1997-01-14 Board of Selectmen Minutes

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Board of Selectmen Meeting January 14, 1997 The meeting convened at 7:35 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman George Hines, Vice Chairman Camille Anthony, Secretary Bruce MacDonald, Selectmen Dan Ensminger and Sally Hoyt, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner and the following list of interested parties: Deirdre Hanley, Don Wood, David Lee, John Silvaggi, Daniel Driscoll, Ed Marchand, Ted McIntire, Nancy Eaton, Bob Keating. Town Manager's Report On motion by MacDonald seconded by Anthony, the Board voted to approve a Proclamation for Cerebral Palsy Week by a vote of 5-0-0. The Board agreed to meet next Thursday evening, if needed, in Executive Session regarding the sale of real estate. George Hines noted that the Metropolitan Planning Organization structure is being established. Communities will elect three representatives from cities and three from towns. The Town of Burlington is requesting Reading's support. The Town holds a position for a two year term. Currently George Judge of Burlington is the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and Burlington - would be the representative. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Anthony, the Board voted to support the nomination of Burlington as a member to the Metropolitan Planning Organization by a vote of 5-0-0. Discussion/Action Items Budget Discussion - The Town Manager reviewed the proposed FY '98 budget. He noted that the revenues are a little bit more than $41 million, including $632,000 in sale of real estate funds. The amount of state aid available will not be known until the Governor submits his budget on the 22nd of the month. The available revenues to date represent a$2.045 million increase or 5.24%. Expenses - Major issues being addressed are implementation of the Pay and Classification update, a focus on economic development, and restructuring of a couple of departments. The proposed budget is based on the department's request including new programs. .The proposed budget is $42,875,000. The Town Manager's recommended budget is the base budget without new programs. The debt and capital improvement section of the budget represents a 12% increase. This represents the first major debt for the Parker Middle School project. Employee benefits represent a 4% increase. This includes a Health Insurance increase of 9.4% based on expectation of additional hires especially in the School Department.