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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE - NOVEMBER 2015 STM #2 ied several times. The site is relatively small and a number of constraints limit the possibilities for a new station. Other sites have also been considered. No site, including the current site, looks to be favorable at present in light of all aspects of locating a new building including ownership, cost, parking, etc. Hence, it is prudent to take a second look at the current site and possibly other sites, especially since the previous studies did not leave every stone unturned. This article responds to this situation with a request for the appropriation of $20,000 to enable the retention of engineering and design services for definitive and in -depth evaluation of selected locations in the search for a site for a new primary fire station. The current site of the Fire Station Headquarters is the primary target of the proposed appropriation. The issues that must be resolved before the current site could be determined to be suitable include • Whether there are any reasonable prospects to change the site to make it more suitable for a new station; • Clarification of the restrictions imposed by the cul de sac street Camelia Place. • Whether there are possible configurations for a new building that fit the site better than previous concepts. Other issues may also be studied. The scope of the article is sufficiently broad to allow for limited studies of other sites if the current site is determined to be unsuitable or less preferable than other sites. The Committee recommends approval of this request (9 -0). Article 7: Amend FY 2016 Operating, Enterprise Fund And Community Preservation Budgets Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation See Below Various (see text) Approve (7 -0) Background At the conclusion of the 2015 annual town meeting, approximately $825,308 of FY2016 revenue remained unallocated and available for appropriation. Since that time there has been an upward revision of the esti- mate of FY2016 revenue, so that the amount now available for appropriation at this special town meeting is $994,231. The revenue increase is driven primarily by an increase in State aid based on the final FY2016 state budget approved in July. There may be some additional increase in revenue when FY2016 new growth is finalized later this fall but it is expected to be modest. The revised FY2016 revenue estimate is net of a set -aside of $643,650 that will be applied to fund the FY2015 snow and ice deficit per the requirements of the Department of Revenue. Financing of a prior snow and ice deficit does not require action by Town Meeting. Of the total funds that now remain unallocated, $662,194 results from a decision made at the annual town meeting to lower the Town Manager's original recommended appropriation of $1,862,194 to the OPEB Trust Fund to $1,200,000 in order to preserve flexibility in case there were urgent needs in the fall. The source of funds for the originally planned OPEB contribution was primarily tax levy money freed up by an appropriation under ATM Article 4 of $1,858,947 from the Health Claims Trust Fund (HCTF) to finance FY2016 health care benefit costs. Recently, in the process of certifying the Town's free cash as of July 1, 2015, the Department of Revenue noted a deficit in the Town's withholding account for payment of premi- ums to the State's Group Insurance Commission (GIC) of approximately $647,000. The Department of 6