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01/14/2020 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) January 14, 2020 Place and Time: Cary Memorial Building, Hudson Room, 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; Sanjay Padaki, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary; John Bartenstein; Lily Manhua Yan; Eric Michelson; Meg Muckenhoupt; Nick Nichols; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Member(s)Absent: None Other Attendees: Deepika Sawhney, School Committee School Committee The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m. Announcements and Liaison Reports Mr. Bartenstein reported on a proposal before the Select Board to seek a home rule petition which would allow a one-year delay in the increase of the interest rate prescribed by State law on residential tax deferrals following the death of a homeowner. Lexington residents who have been granted tax deferrals are charged interest at a relatively low rate based on treasury bill rates, currently about 2%, which applies for the life of that year's deferral, i.e., until the property is sold (no transfer may be made until the deferred taxes are paid) or the resident dies. Upon the death of the resident, state law provides that the interest rate increases to 16%. Since it may take months to settle an estate and arrange for sale or transfer of the property, this high interest rate can pose a hardship. The proposed home rule petition would allow the Town to provide a one-year grace period after the death of a resident before the interest rate is increased from the deferral rate to the statutory rate of 16%. During discussion, it was noted that a resident has to submit qualifying documentation annually, and the loan can be paid off any time. Ms. Kosnoff reported that there will be an effort to start financial articles on the first night, i.e., March 23, of the 2020 Annual Town Meeting (ATM). 2020 ATM Articles Mr. Parker agreed to prepare a spreadsheet with preliminary article assignments for Committee members. He noted that members could make mutually agreeable changes to the assignments. He urged members to begin researching those articles to which they are assigned, noting that there are only 10 weeks before the start of the annual town meeting. It was noted that Minuteman Regional High School officials estimate that their budget request will increase considerably. Ms. Kosnoff reported that the school has used a worst-case scenario for preparing its budget, but, nonetheless, does not expect that the request will come in much lower than the present estimate. Mr. Michelson added that enrollment from the member communities has been low. In response to questions, Mr. Michelson noted that grants are generally used to improve current or start new programs; they generally do not reduce current program costs. Minutes There was a brief discussion about two sets of minutes that were ready for approval. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes for November 12, 2019 and December 11, 2019. The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0 1