Wayland Select Board halves OPEB contribution to close $600,000 budget gap

WAYLAND -- September 8, 2020, Wayland Select Board halves OPEB contribution to close a $600,000 shortfall. The board voted 5-0 Tuesday to revise Article 4 of the annual town meeting warrant, funding the retiree-benefits trust at $258,404 instead of the previously planned $500,000, with $250,000 from the tax levy and $8,404 from four enterprise and revolving funds. Town Administrator Louise Miller told the board the gap reflects roughly $100,000 less in state aid, $50,000 in ambulance-receipts timing and about $450,000 in lost revenue from school revolving funds, including full-day kindergarten enrollment that collapsed under remote learning. Miller and Finance Director Brian Keveney proposed swapping $350,000 of cash capital for free cash so tax-levy dollars can backfill the operating budget without "eroding the tax base." Finance Committee Chair Carol Martin said the approach is "absolutely the right way to use free cash." The board separately approved, 5-0, a police union MOU with a first-year cost of roughly $48,700 that caps comp time at 40 hours.