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03/05/2020 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) March 5, 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; Eric Michelson; Meg Muckenhoupt; Nick Nichols; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Members)Absent: Lily Manhua Yan Other Attendees: None The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. Announcements and Liaison Reports There were no reports. 2020 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) Financial Articles and Report Planning Mr. Parker led a review of the financial articles to identify those that still need written material for the report and to vote on those which this Committee was prepared to vote. • Article 4: Appropriate FY2021 Operating Budget: Mr. Levine reported that he is finalizing the draft text for the school budget, which is included in this article. A motion was made to recommend approval of this article. Mr. Michelson read the first three paragraphs of the written material he had prepared regarding Minuteman Technical Regional High School (Minuteman Tech), noting that the increase in Lexington's portion of the school's budget continues to increase significantly. There are a number of contributing factors, from the capital costs for building a new facility to operating costs associated with the number of non-district students. It was noted that Minuteman Tech serves the highest number of special education students as compared to all other technical high schools in the State. The motion was seconded and passed. VOTE: 7-0 • Article 5: Appropriate FY2021 Enterprise Funds Budgets: Mr. Bartenstein reported that he is preparing the draft text for this article. It will be available next week. • Article 6: Establish Qualifications for Tax Deferrals: Mr. Bartenstein reported that this program is perceived as the best approach for helping residents, particularly senior citizens, remain in their homes. Approximately 40 homeowners participate. The article recommends increasing the income criteria for eligibility to no more than $90,000. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of this article. The motion passed. VOTE 7-0 • Article 7: Petition General Court to Amend Legislation Regarding Tax Deferrals: Mr. Bartenstein explained that, per State regulations, the rate of return on funds owed the Town by residents participating in the tax deferral program is currently 2.5%until the death of the participant(s), when the rate of return increases to 16%. This article would allow the Town to petition for a one-year delay in that increase. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of this article. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 • Article 8: Short Term Rental Impact Fee: Ms. Muckenhoupt and Mr. Bartenstein explained that this article would allow the Town to implement a short term rental impact fee of up to 1