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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE -ATM 2016 & STM 2016 -3 Introduction The Appropriation Committee is appointed by the Town Moderator and serves as an advisory group to the elected members of Town Meeting. The Committee is required by Town bylaw to present its recom- mendations to Town Meeting prior to any vote with a financial impact on the Town. This report summa- rizes the Committee's deliberations and analyses regarding the warrant articles deemed to have financial significance, along with the vote of the Committee for each article. The Committee also gives oral reports and responds to questions during Town Meeting as necessary, or when important information has become available following the publication of a report. This report is distributed to the members of Town Meeting as a printed document and as an electronic document via the Town website. It was published on March 21, 2016, a week prior to the session when financial articles are anticipated to be taken up in Town Meeting. Due to the scheduling of Special Town Meeting 2016 -3, a portion of this report was released on Monday, March 14, 2016, one week prior to the start of debate on Article 2016 -3.2 "Appropriate for Middle Schools — Additions and Remodeling ". This report also contains a section for Article 2016 -2.2: "Land Purchase — 20 Pelham Road ". Special Town Meeting 2016 -2 was convened on February 22, 2016, and immediately adjourned until March 21, 2016. Committee Membership Susan McLeish resigned from the Committee at the end of FY2015. We are grateful for her service. We welcome Kathryn Colburn who joined the Committee at the start of FY2016. Reserve Fund The Committee has approved the following Reserve Fund transfers so far during FY2016: Date Amount Description 9 -10 -2015 $150,000 Cary Memorial Building Renovation 3 -10 -2016 $26,800 Supplemental funding of 2015 Annual Town Meeting Article 8(1) Reconstruction of Basketball Courts at Marvin and Southerland Parks $176,800 Total Transfers As of publication, the remaining balance in the FY2016 Reserve Fund is $723,200. Developments Since Adoption of the FY2016 Budget Since the start of FY2016, the Town has called a total of four special town meetings on two dates. Two were called in November 2015, and two more were called in February 2016. November 2015 Special Town Meeting 1#1 The November 2015 STM #1 was focused on school capital, and resulted in the appropriation of $5,386,000 under Article 2 (Appropriate for School Facilities Capital Projects). Of that amount, $1,951,000 was designated for design work on renovations at the Clarke and Diamond Middle Schools. In the event that the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) did not offer state matching funds for Hastings, $520,000 was designated for design work on that building. The remaining $2,915,000 was designated for the purchase and installation of up to six modular classrooms at three elementary schools. These appropriations were all approved. In the meantime, the MSBA has invited the Town into its funding process for Hastings Elementary. This necessitated a new appropriation by Town Meeting for feasibility and schematic design work in compli- 2