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05/07/2020 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) May 7, 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; Meg Muckenhoupt; Nick Nichols; Lily Manhua Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Member(s)Absent: None Other Attendees: Deepika Sawhney, School Committee; Joe Pato, Select Board; LexMedia Using the Remote Meeting Prologue as a guide, Mr. Parker confirmed attendance by roll call and read the section entitled Introduction to Remote Meeting, noting that the meeting was being called to order at 7:32 p.m. on May 7, 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 and noted that materials for the meeting were available on-line. Announcements and Liaison Reports Ms. Kosnoff reported that, despite the financial impacts that are likely to be caused by the pandemic, the budget included in the FY2020 Recommended Budget and Financing Plan("Brown Book") is not being changed for presentation to Town Meeting except for the two items discussed at this Committee's April 9, 2020 meeting: removal of a transfer into the Capital Stabilization (CS) Fund and a reduced transfer into the Post Employment Insurance Liability (PEIL) Fund. She noted that there are too many uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic to revise the projections, and added that: • State revenue is down $4.6 billion in this quarter, and the State does not expect to have FY2021 State aid numbers until after FY2021 begins. This is partially because the April 15 deadline for 2019 income tax payments has been delayed. The State hopes that it will not be necessary to cut Chapter 70 aid (school aid)to cities and towns in FY2021. • A loss of 15% of the previously budgeted State aid, together with a reduction in local receipts, could result in a reduction of approximately $6.0 million in FY2021 revenue. The Town will have available approximately $3.0 million by not transferring funds into the CS and PEIL Funds referenced above, leaving a gap of$3.0 million. Reducing expenses should address some of this; the Town also has its general-purpose Stabilization Fund which could be tapped. • The Recreation Enterprise fund has been hit particularly hard because without recreation programs being offered, there is no revenue stream. The Pine Meadows Golf Course is now allowed to open, which will help increase revenue. Although the Recreation Enterprise Fund has many fixed expenses, some costs, e.g., wages for seasonal employees or contractors, will be reduced while the corresponding activities are not operating. Per current State guidelines, town budgets and enterprise funds can carry a deficit for up to three years. 1