HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-12-12 Finance Committee Minutes RECEIVED
TOWN CLERf�—
READ( ?JG, MA.
Finance Committee Meeting
December 12,2012 2019 JUN I I PM 4: 51
The meeting convened at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Conference Room, 16 Lowell Street,
Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman David Greenfield and members Jeanne
Borawski, Mark Dockser, Karen Herrick, Paul McNeice, Jeff Perkins and Hal Tomtan. Also
present was Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur. Vice Chairman Barry
Berman arrived at 8:15pm; FINCOM member Paula Perry was absent.
Mr. Greenfield called the meeting to order.
Mr. Greenfield introduced two new FBVCOM members Paul McNeice and Jeff Perkins, and they
each described their backgrounds.
Association of Town Finance Committees
Ms. Borawski mentioned that she attended the annual meeting on October 20, 2012 and that as
requested by the ATFC she was going to `report back to your Finance Committees' as follows:
Overview
• The Association of Town Finance Committees is an affiliate of the Massachusetts
Municipal Association. 226 of the 301 towns in the state are members.
• The annual meeting(held on October 20, 2012) provided a forum for FinCom
members to meet,get exposure to best practices in municipal finance, and learn
from the experiences of FinCom members and town officials in other communities.
• Speakers included veteran FinCom members,Town Managers,Finance Directors,
and other experts.
Hot Topics
• General pessimism about weakness of economic recovery,future state aid and
uncertainty of"fiscal cliff"
• Various FinCom Policies- OPEB,debt,financial management
Where ReadingShines
• Our Capital&Debt Policy
• On-going discussions of OPEB Policy
• Our Finance Director
• High level of cooperation among town employees and various boards and
commissions
• Our FmCom is policy-driven
Ideas to Consider
• Debt Policy-A max debt service of 8- 10% of operating budget is standard
• Creating and regularly revisiting a list of towns that we aspire to emulate;then,steal
their best ideas
• Look to the guidelines of the Government Finance Officers Association for excellence
in budgeting
• Use specific tax revenue for specific purposes (i.e. meals tax)
• GIC—perhaps not now,but don't forget it's an option
• Formation of a Capital Committee
• Include in budget presentation:
• An org chart for each department
• A historic FTE chart (standardized) for all departments
• A list of boards and committees with description and authorizing
authority
• A list of bond rating symbols and meanings
Update on Budgets
Mr. LeLacheur described the minimal impact that the Governor's proposed 9C cuts would have
on Reading during FYI —just over$27,000 in reduced local aid. He shared an email from Mary
DeLai that described the impact on the reduction to the circuit breaker for School Special
Education costs as minimal for two reasons. First, over the past few years the schools have
managed to put aside enough funding to use the current year's funding in next year's budget.
Thus they are using a previously paid amount from FY12 during this year; and this cut to the
FY13 funding only impacts their FY14 budget projections. Second, for the FY14 budget
assumptions they have already presumed a lower figure, so there is no impact on the current
FYI budget planning process.
For the FY14 budgets, we have slight increases in revenues due to a higher than anticipated
FYI new growth figure and some reductions to school accommodated costs. The result is an
increase to the operating budgets of just under +3% as opposed to the 2.5% figure projected at
the November Financial Forum. Mr. LeLacheur described the Town's efforts to balance the
budget at that level as challenging, since initial budget requests firm departments were almost
$300,000 over the initial target level. He said the Schools were having similar challenges in
balancing their FYI budget.
Update on Assessors
Mr. LeLacheur said the Assessor's transition using a shared Appraiser from Wakefield was
going well so far. The initial inspections were completed in early fall,town staff did a significant
amount of quality control work with the data, and eventually the conversion to the new Patriot
CAMA system was completed in time to issue tax bills late in December using the new software.
He explained that at the Tax Classification hearing with the Board of Selectmen that Appraiser
had inadvertently left the debt exclusion out of some calculations, but that was connected in
plenty of time before there was any negative impact from setting the tax rate with the state.
Library Project
Mr. LeLacheur explained that a Special Town Meeting would be held on Monday January 28,
2013 and the main purpose would be to describe the Library renovation project which received
state approval for funding recently. If Town Meeting voted to approve the project (as debt
exclusion) then it would go on the local elections ballot in April 2013. If the voters approve the
project then the Library would need to relocate to temporary quarters as early as the Fall 2013.
Discussions were currently underway that evaluated three different options for that relocation. In
addition, budget figures were being checked and updated as needed before a Town Meeting vote.
FINCOM would be asked to meet before the Special Town Meeting and at that time receive a
full presentation on the project.
Mr. LeLacheur presented FINCOM with a Reserve Fund transfer request in the amount of
$7,000 for Town Facilities in order to update original cost estimates and design a rough layout of
potential temporary space.
On a motion by Mr. Greenfield seconded by Mr. Dockser, FINCOM recommended the
Reserve Fund transfer of$7.000 to line#03954412-529302 by a vote of 8-0-0.
Minutes
On a motion by Mr. Greenfield seconded by Ms. Herrick, FINCOM aooroved the minutes
of October 17.2012 by a vote of 6-0-2(Mr. McNeice and Mr. Perkins abstaining).
On a motion by Mr. Torman seconded by Mr. Dockser, FINCOM approved the Executive
Session minutes of October 17, 2012 as written by a role call vote: Mr. Berman —ves; Ms.
Herrick—ves; Ms. Borawski-yes; Mr. Torman—yes; Mr. Dockser—yes; Mr. Greenfield —
ves; Mr. McNeice—abstain; Mr. Perkins—abstain.
On motion by Mr. Berman seconded by Mr. Perkins the FINCOM voted to adjourn it's
meeting at 9:10 o.m. by a vote of 8-0-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary