On June 9, the Mattapoisett Finance Committee met with Town Administrator Mike Lorenco to transfer funds, an annual process of balancing accounts just ahead of closing the books on FY22 and to receive updates on various grant-funded projects.
The committee voted unanimously to transfer $136,000 from the Reserve Fund to the following accounts to balance several departmental budgets.
Receiving $30,000 was the fuel account to cover escalating costs, which Lorenco said were “100 percent” more than originally anticipated. Accrued liability associated with employees departing municipal employment received $50,000 to cover unused sick and vacation days. Staff salaries in the Building Department required and received $5,000 to cover overages, and $7,500 was needed to cover additional engineering costs associated with Old Slough Road and the Police Department parking lot.
Lastly, $3,500 was transferred to cover heating costs for keeping the public bathrooms open year-round at the harbormaster’s office and for municipal grounds and building needs.
In a sidebar, Lorenco commented that at the present time there are 17 open jobs with the Town of Mattapoisett that he is seeking to fill. The positions range from the Police Department, Town Hall Accounting Department, Library and Highway Department. Employee openings are posted at Mattapoisett.net, he said.
Lorenco touched on the recently awarded fiber grant that will allow the town to establish better communications between various town departments. The town will need to pony up $8,108 for its share. He noted that the new optic fiber installation will not connect the schools, but added that a federal grant will be sought for that portion of the overall plan. Lorenco added that due to material delays, the anticipated interconnect start date will be sometime in March 2024. The committee voted to transfer the matching grant money.
Lorenco said the town has the potential for being $800,000 under budget when all data is tallied and that as much as $1,000,000 will be available in free cash once the FY22 books are closed. He said that another sum of approximately $1,800,000 is anticipated from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and that the Select Board has not made any decisions on how those monies should be used. He pointed out the ARPA funds were to be used primarily for infrastructural projects such as the replacement of the sewer line over the Eel Pond breach.
The Mattapoisett Finance Committee will now suspend meetings until late August or early September pending a possible Fall Town Meeting in November.
Mattapoisett Finance Committee
By Marilou Newell