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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-19 Finance Committee MinutesN OFR 1NCOkPO� Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Finance Committee Date: 2014 -03 -19 Building: Reading Town Hall Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Time: 7:30 PM Location: Conference Room LCE, IVED '0WN CLERK _ , "ING. M ,SS. tl 11 -U P 4: 4b Chairman Barry Berman, Vice Chairman Mark Dockser, FINCOM members David Greenfield, Karen Herrick, Peter Lydecker, Paul McNeice, Craig Merry, Jeffrey Perkins, and Paula Perry, and Town Manager Bob LeLacheur. Members - Not Present: Others Present: Superintendent of Schools John Doherty, Assistant Superintendent Mary DeLai, Bill Brown, Office Manager Paula Schena, Administrative Secretary Caitlin Saunders Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Topics of Discussion: Article 4 will be voted on next week as there are changes to be made in the Capital plan. Article 5 is to see if the Town will allocate money for a onetime expense to place a monument in each Veteran's sector of 2 cemeteries. Bill Brown added that the Town spent $2,000 in Veterans markers last year and a monument in the form of a bench has been talked about and would be greatly appreciated. Mr. Berman stated that $4,000 for the monuments seemed very reasonable. A motion by Dockser second by Perry and McNeice to recommend the subiect matter of Article 5 was approved by a vote of 8 -0 -0. Article 6 was asked to be voted on next week because they need more details about the school budget. This article deals with a variety of surplus in the FY14 budget. Mr. LeLacheur stated that we should see money coming back from the state after the special election but we won't know until a later time. He also added that $50,000 is being taken from parking lot repairs fund and put into the pothole repairs fund as it is much needed. Mr. LeLacheur said Minutemen enrollment is higher than expected and budgeted. Laptop upgrades for the Police cruisers were also discussed as a must need. Also, there are 2 Police recruits heading to the Academy that the Town needs to pay for expenses upfront, but recruits will eventually pay back afterwards; and new uniforms and gear is needed for 2 new officers that have been added to the force. Bottom line is there is a $500,000 deficit with about $1 Million in free cash which is more than anticipated from the estimated half million. Article 7 is about the Smart Growth Stabilization fund and if funds should be transferred from free cash into that fund. Town received an additional $300,000 from the State for Smart Growth project at Reading Woods. If funds are transferred, the Stabilization fund will have a balance of $353,000 that can be allocated by a Town Meeting vote to projects such Page 1 1 FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES - MARCH 19`h 2014 - page 2 as roadway and sidewalk improvements, or to help with large amounts of construction projects that are already planned. A motion by Greenfield second by Perkins recommends the subiect matter of Article 7 by a vote of 7 -0 -1 with Merry abstaining. Article 8 Mr. LeLacheur discussed that OPEB is a very important obligation we have and it is essentially dealing with health insurance related money. Mr. Berman stated that the money would be moved from free cash to sit in this fund but agreed it must be done. A motion by Greenfield second by Dockser and Perry recommends the subiect matter of Article 8 by a vote of 8 -0 -1 with Herrick abstaining Article 9 Mr. LeLacheur stated this needs to go to Town Meeting to be re -voted on the whole number in order to get the MWRA grant. The November meeting voted on a number that was not sufficient for us to receive the grant. Mr. Berman stated we need to authorize the debt in order to get the grant. Mr. LeLacheur mentioned there is no change or impact to the program with correcting this vote. A motion by Dockser second by Greenfield and McNeice recommends the subject matter of Article 9 by a vote of 9 -0 -0. Article 10 is the West Street project which Mr. LeLacheur stated was 100% a State project however the Town has their share of items that needs to be funded. The low total bid will win and the Town's share will depend on how the bid comes in. This article is seeking to authorize $300,000 for additional debt to pay for an item we were unaware of was our share. Mr. LeLacheur stated we know the specific items that the Town needs to fund but not the exact amounts for those items and that this is a project contingency. A motion by Perry second by Greenfield recommends the subject matter of Article 10 by a vote of 9 -0 -0. Article 11 would allow to the Town to vote to authorize water easements to enable the Town to install a new water main. A motion by Greenfield second by Perry and McNeice recommends the subiect matter of Article 11 by a vote of 9 -0 -0. Article 12 would allow the Town to vote to remove a sewer easement in order for the residents to construct a new dwelling as planned. A motion by Perry second by McNeice recommends the subiect matter of Article 12 by a vote of 8 -0 -1 with Greenfield abstaining. Article 13 will be discussed and voted on next week. Article 14 will be discussed and voted on next week. Article 15 is to approve the Affordable Housing Fund. Mr. LeLacheur stated it is identical to last year and there is $260,000 in unrestricted funds. It was also mentioned that other towns will be joining this Affordable Housing Allocation plan with Reading leading the way. Town Meeting must annually vote on this and the Housing production plan we have is State approved. Mr. LeLacheur stated this is where a regional position would be helpful. A motion by Greenfield second by Perkins recommends the subiect matter of Article 15 by a vote of 7 -1 -1 with Merry abstainina and Dockser opposed. Page 1 2 FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES - MARCH 19`h, 2014 - page 3 Article 16 is to approve revolving funds for public health programs and not just clinics. Mr. LeLacheur stated there are projects like Johnson Woods which are still not done and this would be money for added inspection hours and documents. It was mentioned that any of this money can be moved to free cash with a Town Meeting vote. Mr. Greenfield asked why not return the money to the operating budget? Mr. LeLacheur said it could be with an article at Town Meeting. A motion by Dockser second by Perkins and Greenfield recommends the subiect matter of Article 16 by a vote of 9 -0 -0. Article 17 reviews Chapter 90 funds. The State is holding 1/3 of the of the $900,000 figure that Reading was approved for. This would vote to approve any money we receive from the State. A motion by Greenfield second by McNeice recommends the subject matter of Article 17 by a vote of 9 -0 -0. Mr. LeLacheur stated there may be a possible $79,000 increase in State Aid. RMLD payment is $25,000 less. There is a small increase in water and sewer however overall there is no change in the financial picture just minor detail changes. Mr. Berman would like to get a sense on where we are going with the free cash according to our trends. Mr. Perkins thinks there needs to be a broader discussion on services and department needs. Ms. Perry agrees with Mr. Perkins and also states that FINCOM takes a different position on how to vote for a responsible budget. She would also like to see a discussion on a policy to increase free cash. Mr. Merry asked for a perspective on our free cash trend. Mr. LeLacheur stated our free cash is $7M to start. We are using about $1M this year and another $1.5M already for next year. Mr. Berman stated our policy is about 5% of revenue and we are about at a pace to deplete sooner. Ms. Perry said replenishing free cash over the years has been going good. Mr. LeLacheur stated the $1.5M figure has never been close but we do not want to build reoccurring budgets on money that may not be there. Mr. Dockser said the expectations from the town are now beyond the levy and we should consider a number higher than 5% for free cash. Ms. Perry stated we simply cannot support the budgets we want to and Mr. Greenfield stated that the schools and town would be asking for more money if it was there. Mr. Berman said we could be looking at another million and 80% of budget is personnel costs. He stated we are voting to either stay on the same path or start letting the town know that they will have to pay more for what they want. Ms. Perry remarked that the town's priorities have shifted and Mr. Dockser stated we need more realistic budgets for services. Page 1 3 FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES - MARCH 19'h 2014 - page 4 Mr. Greenfield stated we are spending faster than we can absorb and we are setting ourselves up for hard times if override doesn't happen. Mr. Berman noted we cannot vote for the override until reserves are spent. Mr. McNeice said what's in the budget needs to be there and a lot of the things on the wish list need to be too. He states we should use free cash to fund them. Mr. LeLacheur reminded the committee that overrides take a couple of years to happen. He said no one can predict everything but the committee should be prepared if the big projects need more money. Mr. Dockser pointed out that he believes there is a lot of misinformation the public has about the library project. He would like to get the real facts out there before the election and also maybe go before the Library Trustees for a factual presentation. Mr. Berman said maybe express opinions about the library project as individuals not as FINCOM. Mr. Perkins suggested sending out new numbers to clear confusion and maybe have links to website where public can find more information if they would like to look into it more. Mr. LeLacheur agreed and Ms. Perry added we should mention alternative options. Mr. Perkins also suggested we let the public know that the library project is addressing structural issues it has. Mr. Berman, Mr. Dockser, and Ms. Herrick will be working on the FINCOM letter. Mr. Dockser then stated that the school committee will be voting on Monday to decide on moving forward with the Early Childhood Center and ask for money at Town Meeting. A motion by Herrick and second by Perkins to adjourn the meeting at 9.45pm was approved by a vote of 9 -0 -0. Respectfully su m' e Secretary Page 1 4