Finance Committee launches working groups on OPEB, school costs and debt

WESTON — March 8, 2018 — Weston Finance Committee launches three working groups targeting OPEB, school per-pupil costs and town debt. Town Finance Director Pete Tagiamonte proposed convening an advisory group with Town Manager Susan Kelley, a Select Board representative and a Commissioners of Trust Funds member to reevaluate the $16 million OPEB trust and its manager, Bartholomew & Co., against Rockland Trust, Morgan Stanley and passive alternatives. One member pegged the current fee drag at roughly 110 basis points — about $175,000 a year — calling it "completely obvious that we should be using a Vanguard or Fidelity's comparable fund." Members also formalized a summer collaboration with School Committee member Danielle Black to decompose Weston's roughly $26,000 per-pupil cost against peer towns near $18,000. DPW Director Steve Ivas presented a $100,000 roadway reconstruction increase plus a planned $400,000 Select Board add-on, and a drainage capital jump from $300,000 to $450,000.