On December 12, two Board of Finance subcommittees presented first drafts of recommended guidelines for managing debt and preserving robust fund balances. A third group, focusing on the town’s debt capacity, will prepare a long-term financial forecast based on expected growth of operating expenses and planned capital spending.

Capital projects somewhere on the horizon include repairing or replacing Weston Middle School, correcting problems at other schools, addressing the Town’s need for facilities, replacing the system that supplies water to the municipal campus and school district, and at last doing something about the school bus depot before a mandated transition to electric buses takes effect.

The board plans to adopt policies in February. None of them will have, as chair Michael Imber put it, “the power of law,” but are intended to “define our approach to managing Weston’s finances,” promote consistency, and preserve the confidence of credit rating agencies.

Mr. Imber said an evaluation of preliminary recommendations will be conducted in December by the Board of Selectmen and the Town administrator, Town finance director, and Town attorney. Input will also be sought from the town’s municipal advisor and bond counsel.

The full Board of Finance will meet to review and revise a set of recommendations on January 9. A public comment session will be held on January 15. The target date for adoption of a final version is February 13.

The policies will always require updating and revision, said Mr. Imber. “We want to make this model a useful tool for long-term financial planning.”

Mr. Imber explains the ongoing work and the overall process in more detail in a Letter to the Editor.