2019-10-30 Summit I-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Financial Summit Meeting I Board of Selectmen, School Committee, Appropriation Committee and Capital Expenditures Committee October 30, 2019 A Financial Summit meeting was held on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 7:01 p.m. at the Hadley Public Services Building Cafeteria, 201 Bedford Street, Lexington, MA. Present for the Board of Selectmen (BOS) were Mr. Lucente (Chair); Mr. Pato; Ms. Barry; Ms. Hai; and Mr. Sandeen. Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; Ms. Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Ms. Hewitt; Budget Officer; and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk. Present for the School Committee (SC) were Ms. Colburn, Vice Chair (late arrival); Mr. Bokun; Ms. Lenihan; Ms. Sawhney; Dr. Hackett, Superintendent of Schools; and Mr. Coelho, Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Finance and Operations. Present for the Appropriation Committee (AC) were Mr. Parker, Chair, Mr. Bartenstein; Mr. Levine; Mr. Michelson; Mr. Padaki; Ms. Yan; and Mr. Nichols. Present for the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) were Mr. Lamb, (Chair) Mr. Kanter, (Vice Chair); Mr. Cole; Ms. Beebee; Ms. Manz; and Mr. Smith (late arrival). ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. Procedure for Meeting Minutes A draft of the minutes will be circulated to all committees for comment/amendments before approval. Because this is a working meeting, no public comments will be taken. 2. Review of Financial Indicators—Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance Using a series of recognized metrics from professional organizations, including the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), the Government Finance Officers’ Association (GFOA), Moody’s Investor’s Service; and data from the Town of Lexington, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the U.S. Census Bureau, Town staff compiled 14 indicators/guidelines— including historical trends— to evaluate the Town’s fiscal health. Overall, Lexington’s financial condition is sound. Ms. Kosnoff highlighted these points: • Lexington has positive revenue growth, stable labor costs as a percentage of total operating costs, and healthy levels of pension funding and reserves. • The Town’s financial condition is satisfactory in the areas of expenditure growth and revenues related to economic growth. • Health Insurance spending as a percentage of employee wages has dropped more than 6.5% (from 26.9% in FY2012 to 20.2% in FY2019), largely as a result of savings the Town was able to realize 1