2019-03-25-AC-ATM-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE-2019 ATM the costs of the 20 Pelham Rd.and 173 Bedford St.land purchases.Debt costs are shown as unmitigated debt payments. Being well above the 5% growth rate, there are large proposed mitigation payments described in the revenue section. • Department of Public Facilities costs include salaries and wages (assumed to grow by 1.3% annually for step changes),utility bills, and other expenses (assumed to grow by 3%annually). Utility costs are assumed to increase by about 1.5% annually. The $410,000 Hartwell Ave solar panel lease is included in the Facilities budget. • Expenses for cash capital are assumed to include amounts for road and building envelope maintenance (following from prior operating overrides) that increase annually by 2.5%, as well as the Free Cash funding for other capital expenses that are $1,700,000 in FY2021 then increase $700,000 in both FY2022 and FY2023 as Free Cash used to fund the operating budget is reduced by that amount. • No new funds will be appropriated into the General Stabilization Fund. Of the projected Free Cash, $800,000 is designated for appropriation into the Capital Stabilization Fund. • Other expenses are assumed to include$30,000 annually for the senior tax work-off program; $200,000 set aside for unanticipated current fiscal year needs, and annual $1,100,000 contributions to the trust fund for future costs of health insurance for retired employees (OPEB). • The offsetting revenues and expenses for revolving funds,grants,and enterprise fund operations,except the Recreation Enterprise Fund, are projected using the 5-year trend from FY2014-2018. Enterprise capital is projected using the five averages for FY2014-2016 plus $300,000 due to an increased Water Enterprise capital program. • The projection contains no set-asides for unidentified new programs. The projection for FY2021 shows an increase of approximately$5,352,000 in total General Fund revenue. This increase is significantly lower than the projected $7,770,000 increase in the FY2020 General Fund revenue because the available Free Cash was near its highest point in the last 10 years. We project a large decrease in Free Cash (the largest component of Available Funds) compared to the FY2020 budget. Free Cash results from an excess of actual revenues over actual expenditures. When additional Free Cash be- comes available it is not used to fund operating expenses but is applied to one-time expenses such as capital projects or stabilization funds. School budgets will be greatly affected by enrollment growth. This model is based on School Department enrollment projections that offer predictions with a great deal of uncertainty. Although the school had a slump in growth this past year,recent history has shown that enrollments matched or exceeded the projec- tions, and annual growth could hit 4%. 50