Meeting of the Trustees of the Trust Funds

Stoddard Trustees of the Trust Funds

Meeting, 7 PM, Monday, November 20, 2023

425 Treelyn Road, Stoddard

Attending: David, Dean, Maureen, Terri

Meeting called to order 7:11 PM

1.  Winter delegations (mail, checks, reports, banking) – David would like to make sure everybody knows what will happen over the winter since both Maureen and he will be going away. David asked if Terri can still pick up the mail. She said yes and proposed that she just deposit any monies that arrive. She will email the trustees that the check has arrived and that it has been deposited to start the cycle of checking and confirming that the deposit went to the right place.
   
   David mentioned that there might be a bill from the Town for work done. The amount was approved for up to $1000 and Dean will be the check writer for the winter so he has been authorized to pay the bill should it arrive while David is away.
   
   Annual town report is due sometime around January. David has done it in the past and is asking for all of us to look at his draft and see if there is anything to add or change about what the Trustees do. He suggested adding the end of the year balances for people to see. Terri suggested drafting the text ahead of time and then possibly putting the numbers in later. She thinks that we should add her resignation and Maureen’s appointment. Other suggestions included the Zeffy for Little Big Forest, and that we are researching new policies and procedures, as well as placing documents in a Google account. Also, maybe check with Michelle about the whole list of all of the funds being managed. (David already had that in there.) He asks that before Christmas he will send it up as a draft and send it to the rest of us via email and asks that we look at it and give him feedback. Doesn’t mind any editing or comments – in fact is asking for it.
   
   Banking will have to be done by Dean with Terri doing deposits. David has gotten hard copies of statements. He asked Terri to just look through and keep them clipped together until he returns until May. Terri mentioned that she has noted things on some of them for David in the past and will continue to do so to make sure no fraud is happening. David said if anything else comes up – any transfers can be done remotely. David and Maureen can zoom and do it together as Maureen hasn’t done that before. So, Terri will do the deposit, Dean will double check it, then David and Maureen will transfer.
   
   Terri asked about the audit. David said that is done. The town and the school district ask after the fiscal year for an accounting. That needs to go on the calendar. All entities were notified this summer by Dean and David about their balances. Terri thought that if that hadn’t happened some of the entities may reach out over the winter. So keep our eyes peeled for any of those asks.

1. LBF account update, Zeffy - Dean will have to deal with any of this. Look on TD Bank – there should only be $4 and some cents in the account as a balance. Any deposit will increase that amount and should be listed as a Zeffy deposit.  David recommends keeping Zeffy open because there are still some donations coming in. All agreed there is no harm in keeping it open.

1. Report for town report, due January – covered above.

1. Client contact regarding end of calendar year balances – After Dec. 31 David would like the 6 entities to be contacted with their totals with the principal and interest. David will do the Conservation Commission, school, and town. Dean will do Granite, Aten Rd. and Cemetery Commission (don’t forget to do the checking account and those Emerson and McCourt accounts). They agreed they will get this done in January.

1. Google Docs and loading of calendar information, contacts, etc – It was agreed that Maureen and David will work on and get long term information loaded into the Google Docs via email and zoom. If any of us have anything that is a calendar item or a document or contact people for banks, etc. that should be added or noted, please get it to Maureen via email. Maureen will be uploading the documents and information as suggestions come in. Maureen and David will post any contact as a meeting as the two of us meeting would be a quorum.

1. Other business – David suggested that we work on an Investment Policy. We do have one that is on hand with the state. The town’s policy does not bind the Trustees to their policy. David asked if the Municipal Association has one that we can look at. Terri suggested looking at other towns. Dean said he has one that the library uses because they went through this as well.
   
   David recalled that he had gotten a call about two weeks ago from a Trustee in Exeter who said NHDIP had referred him to David about using NHDIP. This trustee said that working in isolation has been difficult and that they have been borrowing lots of stuff from the Trustees website in Hampton. David thought this might be another place to look for our policy. Terri suggested that she and Dean look at Hampton’s, the library’s, and others and try to draft a policy to be ready for a possible March zoom meeting. David asked if any other town groups have to have an investment policy? Terri said no because their money is held by the Treasurer. And the town does have a policy but it may also be out of date. Terri has done some investigation on the Trustee’s policy when she was a trustee but will dig into this more because it wasn’t imminent at the point she started asking about it. Terri will re-disseminate the one the state currently has to all of us so we can put it in our files.
   
   David asked if there were any other pressing issues. Terri said Michele may be asking if there were any changes to the Trustee budget. After looking, both she and David figured it was probably status quo. Currently the Trustees budget is mileage, postage, and trainings. In the past, David recommended a budget of $400. After some discussion he thinks it may need to bump up if the trainings from the Municipal group have increased in cost. So, David will suggest to Michele to increase the trainings amount.
   
   Dean and Maureen may both have to be on the ballot for the coming year’s elections. Need to contact Karen Bell about getting on the ballot. Email the clerk/tax office and Nancy McNeal also has access so someone will respond. Maureen will be running for a one year term because Terri’s term is up in 2025. Terri will check into whose term is up when and how the ballot will have to be written and who will be on the ballot this year! May be David also plus there is some question about Dean’s status as his term says “unexpired” beside it.
   
   Terri would like everyone to think about the recent email David forwarded regarding the MS-9 and the changes to required reporting. She wants us to think about how the Trustees want to move forward. We can simply use the spreadsheet and upload a tab from that. But, does this have future repercussions for future trustees who don’t have the institutional knowledge on how to fill out the forms? The attachment would be there but you would have to know to click on it for the information. Don’t want information on how to do the form to be lost. Hopefully that as old trustees transition out they would be helping the incoming people on how to do these things but that isn’t what always happens. This should be on a future agenda for discussion. Maureen feels that a handbook/cheat sheet with all of the necessary information could help with an orientation for new trustees. This would be information put into the Google account so it can be updated as things change like the MS-9 form change.
   
   The suggestion was made that maybe in July there can be a “new trustee orientation” on the calendar.
   
   Question raised about who can talk to whom without it being a meeting. Any one of the trustees can speak to Terri without having a quorum but we cannot speak to each other without it being a meeting. So, trying to bring someone up to speed might be problematic. Dean suggested that the first meeting be that orientation rather than just diving into a meeting.
   
   Another question was raised regarding whether we are supposed to let the state know that we have reviewed an investment policy (when we have one) and if so, who do we notify?
   
   Maureen is leaving on Dec. 1 or 2 for the winter. David later in December. If there is something that comes up we can hold a Zoom meeting. David can post it and continue to invite the public to the meetings.
   
   David thanked everyone for working and moving ahead with this Committee. David checked in to make sure everyone is doing OK and if there were any lingering issues.
   
   David moved and Dean seconded a motion to adjourn.
   
   Meeting adjourned 8:10.