2008-01-03-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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January 3, 2008 been relocated to Old Harrington, freeing up space in school buildings. He is not aware of any additions to the CO administrative staff. f) The School Committee will hold a public hearing on the Superintendent’s budget on 1/15/08. 4. School Issue – Quarterly reporting A discussion was initiated on the TMMA e-mail list in regards to whether the School Committee has adequately responded to the non-binding referendum passed at the 2007 Town Meeting calling for the School Committee to provide quarterly budget reports. We engaged in a discussion with Tom about the viability, advantages and shortcomings of incorporating “FTE’s by line item” and an “expended ytd vs budgeted ytd by line item” in their quarterly reports. Rob, when asked to comment on what the municipal side did to present and use quarterly reports information, gave 3 points: 1) have rigor in budget building; 2) have internal processes which give good control and proper posting of spending; 3) have the institutional knowledge to understand the monthly spending patterns. 5. Town Investment Exposure to the Sub-prime Lending Crisis. Alan and Rob reported that they were contacted by a Town Meeting member (Steve Kropper) who asked about this subject. Rob explained that the Town is prevented by law from investing its operating money and reserves in risky investments such as these. The Pension Board, of which he is a member, is not subject to the same legal restrictions but it has reviewed its portfolio and confirmed that it has no direct exposure (other than the effect on the market generally) resulting from the sub-prime crisis. Of course, some of its investments may be indirectly affected by this crisis. This year’s pension fund performance is expected to be on par with past years. 6. Post-employment Health Insurance Liability. Alan raised some questions about the estimated $100 million liability and the estimated $7 million annual contributions needed to fully fund that liability. He stated that some of the $7 million is a matter of keeping up with inflation and, thus, that the $7 million figure overstates the real problem. Further discussions on this that quantify the various effects will be necessary to make the big picture clearer. 7. Staff Report – Rob Addelson. a) The presentation of the Town Manager’s recommended budget to the Board of Selectmen is scheduled for 1/14/08. b) The snow budget is 50% spent. c) The Fire Department has some vehicle repair issues, which may need a reserve fund transfer. d) The Cable TV revolving fund expenditure threshold may need to be increased by $400,000 over the amount approved at the last Annual Town Meeting. This one-time increase is needed to pay for the build out of the Klein Hall studio. This change can be made by a vote of the Board of - 2 -