HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-12-04 Select Board MinutesI
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Building:
Pleasant Street Senior Center
Town of Reading
Address:
49 Pleasant Street
Session: Open Session
Meeting Minutes
Budget Meeting
Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Chair Vanessa Alvarado, Mark
Dockser, Andy Friedmann, Anne Landry
Members - Not Present:
MA.
Board - Committee - commission - Council:
L' ;-j -
I: 55
Select Board
Date: 2019-12-04
Time:
7:00 PM
Building:
Pleasant Street Senior Center
Location: Great Room
Address:
49 Pleasant Street
Session: Open Session
Purpose:
Budget Meeting
Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Chair Vanessa Alvarado, Mark
Dockser, Andy Friedmann, Anne Landry
Members - Not Present:
Vice Chair John Halsey
Others Present:
Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, Finance
Director Sharon Angstrom, Facilities Director Joe Huggins, Director of
Administrative Services Matt Karunelis, School Superintendent John
Doherty, School CFO Gail Dowd, Fire Chief Greg Burns, DPW Director Jane
Kinsella, Library Director Amy Lannon, Erin Schaeffer, Kevin Bohmiller, Jane
Burns, Laura Vlasuk, Jenna Fiorente, Endri Kume, Dan Dewar, Linda Snow
Dockser, Tom Wise
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Jacquelyn LaVerde
Topics of Discussion:
Chair Vanessa Alvarado called the meeting to order at 7:02pm.
Town Manager Bob LeLacheur informed the Board that Town Counsel advised that the liquor
renewals could continue at the meeting next Wednesday at 7:00pm. The ABCC cannot deny
a liquor license because of occupancy issues, and any such allegations in the future need to
be handled separately.
Budget Overview:
Mr. LeLacheur noted that the draft budget report does not include changes resulting from
November Town Meeting. The total projected operating budget on the Town side is $29.5
million. Currently, it is $200,000 over budget, which will need to be resolved before the
final budget is presented.
Public Services:
Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios thanked the Public Services staff members present and
recognized them for their dedication and talent. The Public Services budget is level funded
and grant funding is a large part of the budget. Public Services oversees 14 different
Boards, Committees, and Commissions and works collaboratively with volunteers, across
divisions, and with other Town departments. The total department budget is $1,896,025.
Salaries comprise $1,559,175, a 3.9% increase due to a 3% COLA increase and additional
hours requested for some part time employees.
Finance:
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Finance Director Sharon Angstrom provided an overview of the Finance department
structure, functions, and budget. General Finance, which Includes Treasury and Collections,
has 6.37 FTEs. Assessing has 2.5 FTEs, not including the Town Assessor who is contracted
and shared with another community. Accounting has 3.87 FTEs. The overall Finance '
budget is up 2.5% to $940,200. Salaries increase 2.4% to $778,050. Expenses Increase
2.6% to $162,150.
Facilities:
Facilities Director Joe Huggins reviewed the Facilities department structure, the buildings
and equipment maintained, technology systems used, utility usage, and energy savings.
The overall proposed Core Facilities budget increases 2.88% to $3,207,285. Salaries for 7
FTEs increases 11.53% to $667,650. Accommodated costs decrease -3.02% to
$1,687,264. Repairs and maintenance Increase 9.42% to $852,370. A new position is
requested under salaries for a 30 -hour per week position to help execute security work.
Town Facilities overall budget increases 0.64% to $336,933. Salaries for 4 FTEs increase
0.74% to $236,100. Cleaning services expenses remain the same at $86,825. Custodial
supplies increase 3% to $14,008.
Facilities Capital for FY 21 includes: new water heaters for the Police Station and Parker
Middle School, water heater tanks for the Coolidge Middle School, and a Bobcat for
Facilities.
Shared Costs:
Mr. LeLacheur noted that shared costs are subtracted from State Aid. State Assessments
are unknown until the Governor's budget comes out at the end of January, but is expected
to decrease about -3.1%. FINCOM Reserve Fund remains unchanged at $200,000.
Vocational assessments are always a challenge to budget. Wakefield vocational is usually
fairly predictable at a 5% increase. Reading students attending other area vocational
schools are completely unknown at the time the budget is created. Retirement increase ,
27% following Town Meeting, which is estimated to be an additional $200,000. In order to
afford the $200,000 increase, OPEB contributions may need to decrease. Workers Comp is
pretty Flat and unemployment is slightly reduced. A new full time Benefits Analyst position
Is proposed to help ensure health insurance numbers are accurate. There is not much
change to Medicare. Workers Comp for Public Safety increases 6% due to pensions.
Level 1 budgets for Capital and debt are exactly the same as those presented at November
Town Meeting. All Items listed under FY21 are still legitimate and high priority. The capital
plan actually has a $300,000 surplus and Mr. LeLacheur is hoping to receive feedback from
the community on which projects to prioritize. The Board agreed to add the discussion of
surplus as an agenda item at one of their January meetings.
On a motion by Mr. Dockser, and seconded by Mr. Friedmann, the Select Board
voted 4-0-0 to adjourn at 8:30pm.
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