Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD)
Brattleboro, Vermont
Finance Committee Meeting
Via ZOOM and In-Person
DRAFT Minutes of August 11, 2025
Committee Members Present: Committee Chair-Merrill Mundell, Wilmington; Michelle Cherrier, Dummerston; Liz Spector, Wardsboro
Committee Members Absent: James Damato, Readsboro; Sandra Rulewich, Vernon
WSWMD Staff Present: Robert Spencer, Executive Director; Vicki Hayes, Finance Manager & HR Administrator; Anita Grant, Office Manager & Operations Liaison/District Clerk
Merrill called the meeting to order at 6:04 PM
- Changes and/or Additions to the Agenda: None
- Approval of Check Registers- June & July 2025:
Merrill had previously requested an easier-to-read format for the credit card entries in the check register. Anita ensured that both the June and July registers reflected these changes, and Merrill was pleased with the new format.
Michelle made the motion to accept both the June & July check registers, Liz seconded, and the motion was carried
- Approval of Financial Statements- June & July 2025:
June 2025: Vicki reported that the District finished with a deficit of $41,113.63. Revenues finished 36.9% over plan, including the $340,025 received in grant money for the Compost Facility Expansion. Expenses were 9.5% over budget due to the unforeseen disposal of compost tailings associated with the CFE. Without CFE costs and grant revenues, FY 25 would have ended with a surplus of $145,605.44.
July 2025: Vicki reported that July finished strong with a $53,000 surplus. She reported strong revenues over $190,000, $82,000 in tip fees, $3,000 in compost sales, and 691 access stickers sold in the month of July. Through the 3 months of FY26 access sticker sales, 1,800 stickers have already been sold. A question was asked about the $180 cellphone stipend, and Vicki assured the committee that it was paid annually and not monthly to all employees, rather than to supply individual phones. She also said that she will be focused on keeping overtime and other expenses at or under budget as much as possible.
Vicki also reported that the auditors were currently performing the audit and that some of the end-of-year adjustments might change the deficit amount on the books.
Michelle made a motion to recommend to the Board of Supervisors to approve the Financial Statements for both June and July of 2025, Liz seconded, and the motion was carried.
- Approval of Scale-it Software Purchase for Scale Upgrade:
Anita provided background information on researching and acquiring new software to improve the efficiency of the scale house. After her research, Scale-It emerged as the top choice. The software will cost the District $5,600 annually, but it is expected to save approximately $2,000 each year on credit card processing fees. This cost covers the software itself, installation, support, training, report generation, and ongoing upgrades. The new software will offer enhanced controls, customer portals, integrated credit card processing, and customizable audit and sales reports.
Liz made the motion to recommend to the Board of Supervisors to approve the purchase of Scale-It Software, Michelle seconded, and the motion was carried.
- Approval of HVAC Quote for Office Building:
Anita furnished some background on the lack of quotes through the Efficiency VT program; only one of the three submitted a quote. She found a heating contractor who was willing to quote using the existing ducted system as a heat backup and upgrading the office building to electric-sourced heat and cooling pumps. The quote is just over $41,000, and Vicki had set aside $32,000 for HVAC upgrades. The Finance Committee agreed to approve the quote so the work will be completed before the heating season begins. There is a good chance that some of the equipment will still have rebates through Efficiency VT and Anita will pursue the rebate submissions.
Liz made the motion to recommend to the Board of Supervisors to approve the HVAC Quote submitted by S3 Heating, Michelle seconded, and the motion was carried.
- Compost Collection Program (CCP) Update:
Bob shared a spreadsheet that outlined the initial costs, ongoing revenues, and potential revenues if additional schools and towns were included in the route. The spreadsheet also detailed the savings for each town on its individual assessments due to the in-house program. By utilizing the District pickup truck and trailer combination, along with the cart-tipper, the current collection amounts are being effectively managed. Dover, Jamaica, and Townshend are now customers of the WSWMD CCP, with Wardsboro next in line to join.
Bob reminded the committee that the program is the result of the RFPs that the five transfer station towns were issued for trash and recycling services. WSWMD submitted bids for food scrap and organics collection since Casella was diverting WSWMD’s transfer station towns’ food scraps to their facility, rather than to WSWMD’s new $770,000 compost facility. Bob and Peter have sent invitations to schools in the participating towns, and they envision other towns joining up once their other hauler contracts expire.
- FY 27 Capital Plan Review:
Vicki noted that the only addition to the Capital Plan includes a concrete floor with aeration trenches, which Bob has budgeted at $118,000. She suggested using grant funds or surplus money to delay this expense until 2027-2028, as there are other higher-priority items in the capital plan. Bob clarified that this project was originally part of phase two of the CFE and was removed from the scope of work in phase one due to insufficient funding.
After reviewing the plan, Merrill asked if future spends beyond the 10-year capital plan could be separated from the purchase plan projections. Vicki will redo the capital plan spreadsheet for the next FC meeting.
- Discuss FY 27 Budget Process:
Vicki explained that normally she would have the capital plan and the revenue projections completed first for the first budget meeting in September, but due to the timing of the meeting, she may also have the expenses ready as well. The first budget meeting is planned for September 25th, two weeks after the September BOS meeting.
- Executive Session (if needed): None
- Other Business: None
- Next Meeting: Thursday, September 25, 2025, 6:00 PM
- Adjournment: 7:08 PM
Minutes prepared by:
Anita Grant
Office Manager & Operations Liaison/District Clerk