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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-09-30-AC-min 09/30/2020 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) September 30, 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; Meg Muckenhoupt; Lily Manhua Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Member(s)Absent: None Other Attendees: David Kanter, Vice-Chair and Clerk, Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC); Eileen Jay, School Committee; Ryan, LexMedia representative Mr. Parker confirmed attendance by roll call, reviewed the authorization for meeting remotely, noted that the meeting was being called to order at 7:33 p.m. on September 30, 2020, and stated that the meeting was being recorded for access on LexMedia. He also noted that materials for the meeting were available on-line. Announcements and Liaison Reports Mr. Parker reported that he would be attending CEC meetings as the AC liaison. Recommended Adjustments to the FY2021 Budget Ms. Kosnoff reported that the State Department of Revenue had unofficially indicated that their recommended base percentage to be used in calculating the State's distribution under the Community Preservation Act(CPA) is likely to be increased from 17.7%to 22-25%. Thus, she plans to recommend to the Community Preservation Committee at their meeting tomorrow that no amendment to the Town's 2021 CPA Budget, which assumed 27% and was approved at the 2020 Annual Town Meeting, is currently needed. If necessary, the CPA budget could be adjusted at the 2021 Annual Town Meeting, although that is not expected because there is a cushion included in the approved budget, since the projection for the local 3% CPA surcharge used a conservative figure for new growth of the tax base. Articles and Report Planning for the STMs 2020-2 and -3 After identifying the articles for which votes had already been taken, Mr. Parker led a discussion on those for which votes were still needed, as follows: • Special Town Meeting (STM) 2020-2: Article 6: Authorize Special Legislation- Development Surcharge for Community Housing: Ms. Yan reported having discussed this article with Matt Daggett, the primary proponent for the article. According to Mr. Daggett: ➢ This article is directing the Select Board(SB)to submit a Home Rule Petition to the Massachusetts General Court that would allow Lexington to develop a surcharge to be paid if a new owner of a house tears it down and then resells it. ➢ The surcharge is abated at 20%per year as long as the house is not sold, so that after five years the owner is not responsible for paying the surcharge. ➢ Boston has such a surcharge, and much of the language in the proposal for Lexington comes from Boston's regulation. 1 09/30/2020 AC Minutes Discussion included the following comments: ➢ Ms. Kosnoff noted that even if this article passes, implementation would not be imminent because it would be contingent on actions by the Select Board and the state legislature. ➢ Mr. Padaki asked whether implementation, if a home rule bill is passed by the state legislature, would require further Town Meeting approval, and questioned whether the financial impact could be assessed at this time. ➢ Mr. Padaki asked that the text in the report point out that this article leaves a lot of discretion to the SB. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of STM 2020-2 Article 6. There was a roll call vote. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 • STM 2020-3 Article 4: Rescind Prior Borrowing Authorizations: Ms. Kosnoff reported that three rescissions, totaling $79,334, are being recommended from prior appropriations for renovations at the Bridge and Bowman Elementary Schools, the Concord Avenue Sidewalk, and a Supplemental School Facility Capital Project. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of STM 2020-3 Article 4. There was a roll call vote. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 • STM 2020-3 Article 7: Land Acquisition: Ms. Kosnoff reported that this is still being handled in executive session, so no details are available. Mr. Parker noted that this Committee does not need to vote on the two articles that are going to be indefinitely postponed. He expects to have a draft of the report available on Sunday, which allows two days for review before this Committee's meeting on October 6, 2020, when the final report should be approved. It was agreed to start that meeting at 7:00 p.m. because of Mr. Bartenstein's schedule. The report will be distributed electronically to Town Meeting members. Hard copies will go to the Library and Town Clerk's Office for archiving. Approve Minutes of Prior Meetings A motion was made and seconded to approve this Committee's September 24, 2020 minutes. There was a roll call vote. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 The meeting adjourned at 8:33 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold Approved: October 6, 2020 Exhibits • Agenda,posted by Mr. Parker, Chair • Remote Meeting Prologue 2