Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-11-30 SB-min Select Board Meeting November 30, 2022 A remote participation meeting of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 1:03 p.m. on Tuesday, November 30, 2022 via Zoom meeting services. Present were Ms. Hai, Chair, Mr. Lucente, Vice Chair; Mr. Sandeen and Ms. Barry; Also present were Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; Ms. Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Ms. Labrecque, Budget Officer; and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk. Ms. Hai stated that the meeting was being conducted via Zoom as posted, with the agenda on the Town’s website. Mr. Malloy noted that there is a proposed shortfall on the municipal side of the budget, as part of the revenue allocation. This is due to a number of items including general inflation and cost increases, such as utility costs, and the cost of some of the labor contracts. The initial driving issue in the budget this year was the increase in curbside sanitation pickup costs. Other proposals have been received for this item and are currently being reviewed. Department spending by line item has been reviewed. At the last Budget Summit, Ms. Kosnoff recommended using $500,000 from reserves to offset the large increase in the current sanitation cost for this year. This would then need to be absorbed as part of the FY25 budget process. This will allow the Town, at this point in time, based on the cuts made, to continue providing as close to level services as possible. There is only one employee affected by this proposal, the Management Analyst position. That role is currently vacant and would be left vacant for FY24. Senior managers and staff have been informed that PIRs were included in the Board’s packet, but that it is unlikely a majority of them will be funded this year. A couple of PIR items may be funded out of a one-time funding source. In response to a question from Mr. Pato, Mr. Malloy noted that this only addresses the municipal side of the budget and does not yet begin to address the education portion of the budget. In response to a question from Ms. Barry, Ms. Kosnoff explained that, at the last summit, the proposed gap is the budget was approximately $1.8M; this has been reduced down to approximately $585,000. Tax revenue and new growth remain strong. However, some new revenue from commercial growth is now being set aside to help fund the high school project, instead of being rolled into the operating budget. The cost escalation on the expense side is really the driver for this gap. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. FY2024 Proposed Budget – Town Manager’s Office Presentation James Robinson, Management Fellow, presented the Town Manager’s Office proposed budget. The FY24 budget is increasing overall by 7.03%. This increase is comprised of a 7.29% increase in compensation, primarily due to contractually obligated step increases, as well as an increase of 6.13% in overall expenses from FY23. Departmental Initiatives: 1. Continue to support the Racial Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Transformation plan and other social equity initiatives in coordination with the Select Board. 2. Work to support the organizations’ high-performance culture by providing directed team building to the middle and senior management team. 3. Develop new revenue sources to support the budget, particularly the capital budget, by developing long term debt management strategies to mitigate the impact of large project debt service. 4. Continue the initiative to develop organizational stability by passing on institutional knowledge, engaging mid-level managers in organization decision making, and selecting and training qualified individuals. 5. Continue reviewing new fiscal policies, specifically updating strategies for funding the Town's Pension and OPEB liabilities. The next policy review will evaluate the funding model for the recreation enterprise fund. Program Improvement Requests:  Lexington HeatSmart Program In response to a question from Mr. Lucente, Mr. Malloy explained that the plan is not to consider filling the Management Analyst position until FY25. Mr. Lucente asked if there should be a consideration regarding volunteer help for this position until that time. Mr. Pato agreed with making use of certain committees and volunteer work for this item. Anne Graglia-Kostos, Director of Human Resources, increase of about 6% overall, due to compensation. All of the expenses remain level funded, but the compensation will increase by $19,276, or 10.7%, over last year. This is mainly due to the increased hours allocated to the Administrative Assistant. Program Improvement Requests:  Full-time Administrative Assistant  Hiring of a Benefits Assistant  Classification and Compensation Study In response to a question from Ms. Hai, Ms. Graglia-Kostos explained that the HR Assistant that deals with helping to manage school employees is a shared position. Ms. Hai stated that she believes the entire position should be shared. DOCUMENTS - Presentation - Town Manager's Office FY2024 Proposed Budget 2. FY2024 Proposed Budget – Town Committees Presentation Mr. Robinson stated that the Town Committees Budget is expected to decrease overall by $3,952, or 5.63%. This reflects a $4,090 decrease for the Town Celebrations Committee, which is primarily due to costs of the biennial Dance Around the World event, being in its off year, offset by the increasing costs surrounding Patriots' Day supplies and planning. Ms. Barry stated that she would like a future agenda item regarding the Dance Around the World event. She also suggested a future agenda topic regarding the arts in general in Town. Program Improvement Requests:  Human Rights Committee  Lexington Council for the Arts Ms. Hai stated that she would like to see the Human Rights Committee funded. DOCUMENTS: Presentation - Town Committees FY2024 Proposed Budget 3. FY2024 Proposed Budget – Fire Department Presentation Derek Sencabaugh, Fire Chief, stated that the FY2024 budget for the Lexington Fire Department is $8,122,058, which is a $53,590, or 0.66%, increase from the revised FY2023 budget. Compensation is increasing by $18,163, or 0.25%, which is attributed to employee turnover in the Department. Expenses are increasing by $35,427, or 4.44%, which is primarily due to an increase in the cost of diesel as a result of current pricing volatility and significant increases in the cost of fire apparatuses and equipment. The Fire Administration budget reflects an increase of $40,000, which is comprised of $20,000 due to contractual obligations, and step increases for cost of living. The rest of the increase is due to diesel fuel and gasoline costs. Departmental Initiatives: 1. Implement online inventory tracking – continues to be developed. 2. Roll out online fire permitting process – has made great progress and continues to expand. 3. Develop an improved employee recruitment process to address diversity and retention. In response to a question from Mr. Sandeen, Chief Sencabaugh stated that the Department’s current heavy extrication equipment is approximately 16-17 years old. The larger part of this request is for stabilization equipment. Also, the pumper truck is approximately 20 years old, and the ambulances are on a nine-year rotation. In response to a question from Ms. Barry, Chief Sencabaugh stated that the percentage of EMS in the Department fluctuates each year between 50%-60%. In response to a question from Ms. Barry, Chief Sencabaugh stated that the landscape in Town has been changing over the years, in terms of types of buildings and businesses. It is important to have access to all sides of buildings. In response to a question from Mr. Lucente, Chief Sencabaugh stated that there are currently open positions in the Department. A lot of the overtime is being used to fill openings. In response to a question from Mr. Lucente, Chief Sencabaugh stated that an off-road fire engine would be a 4x4 or 4x6 vehicle to access more rugged areas of Town. Program Improvement Requests:  Lieutenant Fire Inspector FY2024 Capital Requests:  Replace Pumper Truck  Heavy Vehicle Extrication Equipment  ATV Forestry / Personnel  Off Road Fire Engine  Ambulance Replacement In response to a question from Mr. Lucente, it was noted that 5-6 inspections are needed for each new house built in Town. Commercial properties require approximately three times that number of inspections. There are currently 200 open inspections in Town. New labs/companies cannot operate until the inspections are complete. Mr. Lucente noted that this PIR request is tied to activity and revenue in Town. Mr. Malloy explained that the inspection fees go into the General Fund; this is then split through the revenue allocation model between the Town and Schools. In response to a question from Mr. Sandeen, it was noted that there are higher levels of inspection requirements for lab and life science buildings versus office buildings. DOCUMENTS - Presentation - Fire Department FY2024 Proposed Budget The Board took a five-minute recess. 4. FY2024 Proposed Budget – Innovation & Technology Department Presentation Tim Goncalves, Director of Innovation & Technology, explained that the FY2024 budget request for Innovation & Technology reflects an increase of $253,466, or 9.50%, from the revised FY2023 budget. Compensation decreased $1,516, or 0.19%, which is attributed to the transfer of the Webmaster position to the Town Manager's Office. This offset contractually obligated step increases and cost of living adjustments. Expenses increased $254,981, or 13.74%. The primary factor driving the increase in the expense budget is general inflation costs. Departmental Initiatives: 1. Continue to invest in the Town's IT infrastructure and security posture a. Implement recommendations from the network assessment b. Implement recommendations from the cyber security assessment c. Investigate additional cybersecurity measures and services d. Provide cyber security training to all staff 2. Maximize the value of current systems a. Laserfiche b. ViewPoint c. MUNIS d. VISION e. BlueBeam Cloud f. ProPhoenix 3. Increase Customer Service Quality a. Emphasis on a customer-centric approach to working with the departments and staff 4. Focus on future visioning for IT a. Mobile work initiatives b. Hybrid work/meeting spaces c. Disaster Recovery (DR) planning and expansion of capabilities d. Network redundancy planning and implementation Program Improvement Requests: None FY2024 Capital Requests:  Application Implementation  Network Core Equipment Replacement  Municipal Technology Improvement Program  Network Redundancy & Improvement Program  Phone Systems & Unified Communications  Scanning – Electronic Document Management In response to a question from Ms. Hai, Ms. Kosnoff stated that sharing the cost of the redundancy plan with the Schools will need to be a future conversation. In response to a question from Mr. Sandeen regarding the lifespan of the technology replacement equipment, Mr. Goncalves stated that the lifespans vary based on the type of equipment. Ms. Kosnoff explained that the intention is to fund all IT equipment, both for the Town and School, with cash capital. DOCUMENTS - Presentation - IT Department FY2024 Proposed Budget The Board took a five-minute recess. 5. FY2024 Proposed Budget – Department of Public Facilities Presentations Mike Cronin, Director of Public Facilities, stated that the DPF FY2024 level-service All Funds budget is increasing by $994,094, or 7.28%. The General Fund budget is increasing by $981,202, or 7.51%. The primary driver of this increase is utilities and overall rising costs, but especially in cleaning and maintenance supplies. Compensation is increasing by $294,111, or 4.55% due to contractually obligated step increases and other proposed changes. Overall Utility costs are currently increasing. Staff are working to refine projections further but anticipate a significant increase in electricity due to rising supply rates. Departmental Initiatives: 1. Support the day-to-day operations of all Town buildings. 2. Support the School Master Plan. 3. Review and refine the 20-year capital plan information and incorporate into viable capital plan. 4. Implement other capital and priority projects. Program Improvement Requests:  VFA Annual Subscription Fee FY2024 Capital Requests:  Public Facilities Bid Documents  Interior finishes  Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Replacements  Municipal Building Envelopes and Associated Systems  School Building Envelopes and Associated Systems  School Paving and Sidewalks  LHS School Project  Solar System for the Police Station  East Lexington Fire Station  173 Bedford St Renovation  Cary Memorial Library Renovation Project  Central Administration Building Demolition  Stone Building Renovation and Addition In response to a question from Mr. Sandeen, Ms. Kosnoff explained that many of the ongoing capital program items are proposed to be funded through cash capital. In response to a question from Mr. Pato, Mr. Cronin explained that there are prior authorizations from previous years that have not yet been expended due to delays in certain projects, such as the HVAC conversion in the Children’s Room at the Library. Ms. Kosnoff stated that, around Town Meeting time, a list of all open articles is published, which would have the status of all of the outstanding capital projects included. In response to a question from Ms. Barry, Mr. Cronin explained that the LHS School Project is currently estimated for a 425,000 s.f. building. Once contracts come up for new high schools in the area, this estimate will be better informed. In response to a question from Mr. Sandeen regarding the Police Station solar system project, Mr. Cronin stated that there will be an energy storage system included as part of this project. In response to a question from Mr. Sandeen, Mr. Cronin explained that 173 Bedford Street will be needed for future swing space, if it is decided that the building should operate in that way moving forward. Mr. Sandeen stated that he would like to hear the proposal for swing space for the East Lexington Fire Station project. Ms. Barry explained that she was Chair when 173 Bedford Street was acquired. At that time, discussions were held that the property would be used for municipal purposes until no longer needed. After that, the Town would potentially offer it to the School Department for use as a long-term swing space. This could also potentially be used for an affordable housing/mixed use project. Ms. Hai noted that the original plan for that building was that, after municipal uses, school uses would be considered, but also sale of the building would be considered, as well as housing. This needs to be part of a larger public discussion, with all stakeholders included. Regarding the Cary Memorial project, Mr. Sandeen stated that the federal Inflation Reduction Act provides incentives, if the Town decides to do this project with ground source heat pumps, as opposed to air source heat pumps. The entire cost of the HVAC system could be direct pay reimbursed to the Town at 30%. On top of that, Mass Save is now providing incentives for ground source heat pumps, at $4,500 a ton. Regarding only the demolition of the Central Administration Building, Ms. Hai stated that this should only be funded through cash capital or bonding. Regarding the Stone Building renovation, Ms. Hai stated that she does not understand why the Town would spend money, as opposed to earmark funding, before it is known who will use the building and what they will use it for. Mr. Malloy explained that the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) is supportive of going forward with the design phase of this project but requested a phased-in approach. The building project needs to be moved forward far enough, while leaving the floor plans to the end. A user likely would not be sought for approximately 3-4 years. Mr. Sandeen stated that he is concerned about starting design without having a building occupant or building stakeholder as part of this process. The Integrated Building Design policy states that a building occupant is required to be one of the stakeholders as part of the design process. Ms. Hai stated that she is supportive of the design phasing proposed, to then shop the building as soon as it is viable to do so, with the hope that the interested party would take on some of the responsibility for renovation. DOCUMENTS - Presentation - DPF FY2024 Proposed Budget ADJOURN Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 4:45 p.m. A true record; Attest: Kristan Patenaude Recording Secretary