HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-03-06 Finance Committee Minutes*0FTown of Reading
� Meeting Minutes
Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 3b
Finance Committee
Date: 2024-03-06 Time: 7:00 PM
Building:
Reading Town Hall
Location: Select Board Meeting Room
Address:
16 Lowell Street
Session: Open Session
Purpose:
General Business
Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Chair Ed Ross, Vice Chair Joe Carnahan, Geoffrey Coram, Endri Kume, Joe
McDonagh, Marianne McLaughlin -Downing, Emily Sisson, John Sullivan, Mark
Zarrow
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Acting Town Manager Matt Kraunelis, Chief Financial Officer Sharon
Angstrom (remote), Director of Operations Jayne Wellman, Human
Resources Director Sean Donahue, Town Clerk Laura Gemme, Chief
Technology Officer Kevin Furilla, Community Development Director Andrew
MacNichol (remote), Community Services Director Jenna Fiorente, Public
Health Director Ade Solarin, Fire Chief Greg Burns, Assistant Fire Chief Rick
Nelson, Deputy Police Chief Christine Amendola (remote), Facilities Director
Joe Huggins (remote), Karen Gately Herrick (remote)
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Jacquelyn LaVerde
Topics of Discussion:
This meeting was held in-person in the Select Board Meeting Room of Town Hall and
remotely via Zoom.
Chair Ed Ross called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.
Liaison Reports
Marianne Downing shared that Select Board incumbent Chris Haley was re-elected by 498
votes in yesterday's election.
Geoffrey Coram shared that Sarah McLaughlin and Shawn Brandt were both re-elected to
the School Committee.
Ed Ross shared updates from the Killam School Building Committee. The designer, Lavallee
Brensinger Architects (LBA), hosted a sustainability session last Thursday, where they
reviewed their process, introduced their sustalnabllity expert, and talked about the
sustainability options available to the district. The group also launched a project website:
killamschool.com.
Page 1 1
Chief Financial Officer Sharon Angstrom reviewed the information that she presented at the
first Financial Forum in the fall, and changes that have been made since that forum.
Property taxes Increase 1.8% because excluded debt for the Wood End School and High
School will be paid off. Local revenues Increased 16.3%, state aid Increased 2.5 %,
transfers Increased 3.7%, and free cash increased 29.9%. In the share of the budget,
property taxes account for 72%, Local revenues 9%, state aid 13%, transfers 4%, and 3%
from free cash. Actual new growth increased for several years, but decreased in FY23 likely
due to inflation.
Financial forecast revenues increase 3.14% before free cash and increase overall 3.87%.
Accommodated costs Increased 3.2%. Projected interest earnings were increased from
$500,000 to $1.99 million, as interest returns are still high, to absorb the Increase in the
retirement assessment.
On the Spending Scorecard, shared costs are up 2.3%, which includes benefits, capital, debt
service, vocational schools, and FINCOM reserves. Other accommodated costs, such as
casualty and liability Insurance, utilities, and fuel, are included in department budgets. The
overall operating budget has Increased 4.5%. The school department budget is increased
4.3% due to accommodated costs for special education. The grand total for the operating
budget from the General Fund Is $124,060,725.
Shared costs are up 2.3%: benefits are up 8.1%, capital is up 3.3%, debt has a 20.6%
reduction due to excluded debt for the Library project being paid off, vocational schools are
up 21.7% due to the extra $160,000 for capital for the new building, and FINCOM reserves
are level funded.
For benefits, the retirement pension assessment increases 16.8%. Due to a 5.65% increase
in health insurance for next year, Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) is reduced 33.3%
to $200,000 to ensure there is enough for health insurance.
Proposed capital spending is $3,035,000 and includes: $50,000 for the Permanent Building
Committee, $85,000 for a bobcat for Facilities, $10,000 for telephone upgrades at the
schools, $125,000 for school technology projects, $45,000 for a driver's ed vehicle,
$100,000 for Town technology projects, $455,000 for computer aided dispatch, $50,000 for
an unmarked Police vehicle, $45,000 for a cemetery passenger car, $80,000 for a Highway
pickup truck, $250,000 for a Public Works blower unit, $50,000 for fence improvements,
$215,000 for Birch Meadow School parking lot and walkway Improvements, $100,000 for
field, playground and court Improvements, $100,000 for the rock wall repair program,
$50,000 for parking lot Improvements, $100,000 for sidewalk, curb, and pedestrian safety
improvements, $100,000 for skim coating, $600,000 to pave Lowell Street, and $425,000
for road paving.
Karen Gately Herrick suggested eliminating the $50,000 for the Permanent Building
Committee (PBC). Ms. Angstrom stated that the funds are for unforeseen projects for the
PBC. The PBC does not always use all the funds, but they have used them in the past,
though she would not mind changing the amount.
Mr. Zarrow asked what the $215,000 Is for Birch Meadow. Mr. Kraunelis stated that he
would get the definitive answer and report back to the Committee.
Administrative Services:
Operations,
Operations Director Jayne Wellman reviewed the Operations and Town Manager's budget.
Operations is a level services budget, there is no new staffing, and expenses increase for
postage due to elections. Some costs are reimbursable, but presented for full transparency.
In the Town Manager's Office budget, there is no change in FfEs, and there Is a 10%
Increase in property & casualty insurance. Ms. Wellman stated that she is watching
insurance costs closely. The increases are not driven by the Town's loss ratios, rather what
Page 1 2
Is happening in the property and casualty market such as convective storms, aging
infrastructure, and volatility in the insurance market.
Joe Carnahan asked if the Town Manager Reserve fund and Select Board funds are usually
spent. Ms. Wellman and Acting Town Manager Matt Kraunelis explained that the Select
Board reserve fund used to be allocated to a few different committees, but they would not
always spend them. The previous Town Manager, Bob LeLacheur, combined those costs
and asked those committees to come to the Select Board to request those funds. The Town
Manager Reserve Fund is used at the discretion of the Town Manager to cover unanticipated
expenses.
Human Resources:
Human Resources Director Sean Donahue explained that the division consists of three
employees, though the budget only lists two employees, as support staff is part of the
Operations budget. Salary increases are in line with the compensation plan. Expenses are
level funded. The division Is currently working with the Technology Department to update
its application tracking system. However, there might be a request in the future for an
updated system.
Town Clerk/Elections
Town Clerk Laura Gemme reviewed the Town Clerk and Elections budget. The Town Clerk
budget is level funded with a slight increase in salaries. The Town Clerk's office is finally
fully staffed.
With Elections, there is an Increase due to the Presidential election. Election costs will
increase going forward due to voting by mail, largely due to postage. For any state
elections, postage is reimbursable from the state, but not for the local elections.
Ms. Gemme thanked all the volunteers who helped make the elections successful.
Technoloav:
Chief Technology Officer Kevin Furilla presented the Technology budget. The Technology
Department Is fully staffed with five full-time employees. Percentages for expense line
items appear to have significant changes, as Mr. Furilla stated that he recategodzed several
things. The overall Technology budget increases 3.7%.
Public Services:
Community Development:
Community Development Director Andrew MacNichol presented the Community Services
budget. He noted that there were no unexpected changes or increases, just a few slight
Increases in salaries. The department has seven full-time staff and six part-time staff.
Expenses stayed level with no increases. Most projects are done Internally. The
department tries to get grants to match or fund planning and construction projects.
Community Services:
Community Services Director Jenna Fiorente reviewed the Community Services budget,
which consists of three divisions: Recreation, Elder & Human Services, and Veterans'
Services. There are ten full-time staff, and several part-time and seasonal employees.
Most of the part-time and seasonal employees work for Recreation, and are funded through
the Recreation revolving fund. The number of residents serviced by the department grows
each year, and the services provided by the department are highly valued. Ms. Fiorente
noted that a future request will be for a therapeutic recreation specialist to provide more
inclusive programming.
Public Safety:
Public Health:
Health Director Ade Solarin provided an overview of the Public Health budget. The Health
Department is a small department with a small budget and four full-time employees and
one part-time seasonal employee. There are also independent contractors such as the
Page 1 3
Animal Control Officer, and Tobacco Control Coordinator. The salary budget is consistent
with FY25 salary projections, which includes a 1.25% cost of living adjustment (COLA), a
2.35% step increase for non-union non -management employees, and a 2.5% step Increase
for non-union management employees. To keep up with the increased demand, the Health
Director position was recently reclassified as a forty -hour -per -week salaried position, which
is reflected in this budget. There is $8,200 added to the Support Staff line item for the new
part-time Weights and Measures Inspector, as the state is no longer providing those
inspections. There is a $1,500 increase to supplement the overtime line item to cover
overtime pay for inspection and work-related activities performed outside of working hours.
In the expenses budget, there is a $10,000 reduction to the Animal Disposal line item, as
$25,000 for Animal Control was just reassigned to Health from the Police Department.
There was also a $4,000 line item transfer from DPW for sharps disposal. There is also a
$500 requested increase for supplies, and a $1,000 increase for mileage reimbursement and
travel expenses. Overall, there is a $5,500 decrease in expenses, and a $28,375 increase
in salaries, with a total net budget Increase of 5.3% in the amount of $22,875.
Fire/EMS:
Fire Chief Greg Bums was joined by new Assistant Fire Chief Rick Nelson, and presented the
FY25 budget for the Fire Department. The Fire Department is responsible for four major
functions: Fire Prevention, Fire Suppression, Emergency Medical Systems, and Emergency
Management. There is no proposed increase in staffing for the FY25 budget. There are
grants in progress including: $1,000 SAFE grant for educating school children in fire safety,
$2,200 senior safe grant, $14,110 for firefighter safety equipment which will be used to
outfit new firefighters, and a $6,500 planning grant used to purchase specialized equipment
to put out electric vehicle fires. The department received notification that MEMA approved a
$418,191 reimbursement for the Town's response to COVID, which brings the total COVID
reimbursement from FEMA to $501,000. The FY25 budget increase is 4.1% over FY24.
Expenses Increase 1.1% and wages increase 4.3%. The increase in salaries is largely
driven by the pay and class study for non-union employees, and collective bargaining
agreements with unions. There is a $2,300 increase in expenses driven by EMS costs and
service contracts.
Police/Coalition/Dispatch:
Deputy Police Chief Christine Amendola presented the budget for the Police Department,
Coalition for Prevention and Support, and Dispatch. Wages for the Police Department have
increased 4.6% due to union contracts step increases and COLA, as well as non-union pay
and class adjustments. The department is fully staff with 46 police officers. Expenses are
level funded.
The Coalition salaries increased 3.5% based on the pay and class study. There are no
grants funding salaries. Expenses decrease 35.5%, as programs will be funded with the
opioid settlement money.
Salary increases for Dispatch were based on the pay and class study for the Head
Dispatcher who is non-union, and a 5.5% Increase for union contracts steps and COLAs. An
E-911 grant for $65,000 enabled a decrease in requested funding for overtime. Also, as of
today, Dispatch is fully staffed. Expenses were level -funded.
Town Department budget presentations will continue at the next meeting with Finance,
Public Works and Enterprise Funds, Library, and Facilities.
Mr. Ross shared the charge and composition of the Ad Hoc Community Preservation Act
Study Committee, which includes one ex -officio member of the Finance Committee, and
asked if any members were interested in being the FINCOM designee. Ioe Carnahan stated
that he is interested. Marianne Downing requested that Mr. Carnahan find out about the
true cost to residents, and whether the additional tax would be on the rate with debt
exclusions, or the rate without debt exclusions.
Page 14
On a motion by Emily Sisson, seconded by Endri Kume, the Finance Committee
voted unanimously 9-0-0 to appoint Joe Carnahan as the ex -officio Finance
Committee member to the Ad Hoc Community Preservation Act Study Committee.
Future Agendas:
Mr. Ross noted that the Committee is scheduled to meet next week and the week after, but
might be able to finish everything and vote on the budget and warrant articles next week.
Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes:
On a motion by Emily Sisson, seconded by Mark Zarrow, the Finance Committee
voted unanimously9-0-0 to approve the meeting minutes of February 28, 2024 as
presented.
On a motion by Emily Sisson, seconded by Joe Carnahan, the Finance Committee
voted unanimously 9-0-0 to adjourn at 9:25 pm.
Page 1 5