Finance Committee raises solar fund cap to $1 million, concurs with police overtime transfer

WESTON — July 11, 2019 — Weston Finance Committee lifts solar revolving fund cap to $1 million and starts a 20-year capital model. Members on July 11 unanimously concurred with a $10,000 year-end transfer from the debt service exclusion to police salaries for overtime, and raised the solar array revenue revolving fund spending limit from $700,000 to $1 million after receipts hit $699,000 through May. Staff said roughly $586,000 in unused reserves will return to free cash. Architect Adrienne, representing the Friends of the Josiah Smith Tavern, told members the restoration design is at 90 percent with Historic New England approval pending an easement addendum, ahead of a Sept. 10 Community Preservation Committee application and a likely November Town Meeting vote on a project last estimated at roughly $11 million plus a $2 million contingency. Members said the town "considers everything one-off" and directed a working group to build a 20- to 30-year capital and tax-impact model. The town administrator also proposed moving the annual budget hearing from the week before Town Meeting into January or February.