2011-02-16-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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February 16, 2011 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee February 16, 2011 Place and time: Town Office Building, Room G15, 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Robert Cohen; Mollie Garberg; Alan Levine; Susan McLeish: Richard Neumeier; Rob Addelson (non- voting, ex officio) Other Attendees: Andrew Friedlich, Town Meeting Member; Pat Goddard, Department of Public Facilities; George Burnell, Selectman The meeting was called to order at 7:36 p.m. 1. Announcements. The Committee discussed snow removal and will contact Bill Hadley about looking into the City of Quincy's approach to hiring private contractors on a pay - per -inch basis and whether it would be advantageous for Lexington. Mr. Levine and Ms. Garberg will be meeting with Mary Ellen Dunn on Friday morning regarding school capital projects, school public facilities projects, and the school budget. Mr. Levine inquired whether other Committee members had questions or concerns about the school operating or capital budgets that could be discussed with Mary Ellen. Mr. Bartenstein raised the issue of the recent allocation of $250,000 in free cash to the schools, over and above the originally agreed split for FY2012, and asked what would happen with these extra funds in the event the Schools receive more than anticipated in circuit breaker funding. The Lexington Public Schools web site was noted to have a number of interesting financial documents, including one that outlines LPS revenues not subject to appropriation such as those from the federal ARRA. 2. Minutes. Minutes of February 9, 2011 were approved by a vote of 7 -0 -0. 3. Snow and Ice. Mr. Addelson discussed the status of snow and ice expenditures to date and requested the Committee to approve deficit spending in that account, as required by Mass. General Laws Chapter 44, Section 31 D which defines the authority of the Town Manager and Finance Committee in this respect. He provided the Committee with a form captioned "Authorization to Expend in Excess of the FY2011 Budget for the Removal of Snow and Ice." The question was raised whether it is appropriate to approve deficit spending without any limitations, and Mr. Addelson assured Committee members that the deficit will be tracked by the Finance Dept. and communicated appropriately. Mr. Addelson reviewed again the sources of funds that are or may be available to cover FY11 snow removal costs ($900k in the budget, $300k of FY12 revenue explicitly set aside to finance a FY11 snow and ice deficit, and $200k of FY11 -1-