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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of fin com 07242008 Town of Mansfield Finance Committee Minutes of July 24, 2008 h' r- r' r- J \I/='D . "_Vl.- j 1..- C-n1.:rr- ..'. nt\.) OFFICE lDllB Sf? -5 A 8: 58 Attending: Andres Gazzolo James Lazzara Tom Ratliff Karl Chambers Greg Arnold Jack Goldberg SF-- f~; .0 ; J :~; j~' -r T {~ Motion: To Open at 7:30p.m. (Arnold - Ratliff) 6 - 0 Passes Vote Motion to approve minutes of July 17 Finance Committee meeting. (Lazzara - Goldberg) 6 - 0 passes Five Year Forecast Mr. Gazzolo explained to the committee that he met with Ms. Kearney and reviewed the town's revenue projection through 2014. He continued with explanations of certain specifics of the projection, such as one-time sources of revenue, conservative projections for local receipts due to economic slow down, etc. He said that they will be meeting again on Friday to review the town's expense projection for the next five years. Charter Procedure for Mansfield There was a brief discussion on the charter guidelines for the town relative to the general topic of union negotiations with various municipal and school unions. Discussion Mr. Gazzolo reminded the committee that to his knowledge there has been no additional recruiting for the town accountant's position which Ms. Kearney will be vacating in October. It is customary to provide a three month overlap in this situation so the time is getting very critical. He stated that he will remind the board of selectmen of this situation. Additional discussion arose regarding the contract negotiations in Mansfield and the suggestion that it would be beneficial to the town if all contracts could be phased into the same renewal time frame. It was noted that this would take more than a year to implement if it was adopted by the town. Mr. Gazzolo suggested that the finance committee craft a recommendation to the town manager along this line, since the town manager has the ultimate authority in this regard. Once again, the subject of using a professional negotiator was discussed but reconfirmed that even that person will need to be operating under guidelines provided by the board of selectmen; the five year forecast was used as an example. It was decided that Mr. Gazzolo and Mr. Arnold prepare a brief presentation for the board of selectmen sometime in the first week of September. This will be suggested to the board of selectmen this week. Mr. Lazzara reminded the committee that the electric department conducts quarterly reviews of their budget as the year progresses. They do this on an "exception basis" only in order to catch any relevant deviations within any section of their budget. It was suggested that this procedure would work throughout the town's municipal and school departments without causing undue strain on the managers. Mr. Goldberg reported that he has been reviewing the electric department's budget forecast and would like to have the opportunity to be involved with the board of selectmen meeting when the auditor will be attending. The meeting is currently scheduled for August 20 and this conflicts with a previously - scheduled trip by Mr. Goldberg. He suggested to Mr. Gazzolo that the board of selectmen may be willing to reschedule the auditor's meeting to the beginning or middle of September when he would be able to participate. He reminded the committee that the concept of an audit committee was suggested two years ago but that there was no subsequent movement by those involved to solidify this recommendation. All agreed that it appears to be in the best interest of the town to have such a Committee available for the town manager's use. Mr. Goldberg suggested that this committee could be made up of a representative from each area of involvement; the board of selectmen, finance committee, school department, and two representatives from the citizens at large. Mr. Gazzolo then raised the question of formalizing a procedure that engages all relevant aspects of the budget process. Mr. Ratliff offered to work on developing a more detailed recommendation on this topic, to be reviewed by the committee and then presented to the board of selectmen. Mr. Gazzolo suggested a workshop be set up with the school department to see what the upcoming budget year will look like; Mr. Lazzara offered to speak with the school department and set something up. Review of Finance Committee Department Budget Assignments The finance committee determined which members would work with the various departments for this fiscal year. School Department Assessor, Accounting, Finance MIS Building and Grounds, Police, Fire, DPW, Parking Enterprise and Engineering Board of Health, Seniors, Veterans, Library, Parks and Recreation, Conservation, Clerk and Planning Electric Department Water & Sewer Parking Airport CIP Town Manager & Personnel Motion: To Close at 8:1p.m. (Ratliff - G 01 6 - 0 passes Mr. Lazzara, Mr. Goldberg and Mr. Chambers Mr. Lazzara and Mr. Arnold Ms. Lavin and Mr. Gazzolo Mr. Arnold and Mr. Ratliff Mr. Gazzolo Mr. Lazzara, Mr. Goldberg and Mr. Chambers Ms. Lavin and Mr. Ratliff Mr. Arnold Mr. Gazzolo Ms. Lavin and Mr. Ratliff Mr. Gazzolo ~J~f'- Da e '0 Approval -