2003-06-BOS-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Selectmen's Meeting June 9, 2003 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, June 9, 2003 in the Auditorium at the Clarke Middle School, 17 Stedman Road, Lexington. Chairman McSweeney, Mrs. Krieger, Mrs. McKenna, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kelley, Mr. White, Town Manager, Mr. Lahey, Town Counsel, and Ms. Tap, Recording Secretary, were present. A large audience of Lexington residents and Town employees was also present. Budget Impact Reports Mr. McSweeney briefly outlined the history of the budget preparation process for FY04, which began in July 2002, leading up to the override vote on June 2, 2003. Mr. White listed the kinds of implications of the override's defeat, the options the town has before the new fiscal year begins on July 1, and the practical implications of the public's choice of the smaller of two budgets. He asked senior staff to describe the service reductions that their departments will have to implement. Town Counsel Lahey summarized the Town's legal options. The Town cannot incur fiscal year 2003 expenditures after July 1, 2003. It can 1) begin the year as is, adhering to the cuts as part of the override package; 2) vote the override again; or, 3) place the same override question before the voters again. Ms. Janet Perry, Personnel Advisory Board, explained why the lay -off of employees, after the override failed, was handled as it was, saying that there is no painless way to lay people off She and other members of the Board have a great deal of experience in human resources, including layoffs, and comparatively speaking, it was done well last week. The laid -off employees were able to leave with pay for untaken vacation and an extension of benefits for a period of time. Mr. Hadley, Public Works; Mr. Torode, Fire Chief, Mr. Frederickson, Community Development; Mrs. Mahoney, Library Director; and Mr. Casey, Police Chief, detailed the severe reduction in services their departments will provide to residents as a result of the override. Mrs. McKenna thanked the residents for caring. A 59% voter turnout was a good reflection of community sentiment. She said that it was not the bundling of the override that was a problem. Rather, it was the prioritization of the items we had put at risk. As I had said from the beginning, critical services should not be put at risk on an override. She also believes that the Board did not receive accurate information from the Town Manager about the implications of some of the cuts. In addition, she felt that the layoffs were handled in a cold and callous manner. Some employees were only told after the failure that their positions were at risk. Employees, some of whom had worked for the town for years, came into work, were told of the failed override, and watched while they packed their things and escorted out of the building. This was no way to treat valuable employees who were being terminated through no fault of their own.