Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Local finance committee members are invited to the Association of Town Finance Committees’ Annual Meeting on Oct. 18 at the Sharon Community Center.
The meeting will feature four educational workshops, running concurrently during two time slots.
The first session will feature “Finance Committee and Budgeting 101,” and a session on health care costs.
The second session will feature a revenue and expenditure forecasting workshop, and a session focused on Proposition 2½ overrides.
The opening speaker will be Quentin Palfrey, director of the Commonwealth’s Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office. Palfrey will focus on the impact of federal spending reductions on local budgets.
The 2025 edition of the Finance Committee Handbook will be released at the meeting.
The meeting will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and all local officials are welcome to attend.
The cost is $65 for dues-paying ATFC finance committee members and $75 for nonmember finance committee members and all other local officials.
8:15 – 9 a.m.
Registration, Breakfast and Networking
9 – 9:30 a.m.
President’s Welcome and Business Meeting
• Melinda Tarsi-Goldfien, Mansfield Finance Committee Member
• Adam Chapdelaine, MMA Executive Director
9:30 – 10:15 a.m.
Quentin Palfrey, Director of Federal Funds and Infrastructure, Executive Office for Administration and Finance
10:30- 11:45 a.m
Concurrent Workshops I
Budgeting 101
Designed for new finance committee members, this session will provide a roadmap for building consensus by showing how best to organize and present your community’s financial information.
• John Coderre, Town Administrator, Ashburnham
Moderator: Mary McBride, ATFC Director and Billerica Finance Committee
Taming the Health Care Budget: What Finance Committees Need to Know
Managing the rising cost of health insurance remains a persistent challenge for towns working to balance tight budgets while meeting the needs of employees and retirees. This workshop is tailored for Finance Committee members who help guide fiscally responsible and sustainable health care decisions.
This session will examine current trends in municipal health care costs, explore plan design options, and discuss how these changes can be negotiated with Public Employee Groups (PEGs). Attendees will gain practical insights and actionable ideas to help their committee make informed, cost-conscious choices.
• Chris Bailey, Director, Health Benefits Trust, Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA)
Moderator: Ira Miller, ATFC Past President and Sharon Finance Committee
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.
Concurrent Workshops II
A Tale of Two (or Three) Overrides
As a rising number of communities face Proposition 2½ override votes, this session will provide insights into communities that have recently voted on an override. These case studies will highlight lessons learned from the process and the outcome of the votes.
Moderator: Bill Stuart, ATFC Director and Rockland Finance Committee
Revenue and Expenditure Forecasting
This session will approach multi-year planning as a valuable tool for towns in the difficult financial environment of today as well as more normal times. Planning revenue, operating expenses, capital expenditures and their impact on three- to five-year scenarios will be reviewed. The relationship of these expenditures to the planning and use of various reserve funds, such as free cash, overlay and stabilization funds, will also be discussed.
• Al Tosti, ATFC Treasurer and Arlington Finance Committee
• Jamie Farnum, Project Manager, Division of Local Services
Location
Sharon Community Center, 219 Massapoag Ave, Sharon
Contact
MMA Senior Member Program Coordinator Denise Baker
Association of Town Finance Committees
Registration
Register