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December 9, 2004 Minutes Appropriation Committee December 9, 2004 Place and time: Town Office Building, Room 105, 7:30 p.m. Members present: Al Levine, Rick Eurich, Rod Cole, David Kanter, Ron Pawliczek, Eric Michelson, John Bartenstein, Sheila English Also present: Selectmen Dawn McKenna and Richard Pagett; School Committee Chair Tom Griffiths; Capital Expenditure Committee member John Rosenberg Town Annual Report 1.. The Committee’s contribution to the Town Annual Report is due by December 22. AL can supply last year’s contribution to serve as a template. RE agreed to work on this and will ask PH for assistance. SE agreed to get minutes of last year’s Annual Town Meeting from Donna Hooper. Warrant Articles 2.. The Board of Selectmen has given notice that next year’s Annual Town Meeting will commence on March 28, 2005, and that warrant articles are due by December 28, 2004. The Appropriation Committee does not have any warrant articles to propose at this time. 3. Assessors’ Meeting . RC reported on the meeting of the Board of Assessors that he and PH attended on November 19. The principal concern of the Board of Assessors was the inadequacy of staffing in the Assessors’ Office. RC and PH felt that the Board made a “pretty convincing case.” The details of the meeting are summarized in RC’s memo circulated on November 24. AL noted that the Board of Assessors had made a similar presentation to the Board of Selectmen when requesting permission to defer the preparation of an actual tax bill (versus an estimated bill) until the fourth quarter, as was done last year. There was extensive discussion about whether there is a need for immediate additional help in the Assessors’ Office in order to ensure that all necessary work is completed in time for the fourth quarter billing, particularly the work necessary fully to capture new growth. SE advised that, while there is a serious need to restore earlier levels of staffing in the long run, there is not a “compelling case” for additional staffing to complete the work necessary for FY05. Several extraordinary factors contributed to the delays experienced this year, including early retirements, the departure of the Assistant Finance Director, delays at the Registry of Deeds, and the fact that FY05 was a recertification year. Some of the staffing needs during the fall were addressed by bringing back early retirees on a temporary basis and hiring contractors. The sense of the Committee was that SE should speak further with the Town Assessor and the Acting Town Manager, and advise the Committee if there is a need for any further action.