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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE REPORT TO 2009 ATM —MARCH 2009 Preface This is the primary written report of the Appropriation Committee to the 2009 Annual Town Meeting. In this Preface, we give general information about our reports and other sources of information. It is followed by an Introduction where we present the financial context from the last year, try to give an overview of the revenue picture for fiscal year 2010 (FY2010) and the future, and present discussions that may be pertinent to the Town's general financial situation or that may pertain to more than one financial article. This Introduction is followed by article -by- article discussion and recommendations. We omit those articles that, in our opinion, have no substantial financial relevance. Several of the article -by- article discussions and recommendations were released on March 21 in an advance report. That material is included in this report as well. A presentation of projections for revenues and expenses beyond FY2010 may be found in an appendix. Our reports on any zoning articles, together with Article 9 which is closely related to the zoning articles, will be presented in a second report that we intend to release in mid - April. Last year the budget calendar was revised so that Town Meeting could conclude its action on the operating budget as early as possible. The intent was to standardize this practice primarily so that, in years when positions in the Lexington Public Schools are at risk in an override referendum, the School Department could determine its final staffing allocations and proceed to make job offers for the coming year in a timely fashion. However, this ambitious schedule created difficulties for the Town Manager and staff and for this Committee. This year, the Town Manager's recommended budget was agreed upon on February 25 and was released in full on March 2. The financial articles are currently scheduled to be taken up at Town Meeting on March 30. With our goal of publishing this report on March 25, this did not give us a lot of time. In order to mitigate this scheduling situation, we are deferring our recommendations on the zoning articles as noted above. Since this report is primarily intended to document our recommendations, we do not always repeat information that is readily available to Town Meeting members. In particular, the Town Manager gives an excellent overview of the estimated revenues and proposed expenditures for FY2010 in the "FY2010 Recommended Budget & Financing Plan," dated March 2, 2009 (the "Brown Book ") which has been distributed to all Town Meeting members and is available online at http: / / www.lexin tog nma. ov/bud eg t/bud eg t.cfm . The recommended Lexington Public Schools budget has also been distributed to all Town Meeting members and is available online at http:// 1ps. lexingtonma .org /businessandfinance.html. Overviews from the Town Manager and Superintendent, as well as many details on the nuts - and -bolts aspects of the budget, may be found in these materials. In addition, the Brown Book summarizes relevant budget laws and bylaws (see Brown Book Appendix B) and includes a glossary of financial terms (see Brown Book Appendix D). The TMMA Warrant Information Report (March 2009) is also an important reference for this Town Meeting, and the forthcoming report of the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) is essential. Continuing a useful practice, this year we participated with the Board of Selectmen, School Committee, and CEC in five budget collaboration /summit meetings wherein staff presented background information and discussions covered proposals in regard to both revenues and expenditures. It has again been a pleasure to work with Town Manager Carl Valente, Assistant Town Manager for Finance Rob Addelson, Budget Officer Micah Niemy, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Ash, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Mary Ellen Dunn, the Board of Selectmen, the School Committee, the CEC, and the Community Preservation Committee (CPC). We also thank the many other municipal and school staff, Town officials, and citizens who have contributed to our work in a wide variety of ways. Page 6 of 59