With CFO’s unexplained absence, town’s PILOT plans appear stalled
Select Board member Mary Hartman acknowledged that planning will have to be revisited due to staffing shuffles.
Two months after the Select Board green-lighted initial outreach, non-profit leaders say they still haven’t heard from the town about possible payment in lieu of tax (PILOT) agreements.
Chief Financial Officer Anthony Ansaldi was set to oversee the process. But he’s been on a leave of absence since late June, and town officials won’t explain why he’s gone or if he’s coming back.
Select Board member Mary Hartman acknowledged that planning will have to be revisited due to staffing shuffles. Select Board Chair Mark Howell said last week that he doesn’t think the Select Board will step in to conduct the negotiations, since that’s a job better left to town staff.
“We’re just trying to set a goal so that we can judge whether or not we’re making progress on that,” he said of a new target to reach deals with 10% of non-profit landowners over the next year.
The Select Board adopted a PILOT policy last fall, eyeing the chance to recoup revenue from Acton’s tax-exempt organizations. Officials hailed non-profits’ benefits, but said they also tap municipal resources.
In May, Ansaldi and the Select Board discussed sending a draft letter to executives asking them to open negotiations voluntarily. The panel gave its informal approval.
But earlier this month, Hartman said she doesn’t think the letter went out. Spokespersons for Acton Academy, The Fenn School, and Middlesex School confirmed their organizations hadn’t been contacted as of last week.
Confluence of tasks
Town Communications Director Donna McIntosh had no update on Ansaldi’s situation on July 17. Asked whether town lawyers are involved, she said Acton has labor counsel and, “They are often involved in personnel matters.”
Ansaldi did not respond to numerous Acton Bridge requests for an interview as of press time.
Town Manager Kerry Lafleur tapped Ansaldi’s deputy, Ryan Ferrara, as Acton’s acting chief financial officer, and McIntosh said he’s been busy handling a payroll software conversion. The town is also closing its books on the 2025 fiscal year.
“It’s an interesting time of year for all of this to happen,” McIntosh said.
In an email, Hartman said the Select Board still supports the PILOT program.
In May, Ansaldi floated $100,000 as a first-year goal for PILOT revenue. At the time, Hartman questioned whether that was too low. As board members discussed PILOT goals last week, they omitted dollar amounts altogether.
At present, Acton has only a handful of PILOT agreements. Other landowners, including Emerson Hospital and the town’s independent schools, have no such deals.
“Even being able to talk to 10% of those groups, and get to an agreement, would be something that would be pretty significant over where we are today,” Howell told his colleagues.
The PILOT policy has no legal teeth.
Mixed responses
David Owen, a member of the Acton Scout House board of directors, said he hadn’t heard about the effort when reached last Friday. He said Scout House leaders value being part of the community and “would give anything the town brought to us serious consideration.”
Owen said he hopes the town considers factors such as the size of each organization’s endowment and their ability to pay when entering negotiations, rather than focusing only on their property’s assessed value.
Last month, Emerson Health President and CEO Christine Schuster said Emerson Hospital already boosts the region “in multiple ways.” She said she’s navigated previous PILOT efforts and plans to present data to the town later this year.
Asked whether the hospital’s impact means a traditional PILOT would not be necessary, Schuster declined to comment.
When staff see Emerson’s “vast economic impact,” she said later in the conversation, she’s confident they “will be happy.”
An Emerson spokesperson did not immediately answer a Bridge question about whether the hospital has heard from the town.
