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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-02-19-AC-min 02/19/15 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee February 19,2015 Place and time- Public Facilities Building, Room 221, 7 30 p.m Members present Glenn Parker, Chair, John Bartenstem, Vice Chair and Secretary; Alan Levine, Beth Masterman, Susan McLeish, Eric Michelson, Rob Addelson (non-voting, ex officio) Members absent Andrei Radulescu-Banu, Mollie Garberg; Richard Neumeier Other attendees Sandy Beebee, Lexington Parents Advocacy Group The meeting was called to order at 7 39 p.m. 1 Minutes. A motion was made and seconded to approve the February 5, 2015 Minutes, as amended, and the February 12, 2015 Minutes, as amended. The motion was approved. VOTE 6-0 2. Liaison Reports. Ms McLeish reported that Vicki Blier, Co-Chair of the Tax Deferral and Exemption Study Committee, was concerned about inaccuracies in the Lexington Minuteman's article on her recent presentation to the Board of Selectmen (BoS), as discussed at this Committee's meeting on February 12t1i Ms Blier has contacted the newspaper's editor It was suggested that Ms Blier also submit a letter to the editor for publication. 3 School Facilities Project"Consensus"Document. Mr Parker reported on a meeting with the Town Manager, Mr Addelson, the Supenntendent of Schools, and representatives of the School Committee, Capital Expenditures Committee, BoS, and Permanent Building Committee This working session provided an opportunity to begin drafting a document that would present a consensus position on the next steps associated with the School Building Master Plan. In response to ongoing and future school overcrowding issues, an appropriation request for approximately $4 0 million is being proposed for a spring 2015 Special Town Meeting (STM) The STM article would provide funding to develop various school building projects to differing levels of design and/or development of construction documents The current draft of the consensus document, a copy of which was circulated at the meeting, identifies a process for releasing funds appropnated for work beyond the design phase based on information developed during the design phase The document would give the BoS final authority to release funds Mr Parker stressed, however, that the various committees involved in this process would need to work together and that the BoS Chair has assured that the BoS will not act without input from the finance committees It was generally agreed that there is a need for flexibility in the event that enrollments turns out to be significantly higher or lower than currently projected. Mr Addelson stated that the funds would not be appropnated to the School Department budget but to the Facilities Department budget. To ensure that all up-front design expenditures for any particular project can ultimately be incorporated into a debt exclusion for that project, should it proceed, he plans to lay out in the motion for the requested appropriation the anticipated spending by building for each component. 1 02/19/15 AC Minutes There was discussion whether the draft consensus document should consider redistnctmg and other possible administrative options for providing some immediate relief at the schools which are currently over-capacity There were also comments about the school buildings and sites that will be studied. It was noted that the Town plans to submit a Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authonty regarding the Town's need to rebuild the Hastings Elementary School The Town won't know before December 2015 whether the project will be accepted for State funding assistance At that point, the Town will need to decide whether to proceed on that project. 4 Report to the 2015 Special and Annual Town Meetings. Mr Parker hopes that a first group of articles can be reviewed at the February 26th meeting and that a second group of articles can be reviewed at the March 5th meeting. He requested that all draft waste-ups be submitted to him by March 12th Discussion/comments about subjects that may be part of the report included the following • Debt Service Stabilization Fund This is useful for the smaller projects and can help stabilize the tax rate when there are peaks that are considered untenable • Adjust Retirement Cost of'Living Adjustment(COLA)Base fbr Retirees Mr Addelson provided background information on this article State law provides for a $12,000 base to which an annual cost-of-living adjustment may be applied but that base may be increased by local option up to $13,000 The Massachusetts Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC), which provides oversight and regulation of the state's public pension systems, recently adopted a $13,000 base for members of the State Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement System, which includes Lexington teachers The base for Lexington municipal employees is still $12,000 but the Retirement Board has recommended that it be increased to $13,000 Mr Addelson noted that PERAC has encouraged public employee retirement systems to become fully funded by 2025 or 2030 rather than using the current state-mandated 2040 target, and Lexington's Retirement Board is considering such a change The proposed increase in the COLA base would increase the amount the Town needs to set aside annually to reach that goal In response to concerns about the impact on the Town budget of an earlier full-funding target date, Mr Addelson suggested that this is an issue the Committee might wish to raise at the next budget summit. • Other Post Employment Benefits (OPER) There was discussion about this year's proposed appropriation to the OPEB stabilization fund. Funds for this effort are currently being drawn from the health insurance trust fund, which is no longer active In response to questions, Mr Addelson said that the health insurance trust fund could be drawn down at a faster rate, although a minimum balance should be retained in the event the Town withdraws from the state's Group Insurance Commission (GIC) and returns to a self-insurance program • STM 2 Article for Cary Memorial Building Sidewalk The current design includes granite pavers for the handicapped unloading zone These add $30,000 to the cost, bringing the budget request to $192,000 It isn't clear whether the Commission on Disability has reviewed the latest design. • STM 2 Article for Pump Station Repairs Engineering studies to determine the best way to address the pounding noise that is being heard in the Gleason Road area are going forward. There is a request for $750,000 to address the problem The necessary funds would be appropriated from the wastewater fund retained earnings, which has a current balance of approximately $2,000,000 2 02/19/15 AC Minutes A motion was made and seconded to support the anticipated STM 2 Article 2 for pump station repairs The motion passed. VOTE 6-0 • STM 2 Article for Capital Improvement Program This STM article will request$350,000 for School Department furniture, fixtures, and equipment(FF&E) The School Department used $350,000 from its FY2015 FF&E appropnation to help fund the installation of prefabricated units at Lexington High School (LHS) This step was necessary to allow opening of the High School intensive learning program by September 2015 (On February 12t1i this Committee approved a Reserve Fund transfer of$150,000 for the balance needed to complete the LHS prefab units ) To offset this appropriation, the School Department will withdraw an item in its FY2016 school capital appropnation request for $350,000 for Diamond Middle School (Diamond) "Space Mining." A motion was made and seconded to support STM 2 Article 6 for the School Department FF&E budget. The motion passed. VOTE 6-0 There ensued a brief discussion of Mr Parker's proposed assignments for write-ups on the FY2016 operating budget and other ATM Articles 5 Next Meetings. A Budget Summit is scheduled for February 25t1i and this Committee's next meeting will be held on February 26th The meeting was adjourned at 10 10 p.m The documents used at the meeting are listed below Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold Recording Secretary Approved July 9, 2015 Exhibits 1 Agenda, posted by Glenn Parker 2 School Building Project Consensus Plan, Final Draft for the 2015 Lexington Budget Summit, February 19, 2015 3