Task force seeks single summary of prior spending to show 'sunk costs'

Members of the Town of Concord task force asked staff to produce one consolidated table that lists all expenditures to date related to the dam/removal and dredging work so the public can see what has already been spent versus what the town would pay in the future.

Why it matters: task force members said transparency about prior spending will help residents interpret the new capital estimates and avoid assigning past expense to one subcommittee’s future budget.

Discussion: Multiple members proposed including costs dating back to earlier alternatives studies (for example, 2012 and the 2018 analysis) and to list fees for the 30% design, dredging solicitation and other task-force expenses. Several members cautioned against letting the exercise become a source of contention over who “owns” past costs; instead they preferred an impartial, overall-task-force summary.

A suggestion from the meeting: produce a single summary table that lists historic expenditures (date, purpose, amount, payer if known) and display it in the front of the summary report so readers can distinguish prior spending from the new capital ask.

Clarifying details discussed included that some task-force work and third-party studies predate the current 30% design; task-force members said they do not want only the dam subgroup’s prior expenditures singled out while other groups’ prior spending remains unshown.

Next steps: Jeff said he will relay the group’s feedback to the steering group and asked staff to prepare a consolidated summary for inclusion in the overall task force materials.

Ending: The group agreed that an all-inclusive summary is preferable to piecemeal or subgroup-only accounting and that the steering group should coordinate final content.