2006-08-31-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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August 31, 2006 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee August 31, 2006 Place and time: Town Office Building, Room 111, 7:30 p.m. Members present: Al Levine (Chair), John Bartenstein (Secretary), Rod Cole, Rick Eurich, Pam Hoffman, David Kanter, Eric Michelson Also present: Michael Young, Budget Officer; John Fedorochko Minutes. 1. John Bartenstein suggested two changes to the procedure for taking minutes. First, he proposed to prepare and circulate promptly after each meeting a draft set of abbreviated “basic minutes,” summarizing the essential topics discussed and actions taken. The designated minute-taker for the evening could then work from this basic draft to prepare a more detailed version. Ideally, this would facilitate and expedite the process of preparing detailed minutes, and at the same time ensure the existence of at least a basic and timely record of every meeting. Second, to smooth out the burden of minute-taking, John proposed to circulate a scheduled rotation of responsibility for the detailed minutes, with members free to swap as necessary depending on their availability and other commitments. Both changes were agreed to on a trial basis. Rod Cole’s draft minutes of the July 26, 2006 meeting were reviewed and several changes were proposed. David Kanter will circulate a revised version for consideration at the next meeting. Announcements. 2. The first Budget Collaboration Meeting/Summit has now been scheduled for Thursday, September 21, at 7:30 p.m. in High School Commons II. thst This means that the Committee will be meeting three weeks in a row, on the 14, 21 and th 28 of September. Staff and Member Reports. 3. Michael Young discussed the Town Manager’s plans for the first Summit meeting and the status of preliminary estimates of revenue and other key financial data for the FY08 budget. He also explained the process for determining the Town’s free cash balance as of the end of FY07, which is still ongoing, and for the ultimate certification of free cash by the DOR later in the fall. He reported that a new DOR representative has been assigned responsibility for reviewing Lexington’s financial accounts. Michael reported that the final state aid number for FY07 was about $660,000 above the estimates used at the spring Town Meeting, and about $1 million higher than last year. Most of the increase, about $620,000, comes from an increase in Chapter 70 (school) funds, and the balance results from changes in lottery funds and other miscellaneous items. - 1 -