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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-10-13 Finance Committee Minutes1 0'; " !'C':._ ► i ,Finance Committee Minutes t October 131 1993 2,7 0' The meet`Sng con°vsned at 7:30 p.m. in the Arnold Berger Conference Room, Town Hall, Reading, MA. Present were Chairman Dick Coco; Vice Chairman Fred VanMagness; FinCom members Jim Keigley, Gerry MacDonald, Bill Murphy, Stephen Blewitt; Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner; Maria Silvaggi from the Chronicle; Matt Cummings, Robin D'Antona and Bob Munnelly from the Reading School Depart- ment; Chief Edward Marchand; Lts. Robert Silva and Kevin Patter- son; Police Officers Paul Peoples, Chris Logan, Jim Cormier and Rick Nelson from the Reading Police Department. The Chairman asked for volunteers to serve on the Swimming Pool Task Force and there were no volunteers forthcoming. The Chairman reported on the'Tax Classification Task Force upon which he served. 30% of Massachusetts towns have classification and this percentage is reflected among neighboring communities. The sense of the Task Force is not to change from a single tax classification. It was noted that we are still receiving mail from the Finance Committee Association, although we no longer belong. The Finance Committee reviewed the Warrant for the Subsequent Town Meeting. Under Article 4 amendments to the budget, the Town Manager outlined that there were proposed budget amendments in the amount of approximately $360,000, which would still allow the tax rate to be reduced from our tax levy limit by $500,000. The Committee reviewed proposed school operations with the Super- intendent of Schools. As part of the override there was agree- ment that $125,000 would be restored to the schools if the Town received additional state aid for schools. This results in .5 Reading/ Teaching position at the High School, .5 Computer posi- tion at the middle schools, one full-time and two half-time cus- todians, additional education assistance for the elementary, middle schools and high schools, and professional development totaling $125,000. On motion by Van Magness, seconded by Mac- Donald the Board voted to recommend the increase of the school appropriation by $125,000 by a vote of 6-0-0. Also by agreement as part of the override discussion, the cost of school roof repairs and track replacement will be added to the school budget and the bonding authorization for the school roof rescinded. This totaled $88,314, and this amount was recommended to be added to the school budget, on motion by Van Magness seconded by MacDonald and a vote of 6-0-0. The Finance Committee discussed the addition to the health in- surance budget of $45,000 for health insurance for cafeteria employees. The history of the cafeteria program was reviewed. The Revolving Fund has a balance of $42,000 in the beginning of FY94 as it had at the beginning of FY93. This is without paying for health insurance costs. The school tried to make the cafeteria self sufficient, but given the revenue capabilities by raising lunch prices, this is not possible. It was noted that this would result in a $.21 per meal subsidy, and Dr. Munnelly indicated that the state mandates meals as a public policy - this is not a business decision. The School Department has evaluated privatizing this function. FinCom members were very concerned that the municipal government got "stiffed" for this amount in FY93 and the School Department still did not return any surplus to the free cash account. Dr. Munnelly indicated that Special Ed needs, repairs due to a fire in the High School, etc. made it im- possible to return money to the Town. On motion by Murphy seconded by MacDonald the Board voted to recommend the increase of the health insurance budget by $45,000 by a vote of 3-1-2. Fred Van Magness' motion to amend this amount received no second. The Finance Committee reviewed the remainder of the budget changes. They held action on any funding for the 350th Committee and for economic development expenses. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Blewitt the Committee voted to increase the Cemetery appropriation by $4,100; $2000 of which will be from some type of perpetual care. The vote was 6-0-0. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Murphy the Board voted to in- crease the data processing budget by $5,590 by a vote of 6-0-0 in order to correct problems in data processing. On motion by Van Magness seconded by Murphy the Board voted to increase the Health Department non-personal expense budget for dead animal pick up in the amount of $2,500. The motion was ap- proved by a vote of 6-0-0. On motion by Van Magness seconded by MacDonald the Board voted to increase building maintenance non-personal expenses in the amount of $6700 for expenses related to the Senior Center by a vote of 6-0-0. The Town Manager recommended an increase of $17,000 in Police personal services for overtime. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Murphy the Finance Committee voted to hold action on this mat- ter because they did not have adequate information to back it up. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-2-0. On motion by Keigley seconded by Van Magness to reconsider hold- ing this item was defeated by a vote of 2-4-0. On motion by Van Magness seconded by Murphy the Board considered a motion to increase Fire Department personal service by the amount of $41,500. The main motion was amended by Blewitt seconded by MacDonald to increase the budget by $21,500. The .amendment failed by a vote of 3-3-0. The main motion also failed by a vote of 3-3-0. On motion by Van Magness seconded Murphy the Committee voted to reconsider the vote on the Fire Department personal services budget by a vote of 5-1-0. On motion by Van Magness seconded by Keigley the Board voted to recommend an in- crease of $41,500 in the Fire Department budget by a vote of 4-1-1. On motion by Murphy seconded by Blewitt the Board voted to.in- crease the Dispatchers non-personal expense budget by $1,800 for uniforms by a vote of 4-2-0. On motion by Van Magness seconded by Keigley the Board voted to increase the animal control personal services budget by $4,750 by a vote of 6-0-0. On motion by Keigley seconded by Van Magness the Board voted to reconsider holding the Police and Personal Services budget until Spring. The motion to reconsider failed by a vote of 2-4-0. The Town Manager informed FinCom that there would be money needed for two special elections and hopefully this information will be available for the next meeting. The Finance Committee reviewed the Quinn Bill. The Town Manager outlined that the Quinn Bill is a professional development incen- tive program for Police Officers. Chief Marchand indicated that we are no longer competitive in terms of hiring Police Officers. Of 25 communities, Reading ranks 23rd in pay for a typical 15 year officer with a Bachelor's Degree. Adoption of the Quinn Bill would move Reading to the 11th position. He indicated that having a well educated Police force was extremely important for the Police to be able to do their jobs in an increasingly complex society. Officer Paul Peoples reviewed the packet of information that had been sent to FinCom previously. The Town Manager summarized the financial data indicating that there would be little or no financial effect in FY94, FY95, or FY96. He recommended the Quinn Bill as being a way to capture additional State Funds and make our Police Department more com- petitive. Bill Burditt indicated that this is a negotiations issue, and that as a member of the Board of Selectmen and Liaison to Public Safety he felt that it is a win/win proposition and he supports it. He feels that it is good for the Police Officers and good for the Town. He felt the previous Town Meeting con- cerns were addressed. On motion by Murphy seconded by MacDonald the Finance Committee recommended that Town Meeting approve Ar- ticle 7 known as the Quinn Bill as presented. The motion was ap- proved by a vote of 6-0-0. On motion by Van Magness seconded by MacDonald the Finance Com- mittee approved the Reserve Fund transfer in the amount $5,844.14 by a vote of 6-0-0. This was for interest on an Appellate Tax Board case. It was requested that the Police come back with additional infor- mation at the next meeting as to why their overtime is high to date. The Chairman indicated that FinCom member Bill Albro would be resigning because of personal reasons. Gerry MacDonald requested that we have CPDC present at the next meeting to discuss issues of the overlay, land and boundaries on Bear Hill. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Murphy the Finance Committee voted to adjourn at 10:35 p.m. by a vote of 6-0-0. Respectfully submitted, Secretary i