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Mr. Marshall said that a subcommittee had met with the Superintendent after the schools had settled a 2-yr. agreement with certain long-term impacts. They were considering having someone from Appropriations sit in with the negotiations in the future to help calculate the cost impacts of proposals. Mrs. Arlan said this was now a practice in 50% of communities. Mr. Dailey mentioned three recent personnel issues the School Committee had dealt with--the superintendent search, the elimination of Dr. Monderer's position, and the termination of Dr. Goodridge--and asked if the PAB could help with those or similar issues. Mr. Chapman said that the PAB could look at .broad principles but that it was essential to have the backing of the policy-makers. Mr. Dailey said the Appropriation Committee could help in promoting the PAB as a resourcla. Mrs. Arlan commented that most organizational problems are not unique to a given group, and that knowing how others have dealt with problems can help evolve rational processes for dealing with issues that arise. Mr. Guilmartin proceeded with the third question of the effectiveness of Article 5. Mr. Chapman commented that it had been a response to the need not to establish wage adjustments for union personnel before bargaining was concluded. Mr. Guilmar- tin reviewed the role the PAB plays in establishing the figure for Article 5, which includes meeting with the Town Manager, discussing levels of increases in various industries learned from their own information and from professional literature, collecting comparative data and applying a judgment factor. This results in a recommendation to the Manager. He said they do not review individual salaries but do look at ranges, and based on comparative data and other factors recommend range adjustment. Mr. Chapman said that previously there had been no system for salary adjustments, and it was necessary to look line by line. He said now, the system looks at market and comparability factors for range adjustment, and performance dictates salary. The system is kept on an objective basis. Mr. Dailey said the Appropriation committee saw the personal services budget, the amount for Article 5 but salary schedules after they had been voted. He said they were interested in a breakdown of how Article 5 was arrived at, and how dispensed. Mr. Guilmartin suggested that more frequent meetings of the two committees might be helpful. Mr. Cataldo said he wanted to understand the system, and to get a sense of how the town stands on staff levels. Mr. Chapman said that with respect to classification, the Town had implemented a plan developed by AD Little, which compared benchmark jobs. The plan calls for a review of one-third of all positions every three years to keep it current. Mrs. Shunney suggested that the PAB could also provide some data from the private sector. Mr. Muehlmann commented that continuing to compare the Town with other communities could become a cycle where it would appear that the public sector can't be managed because it isn't managed. He said the Appro- priation Committee wanted to know where the School Committee would be going in the next few years, since it appears that funds are going into education at the expense of the service sector. He asked if the PAB could get more information from the school regarding staffing projections, looking at age, length of service, etc. Mr. Silverman said that the budget contains both controllable and uncontrollable aspects, but that the Appropriation Committee has little input into the personnel budget, except via the PAB. He asked if 5-7% increases were justifiable in light of the 21% limit on the growth in tax revenue. Mr. Chapman said the PAB would be interested in having more information on the town's financial condition from