HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-04-30-SBC-min (Finance Subcommittee)School Building Finance Sub -Committee
Minutes, Meeting of Thursday, April 30, 2026
Virtual Meeting
2:00 PM
This was a public meeting of the Finance Subcommittee of the School Building Committee, held via
Zoom
Members: Jonathan Himmel (Permanent Building Committee) - Chair, Mike Cronin (Facilities Director),
Carolyn Kosnoff (Assistant Town Manager Finance), Joe Pato (Select Board), Kseniya Slaysky (Resident),
Dan Voss (Resident)
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Jonathan Himmel at 2:03 PM. A quorum was confirmed, with all
members present at the time of roll call.
2. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes
• The prior meeting minutes were reviewed.
• Motion: Carolyn Kosnoff moved to approve the minutes.
• Second: Mike Cronin.
• Vote: Approved unanimously.
3. Monthly Financial Review Cadence and Scheduling
• Discussion focused on aligning the committee's meeting cadence with the project's monthly
requisition, payment, and reporting cycles.
• Key points:
o Turner typically initiates requisitions around the 28th of each month.
o Preparation and consolidation of invoices (OPM, designer, others) may require
additional time after requisition.
o Kseniya Slaysky recommended targeting the third Thursday of each month to allow
sufficient time for package preparation and meaningful review.
o Clarified that the committee's role is review and oversight, not approval, and
should not delay payment processing.
• Consensus emerged that meeting timing should follow finance approval but occur before
public reporting or MSBA submission.
4. Payment Processing and MSBA Reimbursement
• Finance processes invoices through a biweekly warrant cycle; timing depends on when
complete packages are received.
• Municipalities are statutorily allowed up to 45 days to process invoices; the Town generally
targets —30 days.
• MSBA reimbursement occurs after invoices are paid by the Town and submission is made at
month-end; MSBA review typically takes about one month.
• Clarified that MSBA does not pay vendors directly; the Town pays first and is later
reimbursed.
• Agreed that MSBA audit/review is not on the critical path to payment.
5. Dashboard and Financial Transparency Discussion
• Jonathan Himmel presented conceptual slides intended to:
o Illustrate possible dashboard layouts.
o Explore layering of information (executive summary vs. drill -down detail).
o Prompt discussion about how much financial detail should be made public.
• Discussion emphasized:
o The dashboard's primary purpose is high-level, digestible public information.
o Detailed financial records (e.g., contingencies, change orders, payment requisitions)
should not necessarily be fully public -facing, especially prior to bidding.
o The dashboard should be static on a monthly basis, with data sourced from finalized
reports.
o Oversight committees may review more detailed information offline when needed.
6. Roles and Scope Clarification
• Consensus reaffirmed that:
o This subcommittee's responsibility is financial review, and ensuring that financial
information is communicated clearly and appropriately to the public.
o The dashboard is primarily a communications tool, with finance -focused input from
this committee.
o The project dashboard is a one-off, project -specific resource, not a template for
other Town projects.
7. Dashboard Platform and Content Direction
• The existing Dore & Whittier dashboard layout was generally viewed as solid and near ready
for public release.
• The group supported an iterative approach:
o Launch with executive -level summaries.
o Add additional drill -down materials over time if appropriate.
• It was agreed that:
o Data population and updates will be handled by the OPM.
o Standards for monthly OPM (and Turner, if applicable) reports should be discussed
at a future meeting to ensure alignment with dashboard content.
• Mike Cronin noted parallel work underway to improve website searchability and add a
rotating banner for timely construction updates.
8. Next Meeting
• The next meeting was scheduled for Thursday, May 7 at 2:30 PM (adjusted for availability).
• Future meetings are expected to return to the noon time slot.
• Action item: Mike Cronin will circulate the most current version of the dashboard in
advance so members can review live materials rather than older concepts.
9. Adjournment
• The meeting was adjourned at approximately 3:04 PM by unanimous consent.
Minutes submitted by Joseph Pato drawing on Zoom transcript, Approved 5/7/2026
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