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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of fin com 10022008 Town of Mansfield Finance Committee Workshop" Minutes of October 2, 2008 . PF 1'!FD ",,_ _"I. '_ '''' ," c' n!.::'c ICE ,,) IJ! I Attending: James Lazzara Greg Arnold Jack Goldberg Tommy Ratliff Charlene Lavin Karl Chambers zuns NDV 1 8 /J.. 8: t~ 1 Motion: To Open at 7:15p.m. (Lazzara - Arnold) 6 - 0 Passes Mr. Lazzara introduced the Finance Committee and welcomed all those in attendance. He explained that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the formation of an Audit Committee and also to discuss the financial forecast for the town. Audit Committee Mr. Goldberg said that it was the recommendation of the Finance Committee that the town form an Audit Committee. This committee would ensure good practices that should be embedded in the town's process as a whole. It also would promote trust and benefit the taxpayer. Mr. Goldberg read a statement from one of the handouts he provided on recommended best practices for the town of Freetown made by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Local Services. This document recommended that Freetown form an Audit Committee and the roles of the individuals that serve on this committee; three to five members which might include members of the Finance Committee, School Committee, Board of Selectmen and citizens that do not work for the town or serve on another committee. Mr. Goldberg read the formal recommendation of the Finance Committee. There was some discussion in regards to who should serve on the committee and how they should be chosen. Mr. Trowbridge expressed his concern that if the Board of Selectmen chooses the two at large citizens then the board would be weighted toward the Board of Selectmen. He suggested that the Board of Selectmen and School Committee each choose one member of the committee, Ms. Levine suggested that the Audit Committee not have any standing members from the School Committee or Board of Selectmen; that those members are too political and this committee should be nonbiased. Mr. Goldberg explained that the Audit Committee will need members that have a working knowledge of the town; they will be making recommendations to the town. Ms. Levine expressed that she felt the Audit Committee should not have input from other committees, that their role is to be a step above and pure from what the other groups think. Mr. D'Agostino said that the Board of Selectmen are the ones that set policy and choose on newly formed boards and committees; the town doesn't have a choice but to listen to them. He said that that is what the charter states and that the town should try and work with the existing charter. Mr. Goldberg expressed that the recommendation he was making was that of the Finance Committee and that ultimately the Board of Selectmen will be the ones to decide whether or not to form the committee as well as who serves on that committee. Mr. Goldberg went on with the Finance Committee recommendation to explain the roles and responsibilities of the Audit Committee. There was some discussion in regards to how the charter is written and whether these roles and responsibilities would fit within the current charter. Mr. Goldberg expressed that these items can be reworded to fit within the charter but that they should focus on the ideas, Mr. Lazzara explained that this forum was to establish the process for the committee not on the specifics of how they will carry out their duties; that what was being explained is the overview of the frameworks for the committee. Mr. Goldberg was clear in stating that the Audit Committee would report to - the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Goldberg explained that for the past several years the Finance Committee has been reviewing the audit. He stated that this is not the responsibility of the Finance Committee, but that previously the only other groups that were looking at the audit results were the individuals involved in the audit. Model for Revenues and Expenses Mr. Arnold explained that his presentation is a follow-up to something that the Finance Committee had proposed several years ago, but that had never been put into action. He expressed that the contracts will be expiring soon and that this is something that the town needs to look closely at those negotiations. The model that the Finance Committee has created will allow for the Schools and the Municipal side to see what money they have available; what they do with that money is up to them. This model will allow them to see the impact of the decisions that they make over the life of the contract. He said that having an idea about new hires and added expenses will create a more realistic financial picture for the town. The Finance Committee proposed that the Board of Selectmen and School Committee each choose one or two representatives to sit with a representative of the Finance Committee and work through the model to get the best numbers possible. This group would go through the revenues and expenses to come up with an understanding of what the Town's forward-looking revenue and expense picture looks like. Mr. Trowbridge suggested that this discussion take place in executive session since the group will be discussing strategy; there was no opposition to that suggestion. Mr. Arnold said that ideally this model would be looked at every year or two to maintain the best numbers. Mr. Trowbridge expressed that he would be happy to discuss this further, that he sees the benefit, but that the schools do not renegotiate contracts until 2010. Mr. Trowbridge suggested that they have input from the full boards in the beginning but that ultimately there would only need to be a few people involved in the process. Mr. Aptowitz expressed that the model will show the differences between the base rate increases and the all in percentages; these numbers vary greatly and that has created problems over the years. Mr. Arnold expressed that the next round of contract negotiations will determine where the town will be financially over the next few years. Mr. Lazzara expressed that the intent of the Finance Committee is get to the best that we can with what we have. Mr. Arnold said that one idea to consider is lining up all of the contracts to be negotiated at the same time in order to make this a more streamlined process. Mr. D'Agostino said that lining up the contracts is not an easy thing; the town can not dictate what the unions should do. The town would need to go to each union individually and that with the town side that is eight or nine different unions. Mr. Lazzara said that this process is a financial analysis to review the projected expenses and revenues. He suggested that an executive session meeting be arranged to discuss this further. Motion: To Close at 8:40p.m. (Lavin - Ratliff) 6 - 0 Passes r{i~ . 0rh l)ryi/~Y;) Signature 0 Clerk / ! "" /1 ( J ' ( \ :; ~ U ,'') JY Date of Approval -