HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-26-AC-minJanuary 26, 2012
Minutes
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee Meeting
January 26, 2012
Time and Location: G -15, Town Office Building, 7:3 0 p.m.
Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Robert
Cohen; Mollie Garberg; Joe Pato, Vice Chair; Alan Levine; Eric Michelson; Jonina Schonfeld
Others in Attendance: Theo Kalivas, Budget Officer
The meeting was called to order at 7:37 p.m. Eric Michelson agreed to take minutes.
1. Minutes
The status of minutes from previous meetings was reviewed. John reported that outstanding are
one set from fall 2011 and the summit meetings. He is still waiting for the Board of Selectmen to
release their summit minutes so that he can incorporate them into A.C. minutes of those
meetings. Glenn will look into the status of the process to hire a replacement for Andrea Yepez.
2. Committee policy regarding political activity in town elections
Glenn and Jonina have been working on a draft policy document to present to the Committee.
That exercise is not complete but has produced some additional information. One resource of
particular interest is a comprehensive advisory recently issued by the State Ethics Commission
that addresses limitations imposed by the state conflict of interest law, G.L. c. 268A, on the
conduct of "special municipal employees," including political activity. All members of the
Appropriation Committee are considered to be "special town employees," having been so
designated by the Board of Selectmen. An important distinction made in this advisory is whether
elected or appointed officials, including members of this Committee, have a "policy- making"
role. Glenn and Jonina will circulate a link to the State Ethics Commission advisory. From there
they will produce a draft policy for committee review. For the time being, the current policy will
remain in place. The Committee agreed that this issue could be postponed until after the March
2012 Annual Town Meeting.
3. Review of Proposed Town Budget.
There was a brief discussion of the status of the FY2013 budget. The only changes from the
White Book anticipated at this time result from the passage of the debt - exclusion referendum for
the Estabrook, Bridge, and Bowman school projects, which will allow design monies previously
appropriated in the General Fund to be re- characterized as excluded debt.
4. Report to the 2012 Annual Town Meeting
The following deadlines were agreed to for production of the report:
• March 13 — completion of voting on all articles
• March 21 — Committee approval of the report
January 26, 2012
• March 26 — distribution of printed copies of the report
Glenn will seek to arrange presentations by Supt. Paul Ash and Asst. Supt. Mary Ellen Dunn on
the school budget and school capital requests, by Pat Goddard on facilities and capital, and by
the Community Preservation Committee on the items the CPC will be recommending at the
Annual Town Meeting. He asked those responsible for write -ups on other articles to suggest any
additional presentations that would be useful.
5. Miscellaneous
A request was made to include on the agenda of a future meeting a discussion of the potential
uses of a projected budget surplus, including program enhancements, accelerated capital projects,
or returning funds to taxpayers by raising in the tax levy less than the levy limit or an
"underride," and the advantages and disadvantages of each possible use. It was suggested that
this discussion would be most productive if one or more representatives of the Board of
Selectmen were able to participate.
Glenn noted that the next meeting may be canceled due to a lack of agenda items.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
A list of documents and other items used at the meeting is attached.
Respectfully submitted,
Eric Michelson
Approved February 29, 2012
2
January 26, 2012
Exhibits
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee Meeting
January 26, 2012
1. Meeting Agenda, posted by Glenn Parker, Chair.