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Home My WebLink About2024-12-10 Department Budget Presentations SELECT BOARD MEETING Department Budgets December 10, 2024 A meeting of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 4:00p.m. on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, via a hybrid meeting platform. Mr. Lucente, Chair; Mr. Pato, Ms. Barry, Ms. Hai, and Mr. Sandeen, were present, as well as Mr. Bartha, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; Ms. Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Ms. Impink, Budget Officer, and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. FY2026 Proposed Budget - Town Manager's Office - Employee Benefits & Insurance Presentations Ms. Axtell, Anne Graglia-Kostos, Hemali Shah, and Maggie Peard presented their respective budgets. The FY2026 budget reflects an overall increase of $106,635 or 6.90% from FY2025. This is comprised of an increase of $126,787 or 11.22% in compensation, offset by a decrease of $20,152 or (4.86%) in overall expenses from the previous year. The increase in compensation reflects contractually obligated step increases. Compensation does not include any estimate of prospective cost of living increases for contracts expiring on or before June 30, 2025. Funds for prospective increases are captured in the Salary Ad \\gef_W`fSUUag`fi\[fZ\[`fZWLai`FS`SYWdmeTgVYWf,LZWVWUdWSeW\[`WjbW`eWe\[ebd\[_Sd\[^kVgWfaS one-time PIR in FY2025 to conduct an assessment of General Liability Insurance. Department 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. Program Improvement Requests: Solar Assessment Sustainability Coordinator There was discussion regarding the Dance Around the World event and Ms. Hai suggested speaking of the escalation in costs and which costs will not be covered to make the information clearer. Ms. Barry stated that, when it comes to PIRs requesting additional personnel, she believes that approval of these makes a commitment to that position being worked into the framework indefinitely, and that the Town will be able to fund that position every single year. Commission regarding how to approach sustainability initiatives in the Historic District. He recommended Town staff initiate this conversation before spending money on solar assessments in the Historic District. Mr. Lucente asked about taking up the design for the proposed solar items as part of the parking lot design. Ms. Peard noted that this is due to timing. The intention is to have an assessment done in advance, to not run into issues during paving projects. Mr. Lucente suggested that there may be other resources available to utilize if the Sustainability Coordinator PIR request is not fulfilled this year. DOCUMENTS: FY26 Town Manager's Office Budget Request, FY26 Town Committees Budget Request 2. FY2026 Proposed Budget - Select Board Office Presentation Kim Katzenback, Executive Clerk/Select Board Office Manager, explained that the Select Board's operating budget, inclusive of the Select Board's Office, the Legal budget, Town Report and the PEG Special Revenue Fund, is increasing by $50,895, or 3.67%. Compensation is decreasing $-1,638 or (1.05%) due to staff turnover, and expenses are increasing $52,533 or 4.26%, which is due to increasing Audit costs. Mr. Lucente asked about the proposed PEG revenue decreases. Ms. Kosnoff stated that the intention is to continue to increase the tax levy support by $100,000 a year for the next couple of years. Ms. Hai asked about the Audit fluctuations. Ms. Kosnoff explained that FY26 is the end of fZWLai`me three year contract with its current auditors. The fluctuations are essentially work from prior year audits being done off the normal cycle, and not being consistent. She has had conversations with the auditors, and they are working to get the Town back onto its normal time frame, which is completing the FY24 audit in time for the continuing disclosure deadline, which is at the end of March. DOCUMENTS: FY26 Select Board Office Budget Request_REV 3. FY2026 Proposed Budget - Land Use, Housing and Development Presentation Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development, explained that the total All Funds Land Use, Housing and Development FY2026 budget of $3,127,980 is a $93,731 or 3.09% increase from FY2025. Personal Services are increasing $34,539, or 1.53% and expenses are increasing $43,440, or 5.64%. The General Fund budget of $2,488,899 is a $46,293, or 1.90% increase from FY2025, with Compensation increasing $2,853 or 0.14%, and Expenses increasing $43,440 or 11.23%. Jim Kelly, Building Commissioner; Abby McCabe, Planning Director; Karen Mullins, Conservation Director; and Sandhya Iyer, Economic Development Director, presented their portions of the budget. Program Improvement Requests: Housing Contract Services Hydraulic Lift Gate Planner Full-time Assistant Visitors Center Manager Mr. Sandeen asked about the declining trend in the LUHD tax levy numbers from FY2023 to FY2026. Ms. Kosnoff explained that the Land Use, Housing, and Development Department is not just an overhead department; they actually generate revenues through the issuance of building permits and that there had been a significant increase in building permit revenue associated with several large building projects in prior years. For this coming year, it is projected that the Department will generate more revenue from building permits than it will cost to run the entire operation collectively. Mr. Sandeen asked about the professional services line item in the Building and Zoning Revolving Fund. Ms. Kowalski explained that a revolving fund was established to hire third parties to review applicants m proposals to stay out of the groundwater or to mitigate being in the groundwater. The revolving fund has not yet been used, as 53G accounts have been used instead. Mr. Kelly said the stormwater bylaw is working well and the end result is positive for the Town. Mr. Sandeen mentioned that h age\[`Y\[ea`WaXfZWKW^WUf;aSdVmefabbd\[ad\[f\[We,AWSe\]WV\[XfZWLai` should be considering a dedicated person for housing in the Department. Ms. Kowalski stated that the Planner PIR would help with this. Housing is a planning discipline. Ms. Kowalski said is unclear to her if a full-time housing position is needed at this time. Mr. Sandeen stated that the success of a Bike Ped Plan revolves around building connected networks of pathways. The proposed $1M over three years is likely not enough to implement a connected network of bike pathways. He encouraged considering what needs to be done to fully fund the recommendations of the Bike Ped Plan. Mr. Lucente asked about the Full-time Assistant Visitors Center Manager PIR and how it would be funded. Ms. Iyer stated that the funding generated through services would be able to support this position. Ms. Kosnoff stated that this position would be funded through the Revolving Fund. This does not compete with the other General Fund requests. Mr. Pato echoed comments regarding making sure new positions proposed through PIRs can be funded into future years. There was discussion regarding a central timekeeping system and the difficulty of consolidating software needs between Departments. Mr. Pato noted that he would like to see an explanation as to if a centralized housing specialist position is needed before elevating the priority. Mr. Lucente suggested that Mr. Sandeen take this item to the Affordable Housing Trust for additional discussion. DOCUMENTS: FY26 Land Use, Housing and Development Budget Request, LHUD Presentation: To- Date Accomplishments & FY26 Goals, Staff memo 5-7 Piper Rd MBTA_Major SPR, Decision 5-7 Piper SPR-VO-2024-10-09 Mr. Bartha gave a budget recap. There is currently a $2.7M gap between the approximate revenue and the operating requests. The School Department has approximately a $2M differential between their allotment and their level service budget at 5%. On the municipal side, there is approximately a $670,000 gap between its allotment and the level service requests. The largest budget variable is health insurance, and the Town is currently carrying a proposed 14%. There are approximately $2.2M in PIRs, approximately $1.9M of that which would hit the General Fund, and approximately $1.25M of that is to fund ten position requests. There is some more work to be done before bringing a balanced budget back before the Board. Mr. Pato stated that all of the PIRs seem appropriate and warranted. However, they cannot all be funded and so he will be prioritizing them in terms of long-term consequences for the Town. Mr. Sandeen agreed that he would like to see priorities come from the Departments as well. The Town may also need to consider how deferring items may impact the Town. Ms. Hai agreed that the residents will be asked for a large debt exclusion and so the Board should consider what can be done to defray some of those costs. There should be consideration as to how to creatively address some of the PIRs. Ms. Kosnoff stated that she would like to have a future discussion regarding the Capital Plan and potential deferral recommendations. The Summit for the White Book is scheduled for January 30, 2025 to review the Budget before the Annual Town Meeting. ADJOURN Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 6:17p.m. A true record; Attest: Kristan Patenaude Recording Secretary