2023-10-05-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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10/05/2023 AC Minutes 3 Ms. Kosnoff stated that there will be some routine adjustments for water and wastewater enterprise fund budgets based in part on the final MWRA assessments, which are slightly lower than the pre- liminary assessments used for the budgets at the time of the 2023 spring Annual Town Meeting. Article 6 Ms. Kosnoff stated that the Town would be receiving approximately $130,000 in new opioid settle- ment payments, which might not arrive until November, after the special town meeting has ended. There is also money from previous opioid settlement payments that must still be appropriated. Mr. Bartenstein asked if the Town had any plans on how to continue funding for opioid addiction services after the opioid settlement funds are exhausted. Ms. Kosnoff stated that the Town has not yet spent any of the money, but they are currently focused on one-time programs. If the Health De- partment wanted to add new staffing for this purpose, it would have to be included in the operating budget. The Town expects to receive around $2 million in opioid settlement payments over 15 years. Article 7 Ms. Kosnoff stated that the article refers to two revenue sources related to affordable housing, and these are currently directed into the General Fund. Rental monitoring fees result in approximately $10,000 of ongoing annual revenue. The housing resale fees are one-time payments made when a property in the affordable housing inventory changes ownership. These fees cover refiling paper- work to maintain the status of the affordable unit. The motion from the Board of the Affordable Housing Trust (AHT) will ask that these two funding sources be permanently dedicated to the AHT. Ms. Kosnoff noted that the fees currently cover ex- penses paid for out of the General Fund for services that are outsourced to the Regional Housing Services Organization. It is worth considering whether the related services should be covered by the AHT if is receiving these fees. Article 8 Ms. Kosnoff stated that the Planning Department has brought this article to create a pilot program with temporary (removeable) speed humps. If the pilot is deemed a success, they will ask for per- manent speed humps. The cost of the pilot will be approximately $50,000, or less. Funding would likely come from the Traffic Mitigation Stabilization Fund. Preferences for Budget Summit Participation Mr. Parker polled the Committee to determine who would prefer to attend the October 18 Budget Summit in person, rather than remotely. The meeting will use a hybrid format in Estabrook Hall on the lower level of the Cary Memorial Building. In-person: Mr. Parker, Mr. Levine, Mr. Bartenstein. Remote: Mr. Padaki, Mr. Ahuja, Mr. Osborne, Ms. Yan (joining at 7:30 p.m.). Announcements and Liaison Reports Mr. Levine reported that the School Building Committee is making steady progress, and that some helpful meeting recordings are available online. Interviews by the Designer Selection Panel were held two days ago, and Mr. Levine assumes a designer has been selected. The design work has been funded with $1.825 million so far. Ms. Kosnoff stated that the Town would begin paying debt service for design work within the next two years, and there will likely be another appropriation before the town-wide referendum to exclude the debt service for the project because the existing appropriation will be insufficient to advance the design process into