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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-26 Finance Committee MinutesN OPRO O� r o ��o 63'9t 1NCOR4O� Town of Reading Meeting Minutes ��I;�IVED '44 CLERK NG, MrSS. Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Finance Committee = a !' —U P 4 46 Date: 2014 -03 -26 Time: 7:30 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Town Hall Conference Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Chairman Barry Berman, Vice Chairman Mark Dockser, FINCOM members Paula Perry, Craig Merry, Peter Lydecker, Karen Herrick, David Greenfield, Paul McNeice, and Jeff Perkins. Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Doherty, Assistant Superintendent Mary DeLai, Bill Brown, Ben Tafoya, John Halsey, Chuck Robinson, Nancy Docktor, Linda Snow Dockser, and Hal Croft. Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Caitlin Saunders Topics of Discussion: Mr. Berman called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. Mr. LeLacheur stated that if FINCOM approves everything as written on the budget tonight, the reserves will be at 7 %. He said we have used a lot of free cash and it is significantly lower than we are used to seeing. The last couple years we have had good regeneration but we are looking at about a $0.5 million less this summer because we are balancing FY14 budget needs. Mr. Berman commented that being 305th in per -pupil spending is not acceptable. He stated the FINCOM's role is to advise Town Meeting and voters where we are headed as a town. He also said that we would have a fiscally responsible budget if we spent the $2 Million of free cash to fund everything. Mr. McNeice asked if it makes more sense to spend more now or to wait and discuss that wish list, which he points out as more of a "true need" list. Mr. Perkins agreed with Mr. McNeice and said we must inform and educate people. Mrs. Perry also agreed and said FINCOM's role is to communicate to the people what is going on. She also said spending the $2 Million this year is not sustainable because we won't have it to give again next year. Mr. Dockser said he is very torn with this decision but leaning towards spending the $2 Million this year. Mr. Perkins asked if there was a possibility of funding some things on the "wish list" and Mrs. Perry pointed out the extra $0.5 million would not be for that. Page 1 1 FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES - MARCH 26`h, 2014 - page 2 Mr. Berman said that the people also need to know what is NOT being funded Mr. Greenfield noted we have been in steady erosion for a while now and we have always found ways to cover it but were running out of ways now and we don't know what to do. From a resident point of view an override is the only way to get what we want but FINCOM would be irresponsible to spend beyond its means because it only sets us up for other stresses. Mr. LeLacheur asked if we want to maintain quantity or quality of services and then stated our delivery of current services are not financially sustainable. He said it's difficult to communicate with the community in any one reliable method. Mr. Greenfield said using the $2 million sets us up in an ugly scenario and we need to start talking about an override. Mr. LeLacheur said we could ask for a large override and disperse it out over time and include building project needs. Mr. McNeice said we can't wait until we need an override to start talking about it and Mrs. Perry agreed we need to be very prepared to ask for one. Mr. Greenfield suggested we speak as if cash is already spent so that people don't question why we're asking for an override when there's $5 million in there. Mr. Merry asked about the projected free cash levels and Mr. LeLacheur stated FY15 and FY16 will probably be above 5% but in FY17 there will be problems. Mr. Dockser said if we don't spend the money now, we still haven't averted the problem we have only pushed it off. Mr. Brown added that FINCOM should be aware of the perception people have on the street. Mr. Lydecker stated we might get a "voter burnout" if we add the override along with the library and school projects, people might be more hesitant. Mr. Robinson said that with regeneration, spending the extra $0.5 million shouldn't be a big deal. Mr. Dockser then informed the committee of what happened at the school meeting. The school committee wants option 2 which is for the placement to be in RMHS parking lot. The Chief of Police thinks there is going to be a traffic /parking problem. They are going to vote for the $480,000 option but then the question is should we take that out of FY14 free cash? Mr. Dockser also wanted to know more of where the town stands on voting for this $26 million override for the school. Mr. Berman said the more firm the numbers we give out to the public from the start, the more comfortable the voters will be. He stated the library took a year with the public to let them know it needed work before coming forward and asking for the money. He feels unsure if a discussion has been had and if the community really wants this school project. He thinks it is too site specific and not project specific and stated he would be more comfortable spending the $485,000 knowing the community supports the project and asked Dr. Doherty to give us a sense of what has been done with the community. Dr. Doherty stated they started this all 2 years ago and did a report on school spacing with all committees. They then started looking at spaces while keeping the committees informed. After St. Agnes area was deemed not doable, they went to the community and had four Page 1 2 FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES - MARCH 26th, 2014 -page 3 well- attended meetings. They have a 6 -7% increase every year for full day Kindergarten. He stated the Woburn St school which they thought might be a good fit, wouldn't solve the problem. They formed a working group that is involved with the community that consists of 19 members. There were 14 options presented and the working group made 2 recommendations. RMHS parking lot is the only option that can handle most aspects. They are at 72% of enrollment and they're already turning away applications for next year. Dr. Doherty also mentioned they have five more community meetings planned before Town Meeting. Mr. McNeice said he feels there is support for the school project and he has heard a lot of buzz around town about it and it seems to be in a positive manner. Mr. Dockser reminded us that Town Meeting was already willing to go forward with the Woburn St. school when that was an option so that's a good indicator of where they stand on the subject. Mr. Berman then asked the committee if we seem to generally be in support for Article 4 and the $485,000 for the schools, and it was determined the answer was yes. Mr. Dockser stated if we are already compromising on solutions the town needs to recognize an override is coming. Mr. Berman told the committee we are the only people to see the WHOLE budget and we must educate the town. Mr. Brown made a suggestion that we need to put everything on the line for people to see, every project, and every option. A motion by Greenfield second by Perry recommends the subiect matter of Article 4 by a vote of 9 -0 -0. Mr. LeLacheur stated that Article 6 is the same as last week except the school schematics was updated and snow and ice increased slightly but will probably not be used. A motion by Greenfield second by Dockser recommends the subiect matter of Article 6 by a vote of 9 -0 -0. Article 13 the Capital Plan, added FY24 to the plan and also showed a $12,000 increase in capital for the FY15 budget because of an added vehicle but also drops $3,000 in debt. A motion by Dockser second by Perkins recommends the subiect matter of Article 13 by a vote of 9 -0 -0. Mr. Robinson wanted to make one last statement before the FY15 budget was voted on. He said all the cuts that will have to be made if we don't use the $2 million will be personnel cuts. He said there will be some level regeneration so use the $2 million now while we need it. The FY15 budget was voted on line by line. A motion by Berman second by Perkins recommends line B99 in the amount of $14,141,590 to Benefits of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Dockser second by Greenfield recommends line C99 in the amount of $2,042,000 to Capital of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. Page 1 3 FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES - MARCH 26`h, 2014 -page 4 A motion by Greenfield second by Perry recommends line D99 in the amount of $3,377,730 to Debt Service of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Perry second by Merry recommends line E99 in the amount of $387,000 to Education - Vocational of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Merry second by Herrick recommends line F99 in the amount of $150,000 to Finance Committee reserves of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0 A motion by Lvdecker second by McNeice recommends line G91 in the amount of $1,194,650 to Administrative Services wages of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9- 0-0. A motion by McNeice second by Herrick recommends line G92 in the amount of $1,095,900 to Administrative Services expenses of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Herrick second by Perkins recommends line H91 in the amount of $974,975 to Community Services wages of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Perkins second by Herrick recommends line H92 in the amount of $436,850 to Community Services expenses of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0- 0. A motion by Berman second by Dockser recommends line I91 in the amount of $577,425 to Finance wages of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Dockser recommends line I92 in the amount of $135,000 to Finance expenses of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Greenfield second by Perry recommends line 391 in the amount of $8868,606 to Public Safety wages of the FY15 budget with a vote of 7 -2 -0 with Dockser and Berman voting against. A motion by Perry second by Dockser and Perkins recommends line 392 in the amount of $393,835 to Public Safety expenses of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Merry second by Berman recommends line K91 in the amount of $2,361,075 to Public Works wages of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Lvdecker second by Perkins recommends line K92 in the amount of $871,550 to Public Works expenses of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by McNeice second by Herrick recommends line K93 in the amount of $625,000 to Public Works Snow and Ice of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Herrick second by Berman recommends line K94 in the amount of $200,000 to Public Works Street Lights of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Perkins second by Herrick recommends line K95 in the amount of $1,490,000 to Public Works Rubbish of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Berman second by Dockser for line L91$1,084,855 was amended by Herrick also second by Dockser to line L91 to be $1,089,155 for Library wages for the FY15 budget carried with a 5 -4 -0 vote. Page 1 4 FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES - MARCH 26th, 2014 -page 5 A motion by McNeice to make an amendment to line L92 to approve $292,730 second by Berman to Library expenses for the FY15 budget carried with a 5 -4 -0 vote. A motion by Greenfield for line S99 $40,117,973 was second by Perkins. Dockser offered to amend that figure to $40,517,973 second by Greenfield. Berman offered a friendly amendment of $40,317,973 second by Perry. That motion passed 8 -1 -0 with Greenfield opposed. A motion by Perry second by Herrick to approve line T99 in the amount of $700,167 to Town Facilities of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by Merry second by Perry to approve line W99 in the amount of $5,231,944 to the Water Enterprise Fund of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0 A motion by Lvdecker second by McNeice to approve line X99 in the amount of $5,852,079 to the Sewer Enterprise Fund of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9 -0 -0. A motion by McNeice second by Herrick to approve line Y99 in the amount of $369,650 to the Storm Water Enterprise Fun of the FY15 budget with a vote of 9- 0-0. Dr. Doherty and Mr. Robinson thanked FINCOM for their support. Mr. Berman thanked the other FINCOM members who attended other committees meetings for doing so and the effort they put forth. Mr. Dockser thanked Mr. Berman and Mr. Greenfield for their participation on the committee, as their terms will expire in June 2014. A motion by Berman second by McNeice to adiourn the meeting at 9:45pm carried with a 9 -0 -0 vote. Respectfully subrpitted, , j / 1 I Secretary Page 1 5