The May meeting of the Budget Committee saw a presentation from Town Administrator Roy Sorenson regarding the town’s affiliation with Municipal Resources, Inc. (MRI).
“They’re a private company that supports local governments for things like recruiting, hiring, training, and things of that nature,” Sorenson explained. “We’re under contract for a mentoring, I guess training, which was set up for the Fire Department, and I was asked for quarterly reports that were due by member Cole.”
Over the past two months, Budget Committee member Bill Cole has called for greater accountability over town-wide spending, specifically regarding MRI, a company Hudson has previously utilized. Sorenson reported that a few quarterly invoices and reports were combined due to the recent retirement of the last Town Administrator Steve Malizia.
“With myself taking this position and Steve Malizia retiring, there was a gap there,” said Sorenson.
Hoping to resolve criticism over exaction related to the Target Logistics Center, Board of Selectmen Liaison Xen Vurgaropulos tried to give a more in-depth explanation of the process.
“On the Board, we had a discussion on the exactions from Target,” he said. “Everything has been reviewed, and we are in no legal grey area for accepting any of the exactions, so there is a mechanism to accept all of that.”
Such a finding stood in contrast to several previous accusations by several members of the Budget Committee, who argued that such payouts should not be classified as an “exaction.”
“Get yourself a copy of the notice of approval dated Jan. 27, 2023, from the Planning Board, and this is the document that governs the exactions and has them listed,” said Committee member Bill Cole, who wanted the Selectmen to take a closer look at the issue.
School Board Liaison Dan Kilgore reported that the School District was at a little over 90% of its expected budget for 2024-2025, which is set to wrap up at the end of June.
“Do you guys have a projected end of year fund balance?” asked Committee member Rich Weissgarber.
Kilgore did not have such a projection but promised to ask about it. Following a question by Committee member Kevin Walsh over “erratic” numbers, Kilgore also pledged to take a closer look at several past budget reports before the next meeting.
“I’m just looking at four pages of summaries for the last several months and the numbers seem to be bouncing around,” said Walsh.
With several outstanding questions and the coming end of the fiscal year, Chair James Lawrence asked to see Superintendent Daniel Moulis at the Budget Committee’s next meeting.
“We heard from Administrator Sorenson on the town side,” said Lawrence. “Unless someone has an objection, I’d like to ask Dr. Moulis and his team to come to our August meeting and bring relevant information from the school district. As a courtesy, I’d like to request that this committee get forwarded a copy of that information at least a couple of weeks in advance.”
Kilgore agreed to ask Moulis and had no problem with sending any relevant information to the Budget Committee.
The next meeting of the Hudson Budget Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 6, at 7 p.m. in the Buxton Room of Town Hall.
