Finance Committee approves $3 million in free cash transfers to Marlborough reserves

MARLBOROUGH -- February 18, 2021, Marlborough Finance Committee unanimously advances $3 million in free cash transfers and a new Conservation Commission stipend. The committee voted 5-0 on each of five orders Thursday, including matched $1,504,785.40 transfers from free cash into the OPEB trust and the undesignated stabilization fund. Mayor Arthur Vigeant said the moves push OPEB above $12 million against a "huge liability out there of over $100 million" and stabilization above $15 million. Council President Michael Ossing said stabilization will sit "just a little over 9 percent" of the roughly $185 million budget, within his "7 to 11 percent" target. The committee also recommended amending Chapter 125-6 to pay Conservation Commission members $150 per meeting effective April 1, with a $3,150 transfer from summer employment funds to cover the final quarter of FY21. A $39,447 mid-year departmental transfer was also approved, well below FY20's $839,902.