2007-04-30-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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April 30, 2007 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee April 30, 2007 Place and time: School Administration Conference Room, 8:30 a.m. Members present: Alan Levine (Chair), Deborah Brown (Vice Chair), John Bartenstein (Secretary), Rod Cole, Richard Eurich, David Kanter, Pamela Hoffman, Michael Kennealy, Rob Addelson (ex officio, non-voting) Also present: Tom Diaz, Tom Griffiths, Paul Ash, Mary Ellen Dunn, Peter Kelley, Andy Friedlich, Richard Pagett, Patrick Mehr, Michael Young FY2007 overruns 1. . Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Business Mary Ellen Dunn described two major findings/conclusions with respect to overruns in the FY2007 school budget: (1) SPED and utilities (especially electricity) continue to be the big budget-busters; and (2) the misclassification of expenses (charging to incorrect accounts) needs to be addressed. A lengthy and detailed discussion ensued of the types of misclassifications that have occurred and what is being done to address them. The Committee also sought and received assurances that there has been adequate budgeting for FY2008. Deborah then led Committee through her proposed comments under Article 42, and the Committee voted 8-0 to approve them with edits discussed. FY2008 budget 2. . Patrick Mehr presented his proposal to reduce the override from $3.98 million to $2.78 million, including a proposal for $2 million in potential cuts. Superintendent Paul Ash responded to the proposal item by item. A long discussion ensued regarding the merits of the proposal and the pros and cons of reducing the size of the override. The Committee then voted, 7-0, not to support the proposal. Peter Kelley then presented his amendment to reduce the FY2008 budget by $640K (the amount of new State Aid expected). Part of Peter’s objection is that the new revenue wasn’t split 72%/28% between School and Municipal departments. John expressed concern about retaining a “cushion” to deal with potential surprises in FY2008 and questioned whether it was prudent to remove the $640K from the override amount. Deborah suggested, and Michael Young confirmed, that signs are good that we can count on this additional $640K in aid. Al distributed a document he had drafted on the question of whether it is prudent to use this $640K. The Committee concluded its discussion by voting 6-1 to oppose Peter’s amendment. The Committee voted 6-1 to approve Line item 1100. John explained his dissenting vote as a disagreement with the revenue allocation between the base and contingent budgets, not on the total budget amount. Vote on Line item 2130 3. . Deborah added her vote (Rick Eurich abstained) to make the final Committee vote 8-0-1. - 1 -