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The Town of Sudbury has received a comprehensive Financial Management Review (FMR) from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services (DLS), which outlines a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening long-term fiscal health and modernizing day-to-day operations.
The report, prepared at the Town’s request and dated October 2025, emphasizes the need to update governance documents and streamline financial technology processes — but the vast majority of the recommendations are anchored in the minutiae of municipal finance processes and procedures.
At the highest level, DLS lauded the progress Sudbury has made since it last conducted a review for Sudbury, and highlighted the impact of new leadership in Sudbury:
The current town manager was appointed in February 2023, following a seven-year tenure as Middleton’s town administrator and five years in that role in Townsend. In the three years before his hiring, the select board had become more involved in administrative matters than would be expected in a town with a formally codified strong town manager position, primarily due to the inexperience of the officeholder at that time. However, based on our conversations, select board members have steadily gained confidence in the incumbent’s administrative and budgetary skills, which has consequently helped to reverse that trend. In addition, since his arrival, the town manager has successfully navigated through a series of turnovers in managerial positions in numerous departments throughout town. Thus, early on he has gotten the opportunity to assemble a leadership team largely of his own choosing, one that can bring new energies and perspectives to service provision in Sudbury.
Staff responses are embedded in the document, highlight actions already taken to address the recommendations or plans for next steps.
The review comes as Sudbury faces the ongoing challenge of funding essential services, with its annual tax levy consistently near the maximum capacity allowed by Proposition 2 1/2, making significant budget expansion difficult without a levy limit override.
Call for Charter and By-Law Modernization
A primary recommendation from the DLS is for the Town to undertake a formal Charter Review, the first since the town manager form of government was established in Sudbury 31 years ago. DLS suggests this best practice and is recommended every 10 years. According to the report, it will ensure the town’s structure remains effective as the community evolves. They said the review should consider:
- Formally codifying the consolidated Finance Department within the Charter.
- Reviewing the roles and size of the Finance Committee.
- Determining whether any currently elected boards should transition to appointed positions.
The report also recommends a follow-up, comprehensive review of the Town’s General By-Laws to eliminate inconsistencies and align them with current procedures.
Streamlining Financial Operations and Controls
The DLS report identifies several areas within the central Finance Department that would benefit from procedural upgrades, particularly to improve internal controls and increase efficiency using the existing Munis software system. The report gets into the weeds in these areas, but there a two recommendations that may be of broader interest to the public.
Key Operational Highlights:
- Adopt Quarterly Budget Reporting: To enhance communication and decision-making, the Town Manager and Finance Director are urged to produce detailed quarterly budget reports for the Select Board and Finance Committee, benchmarking year-to-date revenues and expenditures against adopted budgets.
- Revolving Fund Compliance: The DLS advised the Town to re-examine all 25 of its departmental revolving funds (M.G.L. c. 44, § 53E½) to ensure all revenue streams comply with the “fee-for-service” requirement, noting that several funds appeared to contain revenue types inappropriate for their current classification. Town staff responses in the document indicated that they intend to close out several existing revolving funds.
Enhancing Finance Systems and Staff Capacity
The report also addressed technology and staffing. While this was mostly in the weeds, two recommendations stood out.
IT and Staffing Highlights:
- Cybersecurity Posture: The DLS recommends the IS department refresh its IT policies every two to three years, and that the Town prioritize periodic IT risk assessments to protect against evolving cyber threats.
- Assessing Department Capacity: The DLS recommends the Town develop a plan to gradually reduce the scope of work performed by outside consultants in the Assessing Department in favor of growing in-house staff capacity.
The Select Board is scheduled to review and discuss the DLS Financial Management Review at their meeting on November 18, 2025. The report can be reviewed in the Select Board packet starting on page 44 below.
