HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-07-24 Finance Committee Minutes Finance Committee Meeting
LJuly 24, 1995
The Finance Committee met at 7 :30 p.m. in the Conference Room
at Town Hall. Present were Chairman Steve Blewitt, Vice
Chairman Jim Keigley, FinCom members Gerry MacDonald, Nate
White, Carol Grimm, Rocco Nenarella, Tom Green Jr . ,Catherine
Martin, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner and Secretary
Maureen Vierra. Also present were Matt Cummings, Katy
Brennan and Ronald Wood.
Approval of Minutes:
On a motion by Grimm seconded by MacDonald the Finance
Committee voted to approve the minutes of June 7, 1995 by a
vote of 5/0/3.
On a motion by Keigley seconded by MacDonald the Finance
Committee voted to approve the minutes of June 28 , 1995 by a
vote of 5/0/3 .
Liaison Reports:
Jim Keigley reported on the Capital Improvement
Sub-committee. Jim requested direction from the Finance
Committee on how they would like him to proceed . The Finance
Committee will seek new candidates hoping to establish a
committee of 5 people and will meet with prospective members
at 7:00 p.m. on August 30, 1995 .
Nate White reported on the School Committee. The School
Committee released $135,000.00 from the FY96 budget to hire
additional teachers. The original agreement between FinCom
and the School Committee was that the School Committee would
hold $360, 000.00 from the FY96 budget (which included the
hiring of new teachers) until the budget was recapitulated .
Matt Cummings explained that the School Department held an
additional $135 ,000.00 worth of capital items. They felt
they could no longer put off the hiring of new teachers in
order to get qualified applicants. Several FinCom members
expressed their concern that if the money appropriated for
capital items was spent on operations, the capital items
would not get done. The recapitulation is expected to be
completed by August 24 and both the School Committee and the
Finance Committee will review the budget on August 30, 1995.
Steve Blewitt reported on the Police Station Renovation
Committee. The selectmen plan to tour the current facility
on July 25, 1995 and are looking into alternative sites.
Action and Discussion Items:
On a motion by Keigley seconded by MacDonald the Finance
Committee voted to approve the invoice for payment from Peat
Marwick in the amount of $12, 330 .00 by a vote of 8/0/0. This
amount represents one third of the total cost of the audit.
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A retreat has been planned for the Finance Committee, Board
of Selectmen and School Committee. It will be held on Friday
September 8 , 1995 and Saturday September 9 , 1995. The
Finance Committee received an outline of potential discussion
items expected to be addressed at the retreat .
Carol Grimm suggested the Finance Committee assign a FinCom
member to a Town department during the budgeting process to
act as a liaison between that department and FinCom. The
liaison would be expected to meet with the Division Heads
during the development of next year ' s budget to understand
the issues confronting the department. The Finance Committee
Members agreed that this may alleviate some of the
concerns experienced in past budget approval processing.
On a motion by Keigley seconded by Grimm the Finance
Committee voted to adjourn at 9 : 35 p.m. by a vote of 8/0/0.
The next meeting of the Finance Committee is scheduled for
August 30, 1995 at 7:00 P.M. in the Selectmen' s Meeting Room
at Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
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