2018-12-13-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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12/13/2018 AC Minutes Ms. Kosnoff reported that$2.238 million of the $9.2-9.3 million Center Streetscape Project has been identified by legal counsel as eligible for funding via the Community Preservation Act(CPA). The Community Preservation Committee has two other large expenditures to consider for FY2020: • Funding for the Minuteman Recreational Complex; • A land acquisition that is being negotiated, potentially for conservation land and affordable housing. It is considered unlikely that the CPA fund could support all three requests. Ms. Kosnoff added that any one of these expenditures would likely require bonding. Ms. Kosnoff reported that approximately $400,000 from the Capital Stabilization Fund was used to pay down a bond anticipation note. The $400,000 was part of funding that had been appropriated for capital projects that required less money than originally expected. Mr. Neumeier reported that a recent edition of the Lawyers' Weekly included an advertisement placed by the City of New Bedford for an associate city solicitor. The salary was listed at$70,599 to $88,257. In response to questions, Mr. Neumeier said that he had not yet met with the new Town Manager, Jim Malloy, to discuss the financial advantages of hiring in-house counsel, but he had discussed this with two Selectmen who are lawyers, and they appeared to be interested. Mr. Neumeier reported that the School Master Planning Committee had reviewed the history of the schools in Lexington at its recent meeting. Mr. Levine is attending tomorrow's meeting of this committee. Mr. Bartenstein and Mr. Parker reported having met with staff from the Information Technology Department and Ms. Kosnoff to discuss Open Meeting Law requirements that affect the sharing of material during the writing of this Committee's report to Town Meeting. It was agreed that a system that allows committee members to post material publicly on the web prior to discussing it at a meeting would facilitate the process of preparing the Committee's written reports. Ms. Kosnoff added that a prototype of the web facility should be available in a few weeks. Budget Summit Mr. Michelson asked for clarification of the material distributed for the December 6, 2018 Financial Summit 11. This triggered additional questions and discussion. Ms. Kosnoff s explanations included, but were not limited to, the following: • The investment income estimates were conservative, taking into consideration the potential of increasing interest rates. • The FY2019 budget includes the use of$3.7 million from free cash. Best practices for municipal accounting recommend that free cash not be relied upon because it is not a guaranteed revenue source. It is therefore planned that operating budgets over the next five years include a gradual reduction in the use of free cash. The Town Manager's recommended FY2020 budget, to be presented in late January, is expected to include a $700,000 reduction in this revenue source for operating expenses. This will restrict funding for program expansions, but level funding is expected to continue. • Mr. Malloy is interested in exploring options for the use of free cash. It could be applied toward a one-time cash capital expense. • Budgeting guidelines are neededa project that likely should be undertaken after the Annual Town Meeting (ATM). Issues include the following: ➢ Whether tax increases should be curbed; 2