Lanesborough FinCom Puts Newcomers in Charge
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Finance Committee held its first meeting of the fiscal year and elected two newcomers as its leaders.
Lyndon Moors was voted as chair and David Parks was voted vice chair on Monday. During the town's 2024 election on June 18, Moors was elected for a two-year term and Parks for a three-year term.
Town Administrator Gina Dario observed that there are "fresh eyes coming into the budget process."
"In my time as town administrator and sort of engaging with other towns, every finance committee, like every town administration, has a slightly unique way of operating," she said.
"And that's for the committee to define like in how extensive of a role it wants to be, how involved in types of things that people feel they can contribute in terms of either analysis or investigation."
The committee is composed of five members elected on a rotating basis and its main responsibility is to make studied recommendations on all town financial matters, to prepare a budget for the annual town meeting, and to control a reserve account that can be used for emergencies with its approval.
Kristen Tool also was elected to the committee for a three-year term. Tool and Ronald Tinkham, whose term expires next year, were unable to make the meeting but she provided a list of several priority items for fiscal 2025.
Tool's suggestions included the reinstatement of public comment; an asset inventory for town buildings, properties, and vehicles; and clarity on salaried and hourly town employee contracts.
Committee member Regina DiLego explained that there has never been public comment on the agenda and there hasn't been interest.
The public comment period was proposed for "possibly" the end of the agenda when items have gone through.
"Perhaps the key part of that is at the end of the agenda, which sometimes has a different flavor than if a company comes in at the beginning of an agenda," Moors said.
Parks' initial thought was that people wouldn't have to stay for the whole meeting if public comment was at the beginning of it but recognized that they would figure out logistics.
In response to the asset inventory request, Dario reported that she maintains "essentially a capital improvement plan."
"It's an overview of none of our buildings but of our town vehicles for police, fire, ambulance, and highway," she said.
"So that's something that had sort of been existing in various states and I revisited last year so that's something that could always be expanded on."
It was also emphasized that the town has a Capital Improvement Stabilization Fund with more than $42,000 in it that has not been touched since FY20. An article is required to deposit or withdraw money from the fund.
In regards to Tool's request for pay clarity, Dario pointed out that union contracts were re-negotiated last spring for three-year terms and most town employees are at will.
Parks pointed to Tinkham's opposition to salaries digging into the reserve fund in a prior meeting, adding "We should maybe address it at some point." Reportedly, this goes against state recommendations.
"What's your other option? Is it free cash?" he wondered. "And if something that's chronic that we do for the same salaries every year, maybe we should rethink how we're doing things."
Moors thinks that some of these also reflect "general community conversation."
"And I think that's the advantage of having some new faces on a board, not just this board," he said.
The former chair of the committee, Jodi-Lee Szczepaniak-Locke resigned at the end of the budget season. She told iBerkshires that her decision "most certainly" came from an attendance issue with a member of the committee not being resolved.
"I am a strong believer in following the rules as written and the bylaw was written, approved by town counsel, and voted on by the townspeople at some point in the past," she wrote in an email.
"The fact that we are now advised differently is unacceptable to me. I will serve until our most important job, the budget, is complete. I also in the meantime am considering complete resignation from the board."
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