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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-12-09 Select Board Minutes�' rx Town of Reading ttECE1VLU y Meeting Minutes TO'=VN CLERK F 1 - r` Board - Committee - Commission - council: 2826 XN - 7 Am 9: 31 Select Board Date: 2025-12-09 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Location: Select Board Meeting Room Session: Open Session Version: Final Chris Haley, Melissa Murphy, Karen Rose -Gillis, Carlo Bacci (Remote), Karen Gately Herrick Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Matt Kraunelis, Assistant Town Manager Jayne Wellman, Library Director Amy Lannon, Assistant Library Director Michelle Flleul, Director of Equity and Social Justice Albert Pless, Facilities Director Joe Huggins, CFO Sharon Angstrom, Town Clerk Laura Gemme, Human Resources Director Sean Donahue, Community Services Director Jenna Wood, Director of Operations Katie Gabriello, Community Development Director Andrew MacNichol, Executive Assistant Joshua Delaune, Marilyn Shapleigh, Assistant CFO/Treasurer Diane Morabito (Remote), Fire Chief Rick Nelson (Remote), RCN Studios (Remote), Computer Technician Tim Johnson (Remote), Angela Binda (Remote), Nancy D (Remote), Patrick Egan (Remote), Taylor Gregory (Remote) Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Madeleine Baptiste Topics of Discussion: This meetingwas held in -person in the Town Hall Select Board Meeting Room and remotely via Zoom. Chair Chris Haley called the meetingto order at 7:00 pm and gave a brief overview of the agenda. Carlo Bacci joined the meeting via Zoom at 7:01 pm. FY27 Budget Presentations Library Director Amy Lannon gave a detailed presentation of the department's FY27 Budget. She highlighted the department's mission and value to the community. The budget request is for a 2.7% increase, for a total budget of $2.32 million which includes fair wages for employees, certification and material maintenance, and funding for community programs. Ms. Lannon noted that expenses are slightly increased 1n materials and software licensing agreements due to renewal needs and that cuts were made in other expense areas to accommodate this. She ended the presentation by sharing that the Library continues to pursue grants and maintain services for the community. Carlo Bacci asked about overtime hours and Sunday staffing requirements. Ms. Lannon explained that there is a mix of part-time and fug -time staff and premium pay is used for Sunday operations and the minimal overtime if necessary. Karen Gately Herrick expressed interest in learning about which demographics use library services, and Ms. Lannon shared that while some of that is protected Page 1 1 information, she can run a general report on this. Chris Haley suggested putting! n the Friends of the Library's program funding in future budget presentations. Facilities Facilities Director Joe Huggins presented the Facilities requested budget for Fiscal year 2027 and requested a 4% salary increase for core facilities and town facilities due to union contracts. He mentioned that overtime is [wet funded and no new positions have been added. Mr. Huggins further explained that the Core Facilities expense budget decreased by 2%and the Town Facilities budget increased by 3%due to increased wages and building supplies, with a combined budget that decreased by 1 %. He concluded by highlighting the increase in the number of work orders from the previous year and accomplishments of the department. Board Members expressed concerns regarding overtime and projected costs for maintenance of the new buildings in progress like Reading Center for Active Living (ReCAL) and the Killam School. Administrative Services and Public Services Assistant Town Manager Jayne Wellman presented the budgets for both Administrative and Public Services, as she is leadership to both departments. Ms. Wellman detailed the personnel, responsibilities, and goals for each division. For the Administrative Services budget, including Human Resources, Operations, Town Clerk, Elections, and the Town Manager's office, the overall requested budget totals $3,069,352 which is an increase of 3.980%, with 5.50%for salaries and 2,84% for expenses. Ms. Wellman noted that without the increase in the Elections budget, this requested budget would be an increase of 1.98% as opposed to 3.98%. She suggested to the Board that in the future, to consistently budget for three elections to portray a more accurate prediction of what the budget will took like and could be a savings for the Town in the long run. Ms. Wellman then detailed the requested Public Services budget for FY27. She stated that this department consists of Community Development and CommunityServices and further noted the divisions in both departments. The Community Services divisions include Administration, Recreation, Veterans Services, and Elder and Human Services. The Administration division requested a budget of $317,600 showing an increased budget by 2.91 %. Community Services requested a budget of $777,579, which is a decrease of 1.39%with expenses decreasing by 11 % and salaries increasing by 1.49%. She then moved on to discuss Community Development which contains the following divisions: Planning and Conservation and Building and Permitting. Community Development requested a FY27 budget of an increase of 1.55%for a total of $786,900, accounting for increased salaries and 0% increased expenses. For Public Services as a whole, the requested budget is an increase of 1.96%for a total of $1.88 million and Accommodated Costs decreased by 16.35%. Ms. Wellman lastly stated that with Administrative and Public Services combined, the total budget request is $4.95 million and a 3.2% increase. She noted again that without the extra election costs to cover staff and expenses, the requested budget would be a 1.97% increase. Board Members expressed concerns with the number of staff and structure in the building department due to the five part-time inspectors. Community Development Director Andrew MacNichol stated that their current structure and staffing have been working well, but when people choose to transition out, a restructure would make sense. The Boartl inquired about unspent funds from elections. Ms. Wellman noted that any funds not spent on election equipment or Vote by Mail costs that are not reimbursed from the State would be put towards free cash. The Board also expressed concerns with the Town Manager's salary number as the percentage looked like a big increase in the presentation. Karen Gately Herrick suggested the idea of sponsorships to offset the loss of ARPA funding. Finance CFO Sharon Angstrom presented the FY27 Finance Budget and noted the department consists of Accounting, Assessing, and General Finance, including treasury and collectors. She highlighted responsibilities of finance including payroll, cash management, state and federal reporting, and property tax operations. Ms. Angstrom shared that the Town has reaffirmed its AAA bond rating and received praise for the approach to forecasting and capital planning. The FY27 requested budget is up 2.7% primarily due to salaries increasing. Ms. Angstrom stated this is a modest budget where cuts were made to keep costs down. Carlo Bacci inquired about the departments overtime, and Ms. Angstrom noted that it is used only in emergencies and not often. She also mentioned that the Town is planning for a potential override at some point and that will be better determined by watching the cash flow. She concluded by stating that every department had to make budget cuts because in their initial look through the budget, it was roughly $300,000 over the Finance Committee's approved number and was addressed by reducing the planned 3.6% non -union salary increase to 3%. The Police Department offered to take $56,000 out of their budget for a cruiser that would be replaced by insurance. Ms. Angstrom accepted the offer and was able to return to the 3.6%. Shared Costs CFO Sharon Angstrom presented the Shared Costs for FY27 and stated that this includes benefits, capital, debt and vocational schools. Shared Costs are up by 23.6%at a cost of $41 million, largely due to the excluded debt, which has increased by 8%. The costs of employee and retiree benefits increase significantly due to Health Insurance, putting benefit up by 11.1 %. Ms. Angstrom highlighted the capital spending on various projects with a total of $2.96 million. She also further detailed the FY27 debt, broken down into within the levy and excluded debt, such as Killam and ReCAL. The debt within the levy is up 30%and is broken down by school buildings and community improvements. She reminded the Board of Reading's reaffirmed AAA bond rating and with 10 bids for the $68,915,000 20-year general obligation bond issue, the winning bidder is offering a 3.317%interest rate. Ms. Angstrom noted vocational schools' percentage is up by 2.9% due to increased enrollment. Board Members suggested reviewing employee contributions to health benefits. Karen Gately Herrick expressed concerns with the timing of the debt exclusions hitting taxpayer bills lining up with the potential override and wants to avoid overburdening residents. Ms. Angstrom ended her presentation with a summary of the budget highlighting that FINCOM approved the use of $6.75 million in free cash to support the budget but with the savings from the debt, Ms. Angstrom plans to use $6.55 million for the operating budget. With these savings, Ms. Angstrom noted plans to request the use of $80k for new software at the Police Department, as it is considered a community priority. She stated that due to all departments being conscious of the budget and being willing to make cuts wherever necessary, the budget is balanced aside from the $80k. Discuss and Vote on Extension of Deadline for Tom Manager Ren^er• and Notification of Contract Renewal Karen Rose -Gillis moved that the Board extend the deadlines of the Town Manager Review, to be completed by February 10, 2026, and Notification of Contract Renewal, to be completed by February 16, 2026. The motion was seconded by Karen Gately Herrick and approved by a vote of 5-0. Roll Call Vote: Carlo Bacci -Yes, Karen Rose -Gillis - Yes, Karen Gately Herrick -Yes, Melissa Murphy - Yes, Chris Haley -Yes Vote to Approve B nd Issuance of $68 915.000 Assistant CFO/Treasurer Diane Morabito presented the final bond structure, prepared by Bond Counsel, for a bond issuance of $68,915,000 for 2025 bonds to fund various projects including the Killam School and ReCAL. Ms. Morabito explained that the first principal payment of $1.82 million will be due 1n October 2026. She also shared that the estimated tax impact for the first tranche of the Killam and ReCAL projects will be $590.59 per average valuation of $892,000. Karen Rose -Gillis moved to approve the vote for the issuance of the Town's $68,915,000 General Obligation Municipal Purpose Loan of 2025 Bonds dated December 18, 2025, as prepared by bond counsel. The motion was seconded by Karen Gately Herrick and approved by a vote of 5-0. Roll Call Vote: Carlo Bacci-Yes, Karen Rose -Gillis -Yes, Karen Gately Herrick -Yes, Mousse Murphy - Yes, Chris Haley -Yes Melissa Murphy moved to adjourn. The motion was sewnded by Karen Gately Herrick and approved by a vote of 5-0. Roll Call Vote: Carlo Bocci -Yes, Karen Rase -Gillis -Yes, Karen Gately Herrick -Yes, Melissa Murphy - Yes, Chris Haley -Yes The meeting adjourned at 10:12 pm.