Wayland officials propose halving OPEB payment to balance FY21 budget

WAYLAND -- August 17, 2020, Wayland weighs cutting OPEB contribution in half to plug COVID-era revenue gap. Finance Director Brian Keveny told the Select Board on Aug. 17 that the ambulance, Children's Way and full-day kindergarten revolving funds are each tracking roughly $50,000 short on their general-fund transfers, and proposed reducing the town's OPEB contribution from $500,000 to $250,000 to keep taxes flat ahead of the Sept. 12 annual town meeting. The OPEB trust holds about $19.1 million, and Keveny said both Odyssey Advisors and Hilltop Securities indicated Moody's would not penalize the town for a one-year reduction. Town Administrator Louise Miller said roughly $250,000 in new school facilities costs and a 15 percent jump in school utility costs, about $160,000, are not fully covered by the town's $1.2 million in CARES funding. Miller also proposed a new $120,000 capital line for COVID-related school ventilation work, funded by cuts to an Old Sudbury Road design request and a high school sound system request. No vote was taken; the article returns Aug. 24.