By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—The three newly-seated Trustees of Public Funds (TPF) convened for their first meeting on Tuesday, August 12. The three new Trustees—Faith Daya, Devon Fuller, and Tracy Wyman—were appointed by the Brandon Selectboard after the three previous Trustees—Laura Miner, Tanner Romano, and Courtney Satz—resigned this spring.
The resignations came in the wake of heated controversy surrounding the previous Trustees’ approach to managing the funds left to the town of Brandon by Shirley Farr, one of Brandon’s wealthiest residents at the time of her passing in 1955. Ms. Farr’s will had stipulated that the bequest be used primarily for public sanitation projects. However, over the decades, the various members of TPF had begun taking a more expansive view of the board’s mission, relying on a provision of the will that allowed money not used for sanitation to be used for other public benefits not covered by municipal taxes.
Under this provision, TPF had granted money over the years for numerous projects unrelated to sanitation (Editor’s note: In 2024, The Reporter received $5,000 from TPF). These grants became the subject of community scrutiny when TPF pledged $20,000 to the Otter Valley Activities Association (OVAA) for a feasibility study for a proposed community recreation center that came to be known as the Valley Community Center (VCC).
One of the central figures in VCC was Tanner Romano, owner of Naylor & Breen builders in Brandon and one of the members of TPF. Mr. Romano’s involvement in both TPF and VCC drew intense criticism from some Brandon residents who felt that the relationship was a conflict of interest. They argued that Mr. Romano should have recused himself from the TPF decision to award the money to OVAA. A formal ethics complaint against Mr. Romano and Ms. Miner was filed with the state and investigated by the Brandon Selectboard.
Though the VCC project was ultimately shelved, and the Selectboard found only the appearance of a conflict without direct financial benefit to Mr. Romano and no conflict for Ms. Miner, pressure on Mr. Romano continued until he resigned in the spring. Ms. Miner and Ms. Satz attempted to continue with TPF but a contentious public meeting after Mr. Romano’s departure prompted them both to resign as well.
In addition to the specific situation regarding VCC, critics held that TPF had strayed impermissibly far from the terms of the original Farr bequest and that Trustees must give priority to town-managed sanitation projects. Brandon Town Manager Seth Hopkins had argued at the last TPF meeting before Mr. Romano’s resignation that the terms of the Farr bequest made the town of Brandon the sole beneficiary of the bequest and that awards should not go to non-municipal projects.
After the resignations, the Selectboard solicited applications for the Trustees’ replacements and appointed Ms. Daya, Mr. Fuller, and Mr. Wyman.
At their August 12 meeting, the new Trustees introduced themselves and selected Mr. Fuller as the Chair and Ms. Daya as the Clerk.
Mr. Fuller has served on several other local boards, including the Brandon Selectboard and the Otter Valley School Board. He is currently also the president of the Downtown Brandon Alliance. He has lived in Brandon for 18 years.
“I thought this was one more thing I wouldn’t mind getting involved with,” he said.
Ms. Daya does not have prior experience with public boards but has extensive professional experience in finance and trusts. Ms. Daya was critical of the approach taken by the previous Trustees.
“I love living in Brandon,” she said. “It’s a fabulous town.”
Mr. Wyman has served on other boards, including the Brandon Selectboard. He is a native of Brandon.
“I thought I’d like to try this,” he said.
Ms. Daya provided a summary of the current financial state of the trust, which has $932,955 in an investment account with Morgan Stanley and $1,941 in a checking account at Bar Harbor Bank. The Trustees have historically disbursed $20,000 to $30,000 annually.
Ms. Daya also reviewed the previous Trustees’ last awards: $20K to the town for vacuums at the wastewater treatment plant on Union Street and $5K for repairs to the bell tower at the Brandon United Methodist Church. There was some speculation that the award to the Methodist Church had contingencies, though the official minutes of the last TPF meeting did not mention any.
According to Daya, neither of those disbursements has yet been made, since they had been pledged during the previous fiscal year, which ended on June 30, and TPF had already reached its limit for that year. Ms. Daya said that the grants would be disbursed in the current fiscal year and would likely account for all the funds available for disbursement for the year.
Ms. Daya also presented revised application forms which require applicants to provide greater financial detail about their proposed projects than had the prior version. TPF had been criticized for not requiring applicants to demonstrate need or prove how disbursed funds had actually been used. The new form asks applicants whether they have “reached out to other funding sources or conducted fundraising” in order to determine that applicants are not seeking TPF funds, which belong to the people of Brandon, without first seeking funding elsewhere.
The new Trustees discussed other adjustments to the application process to provide more transparency both as to how the awards are made and how they are spent.
They discussed having applicants appear in person to answer questions about their applications. They discussed requiring financial statements showing the financial status of the applicant organizations. They discussed a suggestion from attendees that the Trustees establish a yearly or semi-yearly deadline so that all applications can be considered and compared simultaneously. Previously, applications were considered on a rolling basis, which often meant that early applications could tie up available funding for the fiscal year even if worthier applications were later received.
During the segment dedicated to public comment, Brandon Town Manager Seth Hopkins reiterated his position that the original intent of Ms. Farr’s will mandated that the monies from the fund be given first to municipal uses if the town requests them.
“It doesn’t matter if the trust has evolved,” he said. “Return the trust to its moorings. If Brandon wants a ‘Community Chest,’ we can find other ways to fund it.”
Another attendee agreed with Mr. Hopkins and added that the Trustees should institute an auditing process in which successful applicants will demonstrate how their awards were actually spent.
Brandon Selectboard Chair Doug Bailey thanked the new Trustees for “taking on the task” and stated that he had “total faith in you guys,” though he did also encourage the Trustees to follow up on awards.
Mr. Hopkins advised the Trustees to consult with their financial advisor at Morgan Stanley in a warned public meeting in order to get an overview of the trust and formulate an investment strategy for the future.
The Trustees also discussed the frequency of their meetings, noting that they did not need to meet if there was no business to discuss. They agreed to meet again in October or November. Once the date is set, the next meeting will be duly warned.
