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Home My WebLink About2021-01-21-AC-min 01/21/2021 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) January 21, 2021 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: Deepika Sawhney, Lexington School Committee; Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Mr. Parker confirmed attendance by roll call, reviewed the authorization for meeting remotely, noted that the meeting was being called to order at 7:35 p.m. on January 21, 2021, and stated that the meeting was being recorded for the purpose of creating minutes. He also noted that materials for the meeting were available on-line. There were no announcements or liaison reports. Liaison Assignments to Town Committees Consistent with the process used by the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC), Mr. Parker asked that AC members identify the committees and Town departments for which they serve, or would be willing to serve, as liaisons. He noted that, while attending all the meetings would not be necessary, it would be valuable to have liaisons establish a relationship with and follow activity by the identified committee or department and report relevant information to the AC. Mr. Levine suggested that for departments, the liaison could review the department's operating budget, for committees the liaison could track the committee's activity. The following assignments were noted. • Mr. Bartenstein: Public Works • Mr. Michelson: Lexington Center Committee, Public Safety, Minuteman Technical Regional High School • Mr. Levine: School Department, School Committee, School Master Planning Committee, and Sustainable Lexington • Mr. Padaki: Culture and Recreation (& Library) • Mr. Parker: Select Board, CEC, Commission on Disability • Ms. Muckenhoupt and Mr. Bartenstein: Community Preservation Committee—Because Ms. Muckenhoupt had not yet arrived, Mr. Parker will verify that she is willing to continue following this committee. It was suggested that liaisons were not needed for the Permanent Building Committee (PBC), which is capital oriented, the Planning Board, or the Ad hoc Special Permit Residential Development Zoning By-law Committee. It was agreed that additional assignments could be determined at a later date and assignments could be adjusted. Review Preliminary FY2022 Budget & Financing Plan (White Book) Mr. Parker noted that the White Book was impressive. In response to questions/comments, Ms. Kosnoff and Ms. Sawney reported the following: 1 01/21/2021 AC Minutes • The budget reflects a full"return-to-school plan"in the fall of 2021. This may not be realistic for some students because vaccines for this age group are not yet available,but it is hoped that the vast majority can return to a classroom setting. • A hybrid teaching program with some in-class sessions and some remote sessions is the most expensive model. It was possible this year because of Federal CARES Act funding. • Contingency plans for addressing FY2022 School Department shortfalls resulting from additional COVID 19 restrictions include program adjustments and cuts as well as additional fees. Other funding sources for revenue shortfalls or unanticipated expenses include: ➢ a$2.0 million set-aside in the budget; ➢ the Reserve Fund; ➢ unallocated free cash; and ➢ potentially additional Federal CARES Act funding. • This year's enrollment decreased, particularly at the kindergarten level, presumably because of COVID-19. • The FY2022 funding for the school budget includes $500,000 from the Special Education Stabilization Fund. This triggered discussion about whether it would be preferable to take the funds from the general-purpose Stabilization Fund. It was agreed that this should be discussed with the Town Manager. The Town may want to replenish any funds withdrawn from either stabilization fund within the next few years. • If the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) does not select, prior to the dissolution of the Lexington 2021 Annual Town Meeting (ATM), Lexington's High School project for a joint Town-MSBA feasibility study, the request for$1.825 million for the feasibility study will be indefinitely postponed. If Lexington's project has been selected, and if the funds are approved by Town Meeting, those funds will be debt financed. The study will not be started until the project has been accepted by MSBA. • $48,000 was transferred from the Department of Public Facilities budget rather than from the School Department budget to the Department of Public Works budget. This reflects work done by the highway department on school grounds. Looking at the"Preliminary Budget— In Summary"page from the White Book, Mr. Parker reviewed the Town Manager's recommendations. Mr. Parker suggested that this Committee review the Program Improvement Requests (PIRs) that are included in the budget and comment on them in this Committee's report to the ATM. It was noted that some additional staff commentary on these items would be helpful. Ms. Kosnoff agreed and responded to additional comments as follows: • It is anticipated that plans to renovate the building at 173 Bedford Street as swing space for the Police Station will be on-hold until there is construction funding for the new station. • The $100,000 PIR requested by the Town Manager's office is for a municipal department assessment to review the Town's organizational structure, best practices, efficiency, etc. • The Police Department currently has a number of openings. The plan is to fill those positions before determining whether an additional patrolman is needed. • A table showing municipal full-time employees (FTEs) is being developed. School FTEs will be added, time permitting. Planning for Committee Report to Annual Town Meeting 2021 Using Mr. Parker's list of warrant articles, Ms. Kosnoff identified articles that are likely to be indefinitely postponed(TPed), changed or removed. Additionally, Committee members identified articles that should be addressed in the report. Mr. Parker agreed to add preliminary assignments and identify consent agenda items on the list. 2 01/21/2021 AC Minutes In response to questions about the pension fund allocation in the budget, Ms. Kosnoff agreed to verify that the January 2020 actuarial report is posted on the Town's website. There are also monthly reports that she agreed to provide to this Committee. An actuarial evaluation is normally conducted every two years, but, considering COVID-19 impacts on life expectancy and other considerations, the Town expects to revisit this sooner. The actuary retained by the Town has retired so the Town has issued a request for proposals to hire a new actuary or actuarial firm. Minutes of Prior Meetings A motion was made and seconded to approve the AC draft minutes for its November 19, 2020 meeting. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 The meeting adjourned at 9:17 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold Approved: January 28, 2021 Exhibits • Agenda,posted by Mr. Parker, Chair • List of Departments and Committees for which AC might have liaisons • "Preliminary Budget–In Summary" from the White Book; Page iii • List of Articles for 2021 ATM—Report Tracker, Assignments 3