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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE-2017 ATM
<br /> PIRs that were reviewed and whether each one was recommended for approval by the Board of Selectmen and
<br /> Town Meeting; the list is not duplicated here.
<br /> Missing from last year's PIRs was mention of the added expense caused by a change in the way the Depart-
<br /> ment of Public Works (DPW) contracts with snow and ice removal contractors. In prior years, the town's 30+
<br /> pieces of snow removal equipment were supplemented with 50+ individually contracted pieces. In FY2017
<br /> the Town eliminated the individual contracts and instead hired three general contractors to enlist the individu-
<br /> al pieces. This move immediately incurred a 15%General Contractor's fee that was not offset by decreases in
<br /> Town staff costs. While increased contractor costs are cited in this year's Brown Book,the $54,000 increase
<br /> in this portion of the Snow and Ice budget is inadequate to cover the resulting 33% increase in the hourly cost
<br /> to provide this service. An analysis of operations showed that this change will increase annual snow and ice
<br /> removal costs by $80,000 to $225,000.
<br /> By State statute towns can incur cost overruns in the Snow and Ice budget, and budget overruns are a regular
<br /> and accepted practice in Lexington. Cost overruns are balanced by a number of methods; 1) applying revenue
<br /> set aside each year for the purpose of funding snow and ice deficits; 2) using monies that become available at
<br /> the close of the fiscal year from instances of underspending in other budget line items, primarily those of the
<br /> DPW budget; 3) using money from the Reserve Fund; 4) use of Free Cash; and 5)raising the fund in the next
<br /> year's tax rate. The Committee will closely review the extent of the added costs at the conclusion of this
<br /> year's snow and ice season.
<br /> For many years, the Committee has been urging the Town to reexamine ways to reduce legal services costs.
<br /> One member of the Committee has proposed that the $410,000 requested in the line item 8120 Legal be re-
<br /> duced to $150,000. This line item is for legal expenses for the Town other than those involving the School
<br /> Department which are paid out of the School budget. The member notes that in the past five years' legal ex-
<br /> penses for the Town alone have averaged $500,000+. He believes that 90% of this legal work is routine and
<br /> could easily be handled by an in-house counsel at considerable saving to the taxpayers. He further believes
<br /> that Lexington should follow the lead of many other cities and towns and hire an in-house lawyer for most of
<br /> its legal work. A majority of the Committee has voted 3-6 against making this recommendation at this time,
<br /> but believes the issue of potentially achieving cost savings by hiring in-house counsel merits further study and
<br /> serious consideration.
<br /> Municipal Budget Line FY 2017 FY2018 $Change °yO
<br /> Restated Recommended Change
<br /> 3000 Public Works $9,046,492 $9,393,686 $347,194 3.84%
<br /> 4100 Police $6,821,827 $6,847,035 $25,208 0.37%
<br /> 4200 EMS/Fire $6,418,115 $6,421,971 $3,856 0.06%
<br /> 5000 Library $2,468,599 $2,534,144 $65,545 2.66%
<br /> 6000 Human Services $1,214,761 $1,294,913 $80,152 6.60%
<br /> 7000 Land Use/Health/Development $2,266,153 $2,312,212 $46,059 2.03%
<br /> 8000 General Government $6,366,545 $6,571,097 $204,552 3.21%
<br /> The Committee recommends approval of this recommended operating budget(9-0).
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