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Board of Selectmen continued from previous page lished a Water and Sewer Abatement Board. Transition George Burnell joined the Board. George, a nearly lifelong res- ident of Lexington, brings his business wisdom and experience serving on the Town's finance boards to our deliberations. Mary Miley, who served as Selectman from 1976 to 1983, Town Manager ROLE: As the Chief Executive Officer of the Town, as estab- lished in the Selectmen -Town Manager Act, the Expenditures Payroll FY07 FY06 $4151741 $3861558 Expenses $1961704 $1011768 Personnel Full Time 7 6 Part Time 2 2 Town Manager administers the policies and procedures of the Board of Selectmen, enforces bylaws and actions passed by Town Meeting, and prepares the budget and manages the daily operation of all town departments. The Town Manager's Office also includes the Human Resources Office. APPOINTED by the Board of Selectmen: Carl Valente in July 2005. Budget The FY2007 budget process continued the collaborative process followed in the last several years between the staff and the Board of Selectmen, School Committee and the Appropriation and Capital Expenditures Committees. Eight collaborative budget sessions were held during the fall and winter to produce a budget that addressed many pressing needs, leading up to placing before the voters a Proposition 2 ? override question for the School Department and a Debt Exclusion question for the DPW building. Voters approved both questions. Finance Lexington is one of approximately 15 communities in the Commonwealth that enjoys a Aaa bond rating, the highest achievable. In response to a recommendation of the 2020 Budget Task Force, the Board of Selectmen appointed a Financial Policy Review Committee staffed by the Town Manager and Budget Officer. Final recommendations of this committee encompassed the Town's reserves, funding of unfunded liabilities, capital financing and asset renewal and replacement. With this report as an overall roadmap, the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen proposed a number of funding initiatives to the 2007 Town Meeting to strength- en the Town's financial position, including increasing the Town's stabilization fund reserve by $1,000,000 bringing the total to nearly $5,500,000, just over one -half of the goal for this reserve fund. passed away, leaving a long legacy of service to the community. Our successes are a direct result of the enthusiasm and ded- ication of Lexington's citizens, the support and leadership of the Town staff and the collaborative spirit of the appointed and elected Town Boards. The role of the Board of Selectmen is largely one of guidance and encouragement for the other citizen's groups serving the Town. The Town Manager and Police Chief began a trial program to develop a performance measurement system for the Police Department. A number of performance measures were developed using a system created by the International City/ County Management Association's Center for Performance Measurement. Lexington participated in a consortium with the police departments from Hingham, Needham, Danvers, North Andover and Bedford, to measure the performance of police operations. Overall, the Lexington Police Department compares favorably to other departments in Massachusetts as well as other states. The Police Department will continue this program in subsequent years as a tool to measure and improve its performance. The Town began to explore options for joint purchasing of supplies and materials with other towns in the region. With staff support from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), Lexington participated in a regional bid for office supplies. In 2008, this regional purchasing consortium will be working on the purchasing of public works materials and a regional animal shelter. In October, the Board of Selectmen established water /sewer rates for the year. Based on a staff recommendation, water and sewer rates were held constant. After several years of close scrutiny by the Selectmen, the water and sewer enter- prise funds have stabilized financially with each fund having an adequate surplus /reserve. Economic Development The Board of Selectmen identified economic development as a priority for the Town. To this end, an Economic Development Task Force was created as part of the Town's 2020 long -range planning process. The Task Force began its focus in four areas: 1. Restoring an Economic Development Office and hiring an Economic Development Officer; 2. Analyzing commercial development trends in Lexington and conducting various fiscal impact analysis scenarios to deter- mine if land use /zoning changes will strengthen the commer- cial tax base in Town; 3. Communicating with residents on various options for addressing economic development in Town; and 4. Examining the impact Lexington's permitting and regulatory requirements have on economic development. Susan Yanofsky was appointed as the Economic Development continued on next page Page 6 2007 Annual Report, Town of Lexington