Category Archives: Budgets

Warrant Committee FY 25 Budget Guidance

Posted on November 14, 2023 | Comments Off on Warrant Committee FY 25 Budget Guidance

Email today from Warrant Committee Cochair, Stephen Callahan, with the Budget Guidance for the upcoming budget cycle (FY25) –

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Dear Medfield Budget Makers and Elected Officials

The Warrant Committee has implemented a new budget process this year that emphasizes upfront budget guidance for departments and elected officials and an earlier process to achieve our goal of a sustainable balanced budget within the Prop 2 ½ limits to bring forward to Town Meeting.

Last evening, we completed our due diligence on the FY 25 budget guidance and approved the attached communication to all budget makers and elected officials.   In addition to providing overall budget targets for departments, it provides additional information on process, expectations, and timelines for FY 25.  Feel free to reach out to me or Bob Sliney if you have any questions on these matters. 

The Warrant Committee looks forward to our upcoming reviews and meetings with departments to better understand the important services and needs for the FY 25 Budget.

Please feel free to forward to others that you feel would benefit from this communication. 

Hoping you all have a happy thanksgiving with your families.

Best,

Steve Callahan

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To: Medfield Budget Makers and Elected Officials                                                           

Date: November 13, 2023

From: Warrant Committee

Subject: FY 2025 Budget Guidance: Approach, Targets and Timeline

Summary and Background

A host of factors pushed up the growth rate of the Town’s budget in FY 23 and FY 24, including the inflation surge that began in mid- 2021.  Fortunately, inflation has moved down from its peak last year but nonetheless, the space between our forecasted fixed expenditures and the Tax Levy allowed under Prop 2 ½ continues to be under pressure.

While the tax rate moved down in FY 23 to $15.43, average tax bills rose 3.2%, amounting to an increase of $402 on the average home in Medfield – and tax bills will move up again in FY 24.  The property tax bills in Town have overall, risen about in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  Given the anticipated ongoing slowing in housing prices and continued budgetary strains, the tax rate is likely to face upward pressure in coming years.

Taking all of this into account, the Warrant Committee intends to take a cautious approach to budgeting in FY 25.  In summary, after a review of FY 25 forecasted revenue and fixed costs, the Warrant Committee is recommending an overall 4.1% budget guidance for school and town departments.  Amounts of COLA for non-contract employees who are not covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreements and salary increases as stipulated by relevant Collective Bargaining Agreements for contract employees are expected to fall within this overall guidance.

COLA for non-contract employees (does not directly affect employees covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements)

Inflation has eroded everyone’s purchasing power since the surge that began in the middle of 2021, though inflation has moved lower recently, with the latest read on the CPI indicating that prices in the Northeast in September were 3.0 percent higher than 12 months earlier (3.7 for the US as a whole).  Wages have also been rising more rapidly during this inflation environment.  For example, the Employment Cost Index for State and Local governments employees rose 4.8% over the year ending in September.  That figure incorporates pay increases that went into effect at the start of the fiscal year in many jurisdictions (July 1, 2023), corresponding to Medfield’s FY 24 COLA (3.0%) that also went into effect July 1st.

The COLA recommended by the Warrant Committee that will be brought forward to Town Meeting must balance the need to fairly compensate the hard work and dedication of Town employees against the burden of taxes.  By way of background COLAs were 3.0 % for FY 24, 2.0 % for FY 23 and 2% for several years before that.   As of this date, the Personnel Board has not decided on a COLA for FY 25.

Department Operating Budgets

As noted, budget pressures remain and are unlikely to abate in coming years.  Accordingly, we ask the school and Town departments to prepare budgets that do not exceed the guidelines of 4.1% and 4.2%, respectively.  Department heads should first work with the chief executives and elected boards (Superintendent/School Committee or Town Administrator/Select Board) in balancing the limitations of these guidelines with essential department needs and services in the face of unforeseen costs for essential goods and department needs.  For line items where increases are necessary to maintain essential services, or where costs have increased in an out of the ordinary way, we ask budget makers to provide specific explanations to their Elected Boards and the Warrant Committee and to consider whether a decrease in another line item could offset the increase. 

Lastly, if after review there are any unmet needs that could not be covered with either alternative revenue sources (grants, fees, etc.) or cost efficiencies, please identify these for the Warrant Committee along with specific explanations for essentials whose higher costs make Warrant Committee guidance inconsistent with providing an appropriate level of service.  The Warrant Committee asks that any significant requests that fall outside of the above guidance be identified and communicated early, since it may trigger a Prop 2 ½ override request at Town Meeting. 

The Warrant Committee looks forward to discussing particulars with the Superintendent, Town Administrator, and budget makers to ensure that essential and important services are provided, and that the Town’s overall costs and tax rate are controlled as well as possible.

Capital Budget requests should be handled through the Capital Budget Committee process. 

Timeline

December, 2023 – FY 25 budgets are due to Town Administrator and Superintendent

January, 2024- Budgets transmitted to School Committee, Select Board and Warrant Committee

December 2023 – February 2024 – Warrant Committee Liaison Member due diligence

January 16th and 30th, 2024– Warrant Committee budget review meetings with Town Departments

February 13, 2024 – Warrant Committee budget review meeting with School Department

As always, thank you for the hard work you undertake on behalf of Medfield taxpayers and the long-term future of the Town. We look forward to working with all policy and budget makers to produce an FY25 Budget that provides efficient, quality services to Town residents while continuing to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer revenue. 

Sincerely,

Medfield Warrant Committee

Stephen Callahan (Co-Chair), Deborah Cartisser, Emily McCabe, Peter Michelson, Brent Nelson, Jillian Rafter, Peter Saladino, Bob Sliney (Co-Chair), Edward Vozzella

Attachment – FY 25 Budget Forecast

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Posted in Budgets, Warrant Committee

State explains Gov’s first budget

Posted on August 17, 2023 | Comments Off on State explains Gov’s first budget

This came today in my e-newletter from the Division of Local Services (DLS) at the Massachusetts Department of Revenue to explain what the Gov’s administration thinks are the highlights of her first budget.

Partnering with our Cities and Towns – FY24 Funding Updates
Secretary Matthew J. Gorzkowicz – Executive Office for Administration & Finance

FY24 Budget

On Wednesday, August 9, Governor Healey signed the FY24 budget, representing $55.98 billion in historic investments in schools, child care, workforce development, public transit, housing, climate resiliency and other key areas that will help make Massachusetts more affordable, competitive, and equitable.

In collaboration with our partners in the Legislature, the budget includes hallmark proposals from Governor Healey, including making community college free for students aged 25 and older through MassReconnect, expanding Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants for early education and care providers, increasing funding for Early College, Innovation Career Pathways, apprenticeships and other workforce development programs, and dedicating 1 percent of the budget to energy and the environment for the first time.

Through the FY24 budget, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is reaffirming our commitment to the state’s partnership with cities and towns, making historic investments in Chapter 70 school aid, unrestricted government aid, and student transportation. This spending plan fully funds another year of the Student Opportunity Act and dedicates resources to help cities and towns redevelop and revitalize their downtowns.

In total, cherry sheet aid to municipalities across the Commonwealth is increasing $648 million, or 8.4%, over FY23, totaling $8.37 billion.

With this being the administration’s first budget, we are excited to share some of the details on our support for cities and towns.

Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA)

A cornerstone of the administration’s commitment to partnering with municipalities is the expansion of Unrestricted General Government Aid, supporting essential local government services, including public safety, public works, and economic development. In FY24, UGGA is increasing by $39 million, or 3.2%, over FY23, totaling $1.27 billion.

Education: Fully Funding the Student Opportunity Act

The administration is focused on ensuring that all students have access to a high-quality public education. In FY24, Chapter 70 aid is increasing by $594 million, or 9.9%, over FY23, totaling $6.59 billion. This represents full funding of the Student Opportunity Act, the largest nominal increase in the history of the program, and the largest percentage increase in more than two decades.

The budget also funds major increases in school transportation reimbursement ($21.3 million, 20%) and rural school aid ($9.5 million, 173%). It includes full funding for Special Education Circuit Breaker.

FY24 also includes funding to make universal school meals permanent, ensuring every student across the Commonwealth has access to healthy nutrition during the school day.

For school buildings, the FY24 budget includes $50 million for the new Green School Works program, providing grants to school districts for clean energy infrastructure, $100 million in supplemental grants to mitigate cost increases at school construction projects previously funded by the MSBA and an increase in the MSBA’s statutory cap to $1.2 billion.

Municipal Partnerships

The FY24 budget also includes funding for critical partnership programs between municipalities and the state. Some examples include: Increasing payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for state-owned land by $6.5 M (14%).
  Increasing funding for public libraries by $3.8 million (12%).
  $100 million in supplemental aid for municipal road and bridges, funded by Fair Share surtax revenues.
  $16.3 million in funding for the Municipal Regionalization and Efficiencies Incentive Reserve, which funds programs including the Community Compact’s Best Practice ($2.1 million) and Efficiency and Regionalization Grant ($600,000) programs.
  $600,000 for the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative for municipalities looking to revitalize their downtowns. FY24-FY28 Capital Investment Plan

On June 22, the Healey-Driscoll Administration released its first five-year Capital Investment Plan (CIP), outlining more than $14 billion in investments over five years to build a more affordable, competitive, and equitable future for Massachusetts.

The investments in the FY24-FY28 CIP complement and build on the funding proposed in the administration’s inaugural operating budget, with a particular emphasis on advancing climate, economic development, and housing goals – including the creation of a new $97 million HousingWorks program.

For municipalities, the CIP includes significant funding for transportation, economic development, climate initiatives, technology infrastructure, and more.

Transportation

FY24 investments in transportation infrastructure across our cities and towns include: $200 million for Chapter 90 local transportation projects
  $25 million for the Municipal Pavement Program
  $15 million for the Municipal Small Bridge Program
  $15 million for the Complete Streets Program
  $8.5 million for the Shared Streets and Spaces Program
  $6 million for the Local Bottleneck Reduction Program Economic Development

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to working with local leaders to build vibrant communities, revitalize downtowns, and create economic opportunity for all Massachusetts residents. In FY24, investments through the CIP include: $96 million for MassWorks infrastructure grants
  $16.6 million for Revitalizing Underutilized Properties
  $5 million for the Rural and Small Town Development Fund Climate

Withstanding the climate crisis and protecting our environment requires a strong partnership between the state and local communities. The FY24 CIP continues investments in EEA’s programs that support communities as they plan for the future, including: $41.2 million for the Clean Water Trust Revolving Fund
  $23.7 million for the Municipal Vulnerability Program (MVP)
  $21 million for Community Investment Grants
  $12 million for Inland Dams and Seawalls
  $10 million for MassTrails grants to municipalities Technology

Ensuring that all municipalities have the necessary technological infrastructure is critical for growth throughout Massachusetts. The FY24 CIP invests: $6.5 million for the Broadband Middle Mile Program
  $5 million for the Community Compact Municipal Fiber Grant Program
  $5 million for Community Compact Information Technology Grants
  $1 million for the Broadband Last Mile Program Other Municipal Funding $25 million for Library Construction Grants
  $10 million for Cultural Facilities Fund Grants
  $4 million for Municipal ADA Improvement Grants
  $1.6 million for Historic Preservation Grants We remain committed to working with our municipal partners in support of your efforts to make our Commonwealth stronger for all. Thank you for your dedication and hard work!

For more information on the FY24 budget, please visit www.mass.gov/gaa.

For more information on the FY24-FY28 Capital Investment Plan, please visit www.mass.gov/capital.   Register Today for the 2023 “What’s New in Municipal Law” Seminars

The Division of Local Services Municipal Finance Law Bureau will offer its annual “What’s New in Municipal Law” seminars for local officials on Thursday, September 21, 2023 at the Bentley University Conference Center in Waltham and Thursday, September 28, 2023 at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. The seminars will be held in-person and run from 9am to 3pm.

The registration fee is $100. Payment must be received by Friday, September 15th. Event check-in opens at 8:15am. Lunch will be provided.

To view the registration form, please click here. Any questions regarding the seminars should be directed to dlsregistration@dor.state.ma.us.   Highly Recommended: Formal Financial Policies

The DLS Financial Management Resource Bureau (FMRB) provides tailored consultative services to municipalities across the state. Articles in this series highlight a particular financial management best practice that we frequently recommend.

The adoption of formal financial policies is a best practice that serves many important purposes. Among the most crucial of these is the directive guidance that fiscally prudent policies provide for achieving sound, long-term budgeting practices. Along with a capital improvement plan and long-range forecast, financial policies constitute one of the three key tools that DLS encourages all communities to employ to shape the development of annual budgets that are balanced and sustainable into the future.




At a basic level, a policy constitutes a high-level plan for achieving certain goals within a defined topic area. In municipal government, financial policies can be divided into two broad categories. Fiscal planning policies present a roadmap to guide short- and long-term budget decisions. When they are well-reasoned, such policies help mitigate the risk of developing any structural imbalances while also providing a framework for sustaining and enhancing services. As the other category, financial operations policies promote accountability and enhanced coordination of services by defining procedural objectives and the related responsibilities assigned to applicable municipal officials and employees.

Financial policies should be understood as a foundational component of the government’s larger system of internal controls and are themselves a form of internal control of the directive variety. It is because of this vital function that credit rating agencies such as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s look favorably upon the presence of strong formalized policies when determining a community’s bond rating, which has a significant impact on the cost of borrowing.

The effort to research, discuss, write, review, and finally adopt policies can seem a daunting task. As a result, many communities, especially smaller towns, have only informal and often unwritten guidelines that might only be passed along in an ad hoc fashion as local officeholders enter and leave municipal service. Such municipalities have a more tenuous hold on institutional knowledge and are also liable to be relatively myopic or disjointed in the pursuit of their goals. Hence, a prime objective for adopting formal, written policies is to serve as an educational tool that can foster long-term consistency and continuity in operational and budgeting practices.

Furthermore, enhanced transparency in fiscal governance can be achieved through policy adoption, and we encourage cities and towns to incorporate fiscal policy text into their budget documents and presentations. While remaining more flexible and easier to modify than bylaws and ordinances, policies should provide instructive guidance to steer officials and employees toward objectives. To assure effectiveness, city and town officials must be thoughtful and proactive in promoting policy awareness within the organization. We also recommend communities to periodically review and revise their policies to address evolving goals and circumstances.

From the financial management reviews and other municipal project work that FMRB has done over the years, the bureau has identified a minimum set of core policies we believe every city or town should adopt to manage the most significant areas of budgetary and operational risk. These are listed in the table below.



FMRB has drafted 30+ policy manuals for cities and towns, each of which incorporates the above topics, as well as others desired by the client community. Any municipality that is conducting research to create or revise a policy manual may access them here.
 

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Posted in Budgets, Financial, Legislature, State

State updated our FY24 aid by $2K

Posted on August 4, 2023 | Comments Off on State updated our FY24 aid by $2K

Revised cherry sheet figures today on the Town of Medfield state aid:

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Posted in Budgets, Financial, Legislature, State

State aid to Medfield up $166K (2%)

Posted on August 1, 2023 | Comments Off on State aid to Medfield up $166K (2%)

The state budget was finally agreed upon by the legislature this week (a month into the fiscal year and long after the town had to set its own budgets at the annual town meeting (ATM) at the beginning of May).

The following are the Town of Medfield state aid amounts for FY24 that were just released – our state aid is $8,550,556, up $166,430 over FY23 (the last fiscal year):

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Posted in Budgets, Financial, Legislature, State

Senate adds about $20K to Medfield’s state budget $

Posted on May 10, 2023 | Comments Off on Senate adds about $20K to Medfield’s state budget $

Received today from Division of Local Services (DLS) at Massachusetts Department of Revenue. The Senate Ways and Means Committee added about $20K to the Governor and House budget version for Medfield (copy attached below) –

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Posted in Budgets, Legislature, State

Initial Cherry Sheet estimates have our state $ up about $147K

Posted on April 17, 2023 | Comments Off on Initial Cherry Sheet estimates have our state $ up about $147K

From Division of Local Services (DLS) –

FY2024 Preliminary Cherry Sheet Estimates 

On Wednesday April 12th the House Ways & Means Committee (HWM) released their version of the FY2024 budget proposal. The Division has posted updated preliminary cherry sheets on the DLS website.  

Click here for Preliminary Municipal Cherry Sheet Estimates or here for Preliminary Regional Cherry Sheet Estimates. Cherry sheet estimates for charter school tuition and reimbursements are based on estimated tuition rates and projected enrollments under charters previously issued by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Please be advised that charter school assessments and reimbursements will change as updated tuition rates and enrollments become available. Estimates for the school choice assessments may also change significantly when updated to reflect final tuition rates and enrollments. It is important for local officials to remember that these estimates are preliminary and are subject to change as the legislative process unfolds. If you have any questions about the preliminary estimates, please contact the Data Analytics and Resources Bureau at databank@dor.state.ma.us.

Town of Medfield

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Posted in Budgets, Legislature, State

Gov’s budget released

Posted on March 2, 2023 | Comments Off on Gov’s budget released

From the Massachusetts Municipal Association. A detailed analysis is usually released, so expect that soon. –

  Breaking News from the MMA  

Gov. Healey releases FY2024 budget proposal

Today Gov. Maura Healey filed her $55.5 billion state budget plan for fiscal 2024, which includes funding for local accounts that she announced last week.

Healey’s proposal, known as House 1, would increase the main discretionary local aid account by 2% over fiscal 2023, while increasing Chapter 70 school aid by $586 million, which would fund commitments made in the 2019 Student Opportunity Act. The governor also proposed increases for regional school transportation, vocational school transportation, special education reimbursements, payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT), transportation of students in temporary housing, library aid, and rural school aid.

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Posted in Budgets

State budget writers announce consensus revenue growth forecast of 1.6% for FY24

Posted on February 1, 2023 | Comments Off on State budget writers announce consensus revenue growth forecast of 1.6% for FY24

From the Massachusetts Municipal Association. NB, the state budget process will likely be slower to unfold this year due to the gubernatorial change –

View this email in your browser  

Breaking News from the MMA



State budget writers announce consensus revenue growth forecast of 1.6% for FY24

The state’s budget writers announced yesterday that state tax collections are expected to grow by 1.6% in fiscal 2024 over a recently adjusted projection for fiscal 2023 revenue.

Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz, Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues and House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz announced a consensus state tax revenue forecast of $40.41 billion for the fiscal year that will begin on July 1.

The increase does not include an additional $1 billion in projected revenue from the state’s new surtax on annual incomes over $1 million, which was adopted by voters in November. Dispensing funds generated from the surtax will be subject to appropriation, but the ballot measure stipulated that funds must be spent only in areas of transportation and education. Including the surtax, estimated revenue would increase the total budget projection for fiscal 2024 by 4.1% over the adjusted fiscal 2023 revenue estimate.

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Posted in Budgets, State

Picked up from Richard

Posted on December 30, 2022 | Comments Off on Picked up from Richard

Streetlight budget in 1923

In this week’s Hometown Weekly, Richard DeSorgher’s This Old Town column describes the Town of Medfield budget from 100 years ago in 1923. The total annual budget was $67,965 and your town, like today, spent the most on education, $24,000 that year. What surprised me was that the town spent $3K on streetlights. That latter is the same amount spent that year on snow removal, and $1K more than was spent on either the police or fire.

From memory the streetlight budget today is about $27,000. Interesting that streetlights were seen then as such a high priority.

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Posted in Budgets, History

FY23 Budget

Posted on October 13, 2022 | Comments Off on FY23 Budget

Email this afternoon from Town Administrator, Kristine Trierweiler –

We have submitted the FY2023 budget to GFOA  (Government Finance Officers Association) today seeking a distinguished budget award. The document has also been posted on the Town’s website:

https://www.town.medfield.net/DocumentCenter/View/6594/Medfield-FY2023-Annual-Budget

—

Kristine Trierweiler Town Administrator

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Posted in Budgets, Financial