2006-05-08-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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May 8, 2006 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee May 8, 2006 Members present: Deborah Brown, Rod Cole, Richard Eurich, Paul Hamburger, David Kanter, Alan Levine, Eric Michelson, Pam Hoffman, Rob Addelson (Assistant Town Manager for Finance; non-voting) Others present: Linda Vine (Assistant Town Manager), Michael Young (Budget Officer) The meeting was called to order in Room 111, Town Office Building, at 6:34 PM by Alan Levine (Chair), who then said that he would take minutes. Linda Vine presented the request to cover expenses in Unemployment Benefits ($70,000), Police-Fire Medical ($32,000), and Worker’s Compensation ($47,500) in Shared Expenses (specifically line 2100) by transfers from the Reserve Fund. The requests were also described in a hard copy that Linda distributed at the meeting. In regard to unemployment benefits, Linda stated that usually there is activity early in the fiscal year but that it drops off later in the year. This year, the unemployment expenses have continued at about $11K or $12K per month. The $70K request includes projected amounts for April, May, and June. Discussion revealed that some of the expenses are related to the layoffs in the School Dept. that took place last fall when the new School Supt. acted to reduce the anticipated overrun of more than $1M to the amount that could be covered by an appropriation at the Special Town Meeting. Rob Addelson noted that 6.5 positions were affected. The $70K request is roughly consistent with benefits for about 6 former employees. Linda noted that an employee who earns $50K per year would typically receive $16K in unemployment benefits if unemployed for the full 30 weeks of eligibility plus $25 per week per dependent. The Town’s liability to pay up to 30 weeks of unemployment continues for 18 months after an employee is laid off, even if the employee is temporarily reemployed during that time period by another employer. In response to a question from David, Rob explained, with the help of a one page summary that he distributed, that a bill was recently signed by the Governor (Chap. 77 of the Acts of 2006 which revises Chap. 44, Sec. 33B) that allows interdepartmental transfer of funds (with limitations on departments and amounts) with approval by the Selectmen and the Appropriation Committee. Linda said that the Town contracts with a company, John Jay Assoc., to track the total unemployment benefit liability but she didn’t have the information on hand as to the present liability. John Jay Assoc. also helps with claim administration. R. Eurich moved to approve the transfer of $70,000 from the Reserve Fund for Unemployment Benefits. The motion was seconded. The Committee voted 7-0 in favor.