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04/09/2020 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) April 9, 2020 Place and Time: Remote Participation: in accordance with the Governor's March 12, 2020 Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law; communication took place via a Zoom teleconferencing session that was open to the public; 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; Sanjay Padaki, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary; John Bartenstein; Eric Michelson; Nick Nichols; Lily Manhua Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Members)Absent: Meg Muckenhoupt Other Attendees: Deepika Sawhney, School Committee; LexMedia Using the Remote Meeting Prologue as a guide, Mr. Parker confirmed attendance and read the section entitled Introduction to Remote Meeting, noting that the meeting was being called to order at 7:35 p.m. on April 9, 2020 and that the meeting format did not include opportunities for public comment. He reported that the meeting was being recorded and broadcast live by LexMedia and would be available for on-demand viewing. He also reviewed the section entitled Meeting Protocol. Announcements and Liaison Reports Ms. Sawhney reported that the Superintendent of Schools has distributed a number of notices regarding responses to the COVID-19 pandemic that would be forwarded to this Committee. Proposed updates to the FY2021 Recommended Budget and Financing Plan Mr. Parker reported that, at its April 6, 2020 meeting, the Select Board (SB) discussed two budget-related recommendations made by the Town Manager that would, in effect, set aside funds in the operating budget until a fall Special Town Meeting (STM), thus, providing flexibility to cover unexpected COVID-19-related expenses in FY2021, as follows: • Article 17: Appropriate to Post Employment Insurance Liability Fund: The originally proposed appropriation of$1.93 million would be reduced by the amount that was to come from Free Cash, approximately $1.18 million. The remaining $750,000 which was to come from the General Fund (corresponding to the use under Article 4 of$750,000 from the Health Claims Trust Fund for operating budget health benefits)would still be appropriated, as well as about$5,000 from the water and sewer enterprise funds. The Free Cash not appropriated would roll into the Free Cash balance at the end of FY2020 which would then, upon certification, be available for appropriation at a fall STM, either for COVID-19 purposes or as a supplemental appropriation to the OPEB fund. • Article 19: Establish, Dissolve and Appropriate to and from Specified Stabilization Funds: The proposed appropriation into the Capital Stabilization Fund (CSF) of$1,773,062, of which $164,987 was to come from the tax levy and $1,608,075 was to come from Free Cash, would also be deferred, thus eliminating Part a) of this article. These two reductions would total $2.8 million, which would then remain available for fall STM appropriations. Ms. Kosnoff reviewed the free cash certification process and how it would impact the availability of those funds. Free cash cannot be appropriated until certification is complete, but it is expected that this would be completed before a fall 2020 STM. After a brief discussion, it was determined that alternatives to this approach were not advisable. 1