Bob Stevenson. Welcome, sir. >> Thank you very much. >> We're happy to have you. Look forward to serving, >> especially since they're short. Okay. Uh, first order of the agenda is uh any reordering,
uh, deletions or emergency additions? Was there any? >> Oh, emergency additions. >> No, no emergencies. Sorry about that, folks. So, moving on. I would like to hear a
motion to approve the minutes from our last meeting on January 13th. So, move. >> Okay, Bob. Second. >> So, move. >> Okay, John. All in favor? I. All right. So, now Christine, you get uh
the the podium. >> Good morning. So, I'm Christine Ran if we haven't met before. I'm the audit partner who oversaw your financial statement audit for fiscal year 25. So, this is the year ending September 30th, 2025. I have Tanya with me. She was the
senior in charge of the audit. So, she was the one really in charge of making sure all the testing got done on time. Um, I'm just going to take you high level through the statements. I know you've already all read them all and gotten drafts, so we're not going to go page by page, but you do have a clean audit opinion. So, that is the opinion
that you do want to receive. Um, on page 22, if you wanted to follow along, your general fund fund balance increased by $165,000 this year. So, if you compared it to
last year, your revenues increased 897,000. 798,000 of that was property taxes due to increased value. Your expenditures were up 1.85 million. This was mostly a capital outlay for
your public safety building renovations and purchasing a new ambulance cuz the last one caught on fire. And then your um general government increased um 400,000. This was mostly salaries for new hires with raises and then also some
attorney fees. So again, you have a positive increase in your fund balance of 165,000. Your other funds are all non- major now. So previously you had some um others. So you'll see those adjustment columns. So we have to show them now as zero with
the adjustments and then moving them over into non- major. Um so if you want to look at them in detail, there's a combining schedule on page 96. But your planning and zoning fund which is now non- major, it decreased $81,000
um for your revenue. Mostly there's just less permits this year. So you have a net change in fund balance for planning and zoning of 150,000. Your ARPA fund, you spent everything that was left, so it's all done. You
don't have to worry about trying to get the last bit spent anymore. And your road and bridge fund had a positive $19,000 in fund balance, very consistent with previous years. So in addition to having all the fun of moving from major to non- major, you
also implemented Gazsby 101, which is related to compensated absences. So that's why you will see a prior period adjustment. So it required you to retroactively restate the opening liability um and also do the change. So it wasn't the prior adjustment was on
error. It was because of a standards change. So it increased your liability by 234,000. So instead of what I would call the normal way of recording your liabilities of what you'll pay out when someone terminates, you also have to estimate
how much they are going to use of their balances. So now you're estimating the sick time that they have acrewed that they will use before they leave even though it's not paid out upon termination. >> Yeah. >> So Heather, how how do you go about
that? >> I did I went back through historically and seeing what people use as throughout their life. And I I had to look at the sick leave banks and I had to estimate what gets used first, what gets paid out. So, it was actually a lot more detailed than I thought it was going to
be when I first did it. >> Do you do it based on age? >> No, I just do it based off historical. I grabbed what we've used historically and I applied it. As we get more information going down the line, I can tighten up that estimate, but it is purely an estimate. >> Yeah.
>> Okay. Thanks. >> Yeah. Um, we did not have any findings. Again, Heather does an excellent job. So, there's no issues or findings, recommendations. Um, we passed out to you those financial indicators.
Um, overall, you're inconclusive. That's very normal, typical. So, basically, nothing is going way up, way down that anyone is concerned about how the town is doing. There was only one um unfavorable indicator and it was really
because the first year of the 5-year trend was before leases and sabidas were considered debt payments. So you had zero in year one and now you have operating leases and sabidas are debt payments. So now you have debt payments. So that's why it's unfavorable. But
really those those were all in existence. They just weren't categorized as that 5 years ago. So, um, financially, you're all very healthy and sound. Um, Heather can talk about all the fun with the property taxes and what that may do,
but other than that, um, I don't there's nothing in your financials that would cause any alarm. And there really isn't anything majorly significant that'll impact with the Gazsbies next year. There's a little bit with the reporting standards, um, but nothing that's going to have a major impact on your
financials. >> Okay. Thanks. So, John, do you have any specific questions? >> I do not. >> Okay. Bob, >> no. >> Ron. >> Nor do I. I tell you, the um the fact that we have fully funded uh or more
than fully funded pensions, I think sets us apart all by itself. So anyway, I'd like to again commend Heather for all she does and Christine for all your help. >> Thank you. >> So, >> um, we just need a recommendation to
move forward. >> Right. So, I'll ask for that now. Does somebody want to recommend that we accept? And >> yes, >> okay, John. >> Yes. >> Second, Bob. Okay. All in favor? >> I Okay, we're good. Record time.
Okay. So, we've got a few things else on the agenda. Um, we need two finance committee members to sit on the audit. Are you going to talk about that? >> Yeah, if you don't mind. Um, we are at the end of our contract with car rigs.
So, we have to follow state statute on the auditor selection committee and we are presenting it to the council this month, but we want to kind of get a jump start because we might not meet again until May here. So, we wanted to know who would like to volunteer to sit on
the committee. In the past, we had it's done probably between April and July is the time frame because the committee members would talk, but we have to have one council member chair the committee
and in the past we've selected two other members to sit on that. So that is and what we will do is you are the selection committee. We have to follow state statutes on how we present it, how we do the points on it. I will draft for your sake. I can be an advisory. So I will
draft it underneath the current standards and what's required and then the committee will review it and make recommendations and then we will submit it out for bid and then when the bids come in you will you would review them, rank them and then we would present that
to town council for selection. >> Okay. Uh I was on the committee in the past, but uh if it runs out until July, we've got a uh I'll say a der of folks here.
But if uh if we can get it done by the end of May, >> I don't because we are not going to even be able to start until April. We would it would be tight. I I want to be honest
with that because you would issue it. You want to give enough time because we have to review the proposals or sorry review the RFP first and excuse me I apologize. They um then you have to send it out and you need to give
enough time for questions. You usually want to give 30 days for that. So, even if we get it out by April 15th, you're talking May 15th to receive the RFPs and then still have time to review or do interviews. So, it would be tight to get
on May 31st. >> So, John, when when do you leave? >> We leave uh uh mid June. >> Mid June. Oh, then you might be able to squeak in. >> I might I might be able to squeak it in. >> Bob, >> uh I guess I'm not sure. So, it'd be better to have somebody else.
>> New guy. I could come back for meetings. I would be gone, but I could come back. >> Okay. Well, that's uh um Mr. Havlin used to do that routinely when he was on the committee. He he'd come down from Rhode Island. So, um Okay. Well, in in that
case, I'll volunteer myself. And >> Rob, >> I will I will and we will present that to the council at the March meeting. So they can still change their minds on how they want to set it up, but I believe they'll try to follow precedents on how we do the audit selection committee. So
>> okay, >> I appreciate it. And the count and the committee sets the dates for the meetings so you could we can work together with that and so you can schedule everything. >> I assume you need I assume you need in person. >> Yes, it is. It is um they are open
meetings. They have to be so you have to have a quorum >> present. Yep. Any other questions? >> Do we need to vote on that or just >> We'll just make a consensus on this. >> I'm fine with the consensus, >> Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Rox.
>> So, you were going to talk about budget, too. >> Yes, we are now in our budget process. So, I'm just kind of giving an update. We are targeting May near the end of May to get the budget from departments because I do know everyone wants to head
out for the summer. So that is our target goal. I don't have a date yet. We're It'll probably be like the last week of May if that is feasible for finance committee. >> Okay. Works for May. >> Works for me. >> I think I think that's good. >> Okay. >> Yeah.
>> Okay. So, we will as we get a little bit closer, I'll have Janice reach out and we will schedule an official date >> and get it and I'll get it out to everybody as soon as I can. >> Great. >> And if anyone has any questions about the financial statements in further detail, please let me know. I'll help
however I can. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> I think we're good. Okay. Call to the audience. Anybody out there want to say anything? All right. In that case, I'm going to adjourn the meeting. Thank you. Oh.