The Finance Committee met on Tuesday, April 28. See the video. Budget materials can be found on the City’s website.
Comptroller (report)
Comptroller Steve Curley presented his department’s budget. He described the office’s focus on financial compliance, noting that Newton was the first community with a budget over $130–140 million to submit Free Cash for certification. He outlined ongoing process improvements, including vendor self-service, contract module implementation, utility billing updates, streamlined Human Resource processes, and police detail billing integration. He noted that the $151,000 operating budget is largely tied to contracts for auditing and actuarial services, and that the office recently obtained cyber insurance for $50,000 annually. Property insurance increased by 15% due to buildings being undervalued relative to replacement costs and rising market rates. The retirement budget is $61.9 million, with just under $45,000,000 for pension contributions, $12,800,000 for retiree health insurance, and the remaining funds for other retiree reimbursements. Starting this year, all departments’ Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) contributions flow through the Comptroller’s office.
Councilors asked about the absence of reserve funds in recent years (explained as transfers to other departments). Lemieux responded that the wage reserve is for all departments without a settled contract and stated that it has been reduced because many contracts have been settled, with funds remaining for the Parking Control Officers Union, Engineering, and the Department of Public Works (DPW) Union, and the Patrolmen’s Union for 2024-2027. Councilors also asked about the snow and ice reserve (which was increased for the DPW budget and kept the same for the Comptroller’s budget), and the cost of the annual audit (which is just over $100,000). A councilor asked about the employee honesty bond, which Curley explained insures certain employees against illegal monetary activity as required by law.
A “Councilor asked what drove the decision not to self-insure retiree health. Ms. Lemieux stated that the decision reduced the OPEB liability by $88,000,000 and allowed the City to no longer take on the risk of the actual cost of claims for retirees.”
“The Committee took a straw vote to accept the Comptroller Department’s Budget of $67,918,830, the supplemental CIP, and the CIP, which passed unanimously.”
Treasury (report)
City Treasurer/Collector Ronald Mendes presented the Treasury Department’s budget. He described the department’s three functions: state assessments, debt service, and operations. The 10-person operational staff has an average tenure of 8 years. The only requested expense increase is for in-state conferences. Mendes said the department’s overarching goal is to continue advancing the use of technology, including 24/7 account access and AI-assisted customer service, if resources allow.
Councilors asked about the new second-language professional stipend ($500 for employees fluent in a second language who use those skills in customer service — currently two Russian speakers and one Spanish speaker in Treasury); why parking ticket payments go to California (the payment vendor is based there); the MBTA intergovernmental transfer of approximately $6 million (a tax charged by the MBTA); and the increase in full-time salaries (a determination by the Mayor’s office that the Comptroller and Treasurer deserved greater increases). The Department’s physical mail is sent to homeowners, who can now sign up to receive electronic bills, though only 1,000 residents out of 30,000 parcels have done so.
“The Committee took a straw vote to accept the Treasury Department’s Budget of $41,024,906, the supplemental CIP, and the CIP, which passed unanimously.”
Present: Councilors Grossman (Chair), Bixby, Charm, Greenberg, Malakie, Micley, and Silber. Absent: Councilor Krintzman.
City staff: Steve Curley, Comptroller; Stela Zaloshnja, Deputy Comptroller; Maureen Lemieux, CFO; Doug Botelho, Manager of Financial Services; Trevor Goehring, Financial Analyst II; Endrit Poreci, Senior Analyst; Karen Munro, Acting Chief Procurement Officer; Sam Nighman, Co-Director of Sustainability; Shin-Yi Lao, Commissioner of Health & Human Services; Greg Gentile, Fire Chief; Drew Willison, City Clerk; Kelly Byrne.