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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-07-09-AC-min 07/9/2019 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) July 9, 2019 Place and Time: Parker Room, Town Office Building 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; Sanjay Padaki, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary; John Bartenstein; Eric Michelson; Nick Nichols; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Members)Absent: Lily Manhua Yan Other Attendees: Ellen Basch, Recently Resigned AC Member; Deepika Sawhney, School Committee Liaison The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. Recognition of Resigning Committee Members Ms. Basch and Mr. Neumeier were recognized and thanked for their service on this Committee. Especially noted were Ms. Basch's writing and editing skills; and Mr. Neumeier's lengthy service, extending back, off and on, more than twenty years. With two vacancies to be filled, Mr. Parker urged everyone to suggest interested and qualified people for membership to this Committee. Announcements and Liaison Reports Mr. Padaki reported that the Crematory Study Committee was meeting tomorrow from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., making it difficult for him to attend the entire meeting. Mr. Nichols offered to attend the meeting, with Mr. Padaki arriving as soon as he is able. Mr. Parker reported that there had been a beam signing for the new Fire Headquarters building. Ms. Kosnoff added that there had been delays related to asbestos testing so that the project is a little behind schedule. Construction is anticipated to be completed a year from now. Mr. Levine reported that the School Master Planning Committee last met on June 12, and the consultant is preparing a report. Ms. Kosnoff reported that construction of the new Lexington Children's Place is scheduled for completion by September 2019, and February 2020 is the expected completion date for the new Hasting Elementary School. FY2019 Budget Transfers and Adjustments Ms. Kosnoff reported that there are four kinds of end-of-the-year transfers that the Town can make before closing the books for a fiscal year, as follows: • Salary Reserve Account Transfers: These are the exclusive responsibility of the Select Board and usually result when collective bargaining agreements are resolved. There are three such situations for the FY2019 budget: ➢ $92,000 to be transferred into the Cary Library budget; ➢ $236,013 to be transferred into three Police Department Units; ➢ $420,000 to be transferred into the Police Superior Officers budget. This has been a complicated calculation that is still being finalized. 1 07/9/2019 AC Minutes • Reserve Fund Transfer: This account is the responsibility of this Committee and may be used to address unforeseen or extraordinary expenses. None of the appropriated $900,000 was used in FY2019, so the entire amount will flow to free cash. • Interdepartmental Transfers: The Select Board, with the concurrence of the finance committee, may transfer appropriated funds between departments or between compensation and expenses within the last two months of, or fifteen days after, the end of the fiscal year. (The previous restriction limiting transfers from or within a department to 3% of that department's budget was eliminated by the Municipal Modernization Act of 2016.) One such transfer is proposed in the FY2019 budget, involving the transfer of$43,000 from personal services to expenses within the budget of the Fire Department to help fund the purchase of a hybrid vehicle for the new Fire Chief. This will allow the department to shift the fleet and retire another vehicle that has reached the end of its useful life. • Increase in Revolving Fund Limits: If more revenue is received in a Revolving Fund than the annual spending limit established by Town Meeting, the spending limit may be increased at any time during the fiscal year with the approval of the Select Board and the finance committee. In FY2019, the revenue received from equipment rental activities at the DPW's Hartwell Avenue facility exceeded the $10,000 spending limit of the Regional Cache- Hartwell Avenue revolving fund by 100%. Therefore the spending limit for this revolving fund will be increased by $10,000 to match the increase in revenue. A motion was made and seconded to support/approve all of the FY2019 transfers as presented by Ms. Kosnoff The motion passed. VOTE: 5-0 (Note: This vote was taken before Mr. Michelson arrived.) Mr. Parker signed all of the related paperwork. Financial Projections Mr. Nichols reported that he and Mr. Michelson had met with Ms. Kosnoff and Jennifer Hewitt, Lexington's Budget Officer, to learn more about the financial projections made by town staff and to discuss the financial projections that this Committee creates for its report to the Annual Town Meeting. It was agreed that those proj ecti ons do not get used by staff or this Committee, and it is not clear whether they are useful to Town Meeting members. The Town By-Laws direct this Committee to produce projections, but those By-Laws were enacted at a time when Town staff did not do their own projections and they do not detail either the form or purpose of the projections. As a result, depending on the changes this Committee may decide would be desirable, it may not be necessary to amend the By-Laws. There was discussion about how to identify the most useful data for this effort; how conservative projections should be; and whether large capital projects, such as a new Lexington High School (LHS), should be incorporated into the projections. Mr. Nichols agreed to pursue this issue further and report back to this Committee in late August or September. Initially, he and Mr. Michelson will compare past projections made by the Committee and Town staff with actual income and expenses. 2019 Special Town Meeting (STM) Mr. Parker reported that the Board of Selectmen (BoS) met last night and indicated that a funding request for a new Police Headquarters would not be ready for an early fall 2019 STM, as initially considered. It is possible that there will be a late-fall STM, which would likely include articles relating to the proposed rezoning at 186 Bedford Street and recommendations prepared by the Crematory Study Committee. 2 07/9/2019 AC Minutes Minutes After a brief discussion regarding Mr. Bartenstein's suggested edits to the April 8 and April 10, 2019 Minutes, a motion was made and seconded to approve said Minutes, as amended. The motion passed. VOTE: 6-0 BoS Goal Setting Ms. Kosnoff reported that the Town has hired a mediator to facilitate the annual goal-setting process with the Board of Selectmen. The facilitator has met with senior staff. Mr. Padaki reported that he plans to attend a meeting with the facilitator and committee liaisons scheduled for tomorrow morning. After discussion about this Committee's perspective, the following recommended BoS goals were identified: • Conclude the budget process in a timely manner that allows the financial committees adequate time to prepare their reports. • Increase discussion about financing a new Lexington High School. • Codify the financial policies that have been recently identified by the Town Manager, doing so in a thoughtful manner. • Identify and implement methods for controlling operating expenses. Future Meetings A future agenda would likely include, but not be limited to, the following: • Budget Projections: A report from Mr. Nichols and Mr. Michelson; • The Town's Fiscal Policies: Mr. Levine offered to prepare his thoughts on this; • Crematory Study Committee: Mr. Padaki would provide an update • Election of Officers Mr. Parker agreed to explore opportunities for meeting on August 13, 14, or 15. The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold Approved: September 19, 2019 Exhibits • Agenda, posted by Mr. Parker, Chair 3