2022-03-28-AC-ATM-STM-rptrev - Laserfiche WebLink

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2022 ATM,2022-1 STM APPROPRIATION COXMTTEE 21 MARCH 2022 Funding Requirements and Requested Appropriation The program operates as a continuing balance account, and unexpended funds carry over from year to year. When first adopted, appropriations were made annually to fund the program. More recently, with declining participation (and a suspension of the program for most of calendar year 2020 due to the pandemic), carryover account balances have been sufficient to fund the program for multiple years. Although the Senior Service Program has been less popular in recent years than in the past, it is nevertheless an important and useful program as it provides an opportunity for socialization and meaningful property tax relief for participants in the context of a productive contribution to the Town. Article 7 Climate Action Plan Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $20,570 Free Cash $30,000 See below Approve (8-0) $50,570 This request would fund planning and outreach to update the Town's Sustainable Action Plan with a Climate Action Plan. Under Article 7 of the 2018 Annual Town Meeting, Town Meeting appropriated $40,000 for the "Getting to Net Zero" project. Phase I of that project included stakeholder identification and baseline data collection, and is now completed. The current request will support Phase II, engaging stakeholders, and Phase III, creating a Climate Action Plan in partnership with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The budget from the 2018 appropriation for Phase I has a remaining balance of $30,000 which will be re- appropriated for this article. The remaining $20,570 would be funded from Free Cash. The Town has also been awarded a grant of$50,000 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs to support this work. Article 8 Appropriate for Comprehensive Plan Implementation Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation None N/A IP The Committee anticipates that the motion under this article will be for indefinite postponement, and that the Select Board will introduce an article at a future special town meeting to fund completion of the Town's Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan (CP) is a document developed by the Town to inform land use policy, regulation and potential by-law changes. This request would have funded a Housing Needs Assessment based on recommendations in the CP. The Housing Needs Assessment would identify what types of housing are needed and how creating such housing would work in Lexington with the resources we have, i.e., transportation, human services and economic development. The CP is re-evaluated on a regular basis and was last updated in 2002. The current update of the CP was funded by a $302,000 appropriation under Article 7 of the 2017 Annual Town Meeting. The Planning Board appointed the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee to work with a consultant, reach out to the community stakeholders, and develop the plan. An updated CP is now in the final stages of preparation. 23