The Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s finance committee met Tuesday to discuss the upcoming fiscal year’s budget.
Presented with the proposed draft budget, which involves a need to request an increase from each Island town, commissioners agreed to forward the budget to the full commission for consideration and possible approval.
Preceding the vote, commissioners raised some concerns over the lack of context in the information they received, and called for more details on the planning agency’s budget.
“I don’t have context to evaluate it,” said commissioner Kate Putnam. “I’d really like to see a balance sheet and an income statement … I’d like to start seeing them quarterly, or whatever’s reasonable, so that I understand what’s going on.”
“I don’t know how we’ve done against budget,” Putnam said, “because I don’t see actual [totals].”
MVC Executive Director Adam Turner referred to the commission’s statute regarding financial management. “We have no authority to do anything,” he said, “we can’t deficit-spend.”
“If you’re not comfortable making a vote, that’s all right,” he said.
Commissioner Brian Smith agreed with Putnam, noting that the budget being discussed will go into effect mid-2023. He advocated for a better understanding of the past year’s budget compared with the commission’s proposed budget, “so we have a better knowledge of where we stand,” he said.
On how the FY24 budget is based on FY23, Smith asked if there are any “anomalies” in this past year that may impact the assessment.
“Yes and no,” Turner said, adding that the commission is “definitely proposing to raise more money ourselves” for 2024.
Turner said the commission’s grants and contracts budget line has increased $115,000. Upon questioning by Smith regarding where the $115,000 will come from, Turner said he thinks it will come via local technical assistance, and other avenues. “We feel like we can successfully get more money, thereby freeing up other things in the regular budget,” he said.
Smith asked if the commission would be eligible for additional American Rescue Plan Act 2021 (ARPA) money, other than the expected grant from the county for nitrogen reduction systems.
“ARPA is more project money,” Turner said, noting that the budget increase is strictly due to the commission’s increasing legal fees.
“I guess I’m used to having a little more visibility,” commissioner Peter Wharton said, adding that the more informed commissioners are, the more helpful they can be. Smith and Putnam agreed.
Wharton inquired as to what the percentage cap is for each town in funding the commission, and in considering its current legal expenses, how close the commission is to said cap.
MVC Chief Fiscal Officer Curt Schroeder said the commission could assess 3.6 percent of each town’s equalized valuations. But “we’re not even in the ballpark,” he said, noting that the assessments could reach a cumulative $8 million for all six towns without surpassing that mark.
Wharton said part of the problem is that of perception, and clarified that despite what some members of the public may believe, the towns are not receiving a legal bill, but rather an increase to the overall amount allotted to the MVC: “We need to figure out how we’re going to tell this story in a more positive way.”
“We go to the towns every year, to justify and explain what we do,” Turner said, acknowledging that “this year that might be a little more difficult.”
Overall, “there’s not a whole lot to our budget,” Turner said. “We’re a small agency, we have a personnel budget, and that’s pretty much it.”
“It’s not about the planning,” he said of the increased budget, “it’s the legal [expenses].” The legal budget line, he said, “is what’s driving our costs.”
Turner said the commission does “a very detailed presentation” to the towns each year, but said if the finance committee wants more information, that can be addressed.
Committee members ultimately chose to forward the draft budget to the full commission, but requested more detailed information on the commission’s finances, including past budgets and audit reports.
The personnel budget they have control over and they have added more staff to the payroll. And there is no control over the MVC to add staff or do what they want and the island has to go along with it. The decisions they make are in their control and when they turn down projects for no real reason other than they do not like it the island has to pay the legal bills. You want to cut down the budget look at payroll and what they do for their job. The fiscal officer is one that could be combined with Dukes County as suggested many years ago but no one wants to give up control. The commissioners can question all they want the budget but in the end the Island has to pay it and whatever they ask for. Unless a town decides enough and leaves the MVC only then will not have to pay for their mistakes.
Get ready for more people sueing the commission and the commission coming to the towns for more money much more frequently.
The MVC must be managed better and or abolished. Leadership is mostly the problem. Replace the leadership, demand accountability for poor reasoning and poor decision making when reviewing projects.
The MVC is not serving the best interests of the towns, the people not the island in general. Provide better guidance to projects not a dictatorship of whims and ultimatums and threats of denial if they don’t get the demands and wish list fulfilled. Follow good reasonable sense and good governance. Stop the arrogance. Demand good planning and assistance from the MVC. They have consistently failed in their mission. Their arbitrary and crazy approach toward good governance and will continue to be sued for their arrogance and unaccountable actions and poor decisions. The MVC is sued not because applicants want to or have time or money to waste but because they are forced to as the MVC is costing people time money and preventing really good decisions from being made. The MVc is not assisting, not adding value and is obstructing good reasonable projects. Their decision making process as it currently exists is flawed and as it is managed poorly. It is lacking forward looking leadership. It structure, mandate, makeup, leadership must be completely overhauled or scrapped entirely. It’s time.
It has been poorly managed and it’s leadership has run amuck with personal bias and personal agendas leading the way. Any other form of government would be censured, reformed, replaced, fired or eliminated. That bad stuff has replaced good leadership and careful adherence to the established rules. The MVC cannot and should no longer get away making up it’s own rules and justification for it’s actions. They have lost their way big time. They are supposed to play a positive constructive role as a planning agency and have not succeeded at all but failed miserably to provide the thoughtful reasoned and factual based support to planning and grow on island.
More lawsuits will come and this is sending a message that’s it time for reform for overhauling, accountability and or complete elimination of the MVC. Move planning back to where it belongs- the towns. The towns are paying the price for very poor results by the MVC and the majority of commissioners who have lost touch. Towns can do a much better job and can manage and rely on third party qualified professionals that are actually accountable and that carry E&O insurance, Directors insurance and be accountable for the reviews and reports. The MVC’s time and place have passed and they have outlived their purpose. We need to move to a professionally managed accountable way of getting results. Not lawsuits not wasted money.
Finally people and poor decision making being held accountable. What a novelty these days. If any private Board were to wander so far away from the black letter of the rules, making up their own requirements, from the guidelines or bylaws and violate same so flagrantly they would be afforded no defense coverage by their insurance carrier for their flagrant actions and deviations. Boards and individuals that do not follow their own rules can and should be sued personally. Arrogance, being uninformed of their job or omission for derivation from their obligations are no defense. The lawsuits against the commission will continue yet they pass the bill on to someone else. Who ? You and me the taxpayers. Not acceptable now, in the past nor ever.
“We need to figure out how we’re going to tell this story in a more positive way.”
Yup, I agree –fleecing the flock is much easier if you do it in a way that convinces the flock that they are not being fleeced.