Trust Funds

Don Armstrong, Town Treasurer 978 - 952 - 2306

The general Laws of the Commonwealth provide for three Commissioners to administer those funds that have been bequeathed or acquired by the Town for special purposes and which use primarily the annual income, as derived from the investment of such funds. Whereas the Treasurer has the full responsibility for all the funds of the Town, the Commissioners participate as advisors to the Treasurer for the investment of these funds in order that there is a steady income for the purposes intended. It is also the policy of the present Commissioners, that the invested funds should increase in value, as consistently as possible, as conditions allow. The funds therefore are pooled, or combined into one major fund, participating in the congregate investment in proportion to the basis of their individual value.

The past year continued to bring the difficult combination of falling stock valuations and decreased interest rates, which inevitably has affected the performance of the Town's trust funds.  The total market value of the invested funds decreased from $3,962,984 to $3,567,275, for a decline of 10%.  income from the invested funds was $66,012.27, a decrease of 8.67% from the prior year.  As a number of high yielding fixed investments matured during the year, with no equivalent yield bonds available to replace them, the Commissioners have shifted the available cash to higher yielding stocks to preserve income.

The entities that will participate in the distribution of this money include:

• The Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund is the largest. It usually grows each year from the sale of burial lots.
• The Town Library - this money comes from several bequests and the fund raising efforts of the Library Trustees.
• The School Department - there are five contributing funds that benefit projects for the Town Schools.
• Scholarships - there are three scholarship funds. The Littleton Scholarship Trust administers two and the Commissioners administer the third. See details regarding the F. M. Kimball Second Fund.

The detailed accounting and distribution data for these funds appear every year in the Annual Town Report. See details from 2004 Annual Report. The Commissioners are elected for a term of three years.

Investment Details
The F.M. Kimball Second Fund