2024-02-01-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

2/1/2024 AC Minutes 2 will be for Town staff overtime outside the allowed spending windows for the ARPA funds and state earmarks, implying they must be funded under Article 24. The total for items that can only be funded under Article 24 is estimated at $563,000. Of that total, approximately $325,000 is overtime for Town employees. Mr. Malloy is trying to reduce the total needed in Article 24 funding to $500,000. Mr. Padaki asked if the currently available funding would be sufficient to cover all the expected costs. Ms. Barry stated that 95% of the current budget covers municipal infrastructure needs, and no funding in that budget has been allocated for event programming, so the Commission will be launching a separate fundraising campaign. Ms. Barry replied that they might also need additional funding due to events that are outside the current scope of the celebration. For example, there is a proposal to invite the Royal Family of England to attend the celebration, which would necessitate much greater security. There is also a possibility that the Town would invite the U.S. President to attend the celebration which may entail additional costs for security. At the MEMA meeting, there was talk about getting a SEAR rating (Special Event Assessment Rat- ing) from the Dept. of Homeland Security for the event. Depending on the rating, this could trigger federal involvement and additional support. This is complicated by the occurrence of the Boston Marathon during the 2025 celebration. Mr. Levine asked who on the Committee was responsible for Article 24. Mr. Padaki confirmed that Lily Yan was currently assigned to draft the report. Mr. Levine asked if Ms. Barry could provide a one-page summary of the Lex250 budget, including all funding sources, previous expenditures, and anticipated future expenses. Ms. Barry asked by what date the Committee would like to have that information. Mr. Parker stated that February 29 was the deadline, and Ms. Barry responded that she would deliver the budget summary by February 25. Timing of Financial Articles at the Annual Town Meeting Ms. Kosnoff noted a concern on the publication deadline for the Recommended Budget and Financ- ing Book (the “Brown Book”), which per our conventions must be available four weeks prior to town meeting taking up financial articles. The goal is to publish the Brown Book by Friday, Febru- ary 16, but it could be delayed a week to February 23 due to as yet unresolved issues in the budget planning, including debt service, state aid, and some capital items. A delay to February 23 would require the Moderator to take up financial articles no earlier than March 27 (town meeting will be in recess on March 25 for Holi). FY2025 Lexington Public Schools Operating Budget Dr. Julie Hackett and David Coelho presented a set of slides on the LPS FY2025 operating budget. Comparing the ongoing FY2024 budget to the recommended FY2025 budget shows a net increase of 4.29%, with salary expenses up 7.15% and other expenses down 10.41%. Enrollment fell from 6,901 in FY2021 to 6,790 in FY2022, bounced back to 6,845 in FY2023, and settled at 6,805 for FY2024. Mr. Coelho interpreted this as a stabilizing trend. Current projections for enrollment show the overall PreK-12 number of students remaining level or dropping slightly over the next three years, but the projections are subject to uncertainties which al- low the possibility of significant deviations from the trend. In the projections through FY 2027, the greatest uncertainty was ±11% for the K-5 enrollment in FY2027. Mr. Coelho noted that the budget for the school system must adapt both to the number of students enrolled, and to the specific needs of those students, particularly for those requiring additional edu- cational support. Based on a review of the current and projected needs, the proposed budget shows a