Minutes Nov. 7, 2002
Lincoln Finance Committee
Present: Susan Brooks, Mary Cancian, Paul Giese, Al Schmerzler, Pat Phillipps, John Robinson;
absent: Robert Steinbrook.
Minutes from Oct. 10 and 22 were approved.
The Chairs Report discussed meetings with Tim Higgins and the Finance Director as well as meetings with the LS Joint Subcommittee (LSJS). Pat reported that LSJS was proceeding agreeably to help coordinate the two FinComs financial guidance to LSRHS. Sudbury is clearly worried that State Aid will be further reduced and that the town will not pass an override this year.
We also continued our discussion of lessons learned from the State of the Town (SOTT) meeting:
Revenue raising ideas at SOTT replaced the normal expense critique because of the (non budget) nature of the meeting. Present and near term budget climate opens door for more objective consideration of revenue ideas in the future.
Tax relief discussion was noticeably absent at SOTT. The Committee reiterated its conviction that this is a crucial issue for the town. Will seek to motivate the Select Board to take action here.
A major benefit of SOTT was inter-Boards communication and articulating key issues to each other as well as to the public. A response from key town boards deemed critical for sustaining public interest in future SOTTs.
The implication from SOTT also clear that volunteer board membership increasingly burdensome as the world and the town become more complex and sophisticated. The question of what to do about it is unresolved.
Laiason Reports
Capital Plan: Al reported the Capital Planning Committee s recommendation for evening the load of FY04 and FY05 capital projects as follows: the 04 budget would include $120K for K-8 (Classroom rehab, tech upgrade and chimney repair), $60K for two police cruisers (the third previously requested being delayed for a year or two) and $266K for the town s post-Pentamation computer upgrade. The last item was advanced from the 05 budget with the expectation that it would in fact be feasible for the Finance Department to accomplish the conversion in the waning months of fiscal 04. These changes result in a Capital Plan for 04 of about $450K, close to the $400K projected in the FAA model.
K-8 Task Force: Pat reported that the Task Force report would be available at the Superintendent s office on the Friday before their Nov 19 public presentation. Its analysis suggests that Lincoln K-8 costs are slightly higher than comparable towns because of Lincoln s lower teacher (adult) to student ratio and higher teacher salaries. K-8 classes are smaller than their guidelines require; the Task Force may recommend relaxing this constraint at a saving of about $300K - 400K a year. Other conclusions demonstrate that Lincoln is not out of line in the areas of Administration Costs or SPED and that METCO seems to be costing Lincoln about $250K a year more than the state allocation. These and other findings to be detailed in the TF
report.
MMA: Al, Susan and Paul will attend the Association of Town Finance Committees (ATFC) meeting at Holy Cow in Worcester on Nov. 16th . It was agreed that the $50 pp registration fee should be covered by the town, employing a RFT if necessary.
Communications: Mary handed out her preliminary write up of the SOTT article for the FinCom s budgeting process series in the Lincoln Journal. Mary will include the additional inputs expressed by FinCom in the last two meetings and will send her draft to Susan and Paul ASAP for final review and submission to the next edition of the Journal. Mary offered to write the rest of the articles in the series, gathering committee input, submitting a preliminary draft the to the committee for review, and the final draft to Susan and Paul for sign off and submission. The four remaining articles are scheduled around the following topics and dates:
Town and Selects Budget Nov. 18th
K8 Budget - Dec. 12th
LSRHS Budget Jan. 9th
Budget Closure and Final Article Jan. 16th
FinCom reviewed the FAA model with updated numbers to prepare itself for the Town side budget meeting with the Selects on November 18. Updated inputs included reductions in LSRHS debt, probable increase in certified 02 FreeCash, alterations in Pension and Insurance costs (including the P&I imbedded in the LSRHS assessment) and changes to the Capital Plan. Because of extreme uncertainty in both State Aid and Local Revenues it was decided to create a Revenue Uncertainty line item in the FAA model.
The meeting was adjourned. The next FinCom meeting will be Monday, Nov. 18th, with the Board of Selectmen and the Town presenting their FY04 budget proposal. The meeting will be held in the Donaldson Room starting @ 7:30PM.
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