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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-03-10-AC-min March 10, 2008 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee March 10, 2008 Place and time: Town Office Building, Room 111, 7:30 PM Members present: Alan Levine (Chair), Deborah Brown (Vice Chair), John Bartenstein (Secretary), Richard Eurich, Susan McLeish, Eric Michelson, Mike Kennealy, Pam Hoffman, Rob Addelson (ex officio, non-voting). Also present: Patrick Mehr. The meeting was called to order at 7:42 PM. Liberty Ride Accounting. 1. Deborah Brown reported that she attended a . meeting with Rob Addelson and Dawn McKenna to discuss Liberty Ride Accounting The Liberty Ride is in great shape financially, the revenue covers the expenses of operation. There is an ongoing accounting issue in that it has been the understanding that any surpluses from operations would be allocated back to the program. Rob Addelson has proposed that a revolving fund be set up next year and the challenge is how to accomplish the initial funding. Currently, an appropriation is made annually so they have funds with which to operate before cash receipts come in. If it was set up as a revolving fund there would need to be an initial appropriation (to provide working capital) that would have to be paid back over time with any surplus generated (it is estimated that the initial funding requirement would be $20,000 - $30,000). In the short term, there is another issue, the fact that the Liberty Ride generated a surplus of $2,274 last year and that amount of free cash should have been allocated to the Liberty Ride but was overlooked. Several ways to address this were discussed including a mention of the amount in our report essentially acknowledging that the money is there and should be considered in the allocation of free cash next year as well as a resolution brought to Town Meeting so the funds are earmarked. Deborah, Rob and Dawn discussed appropriating the amount in the 2009 but there is a concern that this does not address the problem – the increase in the appropriation increases the Liberty Ride’s ability to spend and does not address the funding of a revolving fund. Another suggested way to address the situation is to appropriate $2,274 to the Liberty Ride budget at this year’s Annual Town Meeting, and to present the idea of a revolving fund at Town Meeting in 2009. If the $2,274 remains unspent at that time, it could be transferred into the revolving fund. It was agreed that Deborah would continue to have discussions with Rob and Dawn to determine the best solution. Vice-Chair Vacancy. 2. Alan mentioned that we continue to have a vacancy for the vice chair position and that we also need another member. Deborah Brown was nominated to serve as the vice chair until June 30. She accepted the nomination and the committee voted unanimously to accept the nomination. - 1 - March 10, 2008 Metco Grant Accounting. 3. The Committee discussed the Metco Grant at some length. At the TMMA School budget presentation, a grant for $1.5 million was discussed with direct expenses of $1.2 million, essentially leaving $250,000-$300,000 of discretionary funds. In previous years, any excess of grant monies over expenses would have been used to fund a deficit in another area of the school budget. There is not a deficit in 2009 so the funds can be used for achievement gap items and full day kindergarten. The committee raised a concern regarding the timing in the budget process that this was disclosed. It was determined that we need more information from the School Committee and we will arrange for a meeting next week so that we can better understand the situation and have appropriate information on which to base our vote on the school committee budget. It was also mentioned that we had asked for a clearer picture of the growth of school expenses from year to year and that information has not yet been received. This can also be addressed in that conversation. Additionally, it was discussed that there is a plan to implement better accounting for grants and that we should include that as an expectation in our report. Article 37 Tree Fees. 4. Patrick Mehr was present to discuss Article 37. He had just joined the AC meeting from the Selectmen’s meeting where they voted either 4-1 or 3-2 against charging a fee for tree permits as allowed by a specific bylaw as the feeling was that the Town collects enough under building permits. There was sentiment on the committee for the proposition that the Town should either charge the fee or the bylaw should be eliminated. A motion was made to approve the Article, and the committee voted 7-1 to support it. Amendments 1 and 2 to Article 4 5. . Patrick Mehr also discussed two amendments to Article 4, in the form of non-binding resolutions, related to reducing the Town’s cost of health insurance, the amount of which is significant. The first relates to challenging the schools to consolidate part-time positions or to cut them to 19 hours per week so the employees would no longer be eligible for Town health benefits. The second relates to negotiating with the various unions more strongly and reducing the Town portion of health insurance paid and increasing base salaries instead. Patrick indicated that he had already been talking to Carl Valente and Rob Addelson about the motion, and he proposes that Town Meeting have an opportunity to say that they agree with the view. This motion will be a vehicle for debate at Town Meeting. We discussed the wording of the amendment and some changes were suggested. It was also suggested that the revised wording be reviewed by Carl Valente for his input. We agreed that it would be a good idea to make the unions aware that we are in a tight financial situation. The committee voted unanimously (8-0) to oppose both amendments as currently worded. Sidewalks. 6. Alan reported that there will be a meeting on Tuesday, March 25 regarding wire-cut bricks for the center sidewalk project. The meeting will commence at 6:15 PM at the intersection of Mass Ave and Waltham Street and will continue at 7:00 PM in room G15. Susan McLeish agreed to attend the meeting at 7:00 and asked that the committee members relay their position on the wire-cut bricks prior to that time. - 2 - March 10, 2008 Snow and Ice. 7.Rob Addelson reported that $1.34 million (unaudited) has been spent on snow and ice removal, and that the original budget was $610k, leaving a shortfall of $730k. There is $300k in the FY 2009 budget that has been set aside to help defray the deficit. Additionally, in the FY 2008 budget, there is $300k in unspent unemployment costs which were freed up when the school operating override passed, and $100,000 of interest expense on debt service that did not have to be spent when the DPW debt exclusion was passed, both of which are available to help fund the shortfall. Rob expects that this money will be transferred under Article 37. Articles 4, 5, and 6. 8. The Committee voted on Article 4 (Operating Budget) not including line 1100 (Lexington Public Schools), Article 5 (Enterprise Funds), and Article 6 (Senior Service) and unanimously (8-0) approved all three. Report to the Annual Town Meeting. 9. It was agreed that we would provide comments on Article reports by Thursday at 9:00 am and that they be turned back in by midnight on Friday (except for John Bartenstein for whom Deborah will have the authority to make changes). Alan, Deborah and Pam will conduct an editing session over the weekend. Street Trees. 10. Alan reported that he had discussed the street tree article with Jeanne Krieger and that the Selectmen had voted not to support the amendment because there were no budget monies available. Rob suggested that one way to handle the situation would be to reintroduce the Article at a special fall Town Meeting if one is held, and if there is additional revenue identified at that time. The committee brainstormed ways to make funds available and ultimately decided to defer further discussion to the meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 13, 2008. The meeting was adjourned at 11:02 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan McLeish Approved June 25, 2008 - 3 -