Killington Select Board, manager disagree on debt refinancing

By Curt Peterson

During Killington Town Manager Michael Ramsey’s last regular Select Board meeting Monday night, Aug. 12, two contentious topics arose: financing debt and personnel policies. 

Selectman Jim Haff accused Ramsey of irresponsible financial planning, particularly around payment obligations — including an $8.4 million Bond Anticipation Note (BAN) due Aug. 21, plus approx. $11.6 million in current work, for a total of $20 million for water system construction by Casella Construction. 

Haff repeatedly asked Ramsey what his plans had been for satisfying these obligations before his departure. Ramsey defended his actions and said he’d been working out a plan, up to the point when Haff took over.

A time lag between the town’s repayment obligations and reimbursement by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) is what necessitates bridge lending.

Ramsey had sought funds to satisfy the Aug. 21 note by exercising the town’s credit line at their new bank, Community Bank N.A., in Rutland. (He had recently moved the town’s accounts to Community Bank, when Mascoma Bank advised them they had reached their limit for municipal lending.) Ramsey, however, believing Community Bank had refused to cover the $8.4 million rollover, had re-engaged Mascoma Bank, who he said agreed to lend the town enough to resolve the BAN situation.

Selectman Rob Hecker pointed out that Mascoma would probably want the town to return their accounts if they did provide a loan.

However, Haff, Town Clerk/Treasurer Lucrecia Wonsor, Finance Director Mary Ellen Keenan-Haff and Public Works director Abbie Sherman had already met with Community Bank separately and Keenan-Haff reported that Community Bank is willing to provide the bridge financing and that necessary paperwork was already in progress.

“We are fine, at least for the short-term,” Keenan-Haff said.

More generally, Wonsor expressed concern to the board about use of the town’s “general fund” to pay bills related to the development of Killington’s new municipal water and road projects, much of which will be financed through Tax Increment Financing (TIF). 

Ramsey defended the action, noting that TIF financing funds are deposited in the general fund, so should be available. 

Wonsor disagreed. “Any money paid out of the general fund [for the TIF project] should be returned, and funds should be borrowed for these expenses instead.”

After much back and forth, Selectman Bob Hecker said, “Let’s just say all concerns are duly noted, identify the problem and find a solution, so we can go on to the next topic on the agenda.”

The personnel policy discussion was equally circuitous, but a bit less contentious. About a dozen town employees showed up at the Public Safety Building to express concern to the board about possibly losing vacation time. 

After some discussion about renewed vacation time changing from anniversary dates to fiscal year and amounts of allowable carryover, Selectman Hecker (who had previously worked at ADP payroll services for 25 years) cut through the noise and proposed a prorated structure that seemed to strike a fair balance. The plan would put everyone on the same schedule by July 2025.