Nunes calls to reschedule Town Meeting, updates Middleboro on financial state

MIDDLEBORO – Robert Nunes asked the Select Board to move the Special Town Meeting date back in his first Middleboro Select Board meeting as interim town manager on Monday, Sept. 21. He said he is looking at rescheduling the meeting to Monday, Nov. 8.

Nunes said there were too many adjustments to make to the supplemental budget before the meeting, which was originally scheduled for Oct. 19.

“The town must get this right,” he said. “We cannot rush this important process simply to meet an arbitrary timeline.”

The Select Board will set the new date at its Sept. 28 meeting.

Nunes made the recommendation to the Select Board during a presentation updating the board and the Finance Committee on the state of Middleboro’s finances. 

He said part of the issue was that the town needed to provide $1.151 million more than previously budgeted for a Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School assessment.

During the presentation, Nunes said that the delayed fiscal year 2025 audit should be completed within the “next several months.” The consulting firm the town hired to complete the audit, CBIZ, did not give Nunes a firm end date.

“Yes, the audit is late. But more importantly, the findings will be serious,” he said.

The final report will assess issues Nunes called “very concerning,” including financial reporting practices and debt. The town’s switch to a new financial reporting system in the middle of the financial year has caused some of the delays.

The town’s bond rating could decrease if the audit continues to be delayed, Nunes said. This would potentially lead to higher borrowing costs. The town’s bond rating is AA Stable as of September 2024.

Nunes recommended the town hire an independent consultant to review the audit findings so that town employees could focus on their jobs.

During the close out process for financial year 2026, Nunes said the town needs to address the deficits for the water and sanitation enterprise funds. He stressed the importance of closing out a financial year without deficits.

Nunes also said the town needed to change how it calculated indirect costs – which include employee benefits, operating and administrative costs – in its enterprise services. He said that changes in methods inflated indirect costs. “These indirect costs do concern me,” he said. His recommendation was to hire another outside consultant to review the costs.

He told the Select Board that interviews are ongoing for the vacant treasurer/collector and assistant treasurer/collector positions. Director of Finance Susan Nickerson was appointed as the temporary treasurer/collector during the meeting.

“We can’t go much longer without that position," he said.

At the beginning of his presentation, Nunes emphasized three principles of fiscal responsibility: transparency, accountability and sustainability. He said that the town should make responsible decisions that promote long-term financial health and be accountable for the decisions it makes. He also said he would post financial data online for residents to access and answer questions townspeople had about the town’s financial state.