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6 1 2011 Annual Report Town Manager Personnel FY10 FY11 FullTime .. ............................... 7...... ............................... 7 PartTime . ............................... 2 ...... ............................... 3 ROLE: As the Chief Executive Officer of the Town, es- tablished in the Selectmen Town Manager Act, the 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 Man- ager's Office also includes the Human Resources Office. APPOINTED by the Board of Selectmen: Carl Valente has served as Town Manager since July 2005. Budget The FY12 budget process continued the collaborative ef- fort among the Board of Selectmen, School Committee, Appropriation and Capital Expenditures Committees, and the staff. Five budget sessions resulted in consensus on a balanced budget for Town Meeting consideration that ad- dressed many pressing needs and did not require a Proposi- tion 2 -1/2 override. An additional $2.8 million became available for appropri- ation, primarily as a result of greater than estimated new growth in the property tax levy and lower than predicted employee health insurance claims. After additional ap- propriations for capital projects and adjustments to FY12 operating budgets were made, approximately $1.7 million remained uncommitted and will be available for appropria- tion in FY2014. Free Cash for FY11 was certified at approximately $8.1 million, which will be available for appropriation to sup- port the FY2013 capital and operating budgets. Finance In December, Moody's Investment Service reaffirmed Lex- ington's Aaa bond rating, citing the Town's sizeable and stable tax base, healthy financial position, and manageable debt burden among other factors. Lexington is one of only 33 Aaa municipalities in Massachusetts. The Town issued $19 million in General Obligation Advanced Refunding Bonds to refinance $22 million of debt issued in 2003. The Advanced Refunding Bonds were sold at an interest rate of 1.749 %. This refinancing will save a total of $2.4 million over the remaining life of the bonds. The Selectmen voted to maintain the FY12 real estate tax classification factor at 1.70. Performance measurement efforts continued in the Police, Library, and Public Facilities departments. A fall Special Town Meeting approved funding of major renovations for Bridge and Bowman schools, contingent on a positive debt exclusion override vote. The Selectmen scheduled the referendum vote on these renovations and replacement of Estabrook School for January of 2012. Economic Development Economic development continues to be a top priority for the Board of Selectmen. A new Economic Development Director was hired in December to fill the position, which had been vacant since June. Staff continues to work with the Board of Selectmen, Town departments, committees, businesses and residents to increase commercial develop- ment and job growth in the Town. The Town's economic development effort has resulted in the expansion of life sci- ence developments in the Hayden Avenue District. This District continues to be a driving factor of significant new growth in the Town's commercial tax base, with major de- velopments generating an additional $1.2 million dollars in revenue for 2011. A major economic development initiative is increasing the commercial density in the Hartwell Avenue District. This increase in development may potentially increase traffic in the area, resulting in congestion that has the possibility to jeopardize the area's viability. The Town is being proactive to address this concern by adopting a Transportation Man- agement Overlay District plan to mitigate the effects of the projected impacts. Another major economic development initiative is improv- ing the vitality of Lexington Center. In 2011, staff complet- ed a major outreach campaign with various stakeholders to establish a framework for streetscape improvements in the Center to revitalize the aging landscape and infrastruc- ture and increase pedestrian safety. The Center Streetscape Concept Plan, with schematic design -level products and a cost estimate for the north side of Massachusetts Avenue, was completed in 2011. Human Resources The Town Manager and Human Resources continued to devote considerable time during 2011 negotiating with the Town's collective bargaining units. The Town was able to reach bargaining agreements for FY12 with eight of the Town's ten collective bargaining units. The contract with the Cary Memorial Library is scheduled for mediation in January 2012 and the contract with IAFF Local 1491, Lexington Fire Fighters is scheduled for arbitration in the spring of 2012. The Town Manager's Office and Human Resources are currently negotiating with the Employee Health Insurance Coalition for a successor agreement. The current agreement expires on June 30, 2012.