Lincoln Finance Committee
June 5, 2007 Meeting
Present: P. Giese, S. Haber, M. Hartman (vice-chair), J. Koenig, P. Phillipps, J. Robinson, R. Steinbrook (chair)
Absent:
Minutes submitted by: R. Steinbrook
The meeting was called to order at 7:35 pm in the Board of Selectman's office at Lincoln Town Hall.
The minutes of the 5-1-07 meeting were approved.
The chair announced that Pat Phillipps has completed two terms (six plus years) on the Finance Committee and will retire, effective June 30, 2007. Ellen Meyer Shorb has been appointed to a three-year term, effective July 1, 2007. Mary Hartman has been reappointed for a three-year term. Paul Giese has been reappointed for a one-year term.
The committee discussed the plans of the LSRHS school committee to use up to $10,000 from the Excess and Deficiency Fund for Safety Review committee expenses. By unanimous vote, the committee agreed with this use of these funds. The Sudbury Finance Committee has also agreed. It was noted that although written approval from the Lincoln and Sudbury Finance Committees is required to transfer unexpended funds into the E & D fund, expenditures are at the discretion of the school committee, according to the Regional Agreement.
The committee discussed the financial situation of the Pierce House. Following the completion of the Bentley College consulting report, an ad hoc committee (Mary Hartman is the Finance Committee representative) has been formed to consider the alternatives going forward. The committee will next meet in the fall. There was discussion of whether the Pierce House should be self-sustaining in terms of operating budget, operating budget plus maintenance plus capital, or should the Town continue to provide maintenance and capital funds and subsidize the operating budget (by paying the salary of the house manager). There was discussion of investment in infrastructure that would allow the Pierce House to generate more revenues in the long-term. The committee will consider these questions and discuss them
again at a future meeting.
The committee discussed the Comprehensive Long Range Plan and the draft request for proposal (RFP) for a consultant. Pat Phillips will attend the forthcoming meeting of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee and offer our suggestions as to how the draft RFP can be improved. There was concern that the timetable for the consultant was too short, that the services required were not clearly delineated, and that too many potential topics for the consultant to address were listed. It was felt that the RFP needed to be more clearly framed, and to be more focused and specific.
The committee met with Julie Dobrow, Chair, Lincoln School Committee, Mickey Brandmeyer, Superintendent of Schools and Buck Creel, Business Administrator, Lincoln Public Schools. There was discussion of a reserve fund transfer of $31,955 to "construct a re-therm kitchen in the Smith School to satisfy concerns expressed by the Lincoln Board of Health, to mitigate the need for variances granted by the BOH and to continue to improve the food service program at the Lincoln School." The School Department will allocate $21,000 from available end-of-year funds toward the project, which has a total estimated cost of $52,955. There was discussion of whether it was best to fund this project through the reserve fund or the FY '09 capital budget, in which case the work would not be completed until
the summer of 2008. The request was approved by unanimous vote. The work will be completed in the summer of 2007.
The Committee met with Tim Higgins, Town Administrator. The following reserve fund transfer requests were discussed, and each was then approved by unanimous vote.
Snow and Ice Expense: $66,751.37
Police Overtime: $34,000
DPW-Diesel Fuel, $11,000
Street Lighting: $6,000
The Town Administrator was asked to work with Chief Mooney to review police overtime for the last five years--including the management of overtime and reserve fund transfer requests--and to consider the budget implications for FY '09. The Town Administrator was asked to work with the Highway Department to consider energy-efficient options for street lighting.
Following the FY '07 reserve fund transfers to date, the remaining balance is $188,051.99.
By unanimous vote, the committee granted the Town authority to transfer appropriations between departments at the end of the fiscal year as specified in chapter 39, section 16, of the Municipal Relief Act. Approval by the Board of Selectmen is also required.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 pm.
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