2009-07-10-FTF-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Remaining Long-Term Issues for Further Discussion Other pressing issues will determine whether Lexington’s present menu of services is sustainable over the long term. To date, the task force has had only limited opportunities to consider these issues: Major capital projects. Major projects envisioned within the next half decade are estimated to cost at least several tens of millions of dollars. Prioritization and timing of the principal ones—police and fire headquarters, road reconstruction and repair, school renovation/capacity expansion, and perhaps a senior/community center—would present a pressing and daunting challenge even in more favorable budgetary circumstances. While the task force considered these issues at some length, their complexity prevented us from reaching consensus on what advice to offer. We were also aware that significant additional information about a number of these potential projects will be available in the near future, particularly through the report of the school department’s Ad Hoc Facility Committee which is expected in the fall. There was a general sense that particular focus should be placed in the near term on instances where deferred maintenance would represent, in effect, an inappropriate deferral to the future of what will surely be higher mandatory costs (such as for repair of further- deteriorated roads), and where the case can fairly be made to the public that acting promptly is cost-effective and appropriate, as part of the overall objective of maintaining essential community services and assets. But the task force did not arrive at conclusions concerning how rapidly such projects should be advanced, nor on how the town should prioritize the full range of major capital projects that have been discussed. Community Preservation Act (CPA). The CPA, adopted by Lexington voters in 5 200, levies a 3 percent surcharge on property-tax bills to pay for affordable housing, historic preservation, and open space/recreation projects, as defined by law. The funds raised locally are matched by the state—initially at 100 percent, and currently at about 33 percent. The CPA levy itself currently raises about $3.1 million annually. The existence of those funds has enabled the community to take advantage of unusual opportunities—this past spring, to purchase two parcels for open space, at a cost of $7 million—which under other circumstances likely could not have been funded in a timely fashion. The task force held several discussions about the appropriate and desirable range of uses of CPA funds and the place of this levy in the town’s overall fiscal picture. But, in light of the complexity of the issues, the range of reasonable perspectives, and the limited time and information available to the task force, we are not in a position to offer recommendations concerning the CPA revenues at this time, beyond the admonition that the CPA funds represent an important town resource that should be carefully and effectively deployed where reasonable and appropriate. Long-term compensation policy. While the short-term approach toward total employee compensation must be one of maximum restraint, with a particular emphasis on reining in growth in health-benefit costs, the task force recognizes that the longer-term issues are more multi-faceted. This is another area in which we held some fruitful discussions but did not have sufficient information nor time to frame specific 19