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?009 Annual Report Town Government Board of Selectmen ELECTED by the voters at large to 3 -year terms: Chair Nor- Where possible, the Selectmen have attempted to protect man Cohen, Jeanne Krieger, Peter Kelley, Hank Manz and residents from increased costs. The combined water and George Burnell. Fiscal Lexington was prepared to weather the downturn in the economy that continues to buffet the nation and the Com- monwealth. It is an old aphorism that when the state sneez- es, towns catch pneumonia. This year the analogy might be H 1 N 1 flu. Municipalities are slow to recover after a down- turn, due to limited revenue - raising options and the desire to maintain consistent services while confronted with con- tractual and mandated obligations. The Board has observed the decrease in local property values, both residential and com- mercial, monitored the decline in the number of building start- ups and recognized the need to prepare for at least two more years of lagging revenues and uncertainty about State aid. We are well prepared thanks to the sound professional rec- ommendations of the Town Manager and his staff. The Board has heeded their advice and built reserves. We have deferred some projects and held the line on expenses, filling only essential personnel positions as openings occur. These steps have lead to a healthy `free cash' balance as we en- ter the FY11 budget cycle. An ad hoc Fiscal Task Force, as appointed, comprised of some of the Town's best financial thinkers, who provided guidance on managing total com- pensation, use of our reserves, and capital spending. The driving force of employee compensation is double -digit increases in health care benefits. As a Town that has ac- cepted coalition bargaining, Lexington is obliged to bar- gain all aspects of health care benefits, both program design and percent contribution, independent from bargaining for wage increases. This regulatory conundrum is perhaps the most significant constraint influencing our ability to ad- dress rising costs. The Selectmen have supported the Mas- sachusetts Municipal Association's repeated requests for legislative relief and for the power to manage program de- sign, but as of the end of 2009, these requests have gone un- fulfilled. The ad hoc Fiscal Task Force specifically cautioned the Board and the community about the difficulty in seek- ing a Proposition 21h override for regular Town and school operating costs while this issue is being negotiated. Prominent among the Selectmen's goals was adoption of the local option meals tax and lodging tax. These were ap- proved at the fall Special Town Meeting. Additional reve- nue resulted from legislation allowing towns to collect taxes on communication equipment, wires and poles. sewer bill for calendar FY10 will reflect a 3.8% reduction for the average homeowner using 120 hundred cubic feet. Getting Things Done Recognizing the importance of bolstering our commer- cial base to relieve pressure on the residential taxpayer, the Board supported the more intense usage on Hartwell Ave- nue and the creation of a traffic management overlay district (TMOD) to ensure that people can come and go to work without creating more congestion in the adjacent neighbor- hoods. Development proposals in South Lexington were approved at the fall Special Town Meeting, strengthening our reputation as a town attractive to high- value, relatively low- impact biotechnology businesses. In conjunction with these proposals a traffic mitigation fund was created to in- vest in the infrastructure necessary to address traffic issues in South Lexington. The Board put State funds to work to build a sidewalk on Spring Street and implement a traffic light at the intersection of Marrett Road and Spring Street. We have adopted a traffic calming policy to help guide ap- plication of these funds. Lexington Place opened, offering attractive housing in Lexington Center. The Center Committee, continuing to look for ways to bring vitality to the downtown, received approval at the Special Town Meeting of zoning amend- ments in the Center Business District to meet the changing needs of existing businesses, increase pedestrian activity and improve the overall business climate in the Center. With CPA Funds we have purchased both the Busa Farm and Leary Land. The Leary farmhouse is currently being evaluated to determine its suitability for use as affordable housing and a small portion of the land has also been des- ignated for affordable housing purposes. The bulk of the Leary property will remain open under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission. The Board has yet to deter- mine how to use Busa Farm. A committee will be formed to review the options and make a recommendation that re- flects a community consensus. After much talk about energy efficiency, the Board began to take action by adopting municipal goals for energy con- sumption: a 5 -year target to reduce BTU consumption by 20 percent. The Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, built to the Town's sustainable design standard, opened in the summer and was inaugurated as the Precinct 8 polling place in the Special Election to choose candidates to fill the vacant Massachusetts Senate seat. The Town applied jointly