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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-06-27-AC-min 06/27/2018 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) June 27, 2018 Place and Time: Parker Room, Town Office Building, 7:30 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 Other Attendees: Kate Colburn, Vice-Chair, School Committee; Bob Pressman, Town Meeting Member The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. 1. Announcements and Liaison Reports: Mr. Bartenstein reported the following: • Helen Yang submitted her resignation from this Committee. Deb Brown, Town Moderator, will be seeking a replacement. • There is a reception honoring Carl Valente's retirement as Town Manager on August 2, 2018 from 4-7 p.m. It may be convenient for this Committee to meet immediately after the reception. Mr. Michelson reviewed information discussed at the first meeting of the Town Manager's Search Committee, as follows: • A consultant has been hired to assist in the process. The consultant estimates that approximately 20 applications will be received before the July 9 deadline. • The consultant plans to select 11-12 top candidates for the search committee to consider. • The search committee plans to interview 5-7 of those candidates and forward 2 to 3 candidate names for the Board of Selectmen (BoS)to consider. • Questions to ask the candidates are being solicited from the general public, town employees, and committees. Members of this Committee should forward suggestions to Mr. Michelson. • The goal is to hire someone by the end of August. Ms. Kosnoff added that the Selectmen will appoint an Acting Town Manager between Mr. Valente's departure and the arrival of the new Town Manager. Ms. Colburn reported the following: • The new School Superintendent is officially starting on July 1, but she has been involved during the recent hiring of some new elementary school principals. • A replacement for Ian Daily, the School Department's Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Administration, is being sought, hopefully to begin by September. Mr. Michelson reported that some of the retail businesses are meeting tomorrow evening to discuss best practices for enhancing diversity in Lexington. Ms. Kosnoff reported that the BoS rescinded its prior position on MGL Chapter 59, Section 21), whereby the Town opted out of implementing a supplemental pro-rata tax assessment allowed by the State for new construction completed after the annual January 1 assessment date. 1 06/27/2018 AC Minutes Beginning in Fiscal Year 2019 the Town will issue supplemental tax assessments for new construction that increases the value of the structure by 50% or more, which should generate a modest amount of additional revenue. 2. Financing Plan for Lexington High School(LHS) Science Classroom and Laboratory Project: Ms. Kosnoff identified options for funding a $1.1 million project requested by the School Committee to increase science laboratory space at LHS, as follows: • Free Cash: It is anticipated that the FY2018 free cash would be certified by the State prior to the fall 2018 Special Town Meeting (STM) when this project would be presented to Town Meeting for approval. Ms. Kosnoff suggested that this may be the most logical approach. • Additional New Growth: It is currently anticipated that new growth will generate approximately $2.8 million in FY2019 revenue, up from the $2.5 million estimate used at the 2018 Annual Town Meeting, but the final number could be higher. Any new growth revenue that is recognized beyond the original estimate could be appropriated at a fall special town meeting. • Debt Financing: This would be a short-term bond, not more than five years, • Capital Stabilization Fund: This was originally identified as a cushion to be used for softening the tax burden associated with a number of debt-excluded projects that have been approved. Mr. Levine suggested that the funding source doesn't make a lot of difference. He noted that the timing of the project is critical and should start as soon as possible, adding that because Town Meeting must approve the project and revenue source,perhaps the fall STM should be held earlier than is now being considered. 3. FY2018 Budget Update and Year-End Transfers: Ms. Kosnoff discussed the requested transfers, all of which have been supported/approved by the BoS, as follows: • Reserve Fund Transfer: The School Committee and School Department had originally understood that the $106,000 needed for the School Department's Master Planning effort could come from a 2016 appropriation, but, as discussed at this Committee's June 7 meeting, it has been determined that those funds are not available for this purpose. Funding must now come from the School Department's operating budget or from the Reserve Fund. The pros and cons were discussed at the June 14 Budget Summit. A motion was made and seconded to approve a FY2018 Reserve Fund transfer of $106,000 to the Town Facilities Account for the School Department's Master Planning, as discussed. VOTE: 7-0 • Revolving Fund Adjustments —FY2018: The requests are for an additional $10,000 for each of the following revolving funds: ➢ The Public, Educational, and Governmental(PEG) Access Revolving Fund: The additional funds are needed because of a revised contract with LexMedia. Ms. Kosnoff added that when residents transition from using cable to streaming, the Town loses revenue. She also noted that in FY2019 the Peg Access Revolving Fund will become a special revenue fund, per State regulation. A motion was made and seconded to increase the PEG Access Revolving Fund authorization by $10,000. VOTE: 7-0 2 06/27/2018 AC Minutes ➢ The Senior Service Revolving Fund: The additional funds are needed because of some higher-than-anticipated spending in FY2018. The program is subsidized by the State and the additional $10,000 will be recovered. A motion was made and seconded to increase the Senior Service Program Revolving Fund authorization by $10,000. VOTE: 7-0 ➢ Visitors' Center Revolving Fund: The Visitors' Center store operates with extremely tight margins. It is not self-sufficient, and the operating budget includes $18,000 to cover costs. Its seasonal operation includes two fiscal years. Mr. Michelson noted that this is the third year the Town is operating the store, which primarily serves tourists. It is difficult to project what tourists will purchase from one year to the next. It is expected that gift shop revenues received by the close of FY2018 will be sufficient (with the existing Town subsidy) to cover the requested increase to the fund spending limit. A motion was made and seconded to increase the Visitors' Center Revolving Fund authorization by $10,000. VOTE: 7-0 • End-of-Year Transfers —FY2018: The 2016 Municipal Modernization Act removed the 3% restriction on transfers between operating budget line items; however, this year's requested transfers are relatively small and well within that earlier limit. ➢ In FY2018, the Fire Department was short staffed, which resulted in increases in overtime. A motion was made and seconded to transfer $29,502 from Fire Suppression Professional Development and Emergency Medical Services Small Equipment to Fire Suppression—Overtime. VOTE: 7-0 ➢ The Assessors' Office has been working on an appeal brought by a commercial property owner that has required the use of consultants. A motion was made and seconded to transfer $10,000 from Comptroller Overtime to Assessor Legal Expense. VOTE: 7-0 • FY2018 Salary Adjustment Utilization: The BoS voted to support transfers to the Fire Department, Police Department, and Comptroller's Overtime line items from the Salary Revenue Account. This Committee is not responsible for approving this action. 4. Minutes: A motion was made and seconded to approve the June 7, 2018 minutes with edits proposed by Mr. Bartenstein and Mr. Padaki, The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0 5. Cost-Saving Measures: It was agreed to postpone discussion of this agenda item until Mr. Radulescu-Banu is in attendance because of his particular interest in this issue. 6. Committee Planning: Mr. Bartenstein suggested that this Committee elect officers after the ninth member has been appointed. August 2 and September 12 or 13, 2018 were identified for the next meetings of this Committee. Mr. Bartenstein noted that the fall STM is currently scheduled for late November, which will relieve the pressure from the early fall. Ms. Kosnoff added that the STM Warrant will likely 3 06/27/2018 AC Minutes include as many as 15 articles, including several Planning Board sponsored zoning articles, a funding request for automated meter reading, and some financial "housekeeping" articles, as well as the funding request for the additional science laboratory space at LHS. The STM could require several sessions. There was discussion about a developer's proposal to build independent and assisted living units for seniors on land previously owned by the Belmont Country Club, located on both sides of Watertown Street, south of Route 2. Mr. Pressman discussed some uncertainties associated with the potential impact such a development could have on Lexington's compliance with Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 40B. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Approved: August 2, 2018 Exhibits • Agenda, posted by John Bartenstein, Chair • Agenda Item Summary, Lexington Board of Selectmen Meeting, June 25, 2018, Approve Year-End Budget Transfers, with attachments describing each item, pp 69-79 4