2005-04-06-TM-Report of the Town Manager -rpt

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Town of Lexington – 2005 Annual Town Meeting Report of the Town Manager April 6, 2005 The FY2006 budget before you today is the collaborative product of staff, elected boards, and citizen volunteers who worked together toward common goals. This budget provides resources to continue or enhance basic services and it does so without an override or the use of free cash. We got primarily good news regarding projected revenues, and reductions in school and municipal budget requests required to close the gap were modest. As you work your way through the recommended budget I hope you will be pleased with the work we have done. The recommended budget includes expenditures of $130,636,232, balanced by non-tax levy revenues of $36,573,656, tax levy of $89,119,263 and an exempt debt service of $4,943,313. The overall budget will increase by $3,780,624 or 2.98% over the FY 2005 Recap. In developing the budget we attempted to meet the following goals: 1. To develop a budget without the need for an operating override, 2. To continue to build cash reserves, 3. To restore staffing levels in general government, 4. To sustain core services in the public schools, 5. To continue to invest in the town’s building and enterprise assets. 6. And to respond to Moody’s Investor’s Service “negative outlook” and build back financial flexibility. In crafting the FY 2006 budget we were able to take advantage of several options that became available: 1. We were able to issue short-term notes (or BANS) saving approximately $1 million in FY 06. 2. We used a one-time payment from NESWC of $575,000 to place in the stabilization fund and balance the budget. 3. We have planned to ask the Board of Assessors to release $425,000 from the overlay account. This sum of money has accumulated from previous year’s overlay appropriations and can now be released for other purposes. LCV Art. 2 Speech to Town Meeting 1 of 4 5/1/2009