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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-04-09-AC-min 04/09/2020 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) April 9, 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; Eric Michelson; Nick Nichols; Lily Manhua Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Members)Absent: Meg Muckenhoupt Other Attendees: Deepika Sawhney, School Committee; LexMedia Using the Remote Meeting Prologue as a guide, Mr. Parker confirmed attendance and read the section entitled Introduction to Remote Meeting, noting that the meeting was being called to order at 7:35 p.m. on April 9, 2020 and that the meeting format did not include opportunities for public comment. He reported that the meeting was being recorded and broadcast live by LexMedia and would be available for on-demand viewing. He also reviewed the section entitled Meeting Protocol. Announcements and Liaison Reports Ms. Sawhney reported that the Superintendent of Schools has distributed a number of notices regarding responses to the COVID-19 pandemic that would be forwarded to this Committee. Proposed updates to the FY2021 Recommended Budget and Financing Plan Mr. Parker reported that, at its April 6, 2020 meeting, the Select Board (SB) discussed two budget-related recommendations made by the Town Manager that would, in effect, set aside funds in the operating budget until a fall Special Town Meeting (STM), thus, providing flexibility to cover unexpected COVID-19-related expenses in FY2021, as follows: • Article 17: Appropriate to Post Employment Insurance Liability Fund: The originally proposed appropriation of$1.93 million would be reduced by the amount that was to come from Free Cash, approximately $1.18 million. The remaining $750,000 which was to come from the General Fund (corresponding to the use under Article 4 of$750,000 from the Health Claims Trust Fund for operating budget health benefits)would still be appropriated, as well as about$5,000 from the water and sewer enterprise funds. The Free Cash not appropriated would roll into the Free Cash balance at the end of FY2020 which would then, upon certification, be available for appropriation at a fall STM, either for COVID-19 purposes or as a supplemental appropriation to the OPEB fund. • Article 19: Establish, Dissolve and Appropriate to and from Specified Stabilization Funds: The proposed appropriation into the Capital Stabilization Fund (CSF) of$1,773,062, of which $164,987 was to come from the tax levy and $1,608,075 was to come from Free Cash, would also be deferred, thus eliminating Part a) of this article. These two reductions would total $2.8 million, which would then remain available for fall STM appropriations. Ms. Kosnoff reviewed the free cash certification process and how it would impact the availability of those funds. Free cash cannot be appropriated until certification is complete, but it is expected that this would be completed before a fall 2020 STM. After a brief discussion, it was determined that alternatives to this approach were not advisable. 1 04/09/2020 AC Minutes Mr. Parker explained that the SB and Deborah Brown, Town Moderator, are proposing steps to streamline the town meeting process in anticipation of a virtual Annual Town Meeting (ATM). Because the original motion for Article 16: Appropriate for Public Facilities Capital Projects: a)Police Outdoor/Indoor Firing Range—Hartwell Avenue might have generated controversy, a new motion is being prepared to clarify that the project would not go forward without a State grant. Mr. Levine added that this appropriation is for design funds, and the SB agreed to pursue a business plan with surrounding towns for their use of the facility. It was Mr. Levine's understanding that the business plan would be developed before design funds would be spent. A new vote on the article was not necessary because the change in wording of the motion does not impact the budget. In response to a question about Article 19, Ms. Kosnoff explained that the purpose of using funds from the CSF is to stabilize the tax rate, and the motion is intentionally written to allow flexibility that serves that purpose. Ms. Kosnoff noted that the current proposal to take funds out of the CSF without putting funds into it, results in less such funding for future projects, but staff and the SB felt that current circumstances warranted this approach. There was discussion about parts a), b), c), d) originally included in Article 19, as discussed at this Committee's March 12, 2020 meeting. Because part a)was an appropriation into the CSF, which has now been eliminated, the original parts b), c), and d) are now parts a) appropriate funds from the CSF; b) appropriate funds into the Affordable Housing Stabilization Fund, and c) appropriate funds from the Affordable Housing Stabilization Fund. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of the appropriation of$750,000 into the Post-Employment Insurance Liability Fund, which is a reduction of$1.18 million from the original recommendation, as previously supported by this Committee. Mr. Levine questioned the legal obligation to use funds from the tax levy that come indirectly from the Health Claims Trust Fund for this purpose but agreed that there was no controversy in doing so. There was a roll call vote. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of Article 19, parts a) and b) as described above. There was a roll call vote. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of Article 19, part c) as described above. There was a roll call vote. The motion passed. VOTE: 5-2 Consent Agenda for the 2020 Annual Town Meeting Mr. Parker reported that, in preparation for a virtual 2020 ATM, Kelly Axtell, Deputy Town Manager, had issued three draft consent agendas and one list of time sensitive articles, as follows: • Potential consent agenda articles for presentation to the ATM for a single vote of approval. This list includes all parts of Article 19. • Potential consent agenda articles for which the motion would refer them back to the Planning Board, which would postpone them to a future town meeting. • Potential consent agenda articles (mostly citizen petitions)for which the motion would refer them back to the SB, which would postpone them to a future town meeting. • A list of five articles that are time sensitive, to be addressed individually. In the past, an article or part of an article that was not supported unanimously by key committees would not be included on a recommended consent agenda. Discussion about the inclusion of Article 19 Part c) on the consent agenda for the 2020 ATM included the following comments/opinions: 2 04/09/2020 AC Minutes • Ms. Kosnoff: Ms. Brown is considering a change to restricting consent agenda items for the 2020 ATM to those with unanimous support by key committees. • Mr. Padaki: The vote on a consent agenda would be contaminated if Town Meeting members vote against it because they oppose just one item. • Mr. Bartenstein: The vote on a consent agenda would reflect the will of Town Meeting even if some members vote against it because they oppose just one item. • Mr. Michelson: This item needs a broader discussion than would be supported if on a consent agenda. Ms. Kosnoff recommended sharing consent agenda objections with Ms. Brown. She also suggested that, rather than address them individually during the ATM, Ms. Brown may move items from the consent agenda presented for a single vote to the articles being referred back to the SB for re- introduction at a future STM or ATM. Mr. Parker said that he would inform Ms. Brown about the opposition of two AC members to Article 19 c), and it would be her decision as to how this article would be handled going forward. A motion was made and seconded to support the four lists, as distributed by Ms. Axtell and described above, with the exception that Article 19 c)would not be included on the list for a single vote of approval, and with the understanding that this vote was limited to a virtual town meeting. There was a roll call vote. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 Minutes A motion was made and seconded to approve the March 24, 2020 minutes, with suggested edits, as distributed by Mr. Levine. There was a roll call vote. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 Procedures for Virtual Town Meeting Mr. Parker reported that SB member Joe Pato had hoped to join for this discussion. Mr. Parker asked for comments/concerns relating to a virtual town meeting. Comments/questions included the following: • Appreciation for the work being done to make this happen. • How does this Committee caucus, if necessary, during a virtual town meeting? It was suggested that there could be a breakout Zoom meeting, or this Committee could meet between town meeting sessions. • How does this Committee respond to communications/questions by town meeting members prior to the ATM while avoiding Open Meeting Law violations? Mr. Parker agreed to revise this Committee's report to the ATM to reflect votes and discussions from this meeting. It was agreed that he would identify sections in the report that had changed and add a section on the consent agenda process, as related to this Committee. Mr. Padaki urged members to respond to an on-line survey for town meeting members regarding their technical access and capabilities. It was agreed to post a meeting for April 23, 2020. It can be decided at that time whether to vote on the revised report. The meeting adjourned at 8:43 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold 3 04/09/2020 AC Minutes Approved: May 7, 2020 Exhibits • Agenda, posted by Mr. Parker, Chair • Remote Meeting Prologue • Consent Agendas (3) and List of Articles that are Time Sensitive, distributed by Ms. Axtell, April 9, 2020, in preparation for holding a virtual ATM 4