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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-03-02 SB-min Select Board Meeting March 2, 2023 A meeting of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 9:03a.m. on Thursday, March 2, 2023, in the Select Board Meeting Room of the Town Office Building. Hybrid participation was offered as well via the webinar meeting platform. Ms. Hai, Chair; Mr. Lucente; Vice Chair, Mr. Pato, Ms. Barry, and Mr. Sandeen were present, as well as Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. Consider and Approve Amendments to the FY2024 Recommended Budget and Financing Plan Ms. Kosnoff stated the Select Board initially voted to approve the FY2024 Recommended Budget on Monday, February 13, 2023, and the budget was subsequently transmitted to Town Meeting members on Friday, February 17, 2023. She explained that on February 23, 2023, the Governor released the preliminary budget and the Cherry Sheets for all the municipalities in the Commonwealth. The Town of Lexington received an additional $2.3M of State Aid for FY2024 than what Town staff originally expected. Additionally, on February 22, 2023, the Town received FY2024 gasoline and diesel fuel bids through its consortium agreement. The actual fuel bid prices were lower than staff's FY2024 estimates, resulting in lower projected fuel expenses for FY2024. As a result of these factors, Town staff, the Town Manager, and School Superintendent met to discuss and revise the FY2024 recommended budget, which is being presented to the Board for its review and approval. Ms. Kosnoff stated the Select Board meeting packet includes a revised program summary from the FY2024 Recommended Budget and Financing Plan, along with supporting documentation and detailed changes to the budget. The net revenue amount of additional money that is being allocated into the budget is $2.3M. Approximately an additional $598M is going into the municipal budget and an additional $1.7M is going into the School budget. The Town has accordingly adjusted expenses in several areas of the budget to reverse cuts originally recommended by the Town Manager, eliminate the use of free cash for operations, to fund additional program improvements, and to reflect the actual bid prices for fuel. Ms. Kosnoff reviewed the details of the Cherry Sheet Estimates, the Town of Lexington’s Revenue allocations, and a summary of the revenue expense adjustments with the Board. Ms. Hai asked if the State could reverse this next year and reduce the amount. She asked if the Town would put itself at risk by using this towards salary and ongoing programs. Ms. Kosnoff noted that, while this is possible, she does not believe the amount of State Aid will be decreased from this. It is extremely possible that Lexington will go back to being a Minimum Aid Community next year, but the Town will still get at least the amount it will get for FY24. Ms. Barry noted that the additional money received in Library State Aid does not go toward salaries or books. It does not go directly into that budget, but instead is a set aside to be used for specific purposes. In response to a question from Ms. Barry regarding the prioritization that occurred to bring certain items back into the budget using these funds, Mr. Malloy explained that staff went back through the high- ranked PIRs first to see which items could be funded. He then reviewed the entire budget and came up with a certain dollar amount that could be included. Ms. Barry asked if there was ever a consideration to move the composting program from ARPA to the budget. Mr. Malloy stated that there was not. All of the other expenses he considered were all ongoing operating expenses, but the composting program was previously discussed by the Board as a one-time pilot program. Ms. Barry suggested that the Fire Lieutenant Inspector position could be considered on a part-time basis. Mr. Lucente asked if the HR Benefits Assistant position could come out of shared expenses. Mr. Malloy stated that this could be addressed over the next year with the School Department. Given the timing of this budget process, it is unclear if this could be considered for this year. Mr. Lucente asked about the Special Education Stabilization Fund and the Special Education Reserve Fund in terms of this extra funding. Mr. Malloy stated that there was a discussion about this with the School Superintendent. His recommendation was to eliminate the use of free cash for the Stabilization Fund and instead use the additional amount the School Departments is receiving. Dr. Hackett did not agree to this suggestion. Mr. Malloy explained that he requested information as to how the additional money to the School Department is proposed to be spent, but the resulting memo did not detail this clearly. He requested Dr. Hackett attend the Board’s meeting, but she did not appear to be present. Mr. Lucente asked how the budget would look different if this additional $2.3M had been available during the budget planning process. Ms. Kosnoff stated that, on the municipal side, she believes the budget would have looked quite similar. Ms. Hai noted that some ARPA decisions were made based on unavailability of other options, and these decisions may have been different with this extra funding. Ms. Hai stated that, while the compost program is a pilot, she hopes this will become a budget item in the future. She would like to consider funding this through the municipal budget, instead of ARPA. This could also be partially funded in order to seed it into the budget for a future year. Mr. Malloy noted that this was not considered at this time. Ms. Barry requested that discussions regarding changes to the allocation formula with the School Department be started sooner rather than later. Mr. Malloy agreed. Ms. Hai noted that the original PIR request for the HR Benefits Assistant was driven by the number of school employees, thus it would make sense to fund this as a shared service. Mr. Malloy explained that, as the compost program ramps up and savings are seen from reduced tipping fees, these savings could be put into expanding the pilot program. This idea could be used to partially seed the program. Dawn McKenna, Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member, stated that the Board’s vote is its intent. Thus, if it wants the composting program to be funded through the budget, it should vote in favor of this. Also, the allocation model should not be a discussion between the Town Manager and Superintendent, but rather a discussion between the four boards. She agreed that the HR Benefits Assistant position should come from shared services. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 5-0 to approve the revised FY2024 budget as presented. DOCUMENTS: FY2024 Preliminary Budget & Financing Plan_Program Summary_Revised 3.2.2022, FY2024 Recommended Budget - Program Summary_redlined, Cherry Sheet Estimates & Revenue Allocation_3.1.2023, Revenue_Expense Summary Adjustments ADJOURN VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 9:50am. A true record; Attest: Kristan Patenaude Recording Secretary