Laserfiche WebLink
APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE REPORT TO THE MARCH 2013 ATM <br /> choose among the various plans offered by the GIC. The total enrollment remains a critical variable, but <br /> the choices of plans by subscribers are also important. For estimating FY2014 expenses, the Town was <br /> able to use the FY2013 experience as a base. <br /> Enrollment numbers and projections are shown on page IV-6 of the Brown Book. The FY2014 budget is <br /> designed to accommodate an enrollment reaching 2286, an increase of 95 subscribers (4.3%). This in- <br /> crease allows for changes in enrollments due to new hires to fill currently open positions (9) or newly cre- <br /> ated positions (57) and provides a buffer for new subscribers among present employees/retirees (26). It <br /> also captures increases in numbers of subscribers coming from the movement of eligible employees from <br /> family plans to Medicare supplement plans that does not lead to cost increases. <br /> The health insurance amount in line 2130 reflects an increase of 5.4%, when discounting the one-time <br /> FY2013 mitigation payment of$1,120,000, due to the expected combined effects of changes in the num- <br /> ber of subscribers, and increases in the costs of medical services. The net effect relative to the total <br /> FY2013 health insurance appropriation is a small decrease in the overall budget for health benefits as <br /> stated above. <br /> Line 2100 in aggregate: The total amount budgeted for Line 2100 is $29,688,138. This amount is 1.2% <br /> less than the corresponding number for FY2013. Besides employee/retiree health insurance, line 2130 <br /> includes $910,832 for dental insurance, $1,305,421 for Medicare Tax, which the Town pays for all Town <br /> and School Department employees hired after 1986, and $20,400 for life insurance. <br /> The FY2014 budget includes the amount of$200,000 on line 2140, Unemployment Benefits, to fund the <br /> Town's estimated statutory liability for unemployment compensation payments for employees who were <br /> or may be laid off. This is a 31% reduction from FY2013 reflecting an anticipated reduction in the num- <br /> ber of employees eligible for unemployment insurance benefits and in the lengths of time that they will <br /> eligible for unemployment benefits. <br /> The Workers Compensation recommended appropriation in line 2150, $610,915, represents a 0.42% in- <br /> crease over FY2013 and continues the Town's response to actual experience and efforts to build a reserve <br /> balance in this continuing balance account. <br /> The second largest line in Shared Expenses is line 2110, Contributory Retirement, $4,805,537. This <br /> amount is based on an actuarial valuation of the Lexington Retirement System. It will be paid by the <br /> Town to the System, which is managed and overseen by the Lexington Retirement Board, to fund the <br /> Town's pension payments to retirees in FY2014 as well as to help fund liabilities for future payments due <br /> to current or past obligations. The recommended appropriation for FY2014 represents a $400,000 or <br /> 7.68% decrease from the total FY2013 appropriation. Note that the FY2013 total includes a one-time <br /> supplemental appropriation for Contributory Retirement of$1 million that was approved at the November <br /> 2012 special town meeting. If this supplemental appropriation is removed from the FY2013 base, the un- <br /> derlying change in costs between FY2013 and FY2014 is an increase of$600,000, or 14.3%. The major <br /> drivers of this increase are the final phase of capturing the losses attributable to the 2008 recession and a <br /> change in the mortality table used in the biennial valuation of plan liabilities, specifically the recognition <br /> that members are living longer. The Retirement Board's goal is to achieve full funding of the liabilities by <br /> the year 2030. <br /> Line 2200 Debt Service This line item includes within-levy debt service, i.e., it does not include exempt <br /> debt authorized by Proposition 2/2 debt service referenda. This line also does not include the request to <br /> appropriate $1,600,000 from the Capital Project/Debt Service Reserve/Building Renewal Stabilization <br /> Fund in order to pay a portion of the payments that would normally be covered by the FY2014 exempt <br /> debt service. That is covered under Article 20. <br /> Line 2300 Reserve Fund The Reserve Fund request is level funded at$900,000. <br /> 13 <br />