Finance
Library Representatives Are No Shows at Finance Committee Meeting – Amherst Indy
Future of Cherry Hill Golf Course Discussed
Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Finance Committee, September 3, 2024
by Art and Maura Keene
This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded. It can be viewed here.
Present
Bob Hegner (Chair, District 5), Cathy Schoen (District 1), Andy Steinberg (at-large), Mandi Jo Hanneke (at-large). Nonvoting members: Bernie Kubiak and Thomas Porter.
Staff: Athena O’Keeffe (Clerk of the Council), Melissa Zawadski (Finance Director), David Ziomek (Assistant Town Manager), Reynaud Harp (Recreation Director), Holly Drake (Comptroller)
Public Comment
Three members of the public offered comment, all in opposition to the Jones Library project. Janet Keller asked the committee to “consider the long-term costs of expanding the Jones Library and competing critical needs to repair and replace other Town buildings, roads, and infrastructure.” Maria Kopicki wondered how the committee would “square the circle” of a project costing $7 million mo43 than authorized borrowing with value engineering far less than that amount. Arlie Gould expressed concern over the loss of the Historic Tax credits and high risk of losing NEH and HUD grants totaling another ~$2 million.
Finance Committee Receives Limited Update on Jones Library Building Project
The committee had last discussed the Jones Library Building Project prior to the Town Council’s vote in December 2023 to authorize an additional $10 million for a total of $46.1 in debt authorization for the project. Since then, a single bid was received in April 2024 that was rejected because it was nearly $7 million higher than the authorization. The Library Trustees and Town Manager gave the go ahead to ask for a six month extension from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commission (MBLC) to pursue a rebidding process this fall after value engineering to decrease the cost. The Town Manager signed a contract with the design team from Finegold Alexander Architecture (FAA) for approximately $500,000 to do the redesign with the understanding that the town would be reimbursed from the Jones endowment. An original value engineering list approved by the Jones Library Building Committee totaled ~$2.9 million but approximately half of that has since been reinstated due to concerns of donors, the Design Review Board, the Planning Board, and the Amherst Historical Commission. It has also come to light that $1.8 million in Historic Tax credits that have been counted toward fundraising have been denied (twice) by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. The library remains $900,000 in arrears of its promised $2 million reimbursement to the Town due at the end of January 2024. None of these developments were discussed at the meeting.
Finance Director Melissa Zawadski provided a single document which she stated was based on information provided by the library team. The figures provided indicated that nearly $7 million was still needed in fundraising to reach the $46.1 million cost estimate (they did not account for the bid that came in ~$7 million over that). The Community Campaign and Foundation and Corporate Funding lines included both pledged and received monies.
Chair Bob Hegner asked about the federal grants listed that total $2.1 million from NEH and HUD saying that “my understanding is that the library is basically in the process of redoing their paperwork to get these grants”. Resident member Bernie Kubiak argued that “These shouldn’t be considered at risk because they’re not. They can still get them and in fact the state historic commission could even change their minds [about rejecting the historic tax credits] if they choose.”
Cathy Schoen disagreed, noting that the grants require a Section 106 review and inquired about its timing. She said, “One of the advisements on the federal site is make sure you go through that review before you sign a contract for the building, you can read it as before you go out to bid, because if there’s something you could change you might put it at risk.” Zawadski did not have the answer and Hegner suggested that the information could be provided at the Town Council meeting on September 9.
Hegner indicated that he had expected that someone from the library would attend.
Kubiak argued that the current state of project finances should not be a concern of either the Finance Committee or the Town Council at this time. He suggested that the library trustees are elected officials, know what they are doing, and should be trusted to manage the project. Kubiak bemoaned the growing criticism and questioning of the project, suggesting that the trustees should be trusted to do the work they were elected to do. He concluded, “They [the Library Trustees] understand what the limits are and I think they would admit that if the prices are out of control, the project is moot.”
“if the current estimated cost exceeds the $46 million authorization or if the $46 million has a bigger fundraising gap because the funds haven’t come in, the town is the one who’s going to be at risk.”
– District 1 Town Councilor Cathy Schoen
Schoen countered that “the council does need to be financially accountable to the taxpayers” noting that if the current estimated cost exceeds the $46 million authorization or “if the $46 million has a bigger fundraising gap because the funds haven’t come in, the town is the one who’s going to be at risk.”
Finance Committee Discusses Cherry Hill Golf Course Update
Recreation Director Rey Harp was asked to provide an update on the finances of the Cherry Hill Golf Course. He reported that the course “is making money right now and revenue is coming in in advance of those of of expenses”. He noted that the high usage during the pandemic has come down since “but we were able to not not lose that much over the course of the last few years in terms of in terms of active play. We’ve been trying to be creative about using the space offseason.”
Data was shared showing that revenues have exceeded expenses since 2021. Hegner, however, noted that if capital and fringe benefit expenditures were included, “it doesn’t look like you’re making money you’re actually losing a little bit”. He calculated losses of $177,000 in 2022, $58,000 in 2023, and $37,000 in 2024 and encouraged trying to find ways to increase revenues. Mandi Jo Hanneke agreed that there seems to have been some improvements in revenues but asked larger questions: “Should we as a municipality be running a golf course?” and “What other uses would this land have?”.
Harp responded by pointing out that the purchase of the course predated his tenure and saying that “My interest as the director now is to is to allow that asset to grow as much as I can and to make money off of it” adding that “If the town told me that it wasn’t in our best interest financially in terms of business’ sake, then I could make a pivot away from it, but as long as we have that asset, as long as that’s underneath Recreation, we are going to continue.”
Harp also made the case that the facility attracts and serves a diverse demographic. “Cherry Hill is not a course that operates for the town elites. It’s not a place that big money comes in to sort of do big money stuff.” and “If you go out there and run through the parking lot, you will see a really interesting cross-section of a bunch of people who don’t do other things with the town.”
He also noted that reductions in staff to protect revenue “put a lot of strain on the people who work there – on our ground staff and on our clubhouse staff” but that “as much stress as it gives us, we think that we’re bringing in money and we’re doing the best of our service that we possibly can. So I defend it because it’s ours, but I also defend it because I think it fits a mission that we can all get behind.”
Schoen supported Harp’s work saying “I think it’s a pretty amazing resource and the management of it, the expense line has not just stayed down, but it’s lower than it used to be” and noted that the facilities were well used and used as a selling point to live in North Amherst.”
Andy Steinberg expressed some concern that “the projected 2025 budget looked a little worse than prior years as far as the balance between revenue and expenses.”
Dave Ziomek added “My worry is what happens when staff turns over, what happens when we get retirements? Can we hire people and expect the same kind of commitment that we have there now?”
Zawadski and Holly Drake pointed out that because the operations of this type of facility are so weather dependent, they are very conservative with projections so the figures for the upcoming year may make them appear worse than they will be.
Hegner asked Ziomek to look further into the demographics of users to see “If we’re not just serving one narrow slice of the the community or we’re serving a broader spectrum of people.”
Within the global manufacturing industry, maintaining a competitive edge requires a delicate balance between driving internal efficiency and fostering strong external relationships. For Applied Materials, a leader in materials engineering solutions for the semiconductor industry, this challenge became the foundation for a strategic finance transformation program, with an SAP Taulia solution emerging as a key enabler.
The journey began in early 2019 with the launch of Agile Finance, an end-to-end transformation initiative designed to support the company’s aggressive growth trajectory, which included a goal to double in size. The initiative was built around three strategic pillars: enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the finance organization, promoting career fulfillment, and establishing a robust digital operating model. The impact was significant, with the finance function achieving approximately 35% productivity gains in its labor force.
The third pillar—the move to a digital operating model—is where the partnership with SAP Taulia began.
“The SAP Taulia Dynamic Discounting solution was introduced not merely as a cost-cutting measure, but as a strategic tool to transform and digitize the interaction with Applied’s extensive, global supplier base,” Junaid Ahmed, corporate VP, Finance at Applied Materials, says. “We understood that to reap the benefits of digitization, we had to ensure the suppliers were on board. It needed to be a win-win outcome.”
Unprecedented flexibility for suppliers
The program empowers suppliers—thousands of them worldwide—to self-select which approved invoices they wish to discount for early payment. This is not a continuous, all-or-nothing commitment but rather a decision made on an invoice-by-invoice basis. This flexibility allows suppliers to manage their working capital needs with greater precision, taking advantage of early payment during their own critical periods, such as quarter-end or year-end, to help meet their own financial targets.
The system also drastically improves transactional efficiency. Suppliers no longer have to call Applied to track invoice status, approval, or payment date. All this information is available 24/7 in the SAP Taulia solution, reducing resource allocation on both sides and ensuring both reap the benefits of moving to an integrated, digital system.
Strategic benefits for Applied Materials
For Applied, the program is a testament to its focus on balancing efficiency with strong supplier relationships. The philosophy is a “win-win” built on a crucial spread: Applied Materials, as a Fortune 500 company with strong cash flow, has a significantly lower cost of capital than many of its suppliers. By funding the discounts, Applied captures a return—the discount income—while offering its suppliers funding at a rate close to their cost of capital, but with greater convenience.
This relationship-focused approach is critical. Applied’s supplier account managers actively support the program because they recognize its mutual benefit, not viewing it as a finance mandate to push costs onto the supply base.
Furthermore, the “dynamic” nature of the discount rates is a powerful risk mitigation tool. Unlike fixed contractual discounts, the rates can be adjusted in response to global economic changes, such as shifts in interest rates. When interest rates rose after the pandemic, Applied was able to adjust the discount rates accordingly with minimal pushback, as the core proposition remains the valuable spread between the parties’ cost of capital.
The SAP Taulia Dynamic Discounting solution has been rolled out globally, giving all suppliers the opportunity to use it. This has been critical over the last 12 months as many businesses around the globe have been subject to new and often unexpected tariff costs impacting their margin and their liquidity.
“The flexibility of the solution means suppliers can access funds when they need them, which helps them navigate some of the economic uncertainty that many businesses are facing,” Dirk Holoubek, managing director, Finance Shared Services, explains. “2025 saw a 23% increase in usage of the discounts, reflecting the pressures that suppliers are feeling right now on their cash flow.”
The solution’s capability to drive sophisticated analytics is also a major strategic asset. It helps provide insights into the different costs of capital between Applied and its supplier base. This data allows for targeted outreach and communication, ensuring that the offer of capital support is proactively extended to the suppliers that need it most.
The strategic value of the solution is further cemented by its ownership. The acquisition of Taulia by SAP brings several advantages.
“Trust is really important to both us and our suppliers,” Ahmed says. “For our suppliers to adopt a new solution, they need to know its technology they can rely on in the long term. Being part of SAP creates that assurance in the long-term future of the program.”
Looking forward, Applied Materials is already focused on the next stage of the transformation project: Agile Finance 3.0, which is focused on enabling the organization to become AI-first. The company is deploying a global, organization-wide AI assistant to drive personal productivity, but the strategic application of AI in the supplier management space is even more profound.
AI is expected to transform decision-making enablement by analyzing critical information and communicating effective options. In the future, AI will be able to proactively assess the specific needs and attributes of the supplier base, enabling Applied to address issues more quickly and resolve them earlier. The benefits are already tangible in e-invoicing: AI has made the solution more flexible and “human-like,” capable of reading minor changes in invoice format that would have previously caused electronic errors. This reduced rigidity and increased flexibility are directly contributing to the overall efficiency of the digital operating model.
By leveraging the SAP Taulia Dynamic Discounting solution, Applied Materials has not only digitized a process but also strategically transformed its financial operations, creating a system that is agile, resilient, and focused on maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with its global supplier ecosystem.
Cedric Bru is CEO of SAP Taulia.
Finance
Houston budget amendment would give financial assistance to help those impacted by a trash fee
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Houston City Council could soon consider whether to offer financial assistance to help those who may struggle to afford a proposed trash fee.
This month, council will approve a budget. In it, Mayor John Whitmire doesn’t increase taxes.
However, he does want to charge a $5 monthly fee to cover trash services. A plan to help close the city’s nearly $200 million deficit that doesn’t add up to some.
Speaking in front of council on Wednesday, Super Neighborhood 64 president Lindsay Williams brought more than concerns, she had numbers surrounding the mayor’s proposed $5 monthly trash fee.
A plan his team says could climb to $25 a month by 2032. If it does, Williams told council that $300 annual cost would be just .15% of a $200,000 income.
For someone making $15,000, it’s two percent. “More than 13 times the burden for the same trash, same truck and same fee, but not the same pay,” Williams explained.
However, Controller Chris Hollins said the mayor’s not being truthful about the real cost.
“Houstonians are not stupid,” Hollins said. “We should not treat Houstonians like they’re stupid.”
Hollins said the cost may need to be $40 a month. Whitmire didn’t respond to Hollins during the meeting when he asked if he plans to increase the fee.
No matter the cost, some council members want to offer financial relief. Right now, there are no exceptions.
However, an amendment council will consider from Council Member Alejandra Salinas next week would change that.
“If they for whatever reason met the threshold and need an additional need because of the administrative fee, our amendment would allow them to apply for funds through the water fund,” Salinas said.
The trash fee wasn’t the only item from the mayor’s seven and a half billion dollar budget proposal that sparked debate. Hollins said a plan to divert money away from water utilities could drain a billion over the next five years from infrastructure money.
Whitmire disagrees saying there’s more than enough funds to handle the change, and continue with projects.
“We’ve all admitted the budget’s not perfect, but certainly it’s a first start that Houstonians understand and it’s a shame it’s being so politicized because it’s literally people’s lives and death,” Whitmire said.
Council will vote on amendments next week. It has to have a new budget in place by the end of the month.
Copyright © 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Reader question: My spouse has little interest in our financial position. As we age, this concerns me. I try to share some basic information (income, spending, account balances, debt, and so on) each month but rarely get a response. I think graphs or charts might be of more interest to her than a bunch of numbers. What recommendations would you have for illustrating our financial position so that I am not the only person aware of how we are situated? Thanks!
Answer: Your situation is pretty common. Most couples I know develop a division of labor over time, where one person is in charge of financial matters and the other person is less involved. That’s definitely the case for my husband and me. He’s in charge of paying all the monthly bills and preparing our tax returns, but the financial planning and investment decisions are up to me. This type of arrangement might work well for a long time, but can become less sustainable with age, particularly if the “finance person” in the relationship dies or develops a major health issue.
Online tools and mind maps
Illustrating your financial situation with charts and graphs is a great idea that might help your spouse become a little more involved. Morningstar’s Portfolio X-Ray tool includes a variety of images that help illustrate your financial situation. Websites for most major brokerage firms also include some visual tools. Schwab, for example, offers a Portfolio Checkup and a bar graph illustrating your account’s monthly income from dividends and interest income. Vanguard has a Portfolio Watch tool and a variety of performance illustrations, tools, and calculators.
A mind map, which we used with clients when I worked for a financial advisory firm, can be another way to picture your entire financial situation on one page. There are various softwaretemplates for drawing a mind map, or you can simply sketch it out with a large sheet of paper and a pencil. Start with your names at the center of the page. Then draw spokes connecting to various categories, such as names of other family members; investment accounts; real estate and other assets, insurance policies, estate plans, key goals and values, and contact information for accountants, estate planners, and other professionals. It can be helpful to go through the mind map together and make any updates needed at least once a year.
Other ways to communicate about money
A few other ideas—though not related to charts and graphs—might also be useful.
I like the idea of putting together a net worth statement that itemizes cash, taxable accounts, real estate, retirement accounts, and debt for each member of the couple as well as items owned jointly. It’s a good idea to update this document at least once a year and discuss it as a couple. If you set up the document as a spreadsheet, you can include columns with additional information such as account numbers, what each account is used for, which accounts are subject to required minimum distributions, or tax issues like potential capital gains.
Many couples also put together a binder (sometimes humorously called a “Doomsday Book”) that contains information about where to find important paperwork, insurance policies, how bills are paid, what each account is for, steps the surviving spouse will need to take, final wishes, and any other critical information.
A well-qualified financial adviser can bridge the information gap
Finally, you could consider working with a good financial adviser, who can help involve your spouse in financial matters while you’re still living and step in to fully manage investments and personal finance decisions if you pass away before your spouse. Make sure the adviser holds the Certified Financial Planner designation and charges fees that are reasonable. Although a 1% fee is still the industry standard for accounts of $1 million or less, it’s possible to find advisers who charge significantly less, including a few who price their services based on hours worked instead of a percentage of assets under management.
_____
This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.
Amy C. Arnott, CFA, is a portfolio strategist for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.
Related links:
What If This Turns Out to Be a Terrible Time to Retire?
https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/what-if-this-turns-out-be-terrible-time-retire
Bill Bengen: ‘Inflation Is the Greatest Enemy of Retirees’
https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/bill-bengen-inflation-is-greatest-enemy-retirees
3 Big Questions to Ask Your Aging Parents
https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/3-big-questions-ask-your-aging-parents
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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