The Hudson Budget Committee met on June 3 for what became a wide ranging discussion on transparency, documentation, and communication between the town, the School District, and the committee itself.
The meeting opened with public input from resident Kelly Santos, who thanked the committee for its recent scrutiny of both the town and school budgets following concerns raised during recent financial audits.
“I do see the problem as two pronged,” Santos said. “I think it’s not solely falling on the school district either. The town needs to be held accountable also.” She referenced the discovery of just under $1 million in “missing” money from the School District’s budget an issue that has fueled public frustration and prompted calls for stronger oversight. “I give grace to human error. I think it was a mistake, but it was a mistake on the school and town side, so let’s hold everyone accountable.”
Santos urged the School Board to adopt greater transparency practices, echoing concerns the Budget Committee has raised for months. She said residents deserve clearer, more accessible financial information, especially after the audit findings.
Selectmen Liaison Xen Vurgaropulos acknowledged that responsibility for the budgeting issues did not fall on one entity alone.
“On the incident you’re speaking about, yes, there was fault on both sides,” he said. “Since then, the Board of Selectmen has taken action and directed the town to put in some checks and balances.”
Vurgaropulos explained that the Selectmen are reviewing policies to improve how financial information is presented and shared. The goal, he said, is to make documents easier for officials and residents to understand and search.
“We’re trying to standardize the formatting, to standardize the format and number system and everything,” he said. “Ultimately, we’re looking to make it so that these are much easier to search. The goal is to have all of this online to search for in some manner, though I don’t yet know how that’s going to look.”
The committee then turned to a recurring frustration: the lack of printed budget materials from the School Board. Several members said they have repeatedly requested paper copies but have yet to receive any.
“We have asked the district to provide the stuff in paper form,” said Committee member Robert Everett. “We got what was it 80 pages last month from the town. I’ve been on this committee three months, and we still haven’t had any pages provided to us from the School Board. I’m old school.”
Vice-Chair Kim Rice agreed. “I too am old school,” she said. “I also want some printed copies.”
Committee member Shawn Jasper said the district has staff capable of producing the documents and that the lack of printed materials is becoming a serious obstacle.
“We should have those. This has to stop, or it’s going to be an ugly budget season, at least from my standpoint,” Jasper said. “I don’t want 300 pages or anything I think they can be summarized pretty well. On the town side especially, it’s not as complicated. But I really don’t like the emailed versions.”
Jasper also reminded the committee that written reports should come from both the town and the School District, noting that budget issues exist on both sides of the financial process.
School Board Liaison Dan Kilgour acknowledged the oversight and took responsibility.
“I simply dropped the ball on that one,” Kilgour said. “I apologize to each and every single one of you. I will make every attempt in the future to have something here.”
Committee members said that consistent written documentation from both the town and the School District is essential for a smooth and transparent budget season. Several noted that without clear, accessible reports, misunderstandings and mistrust can grow, especially in a year already marked by audit concerns and public scrutiny.
The Hudson Budget Committee is scheduled to meet again on Wednesday, July 22, at 7 p.m. in the Buxton Room at Town Hall.
