Minutes - Oct. 22, 2002
Finance Committee
Present: Susan Brooks, Paul Giese, Pat Phillips, John Robinson, Al Schmerzler, Robert Steinbrook; absent: Mary Cancian.
Chairs' Report: Susan and Paul reported on the latest of their regular meetings with Tim Higgins and Colleen Wilkins. They noted a potential Reserve Fund Transfer (RFT) to pay for unemployment compensation. This year, the Town's annual $25K allotment is likely to be exceeded by the end of October. It is estimated that the remaining liability for those currently collecting will be $20K - $30K and that this amount will eventually be sought as a transfer request.
Also, the Middlesex County Retirement assessment for 04 has increased dramatically, although the allocation formula has also changed - largely in favor of smaller towns (like Lincoln). Therefore, while some towns are facing as much as a 50% or 70% increase, Lincoln's is closer to 12% (up from 5% forecast). This represents an increase of approximately $80K in the P& I line item. These numbers are subject to further refinement.
State of the Town (SOTT) Meeting: We reviewed the major themes and comments heard at the SOTT meeting the previous weekend. Points and comments included:
Importance and risk of 40B developments and their impact on future school costs, town water and land
Seeming general acceptance and support for CPA
Surprising focus on re-exploring revenue opportunities in the future rather than pounding on the spending agencies to reduce further.
Little mention of tax relief
We discussed the agenda for the joint L/S FinComs' meeting with the LS School Committee starting a few minutes later.
Liaison Reports:
LSHS Building Committee: Al reported that the building project is now on schedule again.
K-8: Robert and Susan reported on a cordial and seemingly beneficial meeting with the Superintendent and SC Chair; they discussed budget presentation format, meeting dates and related items.
The meeting was adjourned in order to attend the joint L/S FinComs' meeting with the LS School Committee. The next scheduled FinCom meeting will be Thursday, Nov. 7, STSP.
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