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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-12-10 Finance Committee Minutes Finance Committee Meeting December 10, 2008 December 10, 2008 The meeting convened at 7:15 p.m. in the CConference Room, Reading Town Hall onference Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, MA. Present were Chairman George Hines, Committee members Barry Berman, David Greenfield, Marsie West, Thomas White, Jay Tangney, and Andrew Grimes. Committee members absent were Hal Torman and Matt Wilson. Also present were Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur and Recording Secretary Abby McCabe. There being a quorum the Chair called the meeting to order at 7:21 p.m. Approval of Minutes The first item on the agenda was the approval of the November 24, 2008 meeting minutes. Mr. White asked for clarification on the first page where it discusses the January 30 deadline for the budget vote. Thomas White suggested further elaboration with this comment. On a motion by Barry Berman seconded by Tom White to accept the minutes of the meeting dated November 24, 2008. FinCom voted 6-0-1, David Greenfield abstained. Liaison Reports David Greenfield shared with the Committee the tour of the cemetery building with Mr. Brown and DPW staff to observe the current conditions. David described how there is not enough space for storage and maintenance. The cemetery and DPW buildings do not have sufficient storage space and asked the Committee to consider solutions, particularly regional solutions. There are currently no ideas or regional solutions in place but may be something to consider in future discussions. George Hines recently met with Chuck Robinson and Steve Goldy and reported that they were not terribly satisfied with the study. Bob LeLacheur agreed to send an electronic copy of the study to FinCom if available electronically. Barry Berman informed the Committee of recent updates to the performance based contract. An RFQ has been produced and seven consultants have already applied. The Committee would like to be involved in the evaluation process but was told that they are to take an observatory role rather than be a part of the selection team. FinCom can provide input throughout the evaluation process and participate in questioning but are not part of the selection process. The timeframe for determining a consultant is relatively ththth short with applicant presentations on the 16 and 17 of December. On December 19 the evaluation committee will meet with the applicants and will then meet with FinCom and the Board of Selectmen later on the same day. A consultant should be decided by the second week of January so a proposal will be determined by the April Town Meeting. The Chair explained to the Committee that FinCom’s role of participation is significantly different than the original intentions because it was not specified in the RFP and therefore may be a legal risk that is currently being reviewed by Town Counsel. Marsie West described her conversations with a College administrator about performance based contracting. Through her conversation she was informed that performance contracting is very difficult and is not usually successful. She recommends that FinCom research common issues and analyze the experiences of other communities. Other Committee members shared concerns and emphasized caution while moving forward. Committee member Harold Torman joined the meeting at 7:43 p.m. The Chair stated that he would bring the Committee’s concerns to Chuck Robinson’s attention and that he and Barry would do their best to keep FinCom up to date throughout the process. Barry said he does not have a copy of the BID proposals at this time but may receive thth them at the presentations on the 16 and 17. Bob LeLacheur informed the Committee that there are now only six (6) proposals because one was recently dismissed for not following the very specific required criteria. Barry Berman expressed concern that the contract does not deal with the underlying financial issues. Bob noted that it is a two step process beginning with the completion of the audit and then the negotiation process which is vital for success. Barry acknowledged that the process has been a bit “rocky” but is still excited and believes the devil is in the details which will ultimately be worthwhile. George agreed that this is a valuable concept and caution will be emphasized since this is an important long term relationship. Old Business Marsie said she would send the Committee the most updated copy of the mission statement since it was not available at this meeting. New Business FY2010 Budget Development The Chair announced that he has been asked not to hold a Financial Forum in January but to wait until February when there will be more information about local state aid for the FY2010 budget. He also discussed his conversations with Brad Jones’ office and reported that they did not have any further information about the budget. The 2010 budget hold backs should go forward and rollover. Bob explained that $750,000 is the combined holdback money. Bob advised the Committee to meet in January to discuss the health benefits study and possibly have a joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen. Barry asked Bob if the FY09 budget is going to be significantly affected as well as FY2010. Bob says anything is possible at this point but it is difficult to determine right now because there is nothing is conclusive. Bob recommends having a February Financial Forum after the Governor’s budget announcement the last weekend in January. Bob reiterated the importance of preparing for FY09 and 2010 and strongly recommends a January FinCom meeting as well as a February Financial Forum. David Greenfield noted that the Committee should keep an eye out for public project jobs with funding from the Federal government and to be ready if opportunities should arise. The Town should situate itself to be in a good position to apply for Federal money. The Chair brought up the past confusion over the 0% increase budget and explained that a 0% budget increase is not the same as a zero based operating budgeting. RMLD Issues The chair described the meeting with the commissioner but has not had any feedback since the meeting. Residential and commercial rates were discussed with RMLD. National Development/Addison Wesley Update Bob LeLacheur reported that National Development has withdrawn the proposal publicly and it was also reported in today’s Chronicle. Detailed reasoning from National Development was not provided but they claimed they were not able to get construction lending at this point in time and hope to move forward with this in the future. There is a two year limit before the Town would have to return the funding from the State if construction has not begun. Tom White asked how the financial impact on the Town was evaluated with the National Development proposal since the development was primarily residential. The Committee agreed that a cost benefit analysis should be applied to the Oaktree developer for the Atlantic site as it was for National Development. The Committee discussed business opportunities downtown and would like to encourage investment downtown and along Haven Street. The Committee asked about the status of the 80-100 Main Street and the MF Charles building downtown. Abby reported that the owner for 80-100 Main is still looking for tenants and that the Bank of America in the MF Charles building is moving across the street to 580 Main Street but other plans for the building are unknown at this time. FinCom Meeting Schedule th The Committee agreed to hold a meeting on Tuesday, January 20 and to plan for a th Financial Forum on February 11. On a motion to adjourn by Ms. West seconded by Mr. Greenfield, FinCom approved the motion to adjourn at 8:30 p.m. by a vote of 8-0-0. Respectfully submitted, Secretary