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Home My WebLink About2018-01-18-AC-min 01/18/2018 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) January 18, 2018 Place and Time: Hudson Room, Cary Memorial Building, 7:30 p.m. Members Present: John Bartenstein, Chair; Alan Levine, Vice-Chair & Secretary; Ellen Basch; Eric Michelson; Richard Neumeier; Sanjay Padaki; Andrei Radulescu-Bann; Lily Manhua Yan; Jian Helen Yang Members)Absent: None Other Attendees: David Kanter, Vice-Chair and Clerk, Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC); Bob Pressman, Community Preservation Committee (CPC) The meeting was called to order at 7:32 p.m. Mr. Levine offered the Committee's condolences to Mr. Bartenstein upon the recent loss of his father. 1. Announcements and Liaison Reports Mr. Bartenstein reported the following: • The next Budget Summit is on the evening of January 24, 2018. • Hard copies of the FY2017 Town Manager's Preliminary Budget&Financing Plan (White Book)will be available next week for those who requested them. It will also be available electronically. • A new town accountant has been hired for the Finance Department. • The Finance Department is preparing to issue bonds in February. Interest rates have increased from about 3.05% to 3.25% over the past year. Mr. Bartenstem noted that the following issues might be included on future meeting agendas: • Mark Andersen, Town Meeting member, has prepared a citizen's article for the 2018 Annual Town Meeting (ATM)requesting that warrant articles contain data describing the financial assumptions and impacts of projects. This article would be presented to Town Meeting as a resolution, although a motion has not yet been drafted. Mr. Andersen would like comments from the finance committees but was unavailable to make a presentation this evening. Mr. Kanter noted that, in preparation for writing its report to the ATM on capital articles, the CEC reviews the financial information that is included with the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funding requests prepared by staff. • Patrick Mehr,resident and former Town Meeting member, has requested that this Committee address a proposal, described on his website, that allegedly could reduce the School Department budget by as much as $2.0 million by consolidating classrooms. It was agreed that members of this Committee would review the relevant material on Mr. Mehr's website, as well as from other sources including the School Committee, and decide at a future meeting whether and how to address the issue. Mr. Neumeier agreed to forward to Committee members an email that he had received from Mr. Mehr on this topic. I 01/18/2018 AC Minutes Ms. Yang reported that she had heard from some members of Lexington's Chinese-American community that their residential property tax bills had increased by as much as 20-30%. She has asked Carolyn Kosnoff„ Assistant Town Manager, Finance, for information on the average increase. There was discussion about the factors that influence property tax increases for a residence, including upgrades, classification, assessed value, and the growth factor. It was noted that residents can pursue an abatement request if they believe there is an error. It was agreed that if Ms. Yang wishes to have further discussion on this issue, it would be best to defer it until after this Committee completes and presents its report to the 2018 ATM. 2. Review of FY2019 Budget Issues Center Field Track and Field Reconstruction and Athletic Facility Lighting: Mr. Kanter and Mr. Pressman provided background information about a Community Preservation Act(CPA)proposal for Center Field track and field reconstruction and athletic facility lighting. This matter had been scheduled for a"plus-one"meeting in early January because of concerns that the project could potentially result in conflicts with a future high school replacement or renovation project. Due to snow, that discussion was postponed until the upcoming Budget Summit 4 on January 24. Mr. Pressman explained that the Recreation Department's CIPs for these two projects rely mainly on CPA funds. The $3.4 million cost for the track and field reconstruction includes $500,000 that is not eligible for CPA funds, and which would be funded by the tax levy. The entire $985,000 requested for the lighting is CPA-eligible. The CPC voted to support these two projects, but the vote was not unanimous at this point due to concerns about potential conflict with a future high school project. It was suggested that the track area and new lighting for the baseball and softball fields might be impacted by a high school project, but conflict seemed unlikely for the basketball and tennis court lights included in the project. Mr. Kanter reported that the CEC is looking into this potential conflict and has requested a sketch showing how a new high school project might involve the areas in question, including the location of a staging area. It was noted that the current track has already been resurfaced twice, but the actual dates when this was done were not readily available. A third resurfacing is not advised from an engineering point of view, and the current condition of the track is such that it may have to be closed within a year if it isn't replaced. It was agreed that additional information is needed regarding the dates of prior resurfacing, lifespan of a new track and the plan for the high school. • Lexington Police Department Replacement: Mr. Bartenstein noted that the preliminary list of warrant articles for the 2018 Annual Town Meeting includes a funding request for over$1 million to develop designs for a new Police Headquarters building, and that the BoS recently voted to use the current Police Station location for a new facility rather than using the 173 Bedford Street site. He noted that this project would require another debt exclusion referendum, raising questions about the timing of the design work in relation to the timing of the referendum. 2 01/18/2018 AC Minutes 0 Accept Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 59, §5C'/z; Property Tax Exemption Multiplier.- Mr. Bartenstein reported on a recommendation made by the Tax Exemption Deferral Committee to the Board of Selectmen that Town Meeting be asked to accept G.L. c. 59, §C�/z, which would permit multiplication of existing low-income and other categorical property tax exemptions (such as for veterans)by up to 100%. Mr. Bartenstein reviewed a handout prepared by Vicki Blier, co-chair of that committee. He noted that the Tax Deferral Committee will also be looking into other options for low- income property relief, including special acts which several towns, including Sudbury, have obtained which allow a shifting of tax burdens among residents without impacting the Town budget; and that the Selectmen have established a new committee to look further into the Residential Exemption. 3. Minutes Approval of the December 14, 2017 minutes was postponed until the next meeting. 4. Planning for Report to 2018 ATM Mr. Michelson reported that he was impressed with the forecasting model that was recently prepared by Ms. Kosnoff and found that her results were comparable to his. He suggested that consideration be given to using this model as an appendix to the Committee's report. Mr. Bartenstein noted that this Committee has an obligation under the Town bylaws to prepare its own three-year projection for ATM but strongly encouraged any efficiencies which might be obtained by using the staff version as a starting point. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Approved.- February 1, 2018 Exhibits • Agenda, posted by John Bartenstein, Chair • Email from telaventina(aagmail.com on behalf of Vicki Blier to John Bartenstein; January 17, 2018; RE: 5C '/z Analysis and attachments: o Clause 5C �/z Summary; o Clause 5C �/z Fiscal Impacts to Lexington at 30% Increase; o Clause 5C �/z Fiscal Impacts to Lexington at 30%, 60% and 100% Increases o Utilization of 5C '/z in other towns 3