February 2024
Town Administrator’s Corner
Message from the Town Administrator
Here at Town Hall, we are busy at work preparing for elections, budgets and Town Meeting.
The Finance Board is still in the process of meeting with departments and working towards providing a balanced budget. The Fiscal Year 2025 budget presents the Town with some challenges. The Essex County Retirement contribution has increased 21%, the health insurance contribution has increased 11% and the trash and recycling hauling and disposal costs have increased 10%. As a municipality we are only able to raise taxes by 2.5% plus new growth. The estimated revenue projections for FY25 increase revenue by approximately $544,000 over last fiscal year. The Town consistently strives to provide quality services to residents. We aim to balance priorities, navigate rising operational costs and inflationary pressures, fund education and mitigate the property tax burden.
The Town is also preparing the draft warrant and working with Town Counsel on initial review of proposed warrant articles. The Select Board are targeting March 25th to close the warrant, approve the warrant on April 8th and post the warrant on April 12th.
Groveland’s Annual Town Meeting will be held on April 29, 2024. Information pertaining to the 2024 Annual Town Meeting and Warrant can be found here.
Municipal Elections are May 6th and if you are interested in running for any vacant town positions (please see the list HERE, there is also a Planning Board position that has opened since this list was published). The deadline to obtain Nomination Papers is March 14th. The deadline to file Nomination Papers is March 18th. The last day to withdraw Nomination Papers is April 3rd. The final day to Register to Vote in the Municipal Election is April 19th. If you have questions about Nomination Papers, please contact our Town Clerk.
Upcoming Events
Presidential Primary Election. Early voting will continue leading up to the election next Tuesday. Early voting will take place; February 29th 8AM – 4PM and March 1st 8AM – 12PM. Elections will take place Tuesday March 5th from 7AM – 8PM.
Les Miserable. Presented by the Pentucket Regional Middle High School will take place Wednesday, March 13th at 3:30PM
Veasey Park Indoor Flea Market. March 23rd from 8am to 2pm at 201 Washington Street. Contact Claire Walsh for more information at 978-376-6779.
Volunteer/Employee Spotlight:
Meet Ellen Petrillo, Town Accountant
Ellen Petrillo, Town Accountant
Ellen has been working with the Town for 7 years. Ellen is a Groveland resident and when not in the office is spending time with her children, Christopher and Evelyn, and her husband David. She is an invaluable resource and we are luck to have her on our team.
What does the Town Accountant do?
The Town Accountant is responsible for numerous activities as required by Massachusetts General Law.
- The Town Accountant is responsible for keeping the financial records for the Town, including all the budgeted appropriation amounts for all departments, boards, and committees as well as all the expenditures made by these same groups against those appropriations.
- The Town Accountant is responsible for reviewing all invoices and requests for payment prior to issuance of any checks. The review requires the Town Accountant to determine if the expense is a legal and proper expenditure, that it is within the budget of the department, and that the request is completed as required.
- The Town Accountant provides a report on the revenues and expenditures annually for the Town Report
- The Town Accountant’s general ledger has the control accounts for Cash and Accounts Receivable. Monthly, this control is reconciled to the detail which is held in the Treasurer/Collector’s records.
- The Town Accountant works with the auditors annually to complete the required outside audit of records. The Accountant prepares the Balance Sheet for the certification of free cash as well as annual reports for the Community Preservation Committee and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, works with other departments to complete the Tax Recap form needed to certify the upcoming year’s real estate tax rate, and also works to complete the Schedule A report detailing all expenses – required by the Department of Revenue.
And speaking of audits, the Auditors, Marcum, LLP., provided a report on the fiscal year 2023 audit to the Select Board this past Monday. We received a ‘clean’ opinion for fiscal year 2023. That is the best opinion you can get! This would not have been possible without the great work of our Town Accountant, Ellen Petrillo.
The auditors commended the Town for addressing comments in prior management letters stating that each year the comments have become fewer and fewer. They also noted substantial improvements in the reconciliation process and the establishment of new reconciliation procedures. They recognized the hard work of the Town Accountant in putting together the financials in a short timeframe for review, emphasizing that it was only possible because the books and accounts were all in order. They also recognized her hard work towards establishing fraud risk assessment policies and internal controls related to the administration of state and federal grants.
The Town Accountant’s office is not one that interacts with the public on a daily basis. However, the role is integral to our operation. Ellen has demonstrated a strong work ethic. She is involved in the day-to-to-day managements of our fiscal activities and works closely with the Town Administrator and departments in order to help move initiatives forward. She has become a sounding board for many and is always there to help.
If you are looking for more information about the Fiscal Year 2023 audit, please see here.
What You Might’ve Missed:
Latest News
COA Newsletter. March / April 2024 can be found here.
Groveland Fire Department. On February 12, 2024, the Groveland Fire Chief announced the receipt of a $15,500 grant from the Department of Fire Services Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program. These funds will be used to purchase equipment that will ensure the safety of firefighters and therefore the greater community. The press release with additional information can be found here.
Groveland Council on Aging. The Council on Aging received three grants from the Massachusetts Association of Council on Aging and Senior Center Directors, Inc. One was for a pilot Memory Café to expand services for older adults with dementia and memory loss, as well as their care partners. Funds were also received to bolster the CoA’s project titled “Development and Implementation of Outreach and Marketing for Your CoA to Older Adults and Caregivers”. The third grant was for a large freezer for their food pantry. Additional information on the CoA and their programming can be found here.
Department Spotlight:
Groveland Water Department
The Groveland Water Department is currently working with engineers to locate and develop a new drinking water source within the Town of Groveland. A preliminary site has been identified via drilling test wells in many areas in Town. Working with our engineers and MassDEP, future steps include state permitting, drilling a production well, and conducting a 15-day pump test.
We are also starting a Federally required project known as a Lead Service Line Inventory. The initial phase of this project requires The Water Department to identify each water service in Town and identify what type of material the pipe is made from. After going through our internal records, we may be reaching out to water customers to identify the composition of their water service.
Additionally, we are in the initial stages of exploring options of a water filtration facility and/or purchasing water from adjacent municipalities. We are proactively working to develop a plan for the future.
Colin Stoke, Water and Sewer Superintendent
For more information, please visit the Water & Sewer Department website.
