HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-08-15 Finance Committee Minutes
Finance Committee Meeting
August 15, 2007
The meeting convened at 7:05 p.m. in the Conference Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading,
Chairman Andrew Grimes, Finance Committee
Massachusetts. Present were
members David Greenfield, Barry BermanTom White, Matt Wilson, Marsie West,
,
Ron Powell and George Hines.
Also present were Assistant Town Manager/Finance
Director Bob LeLacheur and Town Accountant Gail LaPointe.
Chairman Andrew Grimes called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. FINCOM will elect a
Chair and Vice Chair, and complete the committee liaison assignments. Bob LeLacheur
asked that FINCOM appoint a liaison to the ad-hoc CPA committee, so they may
complete their work this fall.
The new liaison assignments are as follows:
George Hines and Hal Torman with stay with the Schools along with new
member Barry Berman;
Matt Wilson will be CPA (Community Preservation Act) liaison. Bob
LeLacheur will forward this to the Board of Selectman. Marsie West had
previously resigned from the Ad Hoc Greenway and Matt also agreed to
take this assignment;
Tom White will be the liaison for the Library and RMLD.
Fiscal 08 Budget Updates
Gail LaPointe reviewed the state aid history on page 3 of tonight’s handout. FY 08 had a
5% increase above FY 07. We received from the state an additional $569,000 over what
was budgeted.
Bob LeLacheur reviewed page 5 of tonight’s handout. MWRA’s final decision will come
in November, borrowing has been put on hold until them.
The Library Elevator has broken down. The estimated repair cost is $30,000 and will
take about 6 weeks to repair. No action is required at this time, but the Bldg. Dept. might
ask for the money at Town Meeting. The town’s insurance company is involved.
On page 7 of the handout, Bob LeLacheur reviewed the possible revisions for FY 08.
Benefits - $ 147,222
Vocational $ 73,877
Operating Budgets $ 110,000
Increase of $ 331,099
Benefits
In regards to the , it was suggested to have an enrollment cushion put into the
budget, which would use more funding than described above. When hiring a new person
(or changing the status of an existing employee) all benefit costs should be included in
the decision. The goal of this revision is to recognize these things are under-funded and
to ‘fix’ the FY 08 budget in November Town Meeting will help the FY 09 budget
construction.
Vocational Budget
, Reading now has 26 enrollments at NE Regional compared to 19
from last year. Minuteman has stayed the same.
Operating budget
– Pay classification survey to reevaluate jobs. The schools (non-
union) would also like to be part of this survey. On the Town side it has been harder to
find people and to keep people. There are also 6 Town Union contracts currently being
negotiated. Highway equipment maintenance is under budgeted. The ladder truck had to
be repaired recently, which cost $15,000. Snow and ice may be under budgeted. Staffing
for Financial Technology needs overtime money in FY08; in FY09 this may require
additional permanent staff.
On page 9 of the packet, Gail LaPointe discussed the strategic technology budget. She
reported the Wan & Data Center had a saving of over $34,000. Software License had a
savings of over $15,000. Tech support is included and also assistance with the chart of
accounts. In regards to Document storage they are just getting some demos and feed
back at this time. Also they are working on the final details for the Project Management.
stnd
Next week there are three sessions planned with Munis. 1 – Management, 2 –
rd
Structure of the Chart of Accounts and 3 – Planning.
Gail LaPointe requested a transfer from the Reserve fund to the Accounting Department
Salaries in the amount of $12,725. A member of the department is retiring in February of
08 and they would like to hire a new person to start training on the new financial software
in November. There would be an overlap of approximately 15 weeks with a new
employee. George Hines asked if $7,000 was enough to get by right now, and to have
November Town Meeting fund the vacation/sick-leave buyback. Gail responded yes.
On a motion from George Hines to transfer $7,000 from the Reserve Fund to the
Accounting Dept. Salaries seconded by David Greenfield, FINCOM voted 8-0-0.
Bob LeLacheur at this time reviewed the FINCOM calendar, and the FINCOM policies
and procedures. Included in the packet that was received tonight was information for the
new members to familiarize them with the budget process. FINCOM requested that both
the School Committee and Board of Selectmen be advised to notify them of any Budget
Process comments or concerns by the first week in September. They asked for a school
presence at the next September FINCOM meeting, if possible.
Bob reported that the Town was receiving good feed back from the residents regarding
the website and if there were any changes that needed to b done to the finance side,
please let him know.
FINCOM reviewed the minutes of the meeting on June 27, 2007.
On motion by Andrew Grimes to approve the minutes of the meeting of June 27,
2007 seconded by David Greenfield. Fincom voted 7-0-1. (
Marsie West did not vote).
FINCOM reviewed the Liaison assignments:
Library Tom White
RMLD Tom White
CPA Matt Wilson
School George Hines
Hal Torman
Barry Berman
Econonic Dev. George Hines
Ad Hoc Greenway Matt Wilson
Andrew Grimes turned the meeting over to Bob LeLacheur, who opened the floor for
On a motion by David Greenfield to nominate
nominations for FINCOM Chairperson.
Andrew Grimes as Chairman, seconded by George Hines, FINCOM voted 7-0-1
(Andrew Grimes did not vote.)
On motion by Andrew Grimes to nominate Marsie West as Vice Chairman
seconded by David Greenfield, FINCOM voted 7-0-1.
(Marsie West did not vote).
Due to their FINCOM roles, Grimes and West agreed to be members of the Audit
Committee.
On a final note, Bob LeLacheur reported that the ad-hoc Tax Classification Committee
voted 4-2 to have a split residential/commercial tax rate, to be phased in over three years.
They also voted 6-0 to enact the maximum commericial exemption, in an attempt to help
small businesses in Town.
The next FINCOM meeting is scheduled for September 12, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
On motion by Andrew Grimes seconded by George Hines the meeting was
adjourned at 9:25 p.m. on a vote of 8-0-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary