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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE - ATM 2017 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 recommenda- tions to Town Meeting prior to any vote with a financial impact on the Town. This report summarizes the Committee's deliberations and analyses as well as its recommendations 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 infor- mation 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 docu- ment via the Town website. It was published on March 21, 2017, in the week prior to the session when finan- cial articles are anticipated to be taken up at the Annual Town Meeting. The Committee previously published on March 12 a separate report on four financial articles to be taken up at the Special Town Meeting (STM 2017 -1) beginning on the first night of the Annual Town Meeting. That re- port addressed the appropriation of design funds to continue the planning process for three important capital projects: reconstruction of the Fire Headquarters station at 45 Bedford Street; adaptation of the former Liberty Mutual Building at 171/173 Bedford Street for use as swing space while the main fire station is being recon- structed; and renovation of the former Armenian Sisters Academy at 20 Pelham Road, assuming that its pur- chase is consummated, for use as a permanent facility for the Lexington Children's Place. The March 12 re- port also addressed the proposed appropriation of premiums resulting from a bond and note sale on February 16, 2017 to lower borrowing costs. Committee Membership In the past year, Beth Masterman, Kathryn Colburn, Glenn Parker, and Mollie Garberg resigned from the Committee. We are grateful for their service. In particular, we thank Glenn Parker for his steady leadership of the Committee as its Chair for six years. We welcome Jian Helen Yang, Lily Manhua Yan, Sanjay Padaki, and Ellen Basch who have joined the Committee in the last six months. The Town Comptroller is an ex- officio member of the Committee. Since the first of the year, this role has been ably filled by our new Comptroller and Assistant Town Manager for Finance, Carolyn Kosnoff, whom we are very pleased to have on board. Reserve Fund The Committee has approved only one Reserve Fund transfer to date during FY2017: Date Amount Description 2 -15 -2017 $17 115 For due diligence studies needed to support acquisition of the property at 20 Pelham Road As of publication, the remaining balance of the $900,000 originally appropriated to the FY2017 Reserve Fund is $882,885. Any funds in the Reserve Fund not expended before the end of this fiscal year will flow to Free Cash as of June 30, 2017 and will be available for appropriation in the fall of 2017 after the Free Cash balance is certified by the Department of Revenue. Developments Since Our Last Annual Town Meeting Report Major recent developments with a financial impact on the Town, most of which have occurred since the pub- lication of our report to the 2016 Annual Town Meeting, are summarized below. 2