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Budget Council -2- March 18, 1999 <br />Carol Grimm also distributed a projection for FY01. The projection showed that, <br />assuming no new programs, an increase of $3,066,000 in the operating budget would be <br />needed to just maintain current levels of service. <br />Mr. Stohlman asked what the history of the Town's bond rating was. <br />Ms. Klepeis stated that the Town was Al back in the 1970's and maintained that rating <br />until 1996 when the rating was upgraded to a AA. The increase was based on holding <br />5% in reserve, new growth and the fact that the average income in Reading went up. <br />Mr. Stohlman then asked for an estimate on what the difference could be going from an <br />AA rating to an Al rating. <br />Ms. Klepeis stated that this was hard to estimate. She stated that the higher the rating <br />the lower the interest rate but that there are other factors that also influence rates. <br />Mr. Kurker stated that investment firms sometime do their own investigation and the <br />Moody's rating may not be as important. He did note that investment firms are looking <br />at some of the same areas Moody looks at when determining a rating. <br />Dr. Harutunian recognized Town Manager Hechenbleikner for his hard work in <br />finalizing the Corporex deal. <br />Town Manager Hechenbleikner stated that if all the Council looks at all the projects the <br />capital plan that all the projects will be done but some have been pushed back due to <br />constraints. He stated that more time needs to be spent on the capital plan and that <br />steady progress needs to be made on the capital plan. <br />Town Manager Hechenbleikner stated that the Projected FY01 numbers show that if <br />state aid does not increase significantly services will not be able to be maintained at the <br />current levels. <br />Finance Committee Member MacDonald stated that the council needs to go through the <br />capital plan line by line and discuss how the plan can work. <br />Selectman Anthony asked whether the new positions for implementing the Peat <br />Marwick report were included in the Finance Committee's recommended budget. <br />Carol Grimm stated that the Finance Committee's budget included no new positions. <br />Budget Council -3- March 18,1999 <br />