Swampscott FinCom continues warrant review

SWAMPSCOTT – The Finance Committee unanimously recommended a 2 percent raise for non-union municipal employees but postponed voting on whether to recommend increased benefits for retired town employees until they better understood how the benefits impacted future financial liabilities.”We have nearly the equivalent of a one-year operating budget in unfunded retirement benefits,” said Finance Committee member Rand Folta. “If you don’t say stop now, where do you go from here?”The Thursday meeting was the second of several for the committee to review the Town Warrant and vote to recommend individual articles involving fiduciary matters. Committee members must present the articles, and their recommendations on them, when Town Meeting commences on May 2.Committee members at the meeting identified unfunded liabilities such as the retirement benefits, collective bargaining commitments and the sale of town-owned properties as some of the top financial issues facing the town.