess.

44:29Unless unless we need we something

44:32changes between now and then we decide

44:34we're going to meet it.

44:37>> Yeah, I mean that's more of the

44:38scheduling part.

44:39>> So So George and I will see we have to

44:40post 2 days ahead of the meeting.

44:43>> Oh, so so

44:44>> The agenda.

44:45>> Right, so that means

44:46>> So So for Monday meetings you got to

44:49post by Thursday if Friday's not a

44:51holiday.

44:53And um

44:55>> Oh, so so that implies then that if we

44:57have a Thursday meeting we wouldn't have

44:58a Monday meeting.

45:01Well, you could put a meeting with

45:03agenda and then later revise that as

45:05>> Right. Yeah, and when we get real busy

45:07we post the the agendas more than two

45:10days in advance so that sometimes two

45:13two at a time or something.

45:14>> Okay. Okay, got it.

45:16>> It's just that if we're not deciding

45:18that now we probably won't.

45:20That's fine.

45:21>> All right, thanks.

45:25Okay, awesome. Uh anything else before

45:28we move to the next one which is the

45:30liaison updates?

45:37>> Uh

45:37no.

45:42>> Okay,

45:43uh any liaison updates from all the

45:46liaisons?

45:47>> I have a question.

45:49>> Please, D. Go ahead.

45:50>> How do I unmute my damn phone?

45:55>> You did a pretty good job. We can hear

45:56you.

45:57>> Well, this is my question.

45:58>> How you How can we hear you?

46:00>> [laughter]

46:02>> I I I to go to a different screen to to

46:05say anything, but anyway, I wanted to

46:07let you know I am here. I have a banging

46:10migraine. So, I'm very quiet tonight,

46:14but I am here. And I couldn't figure out

46:17how to unmute it except to go to this

46:19separate screen. So,

46:21I'll just say hello. Welcome to our new

46:24guy. Sorry I didn't meet you. We'll meet

46:26next time.

46:27>> [laughter]

46:30>> Sounds good.

46:33That's our second US member, D.

46:37Second or third? Uh

46:39Kumzie, did you join before or after D?

46:43>> It was me first and then D and then

46:45George.

46:46>> And then George got in.

46:47>> Yeah, he

46:48He was after me, right? Yeah, he was

46:50after me.

46:51So, now we're not new people anymore,

46:53Chris.

46:54>> That's right.

46:54>> I thought I was before you, D. No, it

46:57doesn't matter, but I Okay.

46:59My bad.

47:00>> Maybe. I don't know.

47:02>> [laughter]

47:04>> All right. Okay, perfect. So, yeah, any

47:06liaison updates from you, Anna?

47:08>> Yeah, I I have two.

47:11I've been busy.

47:12Um so,

47:14uh I got appointed as the Wastewater

47:16Treatment Plant uh board liaison, and

47:20I've gone to their monthly meeting

47:23for June, July, and August. So, finally

47:25starting to understand some of it.

47:28Um for those of you who may or may not

47:31know, but um

47:33the Wastewater Treatment Plant is used

47:35by Westborough, Shrewsbury, and a little

47:37bit by Hopkinton. The board is made up

47:40of three members from Westborough and

47:41three members from Shrewsbury.

47:44And um

47:46they have a monthly meeting. I think

47:47it's the second Wednesday in the

47:49morning.

47:50Um there's two kind of large things

47:53going on. Um as you recall from the last

47:56town meeting,

47:58it was a very large capital project that

48:02um, was approved. And, um, so that's

48:05kind of underway now for

48:08they reported it's 12% complete. It's

48:11supposed to last, uh,

48:14let's see if I got the

48:15I think it's supposed to last, uh,

48:17basically a couple of years.

48:19Um,

48:21uh,

48:22and I think that's till about 2028

48:27sometime.

48:28In middle 2028. Um, they didn't cover a

48:32lot of what on that. I think they have a

48:35separate meeting on that, but they did

48:36give me a huge amount of information, so

48:39I'll have to go through that separately.

48:40But so far that seems to be moving along

48:42okay.

48:44Um,

48:45that was on, um, but the previous

48:47project there actually were, which was

48:50the rotor replacement project, um,

48:52there's been a fair amount of discussion

48:53on that. Um, two of the rotors had

48:56failed.

48:57And uh, luckily they're still under

48:59warranty. They're warranted, I believe,

49:01for 3 years.

49:03Um, and so they're working through that,

49:04but they're also, um, running some

49:07tests. They're talking about paying for,

49:10um,

49:11study. So proactively, um, they think

49:14there might be some, uh, vibration that

49:16was causing those problems. Um, so

49:19they're going to, um,

49:21study these

49:23treatment rotors, too.

49:25Um,

49:26but, uh, I'm not an expert at this

49:28material yet, but, um, anyway,

49:31uh,

49:32that's a monthly meeting and, um,

49:34generally seems to be, um,

49:37going along okay.

49:39Nothing horrible to report.

49:42Um, on the library, that's going well.

49:46Um,

49:47their original substantial completion

49:50day was September 1st, and now it's

49:53September 24th, which is the same as

49:55last month, actually. It hasn't moved

49:56back. Um which is about

49:59uh 3 weeks different than the original.

50:02The project is on budget. Um of the

50:08uh

50:09the um

50:12Let's see.

50:14Um

50:15the main report we get um well, we at

50:19the meeting we talked about kind of

50:20up-to-date stuff, but they you know,

50:22they you sort of get the July report in

50:27early August. So, that happens. The The

50:30main committee meets twice a month to

50:33approve things, and there is a

50:35subcommittee that meets uh weekly

50:38um and reviews what's going on.

50:41Um so, all in all, I can tell you this

50:44stuff is starting to look really good.

50:45The windows have been

50:48um largely reinstalled. The roof is

50:51largely finished.

50:54Um the inside's looking nice, and um

50:58I think we're about um

51:0280%

51:04you know, 90% 80-something percent

51:05complete. Um of the contingency fees, um

51:11there's about uh we we will between

51:15approved expenses and pending and

51:19expected

51:20um

51:22there's they're about 90% spent. But

51:25we're kind of at the point where we're

51:27not expecting much more

51:29um to be needed contingency, cuz if you

51:32imagine they're going to be

51:34substantially complete in approximately

51:371 month from now, and some of that time

51:40is inspections and other changes uh uh

51:43waiting for like fire fire walk-throughs

51:45and things like that.

51:47Um so largely it seems like they're

51:51going to

51:52um end up okay.

51:55Um the expectation is once that date is

52:00a little more solid, they'll finish the

52:02planning on moving back and setting up

52:04and training people.

52:06Um the guess is that that's sort of

52:09about a 3 to 4-week

52:11process um before they're, you know,

52:15fully reopened. So if I had to guess,

52:18that sort of means um, you know,

52:20beginning in November or late October.

52:24Um somewhere around town meeting time

52:26um that they they should be back and

52:29going.

52:31Um so overall, uh I will say our owner's

52:34project manager does a great job in

52:36keeping the contractor, the construction

52:39contractor honest and moving forward and

52:43keeping things going. And um when and

52:46they don't like prices, we often have

52:48done things on time and materials and

52:50come out way ahead of the little

52:51estimates on these

52:53changes that were needed.

52:55Um

52:57So overall, um you know, a little more

52:59in a few more weeks, but it's going

53:01going pretty well.

53:03Um

53:04and things are looking uh good from my

53:07perspective.

53:11Whoa, my dog just sneezed.

53:18>> Any other liaison updates?

53:21>> I um I have contacted all my people.

53:25Um most of them take the summer off, so

53:29um except the police, of course.

53:32Um so I'm waiting to hear from the

53:34various places of any meetings that are

53:37coming up.

53:38But I did contact them all and told them

53:41I was their liaison to the AFC.

53:47>> Okay.

53:48>> Thank you.

53:56>> Any other updates?

54:00So, um quickly just for uh

54:03George, uh I know this may be a little

54:05over so we can go through this next time

54:08but just wanted to introduce you to this

54:10spreadsheet that we maintain George for

54:13uh AFC so rather than one of us or, you

54:17know, uh

54:18having um

54:21scattered people go around and

54:24reach out for updates on or uh for these

54:27departments these different departments

54:29to uh give any information to the AFC we

54:33have uh nominated some liaisons from our

54:36AFC team who are

54:39basically working with uh each of these

54:42departments if they have any updates or

54:44if they would like to know more

54:45information on what's happening

54:48any uh finance-related transfers that

54:51may be coming up so

54:53you will get to see this spreadsheet a

54:54lot more going forward as well as uh you

54:57know, at the moment obviously it's your

54:59first day you have joined the first

55:00meeting but yeah

55:02uh this is something where uh we'll look

55:04forward I'm sure to your interests and

55:06contributions as well.

55:08>> Yep.

55:12>> Okay. Uh updates from my side so I did

55:16attend the finance uh monthly meeting

55:18and I think the library uh update has

55:21already been covered by Walter. Um I'm

55:25sure you guys have heard about the

55:26school thing where our school uh

55:30there were a few updates on the school

55:31side where the school principal

55:34um

55:35has uh left so

55:38Jack Foley um he we all know from middle

55:41school, is

55:43there with the high school as well.

55:45There are couple of roofing projects

55:47that are going on with our schools.

55:51So,

55:52nothing much to report there as such.

55:55Yeah, one thing which did come up was

55:57that school efficiency study. So, some

55:59of the FC members would remember that we

56:01voted for the school efficiency study to

56:03be conducted. And that article had

56:07passed the the previous annual town

56:10meeting. So, there have been

56:14responses from different vendors to

56:18to take that work up for school

56:20efficiency study,

56:22but it hasn't really kicked off yet. I

56:25think the vendor finalization is what

56:26needs to happen.

56:28We have got few responses. Couple of

56:30them or one of them withdrew as well.

56:33So,

56:34once once the vendor responses are

56:37reviewed, that's when we will

56:40I think uh

56:41go through talk to them and finalize

56:44them and finalize one of them and that's

56:46when the efficiency study will start.

56:49So, that was that. I think fire chief,

56:52you already know about it that fire

56:54chief

56:55Chief Purcell

56:56had

56:59he had retired. And

57:02I think we the select board had a 3-2

57:05vote for doing an internal search

57:07instead of going outside and I believe

57:09in the last meeting that select board

57:11had, they have finalized on the who is

57:14the new fire chief as well.

57:16Um

57:18>> Daniel Herr?

57:19>> Yeah.

57:21>> Daniel Herr is the new chief, I believe.

57:23[clears throat]

57:23>> Okay. Okay.

57:25Uh

57:26other notes that I have captured, I'll

57:29just go couple lot more. Uh

57:32I think what I got to know from John

57:33Steinberg, our finance director, is that

57:36the Permit Pro is no longer some

57:37supported. So, um the software that is

57:41being used for obtaining uh getting the

57:44uh giving the permits, it's called

57:46Permit Pro. So, that's no longer

57:47supported. So, it's very highly

57:49customized and uh that's something which

57:52may come

57:53again um in terms of what needs to be

57:55done as a next step.

57:58I think budgets, Christie has already we

58:00talked about and

58:03chart of accounts will be ready by July

58:052027. That's the current target. So,

58:07some of you may know that we're trying

58:09to get the chart of accounts. Currently,

58:11they are separately being maintained.

58:13There's separate chart of accounts that

58:14the school has versus what uh the town

58:18presents

58:20to us. So, there is a ex- exercise which

58:23was voted in the last

58:25town meeting where they want to get

58:28those chart of accounts integrated with

58:31the overall

58:33town uh

58:35town accounts so that everything can be

58:37efficiently reported versus right now

58:39where school gets gives it to the

58:41um to the town

58:44finance director and then town finance

58:46director has to separately integrate it

58:47into

58:48um into the reports so that he it can be

58:52reported collectively.

58:55Yeah, uh I think pretty much that's what

58:58I had as an update. Uh any questions?

59:02>> Uh is that efficiency study or whatever

59:05you mentioned, is that the

59:06>> School efficiency study. Yeah. Yeah,

59:08George.

59:08>> So, that's the one to look at the school

59:09and the town and see if there's any

59:10efficiencies between the two?

59:13>> Uh at the school, it's purely focused

59:15just at the school.

59:17>> No, no, no.

59:19>> Which one? The school efficiency study?

59:21>> The

59:22there was supposed to be looking at that

59:25whether the school in town could share

59:29um resources in some way.

59:32That's

59:34That's what we we talked about last

59:36spring.

59:37>> That's what I thought. Like shared

59:38services between the town and the

59:40school.

59:41Um

59:42>> I'll have to go back and check. I'm not

59:44sure if that's the one. I think this was

59:46more of how the school can operate more

59:48efficiently.

59:50>> That

59:51might be a different thing.

59:52>> Yeah, it was a different article which

59:54came up in the last uh annual town

59:56meeting.

59:58It was voted in the last annual town in

59:59the annual town meeting in March.

1:00:02>> Mhm.

1:00:03>> Does anyone else recall that or am I the

1:00:05only one?

1:00:10I remember it to be finding efficiency

1:00:12between multi-departments within the

1:00:14town.

1:00:15Okay.

1:00:16>> Yeah, I agree with Walter. I think it

1:00:18what was approved was finding

1:00:20efficiencies between the two

1:00:22that we could focus on.

1:00:25>> Okay. Okay. Then you may be right. Yeah.

1:00:27>> between the school and the town.

1:00:30>> Got it. Okay.

1:00:31Yep. So, that was what it was. But I'll

1:00:33I'll try to find out the exact

1:00:36warrant article which it was and will

1:00:38share that with you, George. Yep.

1:00:40>> Okay.

1:00:45>> Okay.

1:00:46Uh 8:01.

1:00:48Uh

1:00:49Where is my agenda?

1:00:57All right. Um anything else from

1:00:59liaisons before we move to the approval

1:01:01for the meeting minutes for June 22nd?

1:01:05>> Oh.

1:01:06No. I don't have the one.

1:01:09>> Thanks, D. All right. Uh let's move to

1:01:12the meeting minutes then. Uh I had

1:01:14shared those meeting minutes on the

1:01:17email. Anyone has any feedback, changes?

1:01:25>> Look good to me.

1:01:27>> Yep, they looked good.

1:01:29>> Okay, then let's do the

1:01:33voting. Uh somebody wants to

1:01:37kick us off with

1:01:42>> What's the date on it?

1:01:45>> June 22nd, 2026.

1:01:47>> Okay, I move to the the uh AFC accept

1:01:51the minutes of June 22nd.

1:01:53>> Bradley second.

1:01:56>> Any further discussions?

1:01:59If not, Alouja, yes.

1:02:02>> Angelakis, yes.

1:02:04>> Bradley, yes.

1:02:06>> Bob, yes.

1:02:09>> Okay, George.

1:02:10>> George will be next, right?

1:02:12>> Yeah, so [laughter] this is done in the

1:02:14alphabetical, George.

1:02:15>> Gotcha. Grosner, abstain.

1:02:20>> Come see us.

1:02:22>> Leslie, yes.

1:02:25>> Uh how many are we

1:02:27uh

1:02:28Sorry.

1:02:29Uh da da da da da da so we are

1:02:33Come see Walter, D3.

1:02:36>> Andrew, four.

1:02:37>> 601. Yep. 601

1:02:41to approve the minutes of June 22nd.

1:02:45Okay.

1:02:46Uh

1:02:46>> On that topic, we received uh email

1:02:50today that uh

1:02:51Kristen Vincent is going to take on the

1:02:54job as recording secretary

1:02:57um for our minutes

1:02:59um moving forward, I guess. And

1:03:02for those of you don't know her, she's a

1:03:04former uh school committee member and

1:03:06chair.

1:03:08Um I I know Andrew would have been

1:03:10around when she was there and I was.

1:03:14Um so we're

1:03:16quite lucky to get somebody I think,

1:03:18with that experience, but um

1:03:20I I think it's

1:03:21I think Amanda has done a superb job in

1:03:24the filling in.

1:03:25>> Oh, she has done a great job.

1:03:27>> Yeah, absolutely. I think she's made it

1:03:29pretty efficient with sharing of these

1:03:32Zoom minutes, and she's quickly turning

1:03:34them and turning them around to share

1:03:36with us. Yep. Thank you, Amanda.

1:03:42>> And so, we might meet her at our next

1:03:44meeting. Kristen.

1:03:47>> Awesome. Great. Yep.

1:03:52All right. Uh

1:03:53if anything else, then we likely are

1:03:56meeting on September 10th.

1:03:59And I hope everyone has a good rest of

1:04:02the summer. Let's move to adjourn, then.

1:04:05>> Move to adjourn.

1:04:07>> [laughter]

1:04:08>> Second.

1:04:09>> Second.

1:04:10>> Oluwole, yes.

1:04:12>> Angelakis, yes.

1:04:14>> Bradley, yes.

1:04:16>> Block, yes.

1:04:17>> Rosner, yes.

1:04:19>> See, yes.

1:04:20>> Leslie, yes.

1:04:22>> Hubbard, TV, and we are adjourned.

1:04:25>> I would say Prashant, could you identify

1:04:27who

1:04:29>> Just Just for the notes. Just to move to

1:04:32the adjourn.

1:04:32>> I think let's put George. I believe he

1:04:34was the fastest voice.

1:04:36>> [laughter]

1:05:16>> Mhm.