2023-10-26-CPC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 Mr. Pressman added that Recreation received about $5 million two years ago and $3 million last year and that Recreation’s request for FY2025 is $1.4 million over their projected request from October 2022. Mr. Pressman shared that similar library improvements in Newton and Wellesley were completed without CPA funds. Mr. Pressman proposed that if funding were to go to the Library project, Recreation’s request should return to its previous year’s projection amount. Mr. Pressman also added that the Library would be the 61st request for Historic Resource funds for Town buildings and expressed agreement with Ms. Walker that the Town’s CPA requests for capital projects has been too many. Ms. Kosnoff shared that she has heard from Town Meeting Members who view the CPA monies as part of the tax levy and who want CPA funding to be used on Town buildings and programs that can be used by the public. Ms. Kosnoff also commented that the Town runs a sizable capital improvements program to improve Town building and utilizes a significant amount of the general fund outside of CPA. Mr. Creech shared that he agrees with Ms. Walker and Mr. Pressman that there are some Town CPA requests that should be regular capital projects and expressed uncertainty for the Library project’s general eligibility for CPA funding. CPA Fund Balance- Ms. Kosnoff presented the CPA Summary FY2025 Budget dated 10-25-2023 and explained that of the approximately $7 million in total remaining funds, about $5 million from the Unbudgeted Reserves and Undesignated Fund Balance can be used for any project categories, and the balances for the Open Space, Historic Resources, and Community Housing reserves can only be used to fund those respective categories. Ms. Kosnoff confirmed that it is unadvisable to spend the entire balance since the revenues are based on projected funds raised from next year’s tax levy and state match. Ms. Kosnoff highlighted that about $693k was gained in surplus revenue in FY23 and was comprised mostly of interest income. The available balance at the end of FY23 was about $9.5 million. Ms. Kosnoff reminded the Committee that the current projected state match of 20% for FY2024 is much lower than the original 30% projections, however the loss of funds will likely be offset by higher interest rate income. The projected revenue for FY25 is $8.04 million. Ms. Kosnoff explained the debt service obligations for FY25, which includes the last payment for the Cary Memorial Building upgrades and may include the first payment for the Munroe Center project provided the allocated cash for the project has been spent at that time. Mr. Creech left the meeting at 4:54 PM. Ms. Tung asked about the total CPA balance prior to any CPA approved app ropriations for FY25. Ms. Kosnoff replied that the unspent and returned funds from previous years plus the projected revenue for FY25 yields about $11.5 million for the CPA Fund Balance totals, but stressed that the total balance cannot be spent universally across categories and around $2 million in reserve funds are typically kept unspent. Ms. O’Brien expressed interest in learning how other municipalities make decisions with limited funds. Ms. Kosnoff shared that she was unaware of