Town of Princeton, Mass. – February 28, 2017 – 5 PM
Board of Selectmen –Mgmt. Report Meeting Minutes
Chairman Stan Moss, Edith Morgan, Jon Fudeman present; plus TA Nina Nazarian.
5:09 PM Stan opened meeting in the Town Hall Annex. Town Accountant Jenny Lin and Treas./Coll. Jim Dunbar were present with Auditor Tony Roselli. Advisory Committee members present were Jim O’Coin, George Handy, Wayne Adams, Bill Lawton and Judy Dino.
Tony announced that the findings and problems from previous years have been identified and mostly corrected. The town has recovered from the financial downturn of 2007—along with the state. There is $1.6 million in unassigned fund balance which is accumulated free cash over 5-6 years and includes stabilization funds. About $600,000 is now in OPEB assets. The required contribution is $1.5 million for which the town has a funding plan in place. Tony reported on what other communities are doing, approximately 10 that he is aware of are funding OPEB. Jon F. shared concerns about being ahead of the pack if non-payers eventually get ‘excused’ – there is the possibility of this “amnesty” for towns, in the future, who haven’t contributed--a situation that has happened before. Jon F.
noted that some experts recommend paying small amount annually to show good faith.
The ARC (annual required contribution) has two parts. The annual ARC for Princeton is just under $85,000 at the time of the study. Jon noted that the town has other urgent obligations coming sooner than the OPEB which is due many years out. Plus, there are OPEBs for PMLD and WRSD.
It was noted that General Accounting Principals were finally in place and Stan praised the team of Jenny, Jim and Nina. Tony went over his recommendations and the finance team’s reply to each. Tony feels that the town needs new accounting software as the current program is over 15 years old, although Jenny said it may meet the needs of the town. Tony noted that more sophisticated programs are designed for much larger municipalities and he mentioned some that may be appropriate and were affordable.
There was discussion about ambulance receivables which are climbing. Over half are over 180 days old, which are the responsibility of the Town’s billing company. Jenny, Jim and Nina met with the Deputy Fire Chief recently to review the work of the billing company and discussed how the town can make improvements.
Tony insisted that the findings in the audit’s management report are not severe and just involve cleaning up a few items.
6:25 PM Selectmen voted to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted, Marie Auger, admin.assist.
BOS Referenced Documents: Town Auditor’s Management Report
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
978-464-2100
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