BOF reviews policies, looks to increase unassigned fund balance
It’s been a while since the Board of Finance (BOF) last reviewed Stafford’s financial policies—nearly a decade, in fact. So, at the September 24, 2026, meeting the BOF started the process of a full review, starting with a few key policies, such as those governing the reserve balance in the General Fund and opening and governing accounts.
Back in June of 2025, Stafford Free Press reported, “The ongoing battle over Stafford Public Schools' self-insurance fund took an unexpected turn earlier this month when the Board of Finance (BOF) decided to take $700,000 out of the fund to partially repay the General Fund for the $1.2 million the town says it has contributed since 2021. Now, the Board of Education (BOE) is abandoning the town controlled account and opening its own.” This, predictably, triggered a response from the Town, and the wrangling over a new policy to control when and how bank accounts can be opened began. More than a year later, with the help of Interim Director of Finance Lynn Nenni and Sheri Davis, Director of Finance and Operations for the school district, there’s finally a policy everyone can agree on.
It’s a long policy, which you can read in full here, but the gist is that the Town must approve new bank accounts that will hold town appropriated funds, among other factors.
The unassigned portion of the General Fund has also long been a source of consternation. Back when Stafford Free Press first started reporting, the unassigned balance fell below the Town’s own policies. The Board of Selectmen—which consisted of Sal Titus, Kurt Vail, and Rick Hartenstein at the time—wanted to fix the ongoing issue with ARPA Funds. The ARPA Commission, however, shot that down. That all transpired in September of 2023. Since then, the Board of FInance, First Selectmen Bill Morrison, and a string of CFOs for the Town have set about bringing the unassigned balance back into compliance with its own policy, which called for the General Fund to hold about 10-14% of the budget. Back in 2023 that would be $4.4 million on the low-end but estimates at the time put the unassigned balance at just $2.8 million.
The Town has managed to come back into compliance with the policy, but now it’s looking to the future. Is that 10-14% enough? And how do you keep the Town from depleting that reserve again?
That spurred quite a bit of debate, and also led to a discussion of the difference between an unassigned balance and a Capital Improvement Project fund. Generally, the unassigned balance is for emergencies—and impacts the Town’s bond rating—while Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funds are for planned improvements and purchases. (Stafford Free Press explored this in more depth a couple of years ago—learn more here.)
Nenni suggested increasing the unassigned balance range to 12-17%, saying that creditors like to see a higher unassigned balance in municipalities where it's hard to get a budget passed. She also noted that it’s a good idea when there is no CIP policy.
The next question is then, “How do we reach that goal?” Nenni said increased revenue has helped the Town build its unassigned balance up over the past few years. Of course, that’s luck rather than policy. So, in this year’s budget the Town built in a $60,000 contingency line. If that money isn’t used, it can go into the General Fund. Over time, the Town can continue to build that reserve. Still, discussion ensued about at what point the Town would stop building that into the budget, and if a CIP fund should also be added into the policies and planning.
Expect the discussion to continue over the coming weeks and months as the BOF digs deeper into the policies.
