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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-12-05 SB-min Select Board Meeting December 5, 2023 A meeting of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 5:01 p.m. on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, via a hybrid meeting platform. Mr. Pato, Chair; Ms. Barry, Mr. Lucente, Mr. Sandeen, and Ms. Hai were present, as well as Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk; and Ms. Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. FY2025 Proposed Budget – Public Health Department Presentation Joanne Belanger, Director of Public Health, stated that the budget has an overall increase of approximately 5.5% over 2024. The general fund increase is approximately 6.42%, including compensation increases. On the expenses side, there is a proposed increase of 2.23%. In response to a question from Ms. Hai, Ms. Kosnoff explained that there is a budget line item for office supplies versus a revolving fund budget line item for vaccines and other items needed to administer programs. In response to a question from Mr. Lucente, Ms. Kosnoff explained that the opioid settlement money is going into the general fund but is then being reserved separately. This could be included as a separate item in the budget presentation. This can be tracked in terms of settlement funding and expenses. This settlement money is expected for 18 years in total. Ms. Belanger presented the Department’s PIR. Departmental Initiatives: 1. Strive to make the Health Department more visible and accessible to residents, businesses and staff as a reference, resource, and trusted municipal partner. 2. Continue to review all the local Board of Health regulations, and update as necessary, to coincide with current State and Federal regulations, standards, and best practices. Research and develop new regulations as necessary. 3. Emphasis on developing programming and services with a focus on Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion 4. Implementation of new inspection software and tablets has decreased reliance on paper forms and allows for more efficient and accurate record keeping. Will continue to support enhanced customer service satisfaction and improve staff efficiency by updating Health permit applications in ViewPoint Cloud as necessary. 5. Continue involvement with the newly formed Central Middlesex Medical Reserve Corps. Offer preparedness trainings and classes for the community such as Stop the Bleed and Behavioral First Aid. 6. Continue to grow the Clinical Public Health programs including expanding the availability of adult and pediatric vaccines, beyond flu vaccine, Senior Wellness Clinics, CPR/First Aid, collaborate with Human Services Health Outreach Clinician to expand services to Elders, and collaborate with other clinical partners in the community. Research grant opportunities to fund future programs and services. Continue to monitor and be a resource for Covid-19 concerns in the community and to offer COVID vaccines. 7. Evaluate and expand the Environmental focus of the Health Department by offering or sponsoring trainings, certifications, or education, such as ServSafe for food establishments, septic/cesspool maintenance, well water testing, mosquito/tick safety. Work with partners to address hoarding in the community through a multi-disciplined approach. 8. Research grants and other financial opportunities to enhance and expand functions of the Health Office such as the FDA Voluntary Retail Food Grant, Public Health Excellence Grants, NACCHO grants for the MRC, or other opportunities offered by the Office of Local and Regional Health of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Program Improvement Requests:  Additional Vehicle for Health Dept Staff DOCUMENTS: Presentation - Public Health Department FY2025 Proposed Budget The Board took a brief recess. 2. FY2025 Proposed Budget – Innovation & Technology Department Presentation Tim Goncalves, Director of Innovation & Technology, explained that the FY245 budget request for the Department reflects an increase of $244,704 or 8.38% over last year's budget. Compensation increased by $42,046 or 5.2%, which is attributed to contractually obligated step increases and cost of living adjustments. Expenses increased $202,658 or 9.6%. The major factors driving the increase in the expense budget are general inflation costs, annual maintenance costs, and application subscription increases. He reviewed the Department’s PIR and capital requests. Mr. Lucente asked if the capital request for access points would include adding wi-fi into the Center for public access. Mr. Goncalves stated that the cost of this item is yet unclear. It could fit under the Department’s Network Technology Improvement Program. There was discussion regarding the scanning and software items being considered as capital request items. Departmental Initiatives: 1. Continue to invest in the Town's IT infrastructure and security posture a. Implement recommendations from network assessments b. Implement recommendations from cybersecurity assessments c. Investigate additional cybersecurity measures and services d. Provide cybersecurity training to all staff 2. Maximize the value of current systems a. Laserfiche b. OpenGov c. Enterprise ERP d. Vision e. BlueBeam 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:  Junior Systems Administrator (Working Title) FY2025 Capital Requests:  Application Implementation  Network Core Equipment Replacement  Municipal Technology Improvement Program  Network Redundancy & Improvement Plan  Phone Systems & Unified Communications  Network Technology Improvements  Scanning – Electronic Document Management DOCUMENTS: Presentation - Innovation & Technology Department FY2025 Proposed Budget The Board took a brief recess. 3. FY2025 Proposed Budget – Select Board Office Presentation Kim Katzenback, Executive Clerk/Select Board Office Manager, explained that the FY25 Office budget is level funded. The audit increase has a placeholder amount of 15% awaiting estimates from the audit company. Ms. Kosnoff noted that FY24 was the end year of the current extension option that that the Town has with Lex Media for contracted services. Over the next few months, the Town will be negotiating a new contract with Lex Media for FY25 and beyond. She also noted that, last year, in order to support the PEG budget $100,000 was used from the tax levy. It was originally projected that this would need to be increased by $100,000, for a total of $200,000 of support from the tax levy. However, the preliminary projections from the CAC showed that the $100,000 could be left stable for FY25, with a potential increase needed for FY26. There was discussion regarding Novus Agenda, as it will cease to exist after 2025. Staff will be hearing proposals for other types of software and vendors. DOCUMENTS: Presentation - Select Board Office FY2025 Proposed Budget The Board took a brief recess. 4. FY2025 Proposed Budget – Town Manager’s Office; Employee Benefits & Insurance Presentations James Robinson, Management Analyst for the Town’s Manager’s Office, noted a reduction in the Mobile Devices line item of $5,894. Overall, for the Town Manager's Office, which is responsible for organizational direction and administration, HR, sustainability and resilience, communications and public engagement, and DEI, there is a proposed increase of $57,245 or 3.86%, with compensation going up 7.58%, and expenses decreasing by 8.4%. He reviewed the Department’s PIRs and capital request. Mr. Robinson reviewed the Town Committee’s budget, which is mostly level funded aside from an increase of $6,702, or 10.12% due to the biannual Dance Around the World event. He reviewed a PIR for the Human Rights Committee. This PIR is combination of one time and ongoing requests. For FY25 the request is $16,100 and the ongoing request is for $5,100 for a total Request for the coming year of $21,200. He reviewed a PIR for the Lexington Council for the Arts. This committee has an annual budget of $6,000 but pursues programming that far exceeds both the budgeted amount and the amount requested in this PIR. Events will be held regardless of funding. The PIR request is a one-time $10,000 request for FY25. 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 organization's 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 sustainability 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:  Consultant Services – General Liability Insurance  ADA Town Building Self-Evaluation & Transition Plan  Chief Equity Officer Annual Budget  Sustainability & Resilience Officer Annual Budget  Energy Intelligence Dashboard and BEU-D Reporting Support FY2025 Capital Requests:  Town Offices Electric Vehicle Charger DOCUMENTS: Presentation - Town Manager's Office & Town Committees FY2025 Proposed Budget ADJOURN Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 7:00 p.m. A true record; Attest: Kristan Patenaude Recording Secretary