Finance

Finance Committee and Select Board review challenges, reductions in FY25 budgets – WestfordCAT

Published

2 years ago

January 16, 2024

Finance Committee and Select Board review challenges, reductions in FY25 budgets – WestfordCAT

WESTFORD— In a joint meeting, the Finance Committee and Select Board reviewed the FY25 budget and its impacts on several departments in town with two proposed budgets.

Overview of budgetary challenges

The Select Board, Finance Committee, and School Committee began to meet individually as early as January 2023 to highlight potential challenges in the budget.

These challenges came into “clearer focus” in May 2023 according to Town Manager Kristen Las, with a report from the Budget Task Force in October 2023 outlining several challenges and suggested cost-cutting measures to balance the town’s budget.

Las and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher Chew prepared two budgets, one requiring a Proposition 2 ½ override and a balanced budget with “significant cuts” that would meet the Proposition 2 ½ limit. Las and Dr. Chew then presented their budgets to the Select Board and School Committee in December 2023.

In January and February 2024, the Finance Committee has begun to host a series of public hearings to review the budgets and field public input before finalizing the budget for Town Meeting in March.

“The budget is extremely tight again this year, in both scenarios to be honest,” Las said. “We are taking comments from the public extremely seriously under these conditions.”

The Finance Committee and Select Board are both examining several budget variables to track potential growth and costs, and how Westford can be more energy efficient and sustainable.

A slideshow depicting budget variables in the proposed FY24 budget during a joint Finance Committee and Select Board meeting. (Photo/Town of Westford)

With high inflation creating several budget challenges, communities like Arlington have already passed a 2 ½ override, while Groton and Dracut are still considering an override.

“Westford is not alone in this inflation period and we are seeing other municipalities having very similar challenges,” Las said.

She added, “we are also fully aware that there are many people who cannot afford increases in taxes or have other hardships … There are certain exemptions or tax deferral options that people can explore, and our [Town] Assessor’s office is more than willing to help people throughout that process.”

Effects on departments

In a scenario where the override fails, Public Safety and Works, Culture and Recreation, and Enterprise departments would see reductions in their service hours and utilities.

The proposed Tree Warden budget sees personal services increasing by $62, a 0.14% increase in an override. In the non-override there will be a decrease in contracted services, meaning a 23% decrease in services for the overall budgets.

The public works budget sees personal services increasing by 2.1%, or $5,780 as a result of cost of living increases. In the non-override budget, equipment maintenance and meetings and conferences will be reduced.

The J.V. Fletcher Library would see a reduction in line items, printing and process supplies, mileage and subscriptions, and dues and membership. 15% of its budget accounts for books and materials. However, some of this is paid for by the state through memorial and operating funding. The library has already suspended Sunday hours this winter as a cost-savings measure.

Its budget would be reduced by $98,000, with operating hours would be reduced to 50 from 55.

“Under the failed budget we definitely would have to apply to the Board of Library Commissioners for a waiver, because we would not meet the municipal appropriation requirements,” J.V. Fletcher Library Director Ellen Rainville said.

With an override, there would still be a reduction in Recreational services, with overall expenses expected to decrease by $66,000.

Over the years staff has decreased, and may be further reduced without appropriate funds. This may affect the Recreation Department from remaining in compliance with early education and childcare licensing.

“It might be challenging to hire the necessary staff members to run programs … and the department’s ability to stay competitive in and around Westford. Reduced enrollment means reduced revenue,” Director of Recreation Michelle Collett said.

What are the next steps?

The Select Board will host several meetings for residents to attend leading up to the Annual Town meeting on March 23 and the Annual Town Election on May 7, including

Finance Committee Budget Hearings – Thursdays from Jan. 18 to Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. via Town Hall and Zoom
Select Board votes to close warrant -Jan. 23, 7 p.m. via Town Hall and Zoom
League of Women Voters in person at WestfordCAT – Jan. 24, 7:30 p.m.
Cameron Senior Center in person – Jan. 26, 12 p.m.
WEPTO Zoom Meeting – Jan. 30, 7 p.m.
Select Board sets the order of warrant articles on Feb. 13.

There will also be meetings with the Westford SEPAC and Westford Rotary on dates that have yet to be determined. An open forum will also be held on March 4 at 7 p.m. Locations for each meeting have not been annouced at the time of reporting.

Residents can stay involved by attending the virtual Finance Committee Budget Hearings and visiting the “Budget” page on the Westford website. Educational videos regarding the Budget Task Force’s findings on WestfordCAT.

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Finance

Why investing in a Trump Account could complicate your taxes

Published

10 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Why investing in a Trump Account could complicate your taxes

Julie Zauzmer
| The Washington Post

Parents who put money into their children’s “Trump Accounts” might face a headache come tax time: Even the smallest contributions may require them to fill out a little-used gift tax form that can take hours to complete.

Several tax experts have raised concerns about the new savings vehicles, which were created in Republicans’ massive tax and spending bill this summer, and have urged Congress to pass a new law so that families who use it won’t have to file gift tax returns.

“It’s going to create a compliance nightmare,” said Amber Waldman, senior director for estate and gift tax for RSM US, a tax and consulting firm.

Under the terms of the One Big Beautiful Bill law that created it, the federal government will seed each Trump Account with $1,000 for every U.S. citizen born from 2025 through 2028. Much like an individual retirement account, the money will be invested in funds that track the stock market. The idea is that children’s growing pot of money will eventually help them pay for education or a home purchase when they become adults.

Parents, relatives, employers and nonprofits also can contribute to the accounts. Businessman Michael Dell and his wife Susan have pledged to put $250 in each of the accounts of 25 million children who are younger than 10 today.

But some tax experts think lawmakers overlooked a tax requirement that could make the accounts too burdensome for most parents.

A contribution to a child’s Trump Account is a taxable gift, which requires the giver to fill out one of the IRS’s more complicated tax forms, Form 709. The 10-page document takes the average filer or their accountant more than six hours to complete, and the government has only accepted mailed submissions; that changes this coming tax season, when e-filing will become available.

It’s used by fewer than 225,000 households a year, federal data show, and is so obscure that commercial tax software like TurboTax doesn’t include it.

“If you want to apply for the $1,000 because your kid was born within the time period, fine. If your employer wants to make a contribution or you qualify for a contribution from a charitable organization … fine. But don’t put your own money in until this is clarified,” said Susan Bart, a lawyer who specializes in estate and gift tax.

Most gifts aren’t nearly this complicated. Under long-standing law, most people can give cash gifts to one another tax-free. But if it’s a sizable amount – more than $19,000 – the IRS requires the donor to file Form 709. Over time, if those gifts add up to more than $15 million in the giver’s lifetime, they need to pay certain taxes. The whole system is meant to prevent very wealthy people from doling out large cash gifts during their lifetimes so their heirs can avoid estate taxes later.

But because there’s no provision for contributions to Trump Accounts to count as exempt gifts under current tax law, donors would have to declare every contribution, several tax experts say. This applies whether the donation is $25 or as much as the $5,000 annual cap. That’s because to be considered a tax-exempt gift, the recipient has to be able to access the money right away. Trump Account beneficiaries cannot withdraw the money until they turn 18.

Asked whether Trump Account contributions are required to be reported, an IRS spokesman referred questions to the Treasury Department, where several officials did not answer questions from The Washington Post.

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a lawyers group, sent a letter raising the issue to the congressional tax-writing committees last month. The group’s Washington affairs chair Kevin Matz said his group received no answer beyond acknowledgment that the letter was received.

Congress has dealt with a problem like this before. Lawmakers approved a clause exempting 529 accounts – the tax-advantaged savings accounts for a child’s education – from the requirement that the recipient have present use of the gift. That means parents, grandparents and others can put money in 529 accounts without filing gift tax returns.

The experts who raised the issue are calling on Congress to make the same legislative fix for Trump Accounts.

“It seems like legislators accidentally left that out,” Waldman said.

The 10-page tax form asks a series of questions that are nearly indecipherable to the uninitiated. It distinguishes gifts that are “generation-skipping” – such as a grandparent giving money to a grandchild. When a married couple makes a gift, it probes whether the amount can legally be considered split between them, or attributable to just one.

Even experts scratch their heads. “Not all accountants necessarily have the experience and background to be able to complete it without extensive study,” Matz said.

Bart agreed: “It’s not a DIY form by any means.”

She said she’s seen lawyers befuddled by Form 709 before. “Sometimes my partners in other practice areas who are very, very smart people, they think: I can do this for my own kid or grandchild. They come running back after they look at the form a while. You need to be a specialized attorney with a lot of experience in the area.”

Many people might contribute to Trump Accounts without knowing that they are supposed to file Form 709, and aren’t likely to file it. But experts believe that skipping the form could create problems for the parents if they’re ever audited. Or if tax software like TurboTax starts including Trump Account questions, the taxpayer might not be able to submit their returns through the software if they indicate that they gave to the accounts.

Parents can still create Trump Accounts for their children to receive money from the government and charities like Dell’s without triggering the tax form problem.

“Of course if the government’s giving you a free $1,000, go ahead and take it. That’s not going to hurt you,” Waldman said. “If you’re thinking about personally contributing, consider your other options.”

Even without the tax-filing complications, Trump Accounts might not be the best way for most parents to save money for their children, experts say. The 529 plans offer much better tax benefits – unlike Trump Accounts, parents can often take some state tax deductions when they put money into the account, and if the child uses the money to pay for education, the earnings inside the account are never taxed.

If parents want a multipurpose savings vehicle for their kids that is not just limited to education spending, an ordinary taxable brokerage account might also be a better choice, tax professionals say. Trump Accounts are untaxed during the beneficiary’s childhood, when the money is growing in the account, unlike a brokerage account that could require paying taxes on any dividends. But the tax treatment when the child does withdraw the money could be much more favorable on the brokerage account – that money gets the lower capital gains tax rate, while Trump Account withdrawals are taxed at the same rate as ordinary income, and even come with a 10 percent tax penalty if the child doesn’t use the money for a qualified purpose. And the brokerage account offers a much wider range of investment options.

“As a tax-advantaged account, it’s a terrible tax-advantaged account,” said Greg Leierson, senior fellow at New York University’s Tax Law Center.

Finance

Israel’s Cabinet approves 19 new settlements in West Bank, finance minister says

Published

23 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Israel’s Cabinet approves 19 new settlements in West Bank, finance minister says

Israel’s Cabinet approved a proposal for 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, the far-right finance minister said on Sunday.

The settlements include two that were previously evacuated during a 2005 disengagement plan, according to Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, who has pushed a settlement expansion agenda in the West Bank.

It brings the total number of new settlements over the past two years to 69, Smotrich wrote on X.

The approval increases the number of settlements in the West Bank by nearly 50% during the current government’s tenure, from 141 in 2022 to 210 after the current approval, according to Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group. Settlements are widely considered illegal under international law.

The approval comes as the U.S. is pushing Israel and Hamas to move ahead with the new phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which took effect Oct. 10. The U.S.-brokered plan calls for a possible “pathway” to a Palestinian state — something Smotrich says the settlements are aimed at preventing.

The Cabinet decision included a retroactive legalization of some previously established settlement outposts or neighborhoods of existing settlements, and the creation of settlements on land where Palestinians were evacuated, Peace Now said.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza — areas claimed by the Palestinians for a future state — in the 1967 war. It has settled more than 500,000 Jews in the West Bank, in addition to over 200,000 more in contested east Jerusalem. About 15% of settlers are Americans.

The United Nations calls the settlements, which are scattered inside the West Bank and East Jerusalem, illegal.

Israel’s government is dominated by far-right proponents of the settler movement, including Smotrich and Cabinet Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the nation’s police force.

According to the U.N., settler expansion has been compounded by a surge of attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank in recent months.

During October’s olive harvest, settlers across the territory launched an average of eight attacks daily, according to the United Nations humanitarian office, the most since it began collecting data in 2006. The attacks, the U.N. reported, continued in November, with the agency recording at least 136 more by Nov. 24.

Palestinian officials said settlers burned cars, desecrated mosques, ransacked industrial plants and destroyed cropland. Israeli authorities have issued condemnations of the violence, but made few arrests.

Finance

Banks Could Favor A Higher XRP Price, Finance Expert Says

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Banks Could Favor A Higher XRP Price, Finance Expert Says

XRP has continued to trade lower as crypto prices weaken across the board, with the total market shedding more than $1.3 trillion since October.

During the past three months, XRP has dropped more than 30%, keeping pressure on sentiment even as some commentators argue the token’s purpose goes far beyond short-term price moves.

Retail Vs. Institutional Viewpoint

According to health and finance commentator Dr. Camila Stevenson, much of the debate around XRP misses how large financial players judge settlement tools.

Everyday traders tend to focus on charts and quick exits. Banks do not. They look at whether a system can handle stress, move large sums, and keep working when conditions worsen. Stevenson compared it to infrastructure testing, where strength and capacity matter more than the initial cost.

XRP Was Built For Flows

Based on reports from her recent video discussion, XRP was structured to act as a bridge for moving value, not as a speculative chip. With a fixed supply, the token cannot expand in quantity to meet higher transaction demand.

Stevenson said that leaves price as the only way to support larger volumes. Analyst XFinanceBull echoed this view, encouraging market watchers to think in terms of flows rather than daily price action. Price Alone Does Not Prove Use

Even so, market behavior still plays a major role. XRP trades in open markets, and speculation continues to influence price direction.

A higher price may improve efficiency, but it does not guarantee adoption. Stevenson pointed out that many institutions position through custodians, OTC desks, and private agreements.

These transactions often happen quietly and may not show up as sharp moves on public charts. Sudden spikes during positioning, she warned, would suggest instability rather than healthy use. Why Higher Price Helps

Stevenson argued that banks moving billions would rather use fewer units that each represent more value. Fewer tokens can mean simpler settlement and less risk of slippage during busy periods.

Large financial systems tend to fail when money cannot move or when settlement slows, not when prices fall. In that context, a higher XRP price could support smoother transfers if volumes rise enough to test the system.Market Reality Remains Mixed

Despite the theory, clear proof of large-scale institutional demand remains limited. Regulation, liquidity depth, and reliable access still shape whether banks commit real volume.

XRP’s 33% slide over recent months shows how quickly sentiment can shift, even as long-term use cases are debated. The idea that banks prefer a higher XRP price rests on future scale, not current trading patterns.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView