Town Council - Ways & Means Committee

Braintree Town Council MEMBERS Meredith Boericke, Chairwoman Committee of Ways & Means Peter Morin, Vice-Chairman One JFK Memorial Drive Joseph Reynolds, Member Braintree, Massachusetts 02184 Julia Flaherty, Member Elizabeth Maglio, Member MINUTES Thursday, May 1, 2025 A meeting of the Committee of Ways & Means was held in Cahill Auditorium on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at 6:00pm. Councilor Boericke was in the Chair. Clerk of the Council, Susan Cimino conducted the roll call. Present: Meredith Boericke, Chairwoman Peter Morin, Vice-Chairman Joseph Reynolds, Member arrived @6:10pm Julia Flaherty, Member Elizabeth Maglio, Member Also Present: Michael Esmond, Director of Municipal Finance Shawn McGoldrick, Town Auditor - CLA Approval of Minutes • February 24, 2025 Councilor Morin made the Motion to approve Minutes of February 24, 2025 Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve Minutes of February 24, 2025 Second: by Councilor Flaherty Vote: For (4–Boericke, Morin, Flaherty, Maglio), Against (0), Absent (1 - Reynolds), Abstain (0) • March 4, 2025 Councilor Morin made the Motion to approve Minutes of March 4, 2025 Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve Minutes of March 4, 2025 Second: by Councilor Flaherty Vote: For (4–Boericke, Morin, Flaherty, Maglio), Against (0), Absent (1 - Reynolds), Abstain (0) • March 10, 2025 Councilor Morin made the Motion to approve Minutes of March 10, 2025 Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve Minutes of March 10, 2025 Second: by Councilor Flaherty Vote: For (4–Boericke, Morin, Flaherty, Maglio), Against (0), Absent (1 - Reynolds), Abstain (0) May 1, 2025 Ways & Means Committee 1 of 11 Old Business • None New Business Chairwoman Boericke explained this is the first of many FY26 budget hearings for the Committee of Ways & Means. We have a meeting date set aside for discussion/amendments if needed. A Public Hearing on the Town Budget, allowing public comment, will be held on Tuesday, May 27 at 7pm. Please email written statements or your questions to towncouncil@braintreema.gov These meetings will be televised and recorded on BCAM TV cable/YouTube. • 25 018 Mayor: FY2026 Operating Budget or take up any action relative thereto FY2026 Revenue Forecast Overview 111 - Town Council FY2026 Revenue Forecast Overview Michael Esmond, Director of Municipal Finance, gave a presentation on the FY2026 Revenue Forecast Overview. FY2026 Operating Budget: $175,686,316 Our highest revenue source is our levy along with state aid and federal funding. FY2026 Budget assumes $3.9 million in new tax revenue, including Prop 2 ½ increase and New Growth. We are budgeting FY2026 with a $800,000 in New Growth figure. Last year we were over a million dollars. The personal property tax helped with that and most likely will not be repeated in FY26. Building permits in FY2025 through March are 13% greater than the same period in FY2024. FY2026 General Fund Operating Revenues: FY2015 FY2020 FY2026 Town Levy / Property Taxes 70% 68% 72% Local Aid 15% 15% 13% Local Receipts 14% 15% 14% Other Financing 1% 2% 1% The Town’s revenue “stack” over time has been relatively stable – FY2025 override helped increase the share of Town levy to 72%. FY2026 Budget relies on $23.5 million in net local aid (Governor Healey H1. The net 0.1% increase results from 14% growth in assessments and charges. May 1, 2025 Ways & Means Committee 2 of 11 Budget At aGlance Projected Proposed Forecast Forecast Forecast FY2025 FY2026 FY2027 FY2028 FY2029 Revenue Town Levy / Property Taxes 122,228,835 126,121,224 130,025,372 134,041,146 138,180,934 Local Aid 23,502,142 23,530,221 23,880,000 24,220,000 24,570,000 Local Receipts 23,015,891 24,384,100 25,210,206 25,633,604 26,119,129 Other Financing 3,577,170 1,650,771 1,618,500 1,652,000 1,686,501 Total Revenues $ 172,324,037 $ 175,686,316 $ 180,734,079 $ 185,546,750 $ 190,556,564 Annual Revenue Growth w/o FY25 Free Cash=> 3.2% 2.9% 2.7% 2.7% Spending Schools 79,532,996 82,316,651 85,197,734 88,179,654 91,265,942 General Government 55,713,874 56,423,533 57,552,003 58,703,043 59,877,104 Debt 10,219,229 11,472,220 11,490,246 11,673,352 11,986,906 Benefits & Insurance 25,196,202 25,451,642 27,224,667 29,616,651 32,153,495 Total Spending $ 170,662,301 $ 175,664,045 $ 181,464,650 $ 188,172,701 $ 195,283,447 Annual Spending Growth=> 2.9% 3.3% 3.7% 3.8% Transfer (to) from Override Stabilization $ (1,500,000) $- $ 500,000 $ 500,000 $ 500,000 Balance $ 161,737 $ 22,271 $ (230,572) $ (2,125,951) $ (4,226,883) Cumulative Gap, Fys 27-29=> $ (6,583,406) Cumulative Gap, % of 3-Yr Rev=> 1.18% Annual Gap, % of Annual Rev=> 0.01% -0.13% -1.15% -2.22% May 1, 2025 Ways & Means Committee 3 of 11 Tax Levy FY2024 FY2025 FY2026 FY2027 FY2028 FY2029 Actual Projected Proposed Forecast Forecast Forecast Levy Limit (Prior Year) $ 105,841,127 $ 109,082,590 $ 120,819,736 $ 124,640,229 $ 128,576,235 $ 132,631,141 2 1/2% Increase $ 2,646,028 $ 2,679,733 $ 3,020,493 $ 3,116,006 $ 3,214,406 $ 3,315,779 Override $- $ 8,000,000 $- $- $- $- New Growth $ 595,435 $ 1,057,413 $ 800,000 $ 820,000 $ 840,500 $ 861,513 sub-total $ 109,082,590 $ 120,819,736 $ 124,640,229 $ 128,576,235 $ 132,631,141 $ 136,808,432 Debt Exclusion $ 2,664,529 $ 2,659,099 $ 2,762,245 $ 2,762,419 $ 2,756,119 $ 2,752,269 Overlay $ (1,225,000) $ (1,250,000) $ (1,281,250) $ (1,313,281) $ (1,346,113) $ (1,379,766) TOTAL $ 110,522,119 $ 122,228,835 $ 126,121,224 $ 130,025,372 $ 134,041,146 $ 138,180,934 $ 11,706,715 $ 3,892,390 $ 3,904,148 $ 4,015,774 $ 4,139,788 Change from Prior Year=> 10.6% 3.2% 3.1% 3.1% 3.1% FY2026 Budget assumes $3.9 million in new tax revenue, including Prop 2 ½ increase and New Growth. May 1, 2025 Ways & Means Committee 4 of 11 State Aid FY2026 Preliminary Cherry Sheet Estimates Braintree FY2025 FY2026 Governor’s Local Aid Proposal PROGRAM Cherry Sheet Amount $Change %Change Education Receipts: Chapter 70 $ 21,191,400 $ 21,575,475 $ 384,075 1.81% Charter Tuition Reimbursement $ 148,444 $ 313,083 $ 164,639 110.91% General Government: Unrestricted Gen Gov't Aid $ 7,045,993 $ 7,201,005 $ 155,012 2.20% Veterans Benefits $ 171,284 $ 153,063 $ (18,221) -10.64% Exemp: VBS and Elderly $ 104,991 $ 170,220 $ 65,229 62.13% State Owned Land $ 53,705 $ 53,705 $- 0.00% Public Libraries $ 99,579 $ 101,045 $ 1,466 1.47% Total Estimated Receipts: $ 28,815,396 $ 29,567,596 $ 752,200 2.61% County Tax $ 347,353 $ 340,428 $ (6,925) -1.99% Retired Teachers Health Insurance $ 2,917,719 $ 3,395,474 $ 477,755 16.37% Mosquito Control Projects $ 118,704 $ 118,433 $ (271) -0.23% Air Pollution Districts $ 14,873 $ 14,718 $ (155) -1.04% Metropolitan Area Planning Council $ 22,907 $ 23,363 $ 456 1.99% RMV Non-Renewal Surcharge $ 35,140 $ 35,140 $- 0.00% MBTA $ 961,143 $ 984,705 $ 23,562 2.45% Special Education $ 5,283 $ 296 $ (4,987) -94.40% School Choice Sending Tuition $ 249,584 $ 157,963 $ (91,621) -36.71% Charter School Sending Tuition $ 540,969 $ 865,810 $ 324,841 60.05% Total All Estimated Charges: $ 5,213,675 $ 5,936,330 $ 722,655 13.86% NET LOCAL AID* $ 23,502,142 $ 23,530,221 $ 28,079 0.12% *Receipts less Charges and Library Aid. May 1, 2025 Ways & Means Committee 5 of 11 Local Receipts FY2024 FY2024 FY2025 FY2025 FY2026 FY2026 FY2026 Description Budget Actual Budget* Projected Proposed $Change %Change Motor Vehicle Excise Tax $ 6,780,090 $ 7,529,549 $ 6,626,000 $ 7,142,000 $ 7,538,000 $ 396,000 5.5% Meals Tax $ 1,306,000 $ 1,403,900 $ 1,430,000 $ 1,439,000 $ 1,475,000 $ 36,000 2.5% Hotel Tax $ 1,631,000 $ 1,813,009 $ 1,888,000 $ 1,834,000 $ 1,976,000 $ 142,000 7.7% Penalties and Interest on Taxes $ 258,000 $ 276,835 $ 321,000 $ 285,000 $ 296,000 $ 11,000 3.9% Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) $ 2,512,000 $ 2,443,432 $ 2,597,054 $ 2,597,054 $ 2,741,000 $ 143,946 5.5% Trash Fees $ 1,511,000 $ 1,546,688 $ 2,020,000 $ 2,020,000 $ 2,520,100 $ 500,100 24.8% Fees $ 1,070,000 $ 1,191,696 $ 1,204,000 $ 1,204,000 $ 1,328,000 $ 124,000 10.3% Rentals $ 219,000 $ 165,136 $ 281,825 $ 281,825 $ 374,000 $ 92,175 32.7% Schools $ 135,000 $- $- $- $- $- --- Cemetery Fees $ 25,000 $ 37,975 $ 36,000 $ 36,000 $ 37,000 $ 1,000 2.8% Other Departmental Revenue $ 234,000 $ 286,813 $ 268,000 $ 268,000 $ 280,000 $ 12,000 4.5% Licenses and Permits $ 2,166,000 $ 2,488,276 $ 2,278,000 $ 2,562,924 $ 2,640,000 $ 77,076 3.0% Fines and Forfeitures $ 60,000 $ 90,747 $ 77,000 $ 80,000 $ 80,000 $- 0.0% Investment Income $ 1,900,000 $ 2,263,409 $ 2,430,000 $ 1,873,688 $ 1,974,000 $ 100,312 5.4% Medicaid Reimbursement $ 284,000 $ 495,383 $ 380,000 $ 380,000 $ 376,000 $ (4,000) -1.1% Misc. Recurring $ 791,900 $ 724,574 $ 782,400 $ 782,400 $ 749,000 $ (33,400) -4.3% Misc. Non-Recurring $- $ 179,898 $- $ 230,000 $- $- -100.0% Total Local Receipts $ 20,882,990 $ 22,937,320 $ 22,619,279 $ 23,015,891 $ 24,384,100 $ 1,598,209 5.9% *Original FY2025 budget assumed $921,000 in Local Receipts associated with Municipal Enforcement Act (MEA), which is shifted to Free Cash for comparison purposes. May 1, 2025 Ways & Means Committee 6 of 11 Other Financing Description FY2024 FY2025 FY2026 FY2026 FY2026 Adopted Projected Proposed $ Change % Change Budgeted Transfer from Golf Fund $ 99,746 $ 106,149 $ 112,000 $ 5,851 5.51% Overlay Surplus $ 300,000 $ 300,000 $ 300,000 $ - 0.00% Waterways Fund for Harbormaster Budget $ 28,500 $ 28,500 $ - $ (28,500) -100.00% Sale of Cemetery Lots for Cemetery Budget $ 22,000 $ 22,000 $ 25,000 $ 3,000 13.64% Budgeted Transfer from Water/Sewer fund $ 994,226 $ 1,037,517 $ 1,087,000 $ 49,483 4.77% Budgeted transfer from Storm Water fund $ 55,994 $ 57,678 $ 62,000 $ 4,322 7.49% Certified Free Cash* $ 4,254,608 $ 2,025,325 $ - $ (2,025,325) -100.00% Storm Water Debt Service $ - $ - $ 64,771 $ 64,771 100.00% Transfer to Override Stabilization Reserve $ - $ - 0.00% TOTAL OTHER SOURCES $ 5,755,074 $ 3,577,170 $ 1,650,771 $ (1,926,399) -53.85% May 1, 2025 Ways & Means Committee 7 of 11 Councilors asked questions about Local Receipts and PILOT agreements. Director Esmond stated the town is looking at making changes to current agreements including Massport and BELD who are supportive of some possible changes. Councilors asked for a schedule of the PILOT payments. Chairwoman Boericke asked about the local receipts for meals, hotel, excise taxes and if they are including new growth due to possible new developments. Director Esmond stated no these numbers are organic, baseline growth. Director Esmond stated with the budget we try to determine opportunity and risks. A key opportunity is we do have development but in FY26 is uncertain in how much will be actualized. Certainly in the ensuing years we will be seeing the benefits of that and impact new growth tax revenue. Councilor Reynolds asked about the tax levy and why that number would not be expected again. Director Esmond stated the personal property in FY25 we used two different valuation engagements. One was solely focused on personal property and the other on real estate. With that targeted focus we were able to capture more personal property value year over year. The big spike was due to the efforts in FY25 and likely not repeated. We captured new growth that won’t be repeatable. Councilor Morin stated this is so much better than last year but not just because of the override but you are maintaining discipline after the override. We are being disciplined in proposed spending. We are being conservative in anticipated revenues. You are being realistic. The fact we are weaning off free cash to fund operations is exceptional in this municipal environment. We had a hard session last year. We are in significantly better shape than we were last year. Chairwoman Boericke asked about the debt services. Director Esmond stated $786,000 is associated with the Weichel settlement. Councilor Maglio asked if there is anywhere in the budget departmental grants would be showing up. Director Esmond stated generally no. Grants would be outside of the operating budget. Councilor Maglio asked where can we see that? Director Esmond stated right now we do not have an active way of displaying our grant spending from year to year. That is part of our evolution to continue to provide additional and more clear information. We are looking to make this information more available. Councilor Maglio stated I don’t have a sense of how much money is coming in based on applying for grants that are available. I am trying to get a sense of what the scope and scale of that is. Councilor Maglio stated in 2022, 23, 24 and now in 2025 I have been making the same request. We should know what opportunities are out there and how many times we applied for those opportunities and how we can capture those grant opportunities. Chairwoman Boericke requested Lorraine See, Grant Writer to come to the budget hearing with the Finance Department to understand the process, what supports are needed and what is the plan moving forward and how the applications are prioritized with limited staff. May 1, 2025 Ways & Means Committee 8 of 11 Councilor Maglio stated I would like a list of what was applied for, accepted and rejected. Chairwoman Boericke stated the budget at a glance Director Esmond provided is projecting deficits in 2026 and in 2027 $4.2 million deficit. Director Esmond stated on behalf of the mayor, it is really important to be transparent. The structural challenge municipalities face is out there in front of all of us. We need to weigh challenges against the opportunities. We have not yet captured the benefit of development in this. We will as we get more clarity and it will help these numbers. FY2026 Town Council Susan Cimino, Clerk of the Council explained the Braintree Town Council is the legislative branch of government, with a nine-member body elected every even-numbered year. The Council represents Braintree’s residents, pass ordinances, approve certain Mayoral appointments, and has the power to approve or disapprove the Mayor’s budget appropriations. The Council can reduce the Mayor’s budget but cannot increase it. The Council’s budget provides for the following: • Salary for full time Clerk of the Council • Stipends for the nine members (Election for Councilors - November 2025 – don’t know who will be here) • Allocation to provide for the Town’s required outside audit (CBIZ) • Allocation for our Town Auditor, who reports to the Town Council (CLA) (reduced $2,500) • Advertising fee covers the cost of required Legal Notices for Public Hearings • Conference fees for the Massachusetts Municipal Association (Dues/Membership/Subscriptions) • Cell phone for Clerk of the Council • Line items Printing, Office Supplies, and Meetings include business cards, supplies, documents, printer cartridges, and everything necessary to conduct council meetings Since FY2019, the Town Council’s budget has been reduced. The Council had a Reserve Fund and a Consultant Fund which were available to cover legal consultation, feasibility studies or other unforeseen expenses but they were both reduced to ZERO over the years and eliminated due to lack of funding. The FY2026 Town Council Budget is reduced by $1,750. (one thousand seven hundred fifty dollars) Decrease Town Auditor – to $62,500 from $65,000 in FY25 (decreased $2,500 per the request of the Council President with a 4 year average spend) Increase Dues/Membership/Subscriptions - to $3,000 from $2,250 to cover MMA costs that have increased. (added $750 to this line item to allow for personnel to attend the MMA yearly conference as costs have risen) Councilor Maglio stated the Clerk of the Council collaborates and works with 9 members of the Council. There are no other staff assisting. You as an individual professional staff the council, coordinate the meetings, coordinate the materials, provide the formal processes, the parliamentary procedure decisions, discretion of May 1, 2025 Ways & Means Committee 9 of 11 calls/information and privy to every single email that we send that goes to the mayor’s office and then back through you to all of us. That is all you without any assistant, intern or part-timer. Chairwoman Boericke explained the councilors have day jobs and we count on our Clerk of the Council to keep everything running day in and day out for you the residents of Braintree so we can do our best to serve the community. Chairwoman Boericke stated for many years the Council hoped and wished for our own attorney, but we do not have the budget for that. Councilor Morin explained it is important to note we do have day jobs and that is the difference between the mayor and members of the council. We are under the Charter an equal branch. We have responsibilities to review and approve requests from the mayor, appointments as well as financial requests. The budget is developed in the mayor’s office. The review of the budget, to ensure it reflects not only the priorities of the mayor as she sees the communities priorities, but as we see the priorities of the community as well. A budget is a reflection of a community. It is the most accurate reflection of what we prioritize as a community. It is clear in the budget we do not prioritize the role of the Town Council. This is disrespectful in how this is funded. We may be guilty of not advocating enough for the needs of this council. I’m not talking about the stipend each councilor receives but given the attitude that has been expressed regarding out one staff person should be compensated, though I won’t get into the details of that. I am just putting everyone on notice that this is the last year that this is going to look like this if I have anything to do with it. We need a Reserve Fund in this budget. Our role is to respond to unforeseen and emerging circumstances not only through inter-departmental transfers but to have a Reserve Fund that is supposed to by statute be one half percent of what the operating budget of a municipality has so that we can act in emerging circumstances to move funds. That responsibility has been abdicated for several years by our government. We should not tolerate that any further. This is wrong. Other communities pay snow & ice out of it. We don’t have capacity to react without taking it away from another department or trying to find a surplus in another department. Our audit function is limited. Its great that the mayor’s office puts out a weekly announcement, my colleagues on this council, several of them do a great job of that too and they pay for it themselves. Messages councilors have getting out to the public are of equal value to that of the mayor and they should be funded as well. I am currently Chair of the Personnel Committee. I will be using that Chair to conduct hearings on how this budget can be improved so that it is respectable because it does not allow us to do the function that we were elected to do. Councilor Maglio asked where does this budget originate? Clerk of the Council stated I take the prior year’s budget and review the actuals with the Council President. The request from the mayor was all departments level fund. Director Esmond stated there was a memo dated January 6, 2025 that asked for level service. There was an opportunity for all departments to fill out a separate template for above level service or above maintenance. This is largely a level service budget. We were not able to fund lots of additional restorations or what was in the budget maybe four or five years ago. Councilor Flaherty stated we have seen the town council's budget cut before and now is being cut again. This is a recurring theme for all departments in Braintree that we support. The council is limited in its auditing capacity. It doesn’t have the ability to review things legally independent from the mayor's office even though it is our task to change or add bylaws to our existing bylaws. The council does not have a reserve fund. It is May 1, 2025 Ways & Means Committee 10 of 11 usually something the council is pretty quiet about because we do this because fundamentally we care a lot about the town and the other services like police, fire, education, and DPW are prioritized. We're reaching a point in this town where it's not just a question of whether we're going to have extras, it's a question of whether we're going to be able to perform our basic services and finding the revenue to support that. Passing the override was a critical component but it is not the end of the story. We will see it again and again during this budget where we were able to support a service and now we can’t because the funding isn’t there and finding revenue has to be one of the top priorities of this body. It continues to be a pressing problem that you will see along the way. Chairwoman Boericke asked if there was a Motion to Table to the next Committee of Ways & Means meeting. Councilor Morin made the Motion to Table Order 25 018 Motion: by Councilor Morin to Table Order 25 018 Second: by Councilor Flaherty Vote: For (5–Boericke, Morin, Flaherty, Maglio, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (0), Abstain (0) • 25 019 Mayor: FY2026 Budget – Community Preservation Committee or take up any action relative thereto Councilor Morin made the Motion to Table Order 25 019 Motion: by Councilor Morin to Table Order 25 019 Second: by Councilor Flaherty Vote: For (5–Boericke, Morin, Flaherty, Maglio, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (0), Abstain (0) • 25 020 Mayor: FY2026 Budget - Continuation of Revolving Funds or take up any action relative thereto Councilor Morin made the Motion to Table Order 25 020 Motion: by Councilor Morin to Table Order 25 020 Second: by Councilor Flaherty Vote: For (5–Boericke, Morin, Flaherty, Maglio, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (0), Abstain (0) It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 7:47p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan M. Cimino Clerk of the Council Documents provided for Meeting Budget file linked here: https://www.braintreema.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15581/FY2026-Budget-Document May 1, 2025 Ways & Means Committee 11 of 11