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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE-2019 ATM Preface This preface describes the structure and stylistic conventions used in this report. It is followed by an Intro- duction discussing changes in the Town's financial status since the previous Annual Town Meeting, along with issues pertinent to the Town's general financial situation.The main body of this report contains article- by-article discussions and recommendations on those articles that,in our opinion,have substantial financial relevance. The report references several appendices at the end of this document that provide a deeper ex- planation of particular financial issues. The discussion for each article presents the prevailing view of the Committee, as well as any other consid- erations or cautions that we feel Town Meeting should be informed of. If one or more Committee members are strongly opposed to the majority position,we summarize the opposing perspective. Each article discus- sion concludes with the most recent vote of the Committee prior to publication. The vote is summarized by the number of members in favor,followed by the number of members opposed,and lastly(when applicable) the number of members abstaining, e.g. "(6-2-1)" indicates six members in favor, two opposed, and one abstaining. It is not always possible to collect a complete vote for every article from all nine voting mein- bers. In such instances, the total number of votes and abstentions published will be less than nine. For convenience, Committee votes are also summarized on the preceding pages. This report does not replicate information readily available to Town Meeting members elsewhere. Key documents that inform our analysis and provide a more thorough picture of the Town finances are: • The Town Manager's Fiscal Year 2020 Recommended Budget & Financing Plan (the "Brown Book"), dated February 22, 2019,fully describes the annual budget of the Town. The Brown Book also summarizes budget laws and bylaws (Appendix B) and includes a glossary of financial terms (Appendix D). http://www.Iexingtonma.gov/budget • The Fiscal Year 2020 Superintendent's Recommended Budget(the"Gray Book") dated January 8, 2019,which details the budget plan for the Lexington Public School System. http://Ips.lexingtonma.org/Page/11276 • Capital Expenditures Committee(CEC)Report to the 2019 Annual Town Meeting,which provides recommendations on appropriation requests for capital projects. • Community Preservation Committee (CPC) Report to the 2019 Annual Town Meeting, which de- tails requests approved by the CPC and funded using revenue from the CPA surcharge. • Motions for articles published in advance of Town Meeting, which may update the details of re- quests previously described in the Brown Book. Acknowleduments The content of this report,except where otherwise noted,was researched,written and edited by Committee members who volunteer their time and expertise, and with the support of Town staff. We have the pleasure and the privilege of working with Town Manager James Malloy; Assistant Town Manager for Finance Carolyn Kosnoff; Budget Officer Jennifer Hewitt; the Capital Expenditures Committee; the Community Preservation Committee; the School Committee; the Permanent Building Committee; the Planning Board; Superintendent of Schools Dr. Julie Hackett; Interim Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Peter C. Rowe; and the Board of Selectmen. We thank the municipal and school staff, Town officials, boards and volunteers who have contributed time and expertise to help us prepare this report. Last but not least,we thank Sara Arnold,who records and prepares the minutes for our meetings. 1