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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE REPORT TO NOVEMBER 2011 STM Special Election The original FY12 budget covered the costs of two elections: the Annual Town Election and the March Presidential Primary. Moving the Town Election to the same time/date as the Presidential Primary (Tues- day, March 6, 2012)will save the town approximately$15,000. The Debt Exclusion Election planned for January 2012 was not part of the FY12 budget and is projected to cost $35,000. The additional $20,000 requested is the difference between the total cost of the debt ex- clusion and the anticipated savings from conducting two elections at the same time. Legal Fees The Town is currently litigating multiple cases before the Appellate Tax Board that require legal representation that was not anticipated when the legal budget was adopted at the 2011 Annual Town Meeting. A supplemental appropriation of$50,000 is estimated to be sufficient to cover these litigation costs. Police Sergeant Assessment Center An "Assessment Center" is a formal examination process used to establish a Civil Service list to select a Police Sergeant. It substitutes for the traditional written exam process used by the Civil Service. The cost is driven by the number of candidates who apply and the number of professional assessors needed to con- duct the examinations. Estimates from two consulting firms were used to derive the$20,000 request. The Police Chief anticipates a retirement in the spring of 2012. Due to contractual language, the Town must begin the RFP process for selecting a consultant to perform this examination six months in advance. October 2011 Storm Cleanup The early winter storm has put a strain on the budget for the Department of Public Works and the De- partment of Public Facilities. Since we are only just entering the unpredictable winter season, the proposal to add$200,000 to the DPW budget to cover these extraordinary costs now is a prudent one so that we are better prepared for the coming months. Amendments to Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund Budgets The paragraphs immediately below describe the three categories of proposed amendments to the FY12 water and sewer enterprise budgets previously approved at the 2011 Annual Town Meeting. 1. Housekeeping Changes. As is customary, the MWRA water and sewer expense line items in the enter- prise fund budgets approved at the 2011 Annual Town Meeting were based on preliminary assessments published early in the year by the MWRA. The rates set by the Board of Selectmen on October 24, 2011 were based on final assessments that the MWRA published in June. Town Meeting is now requested, as a housekeeping matter, to amend the original MWRA estimates to reflect the final assessments, as follows: FY12 MWRA Assessments Preliminary Final Change Water $5,012,091 $5,049,999 $37,908 Sewer $6,866,826 $6,802,875 ($63,951) Combined $11,878,917 $11,852,874 ($26,043) 2. Revision of Debt Service Costs. The FY12 water and sewer enterprise fund budgets presented at the 2011 Annual Town Meeting contained estimates of certain anticipated debt service costs. Town Meeting is now asked to amend the original budgets to reflect the actual debt service costs determined after the issuance of bonds in February and notes in June. The original sewer budget also inadvertently failed to include approximately $170,000 in debt service cost for an interest-free MWRA loan for a project target- Page 12