2022-11-01-AC-STM#3-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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2022-3 STM APPROPRIATION COXMTTEE 25 OCTOBER 2022 Line I From To Change 8400 Finance Expenses 1$ 498,8351$ 508,8351$ 10,000 The Finance Department expense line includes all postage expenses for the Town's municipal departments. The fall primaries and elections have increased postage expenses for the Town Clerk, which mails out voter information booklets and administers mail-in voting. This requested increase is expected to be sufficient to cover the costs of the additional mailings. This request will be funded by new growth revenue from the tax levy. Water/Wastewater Enterprise Funds Two categories of adjustments are proposed for the water and wastewater enterprise funds: Line From To Change 3610 Water Department Debt Service $ 1,224,746 $ 1,195,180 $ (29,566) 3710 Wastewater Department Debt Service $ 1,595,417 $ 1,561,470 $ (33,947) These are minor adjustments to the debt service expenses of the Water and Wastewater enterprise funds to reflect actual experience subsequent to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting (ATM). Line I I From To Change 3720 1 MWRA Wastewater Assessment 1$ 8,499,5731$ 843,2921$ (66,781) The amounts appropriated under Article 5 at the 2022 ATM for Water and Wastewater Enterprise Fund expenses were based on preliminary FY2023 assessments issued by the MWRA in February. The revision requested here is a housekeeping task to reflect a$66,781 reduction in the final wastewater assessment approved by the MWRA board this past June. The MWRA's final assessments were used in the calculation of the FY2023 water and wastewater rates approved by the Selectmen earlier this fall, and therefore passed on to ratepayers. It should be noted that the year-over-year change from FY2022 in the combined water and wastewater assessment was originally estimated to be an unusually low 0.4%, however, this change effectively reduces the year-over-year change even further, down to 0.0%. Article 5 Appropriate for Center Playground Bathrooms and Maintenance Building Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $400,000 CPF Approve (8-0) This article requests that $400,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance of the Community Preservation Fund be appropriated for renovating the bathroom and maintenance building located near the playground at the center recreation complex. The 2020 Annual Town Meeting authorized $100,000 of CPA funds for the design of the renovation of the Center Playground Bathrooms and Maintenance Building under Article 16(b). Subsequently, $680,000 of CPA funds were appropriated for construction under Article 10(e) of the 2022 Annual Town Meeting. The Town received bids from five construction firms, all of which exceeded the available appropriation. Based on the bids received, which ranged from $818,482 to $1,298,000, and using a new inflation calculation, the expected construction cost has increased to $1,080,000 including contingency, for the same scope of work. This article would provide a supplemental appropriation of$400,000 required to match the new estimate. Note that the initial estimate for this project was $915,000 but it was reduced to $680,000 based on a cost estimator's assessment prior to the 2022 ATM. If the current appropriation is authorized, the Town will re-bid the project and begin construction in the spring of 2023. 6