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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-10-12 Finance Committee PacketThe Town of Reading - Financial Forum http://www.readingtiia.gov/Pages/ReadingNU MeetingCal/SO1784B9... Residents Businesses Financial Forte F]AJ(-0M Senior Center Wednesday, October 12, 2011. at 7:30 PM Printer-Friendly VersioJoint meeting of the Finance Committee, Board of Selectmen, SchoLibrary Trustees to discuss the FY13 budget and other financial issu. 7.35 Agenda 12A6 f0GI ttS - 7:30pm Call to order & opening remarks (Marsie) 0 G,,y., M 14 Review of revenue ideas from Instructional motion (Peter & John) 7:50 8:00 Coogle,Search 8:05 8:10 N Cats 'Ialp C,a~~~t©nCause' 8:40 8:45 9:15 9:20 9:30 9:35 9:40 Project updates & financial tools for economic development (Jean) Projected FYI 3 revenues (Gail) Recap of free cash and reserves (Gail) Update on Capital Use of one-time revenues (Peter) Library Project (Ruth or David) Killam elementary school (Mary) Preliminary FY13 accommodated costs (Bob) Discussion of use of free cash (All) FY13 Operating Budget guidance (FINCOM) Closing remarks (Marsie) FINCOM Reserve Fund Transfer FINCOM Minutes from July 25th & September 14th Adjourn 1 of2 10/12/20113:06 P ~o~,N OFRpq~lY Finance Committee Meeting July 25, 2011 Superintendent's Conference Room,. '639 7N°RY°~" Reading Memorial High School The meeting convened at 7:30 PM at RMHS. FINCOM Members Present: Chair Marsie West, Barry Berman, Mark Dockser, Paula Perry and Hal Torman. Members Absent: John Arena and Kevin Leyne. Present but not yet sworn in: David Greenfield (cannot vote). Resigned: Frank Fardy. Also Present: Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Town Accountant Gail LaPointe, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, resident Bill Brown and Matt Casey from Patch. There being a quorum the FINCOM meeting was called to order at 7:35 PM. Ms. West gave an overview of the Agenda, which included about 30 minutes of FINCOM business before a joint meeting with the School Committee was scheduled to begin at 8:00pm. Ms. West reviewed some suggested Bylaw changes that would be offered by FINCOM for the November 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting. Mr. Hechenbleikner mentioned that the Warrant closes on September 28th for that Town Meeting. Ms. West highlighted `3.3.2.1 Duties' and after some discussion Mr. Brown suggested this section does not conflict with the Town Charter. Town Counsel will work with Ms. West to prepare the desired Bylaw changes. Ms. Perry volunteered to be the liaison to the Board of Assessors this' year - a new assignment in light of some of the issues that came up during the past year. Ms. West asked for any other comments before next meeting concerning the liaison assignments. She also mentioned that Frank Fardy had submitted his resignation, so there is a vacancy on the Committee. Ms. LaPointe reviewed the recent IGR issued on the Assessors overlay account, and said there are no changes needed to current practices in Reading. Mr. Hechenbleikner mentioned that the overlay account is raised by 2.5% each year to keep pace with general property taxes. Ms. LaPointe plans to attend the August 2nd Board of Assessors meeting to review their overlay account. On a motion by Mr. Torman, seconded by Mr. Dockser, FINCOM voted to approve the Minutes of June 29, 2011 by a vote of 5-0-0. At 8:09 pm the School Committee called their meeting to order. Following are the minutes from this joint meeting: Report from NEC and SEEM Dr. Doherty introduced Mrs. Dolan (NEC) and Ms. Lawson (SEEM) and gave a brief background of the two collaboratives. Mrs. Dolan and Ms. Lawson thanked the committees for the opportunity to speak this evening. Mrs. Dolan went on to explain how a collaborative is defined according to Massachusetts General Laws. She explained that both NEC and SEEM take the spending of taxpayer's money seriously and understand that districts struggle to balance their budgets. 2 Ms. Lawson described the governance and structure of the SEEM Collaborative which consists of the Executive Director and a Board of Directors, which is comprised of the ten Superintendents of the member districts. The Chair and Financial Representative rotate annually among the Board of Directors. The Treasurer for the SEEM Collaborative is Board appointed and is an outside agent. Mrs. Dolan explained the make-up of NEC. As with SEEM, the NEC Board of Directors is made up of 18 member Superintendents with members serving as Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. The Northshore Education Consortium also has a support group. (Friends of NEC) which provides funding for the items that would not ordinarily be included in the annual budget. This group supports only NEC. Each organization also has sub-committees with each member serving on the sub-committees. NEC has a Budget, Facility and Personnel sub-committee. SEEM has a Finance Committee that functions as an Executive Committee. Mrs. Dolan and Ms. Lawson went on to review the checks and balances in place to ensure that all safeguards are taken to protect the consortium funds. Both SEEM and NEC have done extensive policy and procedure review over the past year as well. Mr. Dockser asked about check signing procedures. Mrs. Dolan said that she, as-Executive Director, signs the checks. Any check over $5,000 requires a second.signature. NEC also requires all 18 members to sign the warrants. Ms. Lawson explained that the Treasurer is responsible for signing all checks for SEEM. Mr. Torman asked if either Consortium used purchasing cards. Ms. Lawson indicated SEEM will, at times, use credit cards at Home Depot or similar retailers. All credit card purchases must be authorized by the. Executive Director. Mr. Berman asked Dr. Doherty about the time commitment to the two. consortiums. Dr. Doherty explained that he is not involved in the day-to-day operation of the consortiums. His role is similar that that of the School Committee in Reading. Membership in the two consortiums has provided for significant professional development opportunities. Mr. Greenfield asked about wire transfers. Mrs. Dolan stated that the Executive Director and the CFO are authorized to perform these transfers. Mr. Berman asked how many students we had enrolled in the programs at NEC and SEEM. Reading has approximately 20 students enrolled in different programs. Chair Mr. Robinson thanked Mrs. Dolan and Ms. Lawson for attending the meeting. Award of Memorial Wall Replacement Contract Ms. DeLai indicated that two bids were submitted however one bid came in after the bid deadline so was disqualified. This left Advantage Glass of Cranston, RI as the only qualified bidder. Ms. DeLai is recommending that the contract be awarded to Advantage Glass. She-indicated that the project deadline is September 1, 2011 and that there is a five year warranty. Upon further discussions and negotiations with Advantage Glass, they agreed to reduce the contract price to $59,000. _Mrs Janowski moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to authorize the Superintendent to enter into an agreement with Advantage Glass Company of Cranston, RI to provide for the Installation and . 3 Construction of a Laminated Glass Panel Armed Services Memorial Wall at Reading Memorial High School. The motion carried 5-0-0. Mr. Caruso asked if anything could be done with the old panels. Ms. DeLai said there had been discussion on this subject. Ideas included auctioning off the unbroken panels or to use them in district as tabletops or other ways. Mr. Berman asked about the design. Mr. Michaud stated the design is basically the same but the support system design has been improved. The contrast will be better making the detail more legible. Mr. LeLacheur explained the motion needed for a FINCOM Reserve Fund transfer. Mrs. Perry asked if we were confident in the design. Mr. Michaud said that we were. Mr. Greenfield asked if there was any recourse against the prior contractor. Ms. DeLai said there was not. Mr. LeLacheur read the proposed motion: Move to approve a FINCOM Reserve Fund transfer in the amount of $59,000 to the FY12 School Department budget (facilities). Ms West so moved, seconded by Mr. Berman. The motion carried 5-0-0. Update on Contract Negotiations Dr. Doherty reported that the School Committee has reached agreement with all five collective bargaining units. The agreements provide for fiscal stability for the next three years. He thanked the unions for the good faith bargaining sessions and also Ms. DeLai, Ms. Conway and Mrs. deGaravilla for their hard work during the negotiating sessions. The FINCOM asked some clarifying questions to which Dr. Doherty provided detailed responses. On a motion by Ms West, seconded by Mr. Dockser, FINCOM voted 5-0-0 to adjourn at 8:57pm. Respectfully submitted, Recording Secretary 4 OFRgq~lY Finance Committee Meeting September 14 2011 ° o Conference Room, Reading Town Hall '639`1NC0 Rp~P DRAFT Minutes The meeting convened at 7:30 PM in the Conference Room at Town Hall. FINCOM Members Present: Chair Marsie West, Vice Chair David Greenfield, John Arena, Barry Berman, Mark Dockser, Marie Ferrari, Kevin Leyne and Paula Perry. Members Absent: Hal Torman. Also Present: Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Town Accountant Gail LaPointe, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, Fire Chief Greg Burns, Police Chief Jim Cormier, Police Business Manager Andrew Scribner, Public Works Business Manager Jane Kinsella, and resident Bill Brown. There being a quorum the FINCOM meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM. Public Safety Mr. Hechenbleikner gave a brief introduction to the Public Safety divisions. Fire Chief Burns described the four main functions of Fire/EMS. He pointed out the medical and financial advantages of offering Advanced Life Support service to the community. In reviewing the budget he acknowledged that all discretionary OT training had been eliminated (previously about $6,000/yr), but mandatory paramedic training remains and must usually be done on an OT basis. The requirement is every two years, so about half of the firefighters do this each year. He reviewed a survey of neighboring communities that showed Reading was in the middle on OT spending in FYI 1. Mr. Arena asked about the possibility of an additional firefighter that could be paid for by OT savings. Chief Burns reviewed a handout showing the analysis that over the previous fiscal year an additional firefighter would have been cheaper than the ensuing OT (not including benefits). He also stated that the previous year had unusually high injury and medical events that he hoped would not be repeated, so he could not guarantee any savings. Ms. Perry asked about ambulance service, and Chief Burns described the level of service and the resulting ambulance revenues. He also reviewed a handout showing that Reading is about average in firefighters/resident. Mr. Greenfield asked if a high percent of OT spending is on Fire department tasks, that is are there many paid details. Chief Burns said there were few details each year for fireworks, blasting and construction torch work. Ms. West asked if there were many grant funds available. Chief Burns explained the recent technology purchase of smart boards and the radio network gear. Hr. Hechenbleikner mentioned that some communities hired staff from federal stimulus grants (such as Melrose), but Reading did not. Mr. Dockser asked that if hiring a few more firefighters would in the long run save money. Mr. Greenfield pointed out that the Fire department does have some flexibility to reassign staff. Mr. Berman asked about hiring a floater to fill in as needed, and Chief Burns pointed out that's what was done over a year ago. Mr. Brown said that a staffing study done a few years ago suggested 12 firefighters/group, or one more than is currently in the budget. Police Chief Cormier described his department as one that offered a basic police service at a very high level of quality. He reviewed a handout and responded to a few clarifying questions by Mr. Greenfield. In FYI 1 57% of all OT spending was done to fill shifts, with the remainder spread out among investigation/court time (23%); special projects (15%) and training (4%). As an example of a special project he cited neighborhood meetings to discuss break & entering incidents; the Yankee Brigade ceremony; the Tree-lighting and Friends & Family day; and the RAD program. He said this year all discretionary OT has been eliminated. He reviewed a survey of FYI 1 OT spending by neighboring communities comparable to those done by the Fire department, and that Reading spends substantially less than the average community. 5 Mr. Greenfield asked if the Police can reassign staff to fill in as they do in the Fire department, and Chief Cormier said that practice is called `bouncing' and was negotiated out of the contract over fifteen years ago as part of a package deal. He said he can move staff for long-term assignments, such as to fill in for a military deployment or a significant injury. Mr. Greenfield said that no bouncing costs OT versus the scheduling inconvenience to the officers. Chief Cormier noted that 38% of time off benefits caused OT, and Mr. Hechenbleilmer pointed out that grants pay some OT (liquor compliance checks, click-it-or-ticket). Ms. West said that FINCOM was exploring ways funds are spent and not being critical of management decisions. Ms. Ferrara said that the lack of bouncing is probably saving a good bit of sick and other time off as erratic schedules are tough on employees. Mr. Hechenbleikner said that all employee groups are different, and comparisons are not easy to make. Mr. Greenfield reminded everyone that we are in the midst of very tight budgets and that many areas in Town are more than inconvenienced by having insufficient funds available. Chief Cormier said that as the economy gets tougher the police get busier. He pointed out a few recent changes in collective bargaining that will have a long term impact on reducing OT costs. For example all officers now take 16 hours of annual training for no compensation, which has saved the Town about $35,000 per year. Mr. Hechenbleikner said that the police department also gave up all sick leave buyback (no one was grandfathered) and the fifth week of vacation was eliminated. Chief Cormier concluded the OT discussion by noting that staffing studies suggest 1.75 officers per thousand residents, and that by that metric the department is understaffed by two officers. Mr. Greenfield acknowledged that OT spending centered around the concept of public safety, but disputed that the practice of hiring police details always did, stating that some are not necessary. He said these are expenses that we can avoid if roads are properly marked. He said the savings would extend to RMLD and businesses as well. He argued that the town was making it `too safe', and why not have details at yard sales and churches also. He said the town did not need to eliminate risk from resident's lives and that they know what to do. Chief Cormier pointed out that Reading is not run like other examples Mr. Greenfield has previously cited where groups of officers on paid details do stand around. He said.that the department was in constant communication with RMLD, the DPW (including engineering), and the larger private vendors (such as Verizon and National Grid) in order to determine the appropriate levels of staffing the busier streets. He stated that virtually every group of workers that have a detail have requested one for their own safety. He added that the entire general driving public does not always know what is expected as distracted drivers have a challenge to safely maneuver an empty road. He added that details provide an extra police presence in the community that sometimes leads to arrests unrelated to the traffic detail. Mr. Hechenbleikner said that Verizon and National Grid ask the Town for details; and not the other way around. He said it is not always apparent what the whole story is as he learned once by asking an RMLD crew on a small side street why they needed a detail, and they were travelling around many busy streets that day doing repair work. He concluded by saying the details provided a high level of service and were well-managed by the Police department. Town Meeting Warrant Ms. West reviewed proposed changes to the Charter and Bylaws. One change was to include the idea of FINCOM deliberations as opposed to only FINCOM voted opinions. There were a mix of Charter and Bylaw proposed changes for this purpose. Ms. West stated that FINCOM did not wish to vote No when they in fact did not have enough information to make an informed decision. Mr. Leyne asked who was proposing these changes, and Ms. West clarified that it was FINCOM and she intended to vote in a short while. Mr. Arena discussed the proposed changes, and Mr. Hechenbleikner noted that a Charter change required first a 2/3 vote at Town Meeting and then would be on the April local election ballot as a question. He questioned all the proposals as to what the best logical order was, since a Bylaw cannot be in conflict with the Charter - even for a few moths awaiting a local election. Ms. West asked that Town Counsel make a final determination on the proper path forward. Mr. Brown said that in the background material FINCOM could always explain there was not enough information to say yes, and Ms. Perry wondered if that were a sufficient reason to avoid taking a vote. Mr. Dockser said it is up to the petitioner to provide timely information. Ms. Ferrari asked if the report to Town Meeting was ample opportunity to provide an explanation as to why a 6 `no' vote was cast due to lack of information. Ms. West stated that FINCOM should not generate the optics of a `no' vote on an issue (such as Oaktree) simply because they had a lack of information. Mr.. Greenfield said that Town Meeting should be aware of all FINCOM deliberations even when there was not a `yes' or `no' vote, and then decide the issues on its merits. On a motion by Mr. Greenfield to accept the changes as written, seconded by Ms. Perry, FINCOM voted 7-0-1 (Ms. Ferrari abstaining). Section 2.1.1 of the Bylaws were a second and different proposed change to the Bylaws by FINCOM. This proposed change would add flexibility to election scheduling. This would allow local election to be combined with state/federal elections - which would save money. On a motion by Ms Perry to accept the changes as written, seconded by Mr. Greenfield, FINCOM voted 7-0-1 (Mr. Berman abstaining). Reserves and Free Cash Ms. LaPointe reviewed a handout showing Reserves and historic regeneration of reserves. Regeneration occurs when revenues exceed estimates, or voted expenditures are not spent. In FYI 1 $1.13 million in extra reserves were realized, with nearly $500,000 due to excise taxes collected (influenced by the.one-time cash- for-clunkers Federal stimulus program) and over $300,000 in one-time miscellaneous revenues; $760,000 of unspent expenditures were returned, with $246,000 from public works, $182,000 from general Town government, and $180,000 from employee benefits. Mr. Arena said the return of funds was a sign that the Town was very well run. Many communities would simply spend the money. Community Services - Regionalization update Mr. Hechenbleikner said the first priority of providing good customer service seems to be on track. If that is not the case he would like to hear of any concerns in the community. He reviewed a memo prepared by Community Services Director/Town Planner Jean Delios which described all the changes made to the department in light of large budget reductions since July 1St. A combination of temporary part-time hires and some progress on regionalization are in place. Mr. Arena asked about the Melrose-Wakefield-Reading Health regionalization initiative as to who pays the employee benefits. Mr. Hechenbleikner said they were shared in the same way the salary is shared _ with Reading paying 35% for FYI 2. He noted one benefits would be a consolidation in the number of flu clinics, with residents also given a wider total choice of times and dates. Revenue Ideas from Instructional Motion Mr. Hechenbleikner reviewed a handout that provided an update to many revenue ideas, including the selling of town-owned land. He described several Town Meeting Warrant articles that will further these revenue efforts. He also discussed completed efforts as well as those discarded as impractical. Town Meeting will get these updates in November. Budget Process Mr. LeLacheur reviewed a handout on the historic budget process, along with several FINCOM policies. Ms. West asked for volunteers to work with.Mr. LeLacheur to create an updated member booklet, and Mr. Arena, Mr. Dockser and Mr. Greenfield all indicated they would be interested and available. On a motion by Mr. Berman seconded by Mr. Greenfield, FINCOM voted 8-0-0 to adjourn at 10:55 pm. Respectfully submitted, Recording Secretary 7 Finance Committees mission statement you state and I quote ~"Upholding the Reading Home Rule Charter and By-Laws " Therefore you have the obligation and Town Meeting Members has the right to expect the Warrant for the November 14, 2011 Town Meeting will be available on or before November 1, 2011 as required by Section 8-5 Computation of Time. The Finance Committee has the obligation and Town Meeting Members have the right until such time as the Charter may be changed to expect an approval or disapproval on all Articles that involves the expenditure of funds, Action Pending is not an option The Finance Committee has the right to change their approval or disapproval between November 1,2011 and the presentation of the Article and Town Meeting Members have the obligation to understand that right, under Section 2-12 Finance Committee 8 RMLD April 12, 2011 230 Ash Street P.O. Box 150 Reading, MA01861-0250 Reading Municipal Light Department RELIABLE POWER FOR GENERATIONS Tel: (781) 9441340 Fax: (781) 942-2409 Web: www.mild.com gall. APR - 14 Pty 5: 15 Selectman Stephen Goldy Committee for the Payment to the Town of Reading Town of Reading 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 SUBJECT: Reading Town Payment Dear Selectman Goldy: At the June 8, 1998 RMLD Board meeting, the Board moved that with regard to transfers from the return on investment to the Town of Reading, a benchmark payment of $1,5 60,414 be established, and that in subsequent years the payment will be adjusted by the Consumer's Price Index (CPI) for the previous calendar year. (See attached RMLD Board Minutes 6/8/98.) This motion was based on the recommendations of the Subcommittee for the Payment to the Town of Reading and the CAB. Attached also is a table showing the history of the payments since the formula was approved. The Boston Region CPI (Boston-Broclcton-Nashua) for the calendar year 2010 is 1.6% as shown on the attached tables. The increase results in a FY2012 Reading Town Payment of $2,205,957, which is $34,077 more tl,an the F~'2011 Pa r.nent of $2,171,580. The first payment to the To-,-m of Reading is due July 2011, and the second payment is due in December 2011. Note: The formula used to calculate the percentage is as follows: 2010 CPI = ((237.446/233.778)-1) =1.569% or 1.6% If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at 781-942-6415. Sincerely, c: "Peter Hechenbleikner, Reading Town Manager Robert Fournier, Accounting/Business Manager 9 Attachments he Town of Reading - Finance Committee http://www.readingina.gov/Pages/ReadingMA AeetingCal/SO 17BOC... a Home Residents Businesses i Finance Committee Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 7:30 PM. Town Hall Conference Room Printer-Friendly Version Preliminary Agenda Review November Town Meeting Warrant Ggogle .Search Town of Reading, Massachusetts 16 Lowell Street, Reading, MA 01667 Website Disclaimer Virtual Towns & Schools Website 10 I -r, 10/17./2011 R:OF AM 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting November 14, 2011 WARRANT OUTLINE 10/08/2011 Art. Mover/ Moderator # Article Description Sponsor Comment Notes 1 2 1 Instructions 3 Amending the Capital Improvement Board of Selectmen e Program FY 2012-FY 2021 Board of Selectmen Board of Selectmen 4 Transferring debt authorization in the Board of Selectmen amount of $55,470,89 from: ® Tennis courts $7,798.08 ® Turf field $46,209.30 ® Ladder truck $1,341.51 ® Fire Engine $122.00 to West Street final design 5 the FY 2012 BoardNof Selectmen MOMI Boardrrr of Selectmen o 6 (Approve Payment of Prior Year's Bills. 7 Rescinding debt authorized for the Board of Selectmen 0 following projects: ® $140,000 for Birch Meadow Tennis Courts 4/26/07 Art. 21; 0 $275,000 for Turf Field Improvements 4/26/07 Art. 22; ® $65,000 for Sewer improvements Sunnyside/Fairview 4/26/07 Art. 23; ® $50,000 for Ladder Truck 11/13/07 Art. 10 Authorizing debt for Howard StreetlBoard of Selectmen ® (.F Water Main 9 Appropriating the transfer of funds Board of Selectmen o from the 40R Smart Growth Stabilization Fund into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Hechenbleikner Hechenbleikner (LeLacheur LeLacheur LeLacheur LeLacheur LeLacheur GA Hechenbleikner 11 10 Amending Article 5 of the November Trust Fund 13, 2001 Subsequent Town Meeting Commissioners re Veterans Flower Fund. 11 Establishing revolving fund Town Town Forest o Forest Committee 12 Betterment for curbs - Stewart andlBoard of Selectmen ( o 16 Transferring a parcel of land on Board of Selectmen o Oakland Road from the School Committee to the Board of Selectmen and authorizing its conveyance 17 Discontinuance of portions of Board of Selectmen Grandview Road, Cold Spring Road, Oakland Road, and.Tower Road, and authorizing their conveyance 18 Transferring land on Lothrop Road Board of Selectmen o from the Water Department to the Board of Selectmen and.authorizing its conveyance 19 Approval of Recodification of the Bylaw Committee Reading General Bylaw pursuant to Section 8.9 of the Reading home Rule Charter . 20 Approval of amendments to the Board of Selectmen o Table of Organization per Section 6-1 (b) of the Reading Home Rule Charter Drown Hechenbleikner DONE Hechenbleikner M-OMEM Hechenbleikner Hechenbleikner Hechenbleikner Hechenbleikner Hechenbleikner Hechenbleikner Hechenbleikner 21 Amending Zoning Bylaw - Aquifer Board of Selectmen o Hechenble er Protection zoning district 22 Amend Zoning Bylaw - ConstructionIEDC I o IDelios IZ Maughan 29 Charter Amendment - clarifying Board of Selectmen Board of Selectmen role in the ,r . West West Mancuso Hechenbleikner Hechenbleikner West Mancuso Mancuso 13 *anyt To see if the Town will vote to amend the FY 2012 - FY 2021 Capital Improvements rovided for in Section 7-7 of the Reading Home Rule Charter and as previously amended, or take action with respect thereto. Board of Selectmen Background: The following amendments are proposed to the FY 2012 - FY 2021 Capital Improvements Program (CIP). These amendments need to be included in the CIP in order for Town Meeting- to consider funding them under the various Articles at Town Meeting. The full revised CIP is included in the blue pages in the back of this report. The following are proposed modifications to the CIP approved at the Annual Town Meeting in April 2011: FYI 2 add new item outside tax lew: o Library renovation & expansion project as debt exclusion; FYI 2 add new or increase items (+$341,000): e School building study $50,000; o $10,000 for Dispatch technology; Pedestrian Improvements up from $25,000 to $75,000; o local share of road improvements up from $400,000 to $631,000; FY12 items moved from other years (+$79,500): $24,D00 carpet/flooring for Birch Meadow (from FYI 3); $55,500 to complete West Street design (from FYI 3). FYI 2 total is +$420,500 inside the tax levy: $55,500 (Article 4) and $365,000 (Article 5). FYI 3 add new item outside tax leD Killam renovation project as debt exclusion {ADA issues, Main Office reconfiguration, Window replacements, fire sprinkler replacement and Gym floor}; FYI 3 add new items (+$422,000): s School modular space $400,000; o $12,000 for HVAC/energy at Parker for new exhaust fans; e $10,000 for DPW street sign replacements; FYI 3 changed items (-$256,350): Remove: e .$79,500 items mentioned in FY12 are removed from FY13 s $15,000 Main fire station windows & doors (completed) o $20,000 Town Hall windows and doors (completed); o Parker lockers $12,000; Move the following items to FY14 o $10,000 Police station doors, e $10,000 Police station carpet/flooring, o $10',000 Birch Meadow lockers & cubbies, s $25,000 Joshua Eaton file floor replacements; Move the following items to FYI 5: s $35;000 Main Fire station boiler replacement, o $30,000 West Side Fire station generator, o $10,000 Town Hall ceiling repairs, $24,000 Killam tile floor replacements, e $10,000 Coolidge tile floor replacements}; 3 November 14, 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting Report on the Warrant 14 Change a $20,000 vehicle replacement to $42,000 for Schools {replace 1999 pickup truck); o decrease school technology for large-scale projects from $100,000 to $75,000; e change $120,000 DPW snow holder #1 to two smaller snow blowers for.$78,000 and $66,750; o increase DPW 1996 dump truck from $60,000 to $63,000; o increase Leaf Vac from $20,000 to $28,000; o increase cemetery mower from $15,600 to $17,000; FY14-FY21: o Various items were added, subtracted, changed or moved to different years. Enter rise Funds - Storm Water FY13 0 1985 Excavator moved up from FYI 6 to FYI 3, and cost increased from $58,500 to $65,000; FY14 o Saugus River Design& Permitting $150,000 previously included as part of entire project debt in FY14; FY15 o Aberjona River Design' & Permitting $150,000 previously included as part of entire project debt (FY18); FY18 o Saugus & Aberjona River projects scheduled to begin funded by debt; FYI 3 to FY18 o Specific drainage projects funding is adjusted to accommodate the changes above and result in a relatively level amount of capital for the next five years. Enterprise Funds - Sewer FY19 (-$250,000) o Start of next Meter Replacement program pushed out to 2020 Enterprise Funds - Water _ FY12 (+$250,000) o Move Howard Street from County Road to Summer Avenue water main (+$186,000) up to FY12 from FY16 o Hydraulic Study increased by $64,000 to $94,000; FY13 (+$11,000) o Tank Maintenance on Auburn estimate increased to $550,000 from $475,000; o - Hydraulic Study decreased by $64,000 to $56,000. FY19 (-$250,000) o Start of next Meter Replacement program pushed out to 2020 Finance Committee Report: Bylaw Committee .Repo rE: No report. 4 November 14, 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting Report on the Warrant 15 LARTICLE 4 To see if the Town will vote to appropriate the sum of $55,470.89 for the purpose of ng West Street final design project, including all engineering and design costs, and any other ated costs, and that to meet this appropriation: 0 7$ ,798.08 shall be transferred from the unexpended proceeds of the town's bonds dated 4-10-08 which were issued for the construction of the Birch Meadow Tennis Courts pursuant to the vote of the town passed 11/13/07 (Article 9); $46,209.30 be transferred from the unexpended proceeds of the town's bonds dated 11-1-07 which were issued for the construction of the Turf Field Improvements pursuant to the vote of the town passed 4/26/07 (Article 22); 0 1$ ,341.51 be transferred from the unexpended proceeds of the town's bonds dated 4-10-08 which were issued for the purchase of a' Ladder Truck pursuant to the vote of the town passed 11/13/07 (Article 10); and a 1$ 22.00 be transferred from the unexpended proceeds of the town's bonds dated 8-1-09 which were issued for the purchase of a Fire Engine pursuant to the vote of the town passed 11/10108 (Article 11); and that the Board of Selectmen is authorized to take any other action necessary to carry out this project; provided,. however that no expenditures shall be made hereunder until the Board of Selectmen determines (which determination shall be conclusive) that after the transfer of such unexpended bond proceeds, the remaining amount of unexpended bond proceeds from all of the above referenced bonds is sufficient to complete the project for which the bonds were sold, or take any other action with respect thereto. Board of Selectmen Background: All of the above capital projects have been completed as designed - the above debt amounts were issued but there are some surplus funds that'are no longer needed for these projects. By law, these unexpended proceeds may be used only for other eligible projects. Funding the final design of the West Street project is eligible and the funds required approximately match the funds available. Using these unexpended proceeds removes this capital request from Article 5. Once the West Street project is brought up to 100% design, it is immediately 'shovel-ready' if and when state or federal funds become available for the project. Finance Committee Report: Bvlaw Committee Report: No report. ARTICLE 5 To see if the Town will vote to amend one or more of the votes taken under Article 28 of the Werra of the Annual Town Meeting of April 25, 2011; and to see what sum the Town will vote to to by borrowing or transfer from available funds, or other-Wise, as the result of any such amended votes for the operation of the Town and its government, or take any other action with respect thereto. Finance Committee Background: General Fund -Wages and Expenses Description Decrease Increase Account Line C99 - Capital $231,000 for DPW Road repairs" $503000 for DPW pedestrian improvements' $365,000 $50,000 for School Facilities building study $24,000 for Birch Meadow carpet/flooring 5 November 14, 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting Report on the Warrant 16 $10,000 for Dis atch communications - local share of rant J92 - FINCOM $59,000 spent on School facilities - RMHS Veteran's wall $109,000 Reserves $50,000 spent on Town facilities - Police electrical panel K91 - Community $7,000 additional for Alternate Building Inspector $20,500 Services wages $27,500 from Health Administrator salary (see below) K92 - Community $100;000 for Veterans Benefits `$127,500 Services expenses $27,500 for Health Administrator expenses - regional • arrangement will shift to quarterly billing instead of payroll M94 - DPW Street ($50,000) due to lower RMLD rates for street lights $50,000 Lights Subtotals $70,500 $601,500 Net Operating Expenses $531,000 From Tax Levy; State Aid and Other Local Receipts $250,000 One-time state aid refund $200,000 Meals Tax receipts $50,000 From 40R Stabilization Fund* $ 281,000 Enterprise Funds - Wages and Expenses /article 8 will be taken out of order since action under Article 8 is required prior to action on the following budget amendments for the Water enterprise funds. Account Line Description Decrease. Increase W99 - Water increase in capital for additional Hydraulic. Study 2" $64,000 connection (moved up from FY13) Increase in capital for water main repair project for Howard $414,500 Street from County Road to Summer Avenue (moved up from FY16). Decrease in debt service to repay the MWRA water main $228,500 loan program. Repayment begins in FYI 3. Subtotals $228,500 $478,500 From Operating Transfers and Available Funds (Water Reserves): $250,000 Finance Committee Report: BVIaw Committee Report: No report. ARTICLE 6 To see if the Town will vote to authorize the payment during Fiscal Year 2011 of bills remai ' unpaid for previous fiscal years for goods and services actually rendered to the Town, or take any er action with respect thereto. Board of Selectmen Background: Mass General Law does not allow the Town to pay for last years expenses with this year's budget money. The fiscal year closed June 30, 2011 and departments had until July 15 to inform the Town Accountant of any commitments that were made with the Fiscal Year 2011 budgeted funds. The Assessors 6 November 14, 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting Report on the Warrant 17 submitted job-related mileage reimbursement requests for the months of April, May and June of 2011 totaling $121.38. This request was submitted in late August 2011 which was past the end of the closing of the fiscal year so we need to appropriate funds in this fiscal year to pay for last fiscal years bills. Approval of this article will require a 9/10 vote of Town Meeting. Finance Committee Report: Bylaw Committee Report: No report. ICL E 7 To see if the Town will vote to rescind the remaining balances on the following !~:R~T horized b nsold debt that is no longer needed for the completion of the projects: ,000 for Birch Meadow Tennis Courts - April 26, 2007 Annual Town Meeting Article 21; ♦ $275,000 for Turf Field Improvements - April 26, 2007 Annual Town Meeting Article 22; $65,000 for Sewer improvements Sunnyside/Fairview - April 26, 2007 Annual Town Meeting Article 23; e $50,000 for Ladder Truck -November 13, 2007 Subsequent Town Meeting Article 10 Or take any other action with respect thereto Board of Selectmen Background: All of the above capital projects have been completed as designed - the above debt authorizations are no longer required and this amount of debt was never issued. There is a combination of factors responsible for requiring less debt than approved by Town Meeting. In the case of both the Birch Meadow Tennis Courts and Parker Turf Field Improvements there were private donations and grant funds considered integral to these projects. The authorization of the full amount of project debt was a required legal formality even though the Town never intended to sell such debt. In the case of the Sunnyside/Fairview Sewer improvements, due to the timing of the debt issuance an initial budgeted debt payment was instead paid directly from funds available. For the Ladder Truck, the final price of the equipment was less than anticipated. Finance Committee-Repo : tBylaw Committee Report: No report. -RTICLE 8 To see if the Town will vote to amend the action taken under Article 7 of the Warrant at the Nove r, 2010 Town Meeting, which vote authorized the. borrowing of $2,285,000 to pay costs of water improvements on Haverhill Street, to permit the expenditure of funds authorized to be borrowed under said Article 7, but which not needed to complete the Haverhill Street project, to pay costs of rehabilitating and repairing water mains on Howard Street, from Summer Ave to County Road, including the costs of engineering services, plans, documents, cost estimates, bidding services and all related expenses, or take any other action relative thereto. Board of Selectmen Background: The Haverhill Street water main project carne in below budget by almost $700,000, and work is currently underway. It is being financed by a no-interest 10-yr loan from the MWRA. The MWRA has made the unused funds available to the Town for another water main project that meets eligibility criteria at no interest. Construction on that project must begin before June 30, 2012. The $1.1 million water main project for Howard Street from County Road to Summer Avenue meets the eligibility criteria and was scheduled to for FY16, but can now be done sooner. This Article authorizes the Howard Street water main project to be added in to the previous $2,285,000 debt authorization. However, the Town needs to fund an additional $414,500 in order to complete this work. Since the Town did not draw down 7 November 14, 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting Report on the Warrant 18 the Haverhill Street MWRA loan until after July 1, 2011 the first debt repayment begins in FY13. We had budgeted FY12 debt service in the amount of $228,500 which is therefore not needed in FY12 and may be applied to that Howard Street project. See the Table below for the nearly $800,000 net reduction in capital + debt. Finance Committee Report: Bylaw Committee Report: No report. To see what sum the Town will vote to transfer from the Smart Growth Stabilization Fund Housing Trust Fund, or take any other action with respect thereto. Board of Selectmen Background: A number of years ago the Town established an Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) by a Special Act of the Legislature, and funds have been placed into the Trust over the years, primarily through developer's contributions. Until this year there has been no use of the Trustfunds for the allowed purposes. In 2011 the Town, through the Board of Selectmen and Housing Authority, granted up to $200,000 to the Oaktree development at 30 Haven Street to support the affordable housing portions of that development. It is unclear whether all or any of those funds will be needed for the. project, but the $200,000 is deposited in escrow, leaving a balance not including the funds in escrow (on September 30, 2011) of $ 258,694. Since the application by Oaktree, an additional project has come forward for use of the AHTF, and it is the wish of the Board of Selectmen to replenish the funds into the AHTF from the State's Smart Growth 40R payments to the Town. The Board proposes to replenish the funds in 2 pieces - $50,000 now, and an additional $150,000 if needed next year. If all or part of the funds that have been placed in escrow for Oaktree'are not used by next fall, then the Board of Selectmen may suggest that an amount less than the suggested $150,000 be transferred next year. Finance Committee Report: Bylaw Committee Report: No report. ART LE To see if the Town will amend the motion under Article 5 at the November 13, 2001 Subse nt Town Meeting by striking the Words "July 1, 2003" and the words "allocated 75% towards et (non expendable) principal and 25% to be available (expendable)" so that the sentence shall read: "Unles erwise directed by a subsequent donor as to the use of his or her donation made on or after January 1, 12 shall be available for expenditure (expendable)." Or take any o action with respect thereto. Commissioners of Trust Funds Background: Finance Committee Report: 8 November 14, 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting Report on the Warrant 19 Bylaw Committee Report: No report. ARTICLE 11 To see if the Town will vote to authorize revolving funds for certain Town Departments Aa~ usetts General Laws, Chapter 44, Section 53E "/2 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011 with under I lbieceipts, as specified, credited to each fund, the purposes, as listed, for which each fund may be spent, the maximum amount that may be spent. from each fund for the fiscal year, and the disposition of the balance of each fund at fiscal year end. Revolving Spending Revenue Allowed Expenditure Year End Account Authority Source Expenses Limits. Balance Director of Public Works upon the Sale of recommendation of the timber; fees Planning and Town Town Forest for use of the Improvements to Forest Committee Town Forest the Town Forest $10,000 $0 or take any other action with respect thereto. Board of Selectmen Background: Town Meeting annually approves several revolving funds for specific purposes. The Town Forest Committee has requested the creation of a Town Forest revolving Fund as follows: Town Forest Revolving Fund - The Town Forest Committee received a grant last year to evaluate the Town Forest timberland and to make recommendations as to any measures that should be taken to improve the quality of the woodland on the Town Forest and adjacent Town owned properties. The recommendations include selected harvesting of timber over a number of years, and replanting'these harvested areas in some cases with more desirable plantings. It is expected that the harvesting of the timer will yield some level of payment to the Town, and the Town Forest Committee would like any such funds made available directly to the Town Forest Committee for improvements to the Town Forest, including for their current master planning efforts. The Town Forest Committee does not presently receive any Town funding. Finance Committee Report: Bylaw Committee Report: No report. ARTICLE 12 To see if the Town will vote to accept the report of the Board of Selectmen under the provision of law authorizing the assessment of betterments, to install granite curb on Stewart Road and Edgemont Avenue: and to authorize the Board of Selectmen under the provision of law authorizing the assessment of betterments under the provisions of Chapter 80 of the General Laws, as amended, to assess betterments therefore, in accordance with the statutory requirements; and to see what sum the Town will vote to appropriate by borrowing, or from the tax levy, or transfer from available funds, or otherwise, for the installation of curbing, or take any other action with respect thereto. Board of Selectmen Background: The Town has been petitioned by residents of Stewart Road and Edgemont Avenue to install granite curbing along the northerly side of Stewart Road from.Shelby Road to Edgemont Avenue; and along the westerly side of Edgemont Avenue from Stewart Road to Arcadia Avenue. The cost of the improvements is estimated at $37,591. 9 November 14, 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting Report on the Warrant 20 No person shall remove, fill, dredge or alter any area subject to protection under the provisions of this bylaw withou the required authorization, or cause, suffer or allow such activity, or leave in place unauthorized fill, or r ent order otherwis ail to restore illegally altered land to its original condition, or fail to comply with an enfo issued pur the provisions of this bylaw. Each day such violation continues shall cons' ute a separate su offense except that a person who fails to remove unauthorized fill or otherwise fails to rest a illegally altered land to its original on ition after giving given written notification of said violation tG the Conservation Commission shall not b subject to additional penalties under this bylaw, unless said pe on thereafter fails to comply with an enforcem nt order or order of conditions. 7 Or take any other action wl~h respect thereto Background: In the Winter o and operational changes needed to a proposed -the elimination of the local wi customers, and the Conservation Cot postponed in order to give the ConseN Wetland Bylaw, and the Wetland Regul Conservation Commission 11, as part of a comprehensive eview of financial and administrative Iress the gloomy. financial outl ok for the Town, the Town Manager and bylaw in order to simplify hat area of Town government for staff, nission. The Conservation Gommission asked that this matter be ion Commission time to conduct a comprehensive review of the local During the spring and summer of 2011 e Conservationommission's subcommittee conducted this evaluation and submitted a report to the Board o electme proposing modest revisions tot the Bylaw and more extensive revisions to the Regulations. The Ci included in this article. The amendments tot the Rul the Commission this fall and winter. Eion Commission's proposed Bylaw revisions are Regulations are subject to a revision process by In Section 5.7.5 of the Bylaw (note - this is e old se tion numbering. Under Article 19 of this warrant, the section for the wetland. bylaw will change t 7.1), a leng y list of definitions of wetland-related terms could is presented. These definitions are also in he Wetland R hs which have been- developed under the mandate in the bylaws. One of the Con rvation Commission g als is to make the Reading Wetland Bylaws ,consistent with the State regulations unl ss there is a specific an good reason for inconsistency. The State revises their definitions periodically ba d on new scientific inform tion, review of cases, changes in the state program and similar reasons. By I king definitions into the byl ws when the State makes a change in definitions, an inconsistency can b created. It is preferable to th Conservation Commission and several wetland permit applicants that thes terms be defined in the Regulatio ly, so that if a change is necessary based on State changes, new ience or technology, or other reasons, t e Conservation Commission can facilitate changes in the Regul ions, in a simpler, more straightforward, an more technically based process than going before Town Mee ng for a bylaw change-Thus, Conservation Co mission proposes to delete the last sentence of the first ragraph in Section 5.7.5 and the entire list of deft itions and have the definitions only in the Wetland Re lations. The Conservation Commission is currently rev ing several of the definition in response to stakeh der input and to make them more consistent with the state de ' itions. Our other reco mended bylaw change is much simpler. In Section 5.7.17, there is a apparent typo in the seventh line: ..after given (sic giving) written notification...". The Conservation.Com fission proposes to correct this t po by substituting the word giving for given. Fi No report. ARTICLE 25 To see if the Town will vote to amend the Town of Reading General Bylaw, in the following re pects (note - Gre66 -thra6i represents language to be eliminated and bold represents new ~anauaa , and all section numbers are in accord with the proposed recodified General Bylaw): November 14, 2011 Subsequent Town MeetingT Report on the Warrant by amending Section 2.1.1 Date of Annual Town Meeting, as follows: The Annual Town Meeting shall be held on the third Tuesday preceding the fourth Monday in April of each year for the election of Town Officers and for such other matters as required by law to be determined by ballot. Notwithstanding the foregoing. the Board of Selectmen may schedule the commencement of the Annual Town Meeting for the same date designated as the date to hold +h° °r° iden+ial Rrim9Y1/ any Federal or State election; Or take any other action with respect thereto Finance Committee Background: This amendment allows additional flexibility for the Board of Selectmen to schedule a local election concurrently with a Federal or State election. This provides the option to save some election expenses while also increasing local turnout when the election can be scheduled on the same date. Finance Committee Report: No report. Bylaw Committee Report: ARTICLE 26 To see if the Town will vote to amend the Town of Reading General Bylaw, in the following re pects (note - sass throu~l4 represents language to be eliminated and bold represents new language nd all section numbers are in accord with the proposed recodified General Bylaw): by amending Section 2.2 Conduct of Town Meetings, as follows: Rule 3 Prior to debate on each Article in, a Warrant involving the expenditure of money, the Finance Committee shall advise the Town Meeting as to its deliberations, findings or recommendations and the reasons therefore; by amending Section 3.3.2, Finance Committee, as follows: 3.3.2.1 Duties The Finance Committee shall consider all matters of business included within the Articles of any Warrant which involve the expenditure, appropriation and raising or borrowing of money or which otherwise impact the town finances; 3.3.2.2 - ReGemmeRelations Report to Town Meeting The Finance Committee shall make a written reGE)MMend report on all Articles that it has considered, and the Town Clerk shall make said written report v „ubla to ° nh T-GWR Meeting Member at ^ as part of the "Report on the Warrant" available to each Town Meeting Member. ThGGmmeRFatimns should be thy, e of a majeFity of the eRtiFe Committee but FeGOMMeRdatiGRS may also-be Fnade by a MiRGFity of said Committee. eu__I_ ____..i. _L_ _n ..I- .41---.. -4k- +r.+:,I .,--tin+ nf_..~.nnrnnri +inn r°nnmm°nr^I°rl hir it An +h° °n+ir° When sufficient information as been provided to take a vote, the recommendations should be those of a majority of the entire Committee. However, recommendations may also be made by a minority of said Committee in addition to the majority. The Committee's recommendation shall include the total amount of appropriations that it recommends on each article within the Warrant. by inserting the following new sections: November 14, 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting Report on the Warrant 3.3.2.3 Form of Report The Finance. Committee in making its report upon any subject referred to it shall arrange the report in clear and compact form, and shall divide it into separate propositions whenever in its judgment such divisions may be. desirable. The Committee shall attach to each proposition its own recommendations or a summary of deliberations, when applicable. 3.3.2.4 Failure of Finance Committee to Make Recommendation The failure of the Finance Committee to consider, recommend and/or report on any Article in the Warrant shall not affect the validity of any vote or other action taken at any Town Meeting. and by renumbering the current Sections 3.3.2.3 and 3.3.2.4, as 3.3.2.5 and 3.3.2.6, or take any action with respect thereto. Finance Committee Background: Currently the bylaws require that the Finance Committee takes a vote to approve or disapprove an article in order to provide a report to Town Meeting. Occasionally, all financial details are not available at the time that the article is initially discussed and it is impossible to provide approval or disapproval without these key details. The Finance Committee would like to report to Town Meeting as to their deliberations and discussion related to the article but does not wish to vote against an article purely due to the lack of details as this may be misleading to Town Meeting. This change will allow Finance Committee to report on article discussions in the Warrant without voting to approve or disapprove an amendment when additional details are pending. There is an additional paragraph that FinCom wished to add to this bylaw in section 3.3.2.2. However, Town Counsel ruled that this was in conflict with the current Charter. FinCorn plans to move to amend the bylaw at the Spring Town Meeting if the Charter changes proposed at this Town Meeting are approved and voted. Language removed is listed below: When in the opinion of the Committee there is insufficient information for a vote to be taken on an Article, the Committee shall instead provide a written report in the Report on the Warrant summarizing their deliberations on the Article. The Committee may vote their recommendation on the Article when such information becomes available and provide a verbal report at Town Meeting. . Finance Committee Report:. No report. Bylaw Committee Report: ARTICLE 2 To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 7.2, Dem ' ion of Structures of Potentially Historical Significance, of the Reading. General Bylaw, as follo711* ion numbers are in accord with the proposed recodified I Bylaw): by inserting the following new "ctions: 7.2.3.7 Appeal Within seven (7) business days of th ion's determination that.a structure is a Preferably Preserved Historic Structure pursuant to Section 7.2.3.6 e f, the property owner may appeal the determination to the Board of Selectmen by filing a written requ st for re 'ew with the Board of Selectmen. The request for review shall be received by the Board of Selectm n and the To s Office within seven (7) business days of the November 14, 2011 Subseq e-nt Town Meeting Report on the Warrant The terms of the Town Manager's employment shall be the subject of a written contract agreerneet setting forth his tenure, compensation, vacation, sick leave, benefits, and such other matters (eXGl " ing tenUFe) as are customarily included in an employment contract °-F9,eemen . While serving as Town Manager he shall devote full time to the office (and except as expressly authorized by the Board of Selectmen) shall not engage in any other business or occupation and (except as expressly provided in the Charter) shall not hold any other.public office, elective or appointive, in the Town. With the approval of the Selectmen, he may serve as the Town's representative to regional boards, commissions and the like but shall not receive additional salary from the Town for such services. or take any other action with respect thereto. Board of Selectmen Background: The Reading Home Rule Charter does not currently permit the Board of Selectmen to enter into an employment contract with the Town Manager. The incumbent Town Manager, who is the first Town Manager to serve as Town Manager under the Charter, has an employment agreement with the Town which specifies the conditions of his employment, but the employment contract does not specify the tenure or term of employment. This provision in Reading's Charter is unique in Massachusetts, and is highly unusual in the profession. Most senior management personnel in organizations including Towns have a contract which includes the term of the employment. In Reading, for example, the Superintendent of Schools has a 3 year employment contract, and the General Manager of the Reading Municipal Light Department has a 1 year contract also renews automatically for a one year period unless the Board gives notice not to renew. While this has not been an issue with the incumbent Town Manager, the lack of the ability to enter into an employment contract with a specific term may hinder recruitment efforts when the incumbent Town Manager retires. The proposed Charter amendment would permit the Board of Selectmen to enter into an employment contract of up to 3 years, which is standard practice in the profession. This Charter amendment would not affect the current Town Manager - he is not seeking an employment contract with the Town. Finance Committee Report: No report. Bylaw Committee Report: ARTICLE 29 To see if the Town will vote, pursuant to Section 8-1 of the Reading Home , o amend Article 7, Finances and Fiscal Procedures, Section 7-2: Submission of Proposed Budget, paragraph 1, so that it reads as follows: (language with stri ethrgugI shows deletion/language in bold denotes new language) At least four (4) months before the start of the fiscal year, and following consultation with the Board of Selectmen on the Municipal Government portions of the budget, the Town Manager shall submit to the Finance Committee a proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year with an accompanying budget message and supporting documents. He shall simultaneously provide for the publication in a local newspaper of a general summary of the proposed budget, 38 November 14, 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting Report on the Warrant 24 and a notice stating the times and places where complete copies of his proposed budget shall be available for examination by the public. or take any other action with respect thereto. Board of Selectmen Background: The Reading Home Rule Charter does not currently contain language that outlines any role for the Board of Selectmen in the budget process. Over the 25 years since the Charter went into effect, a budget process has evolved whereby the Town Manager, who is responsible for the development and submission of the entire Town Budget, consults with the Board of Selectmen on the municipal portions of the budget prior to finalizing and submitting the budget to the Finance Committee. This Charter amendment memorializes that process. Finance Committee Report: No report. Bylaw Committee Report: ARTICLE 30 To see if the Town will vote pursuant to Section 8-1 of the Reading Home Rule Charte o amend Section 2-12, Establishment of Standing Committees, the third paragra nder Finance Committee, as follows (new language in bold): The Finance Committee shall have all the powers and duties granted to Finance Committees under the laws of the Commonwealth, Town bylaws, Town Meeting vote and other applicable laws. In addition to these powers, the Finance Committee shall have the power to investigate the books, accounts, records and management of- any office, board or committee in Town, and may use agents in carrying out such investigations. The Finance Committee shall report on its deliberations, findings, approval or disapproval on all Articles that involve the expenditure of funds in the Warrant in writing at least seven (7) days before Town Meeting. Such a report shall not preclude further action or reconsideration by the Finance Committee, or take any other action in respect thereto. Finance Committee Background: Currently the charter does not allow the Finance Committee to provide a report in the Warrant without first taking a vote to approve or disapprove the article. Occasionally, all financial details are not available at the time that the article is initially- discussed and it is impossible to provide approval or disapproval without these key details. The Finance Committee would like to report to Town Meeting as to their deliberations and discussion related to the article but does not wish to vote against an article purely due to the lack of details, as this may be misleading to Town Meeting. This change will allow Finance Committee to -report on article discussions in the Warrant without voting to approve or disapprove an amendment when additional details are pending. Finance Committee Report: No report. Bylaw Committee Report: ARTICLE 31 Warrant Article Title: Amendment of Section 2-15 Referendum Procedure of the Reading Home Rule Charter 39 November 14, 2011 Subsequent Town Meeting Report on the Warrant 25 FY12 Capital Requests Funded in Annual Budget N rn Dept. Request Estimate Reason Town Fac. Security system: DPW $ 85,000 Gate, card access, cameras Town Fac. Fire Alarm: Town Hall $ 40,000 Addressable Fire Alarm panel Town Fac. Windows & doors: Senior Ctr $ 25,000 exterior doors Town Fac. Carpet/flooring: Town Hall $ 20,000 Annex/Berger/Town Mgr Town Fac. HVAC/energy mgmt: Police $ 20,000 5-ton dispatch unit Town Fac. Other: Town Hall $ 12,000 Front steps/rebuild piers Town Fac. Windows & doors: West Side Fire $ 10,000 door replacements Town Fac. Windows & doors: DPW $ 10,000 2 overhead doors School Fac. Electrical: Birch Meadow $ 25,000 PA system. School Fac. Electrical: Killam $ 25,000 PA system School Fac. Other: RMHS $ 25,000 Add power to motorize bleachers School Fac. Windows & doors: Joshua Eaton $ 24,000 replace 3 circle top windows in cafeteria School Fac. Carpet/flooring: Coolidge $ 24,000 replace 2 rooms of tile with moisture issues Fire Air Bottles $ 1.4,000 Safety DPW Roads (local share) $ 400,000 Previous over-ride/accelerated pace DPW Skim Coat/Crack Seal $ 50,000 Previous over-ride/accelerated pace DPW Playground $ 45,000 Annual playground (Joshua Eaton) DPW Chevy pickup (1989) $ 37,000 Parks dept. DPW Survey#1 Ford Explorer(2000) $ 32,000 Engineers DPW Curb/sidewalk $ 25,000 Pedestrian safety $ 948,000 New FY12 capital requests: November 2011 Town Meeting School Fac. Building study School Fac. Carpet/flooring Birch Meadows Dispatch Local share of $50k project DPW West Street to 100% design DPW Road improvements* DPW Curb/sidewalk* $ 50,000 study alternatives - early childhood space needs $ 24,000 floor failing due.to old steam leak (leak repaired) $ 10,000 tie in equipment with exisiting technology $ 55,500 moved up from FY14 $ 231,000 Neighborhood repairs (*if 40R funds) $ 50,000 Pedestrian safety (*if 40R funds) . $ 420,500 FY13 Capital Requests Dept. Request Estimate Category Reason N v Town Fac. DPW: Cemetery Bldg design $ 1.00,000 Town Fac. Windows & doors: Senior Ctr $ 10,000 $ 110,000 School Fac. Killam project - up to $4.1 million ADA issues; main office; windows; gym floor School. Fac. Modular classrooms $ 400,000 two classrooms at location TBD if needed Schools Technology $ 75,000 wireless access, virtualization Schools Vehicle $ 42,000 replace 1999 Chevy pickup School Fac. HVAC/Energy: Parker $ 12,000 exhaust fans $ 529,000 Fire Pickup Truck (1996-12yrs) $ 36,000 . $ 36,000 DPW Roads (local. share) $ 450,000 Previous over-ride/accelerated pace DPW Skim Coat/Crack Seal $ 50,000 Previous over-ride/accelerated pace DPW Snow Blower $ 78,000 DPW Snow Blower $ 66,750 DPW Dump Truck C2 (1996) $ 63,000 DPW Tractor Ford 445 $ 48,700 Parks dept. DPW Playground $ 45,000 Annual playground (Sturges) DPW Fence replacement $ 30,000 DPW garage DPW Toro leaf vac (1993) $ 28,000 DPW Curb/sidewalk . . $ 25,000 Pedestrian safety DPW Survey Equipment $ 20,000 Engineering DPW Mower SKAG 52" (1995) $ 17,000 Cemetery DPW Street sign replacement $ 10,000 $ 931,450 $ 1,606,450 $ 1,500,000 Projected Funding available (maximum) $ (106,450) Projected Deficit N 00 'd'own o Reading, FY-2011 FY-2012 FY-2013 FY-2014 FY-2015 FY-2016 FY-2017 FY-2018 FY-2019 FY-2020 FY-2021 FY12-21 Projected use of Sale of R/E Fund 300,000 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 - - 1,050,000 5% NAR policy - debt & capital 3,540,577 3,533,287 3,675,000 3,755,115 3,839,605 3,925,996 4,024,146 4,124,750 4,227,869 4,333,565 4,441,904 39,881,237 Debt Schedule- Net Included Debt 2,897,776 2,807,632 2,395,069 2,163,177 2,460,289 2,246,247 2,131,843 2,001,902 1,311,913 942,488 886,650 19,347,210 Allowance for energy savings 317,869 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 3,000,000 Suggested Capital Funding 960,670 1,025,655 1,579,931 1,891,938 1,679,316 1,979,749 2,192,303 2,422,848 . 3,215,956 3,691,077 3,855,254 23,534,027 VOTED CAPITAL FUNDING 993,000 948,000 1,500,000 1,800,000 1,600,000 1,900,600 2,100,000 2,400,000 3,200,000 3,700,000 3,850,000 22,998,000 SUPPLEMENTAL CAPITAL 420,500 TOTAL CAPITAL REQUESTS 993,000 1,368,500 1,606,450 2,055,800 2,033,100 2,804,700 3,189,600 2,738,600 4,902,400 4,039,500 1,941,200 26,679,850 Annual Surplus (Deficit) - (106,450) (255,800) (433,100) (904,700) (1,089,600) (338,600) (1,702,400) (339,500) 1,908,800 Cumulative Surplus (Deficit) - (106,450) (362,250) (795,350) (1,700,050) (2,789,650) (3,128,250) (4,830,650) (5,170,150) (3,261,350) Dedicated to Roads 425,000 450,000 500,000 550,000 600,000 650,000 700,000 750,000 800,000 850,000 900,000 6,750,000 Remaining Funding for other requests 568,000 498,000 1,000,000 1,250,000 1,000,000 1,250,000 1,400,000 1,650,000 2,400,000 2,850,000 2,950,000 16,248,000 Summary Schools - General 50,000 517,000 75,000 75,000 75,000 75,000 75,000 75,000 75,000 75,000 1,167,000 Buildings - Schools (non Energy) 20,000 73,000 - 118,000 501,000 526,000 154,000 63,000 1,504,000 685,000 - 3,624,000 Buildings - Schools (Energy) - 74,000 12,000 12,000 - 42,000 158,000 - 15,000 25,000 26,000 364,000 Buildings -Town, (non Energy) - 157,000 100,000 60,000 40,000 327,000 469,000 202,000 280,000 - - 1,635,000 Buildings - Municipal (Energy) - 65,000 10,000 10,000 65,000 20,000 20,000 15,000 - - 205,000 Community Services - - - - - - - - - Finance - - 60,000 60,000 - - - - - 120,000 Library - - - 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 70,000 Public Safety - Fire 255,000 14,000 36,000 155,000 69,000 654,000 316,500 90,600 150,000 849,000 339,000 2,673,100 Public Safety - Police - 10,000 - 35,000 - - 20,000 - 45,000 - 400,000 510,000 Public Works - Equipment 115,000 69,000 321,450 177,800 293,100 275,100 672,100 752,400 522,600 728,500 96,200 3,908,250 Public Works - Parks & Cemetery 45,000 45,000 75,000 778,000 295,000 200,600 545,000 730,600 1,450,800 767,000 45,000 4,932,000 Public Works - Roads 558,000 811,500 535,000 575,000 625,000 675,000 750,000 800,000 850,000 900,000. 950,000. 7,471,500 TOTAL CAPITAL REQUESTS 993,000 1,368,500 1,606,450 2,055,800 2,033,100 2,804,700 3,189,600 2,738,600 4,902,400 4,039,500 1,941,200 26,679,850