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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of fin com 04032008 Town of Mansfield Finance Committee Minutes of April 3, 2008 ",.1, or:-,...C' I V-ED nLL.c Ct,f:':~i\S OFFICE lnUB KAY -q A F 5b Attending: James Lazzara Charlene Lavin Jess Aptowitz Greg Arnold Jack Goldberg ;'~ T1... ~:; F E L 0 ,'-1 ' -. ': (, F 1 ~ E- T T S --'. ,.j Motion: To Open at 7:30p.m. (Lazzara - Arnold) 5 - 0 Passes Schools Mr. Arnold said that two years ago the schools were told that the increases would be 3% and that is what the recommended increase has been since. The steps and lane changes that are already in place will provide the 3% increase and that these numbers have been consistent for the last few years. Mr. Goldberg said that the request of a 4.8% increase is not in line with the requests historically and that the town should cut 1.7% off of the request. The Finance Committee broke into two groups, one comprised of Mr. Arnold and Ms. Lavin who examined the budget line by line to determine any discrepencies, the other group made up of Mr. Lazzara, Mr. Aptowitz and Mr. Goldberg who examined the FTE over the last five years. The group that examined FTE determined that since 2005 the FTE has remained flat and not increased, yet the salaries have gone up 24% and since they haven't added bodies these are pure salary increases. This group divided the total salary by the number of FTE to determine the average salary. Mr. Lazzara said that the Finance Committee needs to make their recommendation based on what's available in the operating budget. Mr. Goldberg said that the schools didn't lose any positions; the number of FTE went up every year as did the salary. Mr. Dentino said that the townspeople want to know where the money is being spent, that the town can't fool them, and that overall they agree with the recommendations of the Finance Committee. Mr. Aptowitz said that if the Finance Committee starts getting into details they are accused of micromanagement. The group that examined the budgets side by side came to the conclusion the Finance Committee need new salary and expense aggregate numbers from Mr. D'Agostino because they weren't able to match up the two budgets. Mr. Arnold said that the municipal cuts are not reflected in the budgeted salaries. Mr. Goldberg questioned the group on whether the town is negotiating contracts the best way possible; he doesn't believe they are. Ms. Lavin pointed out that last year at the last minute the town was able to come up with the money to provide a higher increase in salaries; she questioned where that money came from. Budget Analysis Mr. Arnold said that the Finance Committee should look into the town's interest in taking the 4.88% increase in salaries out of the stabilization fund; the original draft showed an increase of 4.25%. Mr. Arnold proposed that the Finance Committee needs updated salary and expense totals. Mr. Arnold said that the Finance Committee should plan to show the $45,000 debt change on a slide at the Concerned Citizens meeting the next week. Mr. Lazzara said that the long term debt includes many things and really needs to be considered town financed debt. Mr. Aptowitz asked the committee how the town is doing on the actual expenses this year versus the budget. He said that he knows snow and ice are significantly over budget. Capital Improvement Plan Ms. Lavin said that the modular classrooms are a looming expense of approximately $1,000,000 added to the town's debt; and that it is not something that can be put off for very long. Mr. Arnold said that right now the modular classrooms are not included in the budget. Mr. Lazzara said that the $1,000,000 in debt will likely be spread over 20 years. Mr. Goldberg said that if the town is going to use a debt exclusion for the modular classrooms they should not do the exclusion for $1,000,000 but that they should add other expenses in as well since the town will be paying for the cost of getting the money for the exclusion. Ms. Lavin said that the town should plan to include the cost of buildings and new fire trucks in with the debt exclusion in that case. Mr. Lazzara said that the Finance Committee should be sure to point out that if the town goes for an override now they will not be able to do a debt exclusion in the fall and that the Finance Committee would not recommend getting trying to get an operational override and a debt exclusion. Additional Oiscussionllnformation Review of Finance Committee Mail Mr. Lazzara brought up the Concerned Citizens meeting scheduled for April 10, 2008 at the high school. It was discussed that the Finance Committee is going to prepare a presentation for this meeting. This presentation will include: how the budget works, an overview of the last five years, provide a diagram showing the full time equivalent (FTE) for town and school employees and an overview of where the costs are for the town. Mr. Arnold said that salary and wages have been discussed at past meetings and the Finance Committee should be prepared to discuss those as well as benefits. Mr. Arnold also said that the town must keep contract raises within a certain range. Mr. Arnold stressed that the Finance Committee should let the town know that if they are going to consider using an override or the stabilization fund they should know that it's not going to be an option in the future. Mr. Lazzara said that the Finance Committee should make it clear what the budget is, and that the town will need to work with what is available. Mr. Lazzara went through the questions that the Concerned Citizens presented to him and other town committees. Ms. Lavin asked which of these questions the Finance Committee would be responsible for answering. One of the presented questions concerned the FTEs for the schools and where the numbers were coming from. The Finance Committee determined that they would prepare an answer for this question. Mr. Arnold pointed out that when examining the FTE the numbers do not take into account maternity leaves, FMLA and substitute teachers; these changes will skew the numbers. The committee discussed the new mall and the question presented by the Concerned Citizens. It was said that although people think that the mall brought in a large revenue for the town, it doesn't in actuality. The real estate tax is not nearly as high as people seem to think it is. Mr. Dentino arrived at 8:15p.m. Mr. Dentino left at 8:40p.m. Mr. Aptowitz left at 8:45p.m.