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2014-02-20 Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee February20,2014 : LegionRoom,Cary MemorialBuilding,7:30p.m. :Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Robert Cohen; Alan Levine;Susan McLeish;Eric Michelson; Jonina Schonfeld; Rob Addelson (non- voting, ex officio) Members Absent:Mollie Garberg;Richard Neumeier Others Present:Norm Cohen, Board of Selectmen (BoS); Joe Pato, BoS; Carl Valente, Town Manager; Kevin Mahoney, Assistant Superintendent, Minuteman Technical Institute (MTI); David Horton, MTI School Committee, Lexington Representative; AndreiRadulescu-Banu, Precinct 8 Town Meeting member The meetingwas calledto order at 7:35p.m. Amendments to MTI Regional Agreement(Article 23): 1.Mr. Mahoney reported on the 14-month effortto updatethe regional agreement that governs MTI’s 16 member communities, which will be addressed under Article 23 at the Annual Town Meeting. Thedifficult process was considered necessary to move forward pending capital improvement projects as well as for the long-term sustainability of the programs offered by the institution.Usingslides, he reviewed the eight changes that are being recommended, noting the following: Changing toa four-year rolling enrollment average for determining the operating cost allocations is expected tominimize financial spikes for the participating towns. Rather than only using the most recent enrollment figures for determining capital cost allocations, therecommendation is to useseveral formulas, as follows: 16%tobe shared equally by the 16member towns; 50% tobe allocated to the member towns based on the four-year rolling enrollment average; The balance tobe allocatedusing the state-generated Chapter 70 formula, which factors in income and property values, as well as enrollment figuresfor each town. A 2/3 majority vote of school committee members would be required for approving debt. If the debt is not approved by all member communities at town meeting, as currently required, there would be an alternative option for a referendum vote in a district-wide election, and the debt could be approved by a majority of the aggregate votes cast. The followingrecommended changes areincluded to incentivize townsto become members: TheSchool Committeecannegotiate a gradual 4-year “buy-in”before a town assumes full responsibility ofcapital costs, assuming approval by the member towns. Cities as well as towns can become member communities. The withdrawalprocess fora member community will be less onerous. Currently, withdrawal of a member requires approval by all member communities and the withdrawing member remains liable for its share of debt approved while it was a 1