HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-03-24-AC-min 03/24/2020 AC Minutes
Minutes
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC)
March 24, 2020
Place and Time: Remote Participation: in accordance with the Governor's March 12, 2020 Order
Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law; communication took place via a Zoom
teleconferencing session that was open to the public; 7:30 p.m.
Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; Sanjay Padaki, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary;
John Bartenstein; Meg Muckenhoupt; Nick Nichols; Lily Manhua Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant
Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio)
Members)Absent: Eric Michelson
Other Attendees: LexMedia
The meeting was called to order at 7:37 p.m.
Announcements and Liaison Reports
Mr. Parker announced that in addition to this meeting being held remotely, it was being broadcast
live by LexMedia.
Ms. Kosnoff reported that negotiations with the Town's bargaining units had been finalized, which
will put the affected salary line items in the 2020 budget into the red. Funds are available in the
Salary Reserve Account and a salary reserve transfer will be requested. This Committee will be
asked to approve this transaction, as has been the tradition.
2020 ATM Financial Articles and Report Planning
Mr. Parker reported that he had updated this Committee's report to the 2020 Annual Town Meeting
(ATM)with the non-substantive edits and material that had been discussed at previous meetings.
Mr. Bartenstein reported that he had some minor edits that he will submit.
Mr. Parker provided a brief review of two articles for which votes had been taken on March 19,
2020, when Ms. Yan was absent:
• Article 25: Purchase of Land/Eminent Domain: The Town has reached an agreement to
purchase property that is being used as part of the municipal parking lot along Edison Way
and is currently owned by the Lexington Historical Society. Ms. Kosnoff clarified that the
funding source for this purchase is the Parking Meter Fund. She added that there is currently
a balance of approximately $1.0 million in that fund which means that any loss in parking
meter revenue while businesses are closed because of COVID-19 would not impact this
purchase.
Ms. Yan added her affirmative support of recommending approval of this article, making the
vote 8-0 in support of recommending approval of this article.
Article 19: Establish, Dissolve and Appropriate To and From Specified Stabilization Funds:
Part d) appropriate funds from the Affordable Housing Stabilization Fund: Part d) of this
article had generated considerable discussion and a split vote at this committee's
March 12, 2020 meeting. On March 19, 2020, Robert Burbidge, Chair, Lexington Housing
Authority Board (LexHAB), discussed and answered questions about this article. This
Committee subsequently re-voted, by roll call, resulting in a 6-2 vote in support of
recommending approval of this article. Ms. Yan re-confirmed her affirmative vote.
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03/24/2020 AC Minutes
A motion was made and seconded to approve this Committee's report with the edits and updates
discussed at this meeting. There was a roll call vote. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0
Mr. Parker agreed to have a pdf copy of the report posted on the Town's website, and he will use
the Town Meeting Members Association's (TMMA)list serve to inform Town Meeting Members
of its availability. He asked that answers to questions from TMMA members go through him to
ensure compliance with Open Meeting Law requirements and a unified response.
Mr. Parker agreed to post bi-weekly meetings starting April 9, 2020 in anticipation of the ATM
being held and/or a request for this Committee's approval of a reserve fund transfer. Meetings that
are not needed will be cancelled. Ms. Kosnoff offered to provide a demonstration of a cloud-based
software option for preparing this Committee's future reports to town meetings.
Minutes
A motion was made and seconded to approve the March 12, 2020 minutes, with suggested edits, as
distributed by Mr. Levine. There was a roll call vote. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0
A motion was made and seconded to approve the March 19, 2020 minutes, with suggested edits, as
distributed by Mr. Levine. There was a roll call vote. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0
The meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sara Arnold
Approved: April 9, 2020
Exhibits
Agenda, posted by Mr. Parker, Chair
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