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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of fin com 09112008 Town of Mansfield Finance Committee Meeting Minutes of September 11, 2008 FCf:'''',Ct\ ,- ','- v '. ,/ ,J t- 0 ~..\/ r-:: ': ,1' ~ " . '~;\($ O[-'-F ICE 21)';8 . Uir ,In" I ~ "'h I (j A ''--\ 8: ltl Attending: James Lazzara Greg Arnold Andres Gazzolo Jack Goldberg Tommy Ratliff [ / i , ......, ; \~ Motion: To Open at 7:30p.m. (Gazzola - Lazzara) 5 - 0 Passes Five Year Forecast Mr. Gazzolo reviewed the five year forecast and mentioned that the Finance Committee needs to work towards working out numbers for the schools and the town budgets. He said that they need to take away all of the fixed expenses and debt to really determine the amount that they have to work with. Mr. Gazzolo also mentioned that $450,000 that was given to the schools was a one time allocation and that they had been told that they would need to make adjustments for the future. He said that Mr. Arnold is currently working out these numbers and that once he has a better idea of what they are the Finance Committee will go through the numbers together. Mr. Lazzara mentioned an email that Mr. Arnold had sent mentioning that the numbers are not based off of the final numbers from last year. Mr. Gazzolo said that this forecast should represent the revenue and expenses separately for the next five years. Mr. Lazzara stressed that the Finance Committee should be very clear with the Board of Selectmen when presenting the five year forecast. Mr. Gazzolo suggested that the Finance Committee review all of the numbers in the first part of the following week and that once they have done this they can pass the information along for Ms. Kearney and Mr. D'Agostino to review before the meeting on Wednesday, September 17. Mr. Goldberg suggested that the Finance Committee provide several options for the different scenarios that could potentially play out over the coming years. Mr. Gazzolo mentioned that he wanted to stress that the forecast would become a living document that would be reviewed every six months to a year. Mr. Lazzara mentioned that three years from now the town should be better able to identify their financial situation; all of the contracts in town will have been negotiated again at that point. Audit Committee Mr. Gazzolo mentioned that he wanted to remind the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee of the meeting scheduled for October 2; he also said that he wanted to be sure to provide the Board of Selectmen and School Committee's with the information about the formation of an Audit Committee prior to that meeting. Town Accountant Interviews Mr. Goldberg told the Finance Committee that he has been sitting in on interviews for the new town accountant and they have narrowed it down to three candidates that will now go through situational interviews. Mr. Gazzolo mentioned that Ms. Kearney offered to extend her services for a month so that there will be some overlap with the new accountant. Mr. Goldberg said that he felt any of the three candidates are competent enough to do the job. Mr. Gazzolo mentioned that the Finance Committee had put a month's overlap in the budget last year, but asked about the salary ranges being requested by the potential candidates. Mr. Goldberg said that they are all in different parts of the range, but that they are all within reason given the experience that the candidates possess. Mr. Gazzolo suggested that the Finance Committee may want to make a suggestion on salary when it gets to that part of the negotiations. ,. SubCommittees Mr. Gazzolo mentioned that one item that is still open is the Board of Selectmen's request that the Finance Committee form subcommittees to cover different areas of the budget as they had the previous year. Mr. Gazzolo said that he would distribute an email to the Finance Committee with the roles that the members held last year and then they would be able to decide whether those roles should be revived or adjusted. Mr. Lazzara pointed out that the Finance Committee should be sure to bring all new members of the various boards and committees up to date and to ensure that they fully understand the purpose. Mr. Gazzolo suggested that the Finance Committee members review the various roles and that by the next meeting everyone should have an idea of the subcommittees that they would be a part of or if they have a strong opinion about the role of another member of the committee. Discussion Mr. Ratliff mentioned that he had been keeping a list of items that needed follow-up for the Finance Committee. Mr. Gazzolo mentioned that a few of the items on that list should be reviewing the project subcommittees, the five year forecast, department assignments and the five year capital plan. Along with the capital plan he mentioned that they will need to push back the budget in this area, since the town will not be able to support $95 million over the next five years. The Finance Committee briefly reviewed the mail theyreceived.Mr. Gazzolo mentioned that they had been sent the budgets as requested. Mr. Gazzolo also mentioned that the reserve fund maintained the same $100,000 as the previous month. Vote Motion to approve minutes of August 28 Finance Committee meeting. (Goldberg - Ratliff) 3 - 0 - 1 Passes Debt Profile and Outside Reports Mr. Gazzolo briefly stated that the Finance Committee monitors the town's debt and this gives them the ability to determine the financial health of the town. Mr. Gazzolo also mentioned that with the outside reports the town needs to plan ahead. Motion: To Close at 8:15p.m. (Goldberg - Ratliff) 4 - 0 Passes (i.'QCJ;jJr~~u ) Signature f Clerk )/ ') '" 71 ' V u { (/)0 . (') 1/ Date of Approval -