HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-12-14-AC-min 12/14/2017 AC Minutes
Minutes
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC)
December 14, 2017
Place and Time: Parker Room, Town Office Building, 7:30 p.m.
Members Present: John Bartenstein, Chair; Alan Levine, Vice-Chair & Secretary;
Eric Michelson; Richard Neumeier; Sanjay Padaki; Andrei Radulescu-Bann; Lily Manhua Yan;
Jian Helen Yang; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex-officio)
Member(s) Absent: Ellen Basch
Other Attendees: Joe Pato, Board of Selectmen (BoS); David Kanter, Vice-Chair and Clerk,
Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC)
The meeting was called to order at 7:31 p.m. Mr. Bartenstein shared the Committee's
condolences for Mr. Michelson's loss of his father and noted with sadness the Town's loss of a
valuable contributor to Town affairs on many levels, for many years.
1. Announcements and Liaison Reports
• Mr. Neumeier reported on a court case recently heard by the Supreme Judicial Court
(SJC) involving the Open Meeting Law. Wayland's BoS had circulated in advance to its
members an amalgamated set of performance evaluations in a manner that prompted
citizens to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office that deliberations had
unlawfully taken place outside of a public meeting. The Attorney General ruled that the
BoS action was lawful. In a subsequent court action, Judge Curran of the Superior Court
ruled to the contrary. There will likely be a final decision within 180 days; however, Mr.
Neumeier is uncertain the outcome will have an impact on Lexington as it may turn on a
narrow procedural issue of a court's authority to override action by the Attorney General.
• Mr. Bartenstem reported that he had attended a meeting of the Association of Town
Finance Committees (ATFC) at which Open Meeting Law issues were discussed. He
indicated that the Assistant Attorney General responsible for enforcement of the OML
provided surprisingly restrictive interpretations of the law, in particular what constitutes a
"deliberation." The AAG said in discussion afterward that he would be willing to meet to
discuss these issues further, and also mentioned that a bill had been filed in the state
legislature that might allow for more flexibility for inter-meeting email communications
among board and committee members provided those communications are posted in real
time to a publicly accessible web site.
• Mr. Pato reported that, following the receipt of feedback from a working group, the
Board of Selectmen is continuing to explore options for providing residential tax relief
for those who have limited financial resources, including the creation of a committee to
further explore the residential exemption. The Residential Exemption Committee is
expected to begin meeting in January and produce a report by mid-June. Mr. Pato added
that the BoS is also concerned about the tax burden carried by small commercial
enterprises, the burden of the existing 3% CPA surcharge, and ways to increase personal
exemptions for the neediest, subjects that will be explored as well.
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• Mr. Bartenstein reported that a Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee has now been
established and will be supported by Planning Department staff and official liaisons from
the Planning Board, BoS, and School Committee. A decision was made not to include an
official liaison from either of the financial committees. However, the meetings are open,
and it may be valuable to have an AC member attend; anyone interested should inform
Mr. Bartenstein. It was noted that Governor Baker has recently submitted a package of
proposals to the legislature to promote additional housing in the Boston area, which may
include changes in the current requirement for a two-thirds vote to amend local zoning
bylaws in the case of certain types of development. It was also noted that land-use
changes can have significant financial implications which this Committee would have an
interest in weighing in on.
• Mr. Bartenstein reported that the Community Preservation Committee (CPC)will begin
meeting soon to review proposals for Community Preservation Act(CPA)funds. He
asked anyone interested in attending these meetings to let him know.
• Mr. Bartenstein distributed a copy of material he submitted for the Annual Town Report
regarding this Committee's activity in calendar year 2017.
• In response to questions, Ms. Kosnoff reported that the Annual Town Report includes a
high-level financial summary but not detailed financial statements. She added that the
Town's 2017 audit is currently being conducted and must be completed before issuing
bonds in February. In connection with each public bond issue, the Town issues an
Official Statement, a prospectus for use by prospective investors, which contains detailed
financial information.
2. CEC's Proposed Warrant Article to Update Bylaws Governing Finance Committees
Mr. Kanter reported that the current CEC mission statement in the Town's bylaws is
narrower than current practice. It only references the CEC's responsibility to report to
Annual Town Meeting, but in fact the CEC is involved in capital-related activities throughout
the year, including participation in Budget Summits and reporting to Special Town Meetings.
After consulting with the Town Moderator, the CEC has decided to introduce a warrant
article to address this. Mr. Kanter has prepared a citizen's article,just in case the BoS
chooses not to submit the matter as one of its own articles, and asked for signatures on the
petition. Mr. Bartenstein stated that the article will be broad enough to cover the AC as well,
although the current AC bylaw provisions seem to adequately reflect this Committee's
practice, and that he and the Moderator are both supportive of the CEC's efforts.
3. December 4, 2017 Debt Exclusion Referendum Outcome and Issues
Mr. Bartenstein noted that all three questions on the recent referendum passed, but they
triggered conversations that will undoubtedly continue regarding the funding of projects and
their impacts on residential tax bills. It was noted that Town Meeting voted to fund these
projects with debt, but the length of the bonds has not been finalized.
One issue which has received particular attention in the last several weeks is whether the
recognition of"new growth" in taxable personal property, without an offset for depreciation
in the value of personal property, effectively results in a predictable growth in average
residential tax bills greater than 2.5%. Mr. Michelson urged members to read the Town of
Westborough's Analysis of Levy Limit Growth,prepared by its Advisory Finance Committee,
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which discusses the impact of personal property new growth on the annual increase in tax
bills. The report demonstrates that personal property values in Westborough have not
increased as much as the new growth component in the tax levy base associated with
personal property because there is no process for reducing that new growth component as
personal property depreciates or is retired. Lexington has had a comparable situation, as
discussed in material provided by Mark Andersen.
It was noted that the annual tax increases have been greater than those for commercial
properties for many years. Mr. Bartenstein observed, referring to historical data in the most
recent Tax Classification Packet prepared by the Board of Assessors, that the average annual
tax increase for Lexington's residences has ranged from 2.8% to 5.4%, and averaged 3.09%,
since 2010, though some of this growth is attributable to the so-called"natural shift"which
results when residential property values increase at a faster rate than commercial, industrial
and personal(CIP)property values.
Mr. Bartenstein suggested that future debt exclusion efforts may need to take these
phenomena into account in explaining the tax impacts of a proposed project.
4. Minutes
A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes for October 16, 2017 and October
18, 2017. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 (Note: Mr. Michelson departed shortly before
this vote was taken.)
5. Preliminary Planning for Report to 2018 ATM
Mr. Bartenstein distributed a spreadsheet with preliminary assignments for writing this
Committee's report to the 2018 ATM.
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary
Approved.- February 1, 2018
Exhibits
• Agenda, posted by John Bartenstein, Chair
• Appropriation Committee Report to Annual Report Committee prepared by
Mr. Bartenstein
Town of Westborough, Analysis of Levy Limit Growth,prepared by Westborough's
Advisory Finance Committee, (not dated, data includes FY2015)
Tax Rate Increases spreadsheet,prepared by Mark Andersen, (not dated, emailed in
November 2017)
Tax Classification Packet, Town of Lexington Fiscal Year 2018, for BOS,prepared by
Lexington Assessors Office, December 6, 2017
2018 ATMAC Report Planner of 12/14117,prepared by Mr. Bartenstein
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