2000-03-13-TE-Warrant-and-2000-03-27-ATM-Warrant

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\oos MOgN h ao177s ,c o Town of Lexington ktI a ; Office of Selectmen w o \APpIL 19"' fXINGZ JEANNE K.KRIEGER,CHAIRMAN ELIZABETH B.EDDISON PETER D.ENRICH CATHERINE M.D.ABBOTT TEL:(781)862-0500 x208 DAWN E.MCKENNA FAX:(781)863-9468 To the Residents of Lexington: The Warrant provides notification of the Annual Town Meeting and advises residents of the various issues being considered at the Meeting. Only articles listed in the warrant can be discussed. The Warrant includes the Town Manager's proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2001. Most of the budget is represented within Articles 4 through 14. Although the Board of Selectmen is still reviewing the Town Manager's Proposed Budget and may present minor alternative recommendations to Town Meeting, the budget represented within this document is worthy of our support. The Board of Selectmen in cooperation with the Town Manager has been working with the School Committee, School Superintendent, Appropriation Committee and Capital Expenditures Committee since July to develop a budget that meets the various appropriation needs to adequately fund Town services. Preliminary revenue estimates established in early summer fell substantially short of the projected expense requirements for all town and school programs. Labor costs, materials and supplies inflation, special education cost increases, increasing costs of health insurance, solid waste disposal costs and an increasing school enrollment were the primary expense drivers. Projected expense increases for the FY 2001 budget totaled $7,204,946 while the Town's revenue stream, (local receipts, state aid, available funds and the tax levy) are projected to increase by $2,467,257. The difference between the projected expense increases for school and town programs exceeded preliminary revenue estimates by $4,763,581. The Board of Selectmen, School Committee, Appropriations Committee and Capital Expenditures Committee met frequently throughout the summer, fall and early winter developing strategies to deal with the projected budget gap for FY 2001. The Selectmen and School Committee challenged the Manager and School Superintendent to reduce proposed expenditures by $1,000,000, leaving a$3.7 million budget gap. The Manager and Superintendent identified over $1,280,000 in budget reductions, reducing the funding gap to $3,457,231. A Proposition 2 1/2 override will be required in order to meet these remaining funding demands. It is expected that a special election regarding the Proposition 2 1/2 override will be scheduled for late May or early June after Town Meeting has reviewed the proposed FY 2001 budget and considered the remaining articles. The Selectmen recommend $1,597,936 of town services ranging from Lexpress and the Massachusetts Avenue Fire station to administrative support staff will be placed at risk on the override. 3