HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-04-09-AC-min 04/09/2018 AC Minutes
Minutes
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee(AC)
April 9, 2018
Place and Time: Ellen Stone Room, Cary Memorial Building, 6:30 p.m.
Members Present: John Bartenstein, Chair; Alan Levine, Vice-Chair & Secretary; Ellen Basch;
Eric Michelson; Richard Neumeier; Sanjay Padaki;; Lily Manhua Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant
Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex-officio)
Member(s)Absent: Andrei Radulescu-Banu; Jian Helen Yang
Other Attendees: None
The meeting was called to order at 6:38 p.m.
1. FY2019 budget issues and supplemental reporting to 2018 Annual Town Meeting (ATM)
Mr. Bartenstein reviewed the members of this Committee who would be speaking on behalf of
this Committee at the Annual Town Meeting (ATM) session scheduled for this evening.
Ms. Kosnoff reported on the following articles:
• Article 11, Appropriate for Westview Cemetery Building Construction: Staff decided to
recommend indefinitely postponing (IP) this article. The Board of Selectmen (BoS) is
expected to support this recommendation at its meeting taking place concurrently with this
meeting. Committee members supported having the article IP'd.
• Article 30, Amend FY2018 Operating, Enterprise and CPA Budgets: The details are still
being finalized,but a short list of FY2018 budget amendments is being prepared and should
be distributed tomorrow. There may be an impact on the FY2018 operating budget.
• Article 25, Rescind Prior Borrowing Authorizations: An effort has been made to more
clearly identify open projects for which the remaining appropriated funds are not needed.
Rescinding these authorizations is a housekeeping task.
2. Minutes
A motion was made and seconded to approve the April 2, 2018 AC Minutes. The motion
passed. VOTE: 7-0
3. Next Meetings
Mr. Bartenstein expects to cancel the currently scheduled AC meeting for April 11 at 6:30 p.m.
Mr. Bartenstein reported that Megan Zammuto, Economic Development Coordinator, asked to
meet with this Committee to make a 20 minute presentation about plans for enhancing Hartwell
Avenue business development. She anticipates the need for an additional 20 minutes to answer
questions. She has been invited to attend this Committee's April 23, 2018 meeting at 6:30 p.m.
It is important for everyone to arrive promptly.
4. Announcements
Mr. Neumeier reported on a court case ruling 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
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04/09/2018 AC Minutes
deliberations had unlawfully taken place outside of a public meeting. The Attorney General had
ruled that the BoS action was lawful, but in a subsequent court action, Superior Court Judge
Curran ruled to the contrary. On April 5, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Judge Curran's
position.
There was a brief discussion about the potential impact this ruling could have on Lexington
committees and the way they conduct their business. It was agreed that Town staff and/or Town
counsel would need to clarify appropriate procedures.
The meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary
Approved: April 23, 2018
Exhibits
• Agenda, posted by John Bartenstein, Chair
• Supreme Judicial Court Decision Re Open Meeting Law, Town of Wayland, April 5, 2018
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