08/14/2025 FINANCE COMMITTEE Minutes

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FINCOM-Regular Session August 14,2025 Town Manager Rodney Collins cautioned that the departments are encouraged to return unused funds to help the town avoid operating overrides. A signiﬁcant reduction in expected turnbacks could result in a lean ﬁscal year. However, he acknowledged the unpredictability of special education needs and supported an open and honest discussion on the topic with the Superintendent. Chair Je?rey Pettengill added that depending on how much of the reserve is used, there may be years when little to no surplus returns to the town. He expressed conﬁdence in the new leadership within the school department, stressing the importance of ﬁscal responsibility and building a budget that anticipates continued growth in special education costs. Anne Schnader noted that the district currently serves 1,488 students overall, with approximately 13 requiring costly out-of-district placements. Even just three students in high-cost placements (e.g., $300,000 each) could result in $1 million in unanticipated expenses. Discussion of Reserve from the FY2026 Estimated Community Preservation Revenues (Article 3) Dawn Thayer, Mashpee’s Director of Finance, attended the meeting to talk about Article 3, which calls for reserving $1,314,443 from the Town’s estimated FY2026 Community Preservation Act (CPA) revenues, in accordance with state law (M.G.L. c.44B, §6). She explained how the CPA reserve amount is calculated each year through a required submission to the state’s Gateway system. Once the data is submitted, the state provides the o?icial match estimate in the spring. While the CPA initially o?ered a 100% state match when it was ﬁrst created, that percentage has gone down as more towns have joined the program. For FY2025, Mashpee is expecting a state match of about $1.18 million, after factoring in any abatements. This amount is based on a formula tied to the state trust fund, which includes a multiplier (for example, 1.17 times the local contribution). Dawn also shared that in May, the Community Preservation Committee approved a $50,000 budget for FY2026, which satisﬁes the required 10% allocation. The rest of the CPA funds, after that set-aside, can be used for any eligible purpose Discussion of Zoning Bylaw Changes – Article 7 (S174-24 C 9(g)) Town Planner Brian Tobin presented proposed changes to the Zoning Bylaws under Section 174-24 C 9(g), related to Special Permit Use – Land. The proposed amendment, brought forward by the Planning Board Chair and drafted by Tobin, would remove the current bylaw provision that allows property owners to add land to a development and continue under the zoning bylaws in e?ect at the time the original special permit was issued. Under the