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ARTICLE 10 (p) Project: Administrative Budget CPA Category: Administrative Amount Requested: $150,000 Amount Recommended: $150,000 CPC Vote: (9-0) Project Description: The Community Preservation Act permits up to 5% of annual CPA funds to be spent on the operating and administrative costs of the Community Preservation Committee. The Committee is allowed to use this money to pay for staff salaries, mailings,public notices, overhead, legal fees, membership dues and other miscellaneous expenses related to CPA projects. Five percent of anticipated FY18 revenue from the surcharge and the state supplemental match is $272,109; however the CPC only requests $150,000. This money will be used to fund the Committee's part-time administrative assistant, member dues to the non-profit Community Preservation Coalition, administrative expenses, legal and miscellaneous expenses and land planning, appraisals and legal fees for open space proposed to be acquired using CPA funds. The CPC's administrative assistant tracks and monitors all Town Meeting-approved CPA projects, monitors draw-downs and financial transactions in conjunction with the Finance Department, drafts and reviews grant agreements, drafts and updates CPA reports and correspondence, completes state-mandated reporting, oversees the annual CPA project application process,posts meetings and schedules public hearings, takes minutes of all CPC public meetings and hearings, works with numerous departments, communicates with project applicants, updates and maintains the Committee's webpage and assists the CPC and others as needed with CPA related activities and agreements. The three-day a week, FY17 cost for the administrative position totals $36,518, including health and dental benefits carried by the Town. Membership dues of$7,900 (unchanged since FY15) are paid to the Community Preservation Coalition (www.communitypreservation.org). A non-profit statewide organization, it responds to legal and technical questions,provides CPA news and information to participating communities and engages in legislative advocacy and lobbying. The Community Preservation Coalition continues to be a strong advocate for a long-term funding solution for the CPA Trust Fund, especially after the addition of 11 new CPA communities in 2016. The CPC designates $50,000 of its administrative budget for the planning, conceptual plan development, legal, survey and appraisal work associated with the proposed acquisition of open space. Such funds enable the Board of Selectmen or Conservation Department to complete, in a timely manner, the due diligence required to prepare for a potential CPA land acquisition. While total expenditures from the administrative budget can vary from year to year, the Committee continues to endorse $150,000 as a conservative budget amount for the adequate coverage of all anticipated costs. Funds appropriated for administrative expenses but not spent in a given fiscal year revert to the CPA Undesignated Fund Balance at year's end. Funding Request: The FY18 request for the CPA administrative budget is $150,000. 27