Limerick board flags cash-flow questions, considers TAN and schedules special town meeting on payroll and contracts

Board members at the January 23 meeting told colleagues they saw differences between the town's general ledger and bank-account balances and urged staff to reconcile outstanding checks before approving payables. Officials agreed payroll should be paid promptly but debated whether to approve payables until the cash position is clarified.

Treasury notes cited transfers into the rescue-billing account (including a large transfer in April 2025). A board member said the rescue-billing balance appeared to be about $844,568 and asked staff to confirm whether all rescue-billing funds had been transferred to the dedicated account or were still in the general checking balance that the board might be using for operating payments.

Members discussed a proposed tax anticipation note (TAN) authorization circulated ahead of the meeting. The draft policy authorized up to $2.5 million (staff noted higher informal guidance from a bank contact), and one board member said he had been told a bank recommended asking for as much as $2.8 million to carry the town through July'September if cash shortfalls persist. Several board members said a bank-funded TAN should be accompanied by a detailed cash-flow report showing when operating funds are expected to run short and precisely how much borrowing will be necessary.

On payroll, the board is seeking to replace its current vendor and discussed one vendor presentation that included digital timekeeping and payroll services. Members noted set-up and integration costs would require voter authorization and that vendor transition timelines are time-sensitive; the board decided to bundle several funding items into a special town meeting and targeted August 4 for that meeting to approve payroll vendor setup costs, the snow-plow contract and other necessary appropriations.

The board also discussed administrative steps to correct the warrants and recommended amending the payroll warrant to withhold separate holiday pay for one salaried employee pending an executive-session personnel review; members said they would amend the warrant so employees are paid while sensitive personnel details are handled separately.

Next steps: Treasurer/staff will prepare a cash-flow report and reconcile outstanding checks; the board will confirm TAN paperwork with the bank and include payroll-vendor setup and contract funding items on the August 4 special town meeting warrant.