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Date: 7/6/2022
EAST LONGMEADOW – Finance Director and Town Accountant Stephen Lonergan brought year-end financial issues to the East Longmeadow Town Council on June 27.
Lonergan said 2022, “has been a challenging year,” largely due to inflation – currently at 8 percent – and the fact that the coronavirus pandemic is still winding down. He thanked the town’s department heads for remaining conservative in their budgets.
Several end-of-year items required a vote from the council, all of which passed. The trash bags used by the town have increased in price from $1.15 in fiscal year 2022 (FY22) to $2 in FY23. Lonergan pointed out that the price has not changed since 2005.
Free cash transfers were needed to cover some end-of-year deficits. The relatively small amount of $52.50 was transferred to pay for a balance not covered by a travel enforcement grant. Work on a water main at Ridge Road and East Circle went over budget and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding allocated for it was short by roughly $5,700.
Town Clerk Jeannie Quaglietti recently discovered that an overcharge was occurring on flammable storage permits for three entities in town. She explained that the initial fees are calculated based on the flammable storage capacity and the annual renewal should be half of the original fee. Due to an administrative error, the three parties were charged the full initial fee annually upon renewal for between 11 and 19 years, depending on the permit. The overcharges totaled $2,640. Lonergan asked for that amount to be transferred from free cash to rectify the discrepancy and Quaglietti reached out to the involved parties to make them whole.
Other required budgetary transfers included $175,000 for snow and ice removal and $130,000 for unexpected costs related to contracts and inflation, most of which was taken from the reserve fund.
On a positive note, $171,819, left over from closed capital projects, will transfer back into the general fund.
Town manager goals
Councilor Kathleen Hill reviewed suggested goals for the incoming town manager who will be taking over for Mary McNally in July. Of the 24 suggestions, several goals were mentioned by more than one councilor, including the expansion of office space for town employees, acquiring a grant writer, more frequent communication with the council and residents maintaining a fiscally conservative budget and improving employee morale.
It was suggested that the goals should be boiled down to three or four priorities. “We certainly wouldn’t want to drown the new manager with 24 goals,” Town Council President Michael Kane said.
Hill noted that the creation of a viable budget in the best interest of the town is a large part of the town manager’s job and, therefore, should not need to be spelled out. Instead, she spoke in favor of having the town manager tackle the office space issue, which has been ongoing for well over a year, and bringing in a grant writer. Councilor Connor O’Shea and Kane agreed.
Town Council Vice President Ralph Page suggested waiting until the contract with the new town manager is finalized before adopting that person’s expected goals. Hill agreed and said there is some “breathing room,” between now and when the manager will need to undertake the suggested goals.
The vote was tabled until the new town manager is under contract. On a related topic, the contract of Ronald San Angelo as the new town manager was slated to be discussed in the council’s executive session that same evening.