1996-01-25-AC-MIN.pdf - Laserfiche WebLink

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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1996 COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE, 7:30 PM Present: P Lapointe, J Pagett, M Miley, M Hastings, R Borghesani, M Mairson, R Colwell Absent: L Peck, R Leone, J Ryan * MOTION to approve minutes of January 11, 1996 with two changes: 1) the school capital budget should be $ 2,210,000 and 2) the Town celebration expense should be $ 11,500 * Upcoming AC meetings : February 7, 1996 with Jeff Young, Joe Dini and Sandy Guryan as well as meet with the Capital Expenditures Committee February 21 regular AC meeting * P Lapointe opened a discussion on the Town Celebration Committee (TCC) request for a Reserve Fund transfer of $ 11,500. There was a general agreement amongst the members present that the AC's authority is not well understood among various town groups. The AC is the only committee which has authority to approve transfers from the Reserve Fund. The sense of the AC members was that alternate sources of funding had not been pursued. Reserve Fund transfers appear to be the easy solution: however Reserve Fund guiding documents suggest that the TCC request is not an unforeseen expense. Paul Lapointe sees broader questions: 1) Who has the authority(BOS,Town Manager,Comptroller)? 2) Better communication with the BOS and Town Manager 3) Role of the AC (not a ratifier) 4) Role of the Reserve Fund In summary the AC was not in favor of reconsidering their vote of January 11, 1996; however would hold judgement until after a discussion with Pat Flynn and Norman Cohen. As a process requirement, the AC feels that the town departments and boards should not overspend their budgets without approval of the Ac if funds are to be transferred from the Reserve Fund. * The AC discussed the SC request for a $ 230,000 supplemental appropriation was postponed until the February 7, 1996 meeting. P lapointe briefly commented on the school's operating budget major increases over 1996. These are: 1) $ 1,500,000 contractual obligations 2) $ 1,200,000 increased enrollment 3) $ 300,000 materials 4) $ 155,000 other This reflects approximately a $ 3,000,000 increase ( Town Manager's allocation $ 1,400,000) * The Town Manager's proposed FY 97 budget was briefly discussed; a more lengthy meeting on the issues will follow after the SC budget presentation on January 30, 1996. * The AC met with Pat Flynn and Norman Cohen. General discussion followed on the key