Budget Task Force

Agendas & Minutes

Agendas are available prior to the meetings. Minutes are available following approval.

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Members

Overview

Section 1: General
The Budget Task Force shall be charged with recommending scenarios for a three to five-year sustainable fiscal plan for the Town of Lunenburg. A sustainable fiscal plan is defined as a financial forecast that uses realistic assumptions for revenue and expenditure growth that allow the Town to provide services that meet residents’ expectations and meet ongoing expenditure obligations through regularly occurring revenues. Said fiscal plan shall consider, as an example, alternative revenue sources; overrides and exclusions under proposition 2 ½; cuts in service; contracting out of services, as well as other measures. Said fiscal plan shall include both operational and capital budgets for the town. The Budget Task Force shall consult with pertinent departments as it formulates its plan.

The Budget Task Force shall present its findings and recommendations to the Select Board, Finance Committee, and School Committee no later than December 31, 2024.

Section 2: Tasks and Responsibilities

  • Collect data on revenue and expenditure historical trends, and project future estimates based on trends and various assumptions.
  • Benchmark municipal and school performance, programs, expenditures, and revenues with comparable municipalities.
  • Examine potential revenue sources; overrides and exclusions under Proposition 2 ½ as well as non-tax and non-override revenue sources in compliance with the Town Financial Policy including costs, feasibility, potential savings, and other impacts of potential adoption and implementation; cuts in service; contracting out of services, as well as other measures.
  • Evaluate strategies to properly staff municipal and school operations while managing growth of personnel costs.
  • Analyze capital project funding needs and impacts, including long term large capital projects.
  • Include both operational and capital budgets in the fiscal plan recommendations.
  • Assess the impact any increased taxes and fees will have on taxpayers and residents, including the tax impact of debt exclusions related to large capital projects under consideration.

Section 3: Membership and Meetings

  1.  The Select Board does hereby establish the Budget Task Force as a temporary working group consisting of seven (7) members:
    • Select Board, 1 representative and an optional alternate appointed by it
    • School Committee, 1 representative and an optional alternate appointed by it
    • Finance Committee, 1 representative and an optional alternate appointed by it
    • Town Manager
    • School Superintendent
    • Town Finance Director
    • School Director of Administration and Finance
  2. The Select Board shall reserve the right to continue the Budget Task Force after its task is complete in order to adjust the plan due to changing circumstances.
  3. The Budget Task Force shall meet at a time and place mutually agreeable to its membership. 
  4. Voting Power: All duly appointed members shall have full voting power.
  5. A quorum shall consist of four (4) members.\
  6. The election of officers including a Chair, Vice-Chair, and Clerk shall be by a majority vote of the Budget Task Force.
  7. The recording of minutes and votes of all meetings as prescribed by Open Meeting Law. Copies of the minutes shall be submitted to the Town Clerk as prescribed in the Town Bylaws and according to Open Meeting Law.

This charge was adopted by the Lunenburg Select Board at their June 18, 2024 meeting and may be amended at any future meeting.

Contact Us

Town Hall
17 Main Street
P.O. Box 135
Lunenburg, MA 01462
Email Budget Task Force

Related Documents

  1. 10/27/2024 Budget Task Force Memo: Audit (PDF)
  2. 12/13/2024 Budget Task Force Report with Ranked Recommendations (PDF)
  3. 12/16/2024 Budget Task Force Data Summary (PDF)