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Home My WebLink About2022-01-19-AC-min RECEIVED kdkk kd Jain, 9AA, ain't 01/19/2022 AC Minutes TOWN CLERK LEXINGTON MA Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) January 19, 2022 Place and Time: Remote Participation: in accordance with Section 20 of Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2021 "An Act Relative to Extending Certain COVID-19 Measures Adopted During the State of Emergency", 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; Anil Ahuja; 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: Deepika Sawhney, School Committee; David Kanter, Capital Expenditures Committee liaison Mr. Parker called the meeting to order at 7:34 pm, reviewed the authorization for meeting remotely, and stated that the meeting was being recorded for the purpose of creating minutes. Announcements and Liaison Reports There were no reports. AC Report Preparation for the 2022 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) and the Special Town Meeting (STM) 2022-1 Mr. Parker reported that he had set up the shell for this Committee's report to the ATM using WDesk. All Committee members have accounts and should log in to use this resource. He reviewed the WDesk features that will be particularly useful during the report's preparation. There was discussion about adhering to Open Meeting Law requirements during the preparation of the report. Mr. Parker plans to restrict access to each section of the report, allowing only the author and reviewer to write and edit the material. This avoids having a quorum, outside of a posted meeting, editing any part of the document. It was agreed that in the days prior to each AC meeting, a snapshot of the draft document would be available on this Committee's shared documents on the Town's website, providing the basis for discussion at the meeting. There should be no such discussion outside of a posted meeting. It was also agreed that only Mr. Parker and Mr. Padaki would have edit access to the whole document during its development, but during its final review, this function would be extended to those individuals making final non-substantial edits. Fiscal Year 2023 Town Manager's Preliminary Budget & Financing Plan (White Book) It was agreed that staff had done an excellent job in preparing the White Book. In response to questions, Ms. Kosnoff s comments included the following: • In addition to adding dedicated revenue to the Capital Stabilization Fund (CSF), there are plans to continue adding surplus revenue and/or expense turn-backs into the CSF but the amounts are unpredictable so cannot be identified at this time. This can be better clarified in future budget presentations. • Inflation will lead to budgetary challenges, particularly for capital projects, if it remains above 2.5%, because of Proposition 2'/z restrictions. 1 RECEIVED kdkk kd Jain, 9A4 ain't 01/19/2022 AC Minutes TOWN CLERK LEXINGTON MA • Debt expenses are currently decreasing, which helps increase the amount that can go into capital projects, but this will change with the Lexington High School project. • Project costs are currently high; it isn't known how long this will be a factor. • The Town, at least on the municipal side, has not seen a large wave of staff resignations. Union contracts help keep union salaries stable, and non-union positions fall into tiers that are assigned a salary range, which controls salary negotiations with new non-union employees. The Town has been able to fill most openings, but the number of candidates has been minimal, creating a challenge. • The Police Department no longer uses the civil service to screen employees, which has eased the difficulty in filling positions. • Although new electronic devices for tracking the voting process are being requested to improve efficiency and accuracy, poll workers will still be needed. • Most of the Town's debt service is currently at very low interest rates. The Town will not refinance unless it is to the Town's advantage. Investment advisors assist in making these determinations. There was discussion about the siting of a new Lexington High School, which the Town is pursuing. Some of the land around the current facility is dedicated recreation land and cannot be repurposed without a comparable land swap. Such a swap would require both State legislative action per Article 97 in the Massachusetts constitution and Town Meeting approval. Additionally, there are areas that are likely wetlands, although they have not yet been delineated. Town Manager Jim Malloy has created a working group of stakeholders to look at the issues. Ms. Kosnoff agreed to ask Mr. Malloy about inviting finance committee liaisons to attend those meetings. Mr. Levine volunteered to serve as an AC liaison. In addition to Mr. Malloy's working group, Jon Himmel, Permanent Building Committee chair, has submitted a citizen's article to the warrant requesting funds for a study of the Worthen Road area and, presumably, how it could be affected by high school location options. The complexities are exacerbated by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA)process. To avoid unintended perceptions, it has been suggested that the Town meet with the MSBA to explain the complexities and the need to explore location options sooner than later. While sharing his spreadsheet listing the currently identified articles to be included in the STM 2022-1 and the 2022 ATM Warrant, Mr. Parker reviewed the process for preparing the report. The author and reviewer assignments for the warrant articles, the report's appendices, and the comments at the end of the report were identified and, in some cases, edited. In response to questions and comments, Ms. Kosnoff added the following: • The Town of Bedford does not use Lexington's wastewater system and therefore does not make contributions toward those expenses, which include those for replacement of two of the pump stations, for which the bid price was approximately twice the estimate. • There may be more Community Preservation Act funds available from the State than are currently in the budget. • FY2023 is the last year for using the Debt Service Stabilization Fund because the debt will be fully paid down in FY2023. The fund will be dissolved, probably in calendar year 2023. • Funds requested in two citizen articles are not included in the budget and in both cases the proponents have identified free cash as a possible funding source. The budget has set aside $500,000 in free cash that is currently unallocated. This could be used for these articles. 2 RECEIVED kdkk 28Jain, 9A4 ain't 01/19/2022 AC Minutes TOWN CLERK LEXINGTON MA • The Other Post-Employee Benefits analysis is updated annually, with a comprehensive effort completed every other year. There was discussion about who should be invited to answer budget-related questions at an AC meeting. Suggestions included Mr. Himmel, Mr. Kanter to discuss the CEC's positions on capital articles, and Mike Cronin, Director of Public Facilities, to discuss the Police Station project. Additional suggestions should be forwarded to Mr. Parker. It was agreed that this committee would decide later about taking a position on the two articles that relate to holding zoom meetings. It was noted that although they indirectly impact the functioning of this committee, they do not have a budget impact. Minutes of Prior Meetings A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the January 5, 2022 meeting, as edited. The motion was approved by roll call vote, VOTE: 8-0. In response to questions, Mr. Parker reported that the next AC meeting is on January 26, AC meetings are scheduled weekly except for the week of February 7-11, the Town election is on March 7, and Town Meeting starts on March 28. Meeting dates are included in the agendas. A motion was made and seconded to adjourn at 9:27 p.m. The motion was approved. VOTE: 8-0. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold Approved: January 26, 2022 Exhibits • Agenda, posted by Mr. Parker • ATM 2022 Report Tracker with committee member assignments for preparing this Committee's report, prepared by Mr. Parker 3