Laserfiche WebLink
APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 4" REPORT, April 28, 2007, TO 2007 ATM <br />position on this request to present to Town Meeting we felt it was important to provide you what we <br />have assembled on the request as soon as practical; hence this "information only" reporting on this <br />req uest. <br />Project Description <br />Amount <br />Requested <br />Funding <br />Source <br />Committee Recommends <br />(c) Shared Expenses— <br />$19,869,487 <br />($794,544 <br />$209,469 (and all <br />$19,869,487 <br />Line 2130 (Employee <br />contingent on <br />GF <br />$794,544 contingent on an <br />Benefits, Health Insurance) <br />an override) <br />among line items) <br />override) (7 -0) <br />See our 2 " Report to the 2007 Annual Town Meeting, released April 21, 2007, pages 12 -14, for our <br />discussion of all Shared Expenses —from which just this one Line Item was divided out for discussion at <br />Town Meeting in conjunction with Article 21(a), Line Item 1100, Lexington Public Schools. As stated in <br />that 2"' Report, this Committee unanimously (7 -0) supports the entire Shared Expenses request <br />including this Line 2130. <br />Article 42: Amend <br />FY2007 Operating <br />Budget <br />Funds Requested <br />Funding <br />Source <br />Committee <br />Recommendation <br />$209,469 <br />Transfers among <br />$209,469 (and all <br />line items and <br />requested transfers <br />$209,469 from the <br />among line items) <br />Unreserved Fund <br />(8 -0 -1) <br />Balance ( "Free <br />Cash ") <br />This is an annual placeholder in the Warrant to allow Town Meeting to fund unforeseen expenses in the <br />current fiscal year budget (FY2007). Appropriations under this article are one of several mechanisms <br />available for dealing with budget surprises during the course of a fiscal year. Monies in the Reserve Fund <br />(funded in FY2007 at $400,000) are available, with the approval of the Appropriation Committee, to <br />cover extraordinary, unforeseen expenses. Payments from this fund are typically made in the last few <br />weeks of the fiscal year. (For further information about the Reserve Fund, see the discussion of it below <br />under Shared Expenses.) Municipalities may also now make end -of -year transfers of unexpended <br />balances in one departmental line item to cover overages in other line items in the same department, <br />provided that an individual transfer does not exceed 3% of the source line item. <br />It is anticipated that all three mechanisms will be employed to reconcile the FY2007 budget before the <br />close of the fiscal year on June 30, 2007. In particular, end -of- fiscal -year "3% transfers" and Reserve <br />Fund transfers are anticipated to cover shortfalls in the police and fire overtime budgets, in the Town <br />Clerk's budget to cover the expenses of the anticipated June special override /debt - exclusion referendum, <br />and to cover increased legal costs associated with contract and collective bargaining negotiations. At this <br />time, however, the following FY2007 budget changes are recommended for action by this Town Meeting. <br />Municipal Requests <br />The following FY2007 municipal budget shortfalls, totaling $92,500, will be addressed under this Article <br />by reducing the appropriations to the salary line items for 7100 Community Development, 8120 Legal, <br />and 8600 MIS (which are running surpluses for FY2007 due to vacancies and delays in hiring )—in effect, <br />"transferring" funds between salary and expense line items without impacting the FY2007 bottom line: <br />Line Item 7100 Community Development Expenses: $26,000 <br />Lines Items 8210 -8220 Town Manager Expenses: $40,000 <br />Line Item 8600 MIS Expenses: $26,500 <br />Page 10 of 13 <br />