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02/04/2021 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) February 4, 2021 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; Lily Manhua Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Member(s)Absent: None Other Attendees: Eileen Jay, Vice-Chair, and Deepika Sawhney: Lexington School Committee; David Kanter, Vice-Chair and Clerk: Capital Expenditures Committee; Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Mr. Parker confirmed attendance by roll call, reviewed the authorization for meeting remotely, noted that the meeting was being called to order at 7:34 p.m. on February 4, 2021, and stated that the meeting was being recorded for the purpose of creating minutes. He also noted that materials for the meeting were available on-line. Announcements and Liaison Reports Mr. Michelson reported that Article 37: Amend General Bylaws, Stormwater Management (Chapter 114) is addressing a technical issue, and it is not necessary for this Committee to comment on it in its report to the Annual Town Meeting (ATM). Ms. Kosnoff made several announcements, as follows: • Yesterday, the Town issued bonds for $5.5 million of within-levy debt, which included funding for Water/Wastewater projects, the Pelham Road project, the Police Station, and some signalization improvements. The true interest cost was 0.45%, with a coupon rate of 5.0%. The Town also received a rate of 0.29% for some Bond Anticipation Notes. • The Town learned this afternoon that its Free Cash was certified at approximately $1.0 million over the $16.2 million estimate used in the preliminary budget. The Town wants to verify that the certified amount is correct, but it is unlikely that this can be resolved before tomorrow's issuance of the FY2022 Recommended Budget and Financing Plan (Brown Book). • Despite the uncertainty surrounding the amount of Free Cash, staff expects to update the Brown Book to eliminate a $400,000 withdrawal from the general-purpose Stabilization Fund and to direct$600,000 into the Capital Stabilization Fund. Because the budget sets aside $2.0 million in funds for unanticipated Covid-19-related expenses or revenue reductions, and with the anticipation of the receipt of more federal and state Covid-19 relief funds, Ms. Kosnoff currently feels comfortable with making this adjustment before ensuring that the additional $1.0 million is available. • This triggered discussion about the School Department's use of parent donations for additional Covid-19 testing at public schools. Members suggested that Covid-19 testing programs in public schools should be funded by the Town. Ms. Sawhney and Ms. Jay reported that there was still considerable uncertainty about the funding and duration of this testing program. Ms. Kosnoff reported that she had contacted the Federal Emergency 1