Daniel Brennan is the Director of the Maine State Housing Authority, named to the position on April 9, 2018. Prior to this role, Brennan served in a number of senior staff positions with the authority beginning in 1993, including Senior Director of Programs, Director of Energy & Housing Services, Director of Development, Director of Asset Management, and Internal Auditor. Prior to joining MaineHousing, Brennan was an internal auditor for Maine National Bank and RECOLL Management Corporation.
Mr. Brennan received his BA from the University of Maine and his MBA from Thomas College. He also holds the Certified Internal Auditor designation.
Brennan and his wife, Monica, live in Winslow.
Bits & Pieces | by Erik Jorgensen
Pre-meeting chatter focused on the upcoming Red Sox Series with Houston, starting that evening, where the Red Sox are facing the Astros in the Best of Seven American League Championship series. Go Sox!
Julie L’Heureux provided the invocation, a paean to fall foliage, in the form of a New England- style riff on A.E. Housman’s poem, The Loveliest of Trees. While Housman wrote of cherries in the snow, Julie reworked the prose to honor New England maples in their fall colors. And while this editor normally would not recommend messing with the work of a great poet like Housman, Julie somehow pulled it off.
Patty Byers had lots to share on the polio front: the Pints for Polio social event was a success – Amy Chipman and Mike Fortunato made it possible. The event happened on October 14 at Eli Small’sBrookside Food & Drink in Westbrook, and at least 20 folks showed up. We raised a bit over 100 bucks directly, plus contributions from Eli’s which have not yet been totaled. Patty reported that a social event – sort of like this one - will be happening each month to do something fun, to raise a bit of money, but mostly to have some fun and fellowship.
(L to R: Dick Hall, Eli Small, Amy Chipman, Patty Byers)
Patty went on to remind people that on the 23rd (next Saturday), there will be a crocus planting in Post Office Park at Middle and Exchange, starting at 9. Bring your own shovel or trowel! 400 bulbs need to be planted. It should take about an hour. Regarding Post Office Square, former Portland postmaster Mike Fortunato reminded us of the history – this park is where the old post office stood until 1966.
Polio Plus remains a theme – any donation is matched 2:1 by the Gates Foundation – 25 bucks becomes 75. You can contribute online at endpolio.org, or you can send a contribution by check to Alice at our club, and it will be sent in.
President Bob noted that Michelle Disotto and Alice Alexander have been working hard to improve the Club’s banking capacity – now we are associated with Bangor Savings, and the club will have better online payment and contribution receipt capacity in the future.
Club members are out and about, experiencing the Maine woods and the extraordinary color! Bruce Moore and Jan Chapman are out in the woods and beamed into the meeting; Bob Traill was back with us, and Liz and Roger Fagan are taking in the colors from Acadia.
A Treasurer's Report | by Ben Lowry
On Friday, October 15th, Portland Rotary was fortunate to host Henry Beck, Maine's Treasurer. Beck, from Waterville and a Colby grad with a JD from UMaine, impressed with his quick rundown of the many areas of expertise that the state and its citizenry expect from this high-ranking position.
The core functions of his position, which is an appointment confirmed by the Maine Legislature, can be broken down into six areas: cash management, trust funds, directorships, bond sales, revenue sharing and unclaimed property. Each of these tasks has been hindered by the pandemic but, with patience and a lot of insight, Henry has been able to maintain Maine's finances and keep us in very good standing during these tumultuous times.
As the state's banker, Henry and his staff are responsible for advising the executive and legislative branches as to how to handle our $3.82 billion general fund, which is not to be confused with a "rainy day" fund, which currently sits at $492 million. This cash pool includes federal dollars, which have expanded the fund with COVID and rental assistance but, even if we excluded these sums, the state of Maine currently holds over three billion dollars in monies, the highest sum in our history. With investment in conservative instruments, mainly through Maine banks, the treasurer's office has the goal of maintaining liquidity while earning a decent yield, which we saw last year with over three million dollars in earnings.
The trust funds, valued at $93 million, oversee Baxter Park, the UMaine system, including the community colleges, as well as the Maine Firefighters Fund. Committees within the legislature make decisions on these funds, with advisement from Henry's office, and more aggressive investments seen as the norm.
Henry Beck is an ex officio member of 11 boards and commissions, wherein the majority of his time is spent. These directorships include input in the Public Employee Retirement Fund (PERS), Maine State Housing Authority, the Financial Authority of Maine (FAME), as well as monies attached to the Harold Alfond Fund, which provide numerous opportunities to UMaine students and families, including the 529 program, designed for parents to save for their children's educational expenses.
Bond sales and debt management are also the purview of the treasurer, with the voters going to the ballots to approve the bonds, which are typically for infrastructure, port and university initiatives and upgrades. The bond debt is then paid back within a decade, with our next bond issue, a $100 million transportation package, with $253 million in matching federal funds, coming forth on the upcoming November ballot. The bond sales, which in June of 2021 amounted to $117.5 million, allow for the state to improve its credit rating with agencies such as Moody's and Standard & Poors, which have given the state high marks for its handling of bonds during the pandemic, praise not received by all. Maine does have some impediments, however, which need to be addressed or at least acknowledged in order to maintain a AAA rating. Climate change is affecting most every state's standing, but in our little corner of the country, a lack of diversity, an aging workforce and very flat population growth cannot be ignored, with a need to become creative and welcoming a necessity for our state's business and political leadership.
Revenue sharing is an essential piece of the fiscal puzzle, with the treasury sending out almost $17 million per month to Maine cities and towns. The largest revenues in any state come from income and sales taxes, with a large uptick, yet surprisingly statistically insignificant, in monies received from the overperformance of the tax revenues gained from alcohol and marijuana sales in Maine in 2020-2021. The treasurer's office wires monies to the municipalities with, for example, payments to a city such as Portland ranging from $450,000 in August of 2020 to $870,000 in the same month a year later.
Henry has some money for you, perhaps. One of his office's responsibilities is handling and disbursing over $270 million in unclaimed property. Unclaimed Property consists of money and other financial assets that are considered lost or abandoned when an owner cannot be located. It includes items such as bank accounts, uncashed checks, life insurance policies, unpaid wages, stocks and dividends, refunds, and safe deposit box contents. Unclaimed Property does not include real estate, animals or vehicles. In Cumberland County, of interest to most Windjammer readers, there is over $40 million in unclaimed monies awaiting retrieval. Please take a moment to check for your big payday by visiting "maineunclaimedproperty.gov"
Henry Beck seems to be the perfect person for the job of state treasurer. He is affable, knowledgeable, approachable and fascinating. Thanks to President Bob Martin for corralling this busy man, who was able to pull back the curtain on an aspect of state government that often flies below the radar for the typical citizen.
Moment of Reflection
“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in. Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Speaker Schedule
October 22 |Dan Brennan, Director Maine Housing
October 29 | Dana Eidsness, Director, North Atlantic Development Organization
November 5 | Leigh Saufley, Dean, Maine Law
November 12 | Sarah Riggott, New Satellite Club & Literacy Project in Guatemala
November 19 | Sue Inches, author of Advocating for the Environment
November 26 | No Meeting
December 3 | Charles Norchi, Center for Oceans & Coastal Law, Maine Law School
December 10 | Paul Mayewski, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine
December 17 | Bob Martin, Review, Reports, Reflection
on April 9, 2018. Prior to this role, Brennan served in a number of senior staff positions with the authority beginning in 1993, including Senior Director of Programs, Director of Energy & Housing Services, Director of Development, Director of Asset Management, and Internal Auditor. Prior to joining MaineHousing, Brennan was an internal auditor for Maine National Bank and RECOLL Management Corporation.
