HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-04-14-AC-min 04/14/2021 AC Minutes
Minutes
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC)
April 14, 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; 7:00 p.m.
Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; Sanjay Padaki, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary;
Anil Ahuja; John Bartenstein; Eric Michelson; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance
(non-voting, ex officio)
Member(s)Absent: Vineeta Kumar; Meg Muckenhoupt; Lily Manhua Yan
Other Attendees: Dawn McKenna, Town Meeting Member; Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary
Mr. Parker confirmed attendance, reviewed the authorization for meeting remotely, noted that the
meeting was being called to order at 7:03 p.m. on April 14, 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.
Ms. McKenna reported that she was attending in the event that there were questions regarding
Article 16 (g): Appropriate for Public Facilities Capital Projects: Center Recreation Complex
Bathrooms &Maintenance Building Renovation. Mr. Parker reported that this Committee had
discussed this project at its previous meeting and voted to support the Select Board's plan to bring
this project forward for reconsideration at the 2021 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) and then
indefinitely postpone it.
ATM 2021 Committee Process Feedback
Mr. Parker asked for comments and suggestions regarding the production of the AC report to the
ATM. Comments included the following:
• More precise communication regarding the status of assignments during the reviewer
process and regular updates of the status column in the spreadsheet that is used to track
assignments would be helpful.
• Getting drafts written early helps facilitate the process.
• Mr. Parker assumes a lot of editing responsibilities that require a lot of his time. Although
using multiple people to review the material is valuable, it is necessary to have one person as
the final editor who pulls the end product together.
• It takes time at the end to eliminate repetitious material and conflicts.
Ms. Kosnoff suggested trying W-Desk, software that links tables and text and helps when multiple
people are working on different sections. She said that staff could provide a demonstration and help
in the transition. It was agreed to explore this by perhaps creating a"dummy"report using W-desk.
Next Meetings
Ms. Kosnoff reported that she expects year-end budget adjustments to be ready for approval in late
June. She also noted that the Town expects to receive approximately $9.0 million in American
Rescue Plan Act funds that would likely affect the magnitude of any surplus as well as the needs for
adjustments. The Act identifies four areas where the funds can be used but otherwise provides little
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04/14/2021 AC Minutes
guidance. She suggested that input from the AC would be useful. It was agreed to meet on
May 13, 2021.
Announcements and Liaison Reports
Ms. Kosnoff reported that the Massachusetts School Building Authority, in response to Lexington's
proposal requesting financial assistance with replacing the high school,had not invited Lexington to
participate in its 2021 funding program.
Minutes of Prior Meetings
A motion was made and seconded to approve the draft minutes for the March 29 and April 7, 2021
AC meetings, with edits to the March 29 draft. The motion was approved. VOTE: 6-0.
The meeting adjourned at 7:28 p.m. by a roll call vote. VOTE: 6-0
Respectfully submitted,
Sara Arnold
Approved: May 13, 2021
Exhibits
Agenda,posted by Mr. Parker
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