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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance Comm. 01/19/2023Town of Mansfield 6Park Roiv, ManeCtiekl, jWaswbarear02048 Finance Committee RECEIVE MOWN CLERKS Meeting Minutes 1.19.2023 7023 NAR N A Present: Ms. Sara Walsh, Chair, Mr. Scott Feely, Vice Chair Ms. Greta Thurston, Clerk, Mr,., i Mr. Michael Flaherty, Ms. Melinda Tarsi arrived at 7:40 pm, and Mr. Jack Cooney at 7:42 �14A�(E Guest: Mr. BarryLaCasse'` ��CNU.�ETTS Minutes: Sharon Varricchione 1. Call the Meeting to order: Ms. Sara Walsh, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:36 pm. Ms Walsh stated that that they have new members that have been sworn in and then thanked Mr. Michael DeSantis and Mr. Brian Eagle for their service to the Committee and looked forward to their participation in other Town forums. She then welcomed the new members, Ms. Greta Thurston and Ms. Melinda Tarsi. 2. Approval of Minutes: 11/17/2022,12/1/22 and 12/14/22 Motion: To adopt the meeting minutes 11/17/2022,12/1/22 and 12/14/22 Passes 4:0:2 (Feely /Flaherty) Ms. Thurston and Ms. Tarsi abstained as they just joined the Finance Committee and were not present for these meetings. 3. Reorganization • Chair: Sara Walsh: Motion: To Appoint Ms. Walsh by Mr. Feely. Passes 7:0 (Feely:Flaherty) • Vice Chair: Scott Feely: Motion: To Appoint Mr. Feely by Ms. Walsh Passes 7:0 (Feely:Flaherty) • Clerk: Greta Thurston: Motion: To Appoint Ms. Thurston by Mr. Flaherty Passes 7:0 (Feely:Flaherty) • Committees/Liaison: o Budget Subcommittee: Ms. Sara Walsh and Mr. Walter Wilk o School Committee: Mr. Scott Feely and Ms. Melinda Tarsi o Audit Committee: Ms. Greta Thurston o Downtown Committee: Mr. Jack Cooney • CIP Committee: Mr. Scott Feely and Mr. Mike Flaherty o TIF Committee: Melinda Tarsi 4. Financial and Budget Update: noted that as of January 15t, they are now in period seven. He also stated that although they are SO% through FY23 that does not mean they are SO%through their budget and that fluctuation can be seasonal. For example, Excise tax bills are collected in March or April for the year for the revenue side. For the expense side, we pay our insurance during the FY23'beginning in July. • Town Revenue: Tax liens redeemed revenue is higher then the last couple of years due to the tax foreclosure auction that was recently held. They auctioned off over $500,000 and are currently collecting the,funds from all the closings. • General Fund Other Revenue: )s tracking higher compared to the past few years due to the Opioid funds we received from an Opioid settlement that the Massachusetts Attorney General negotiated. This money will be transferred to a Stabilization Fund where the money can be used for Opioid related expenses. State revenue, is tracking higher then the last two years due to our meals and cannabis tax. Mr. Feely then asked Mr. LaCasse how he felt about local revenue and getting us back to pre covid levels. described by Mr. LaCasse. Passes 7:0 (Feely/Flaherty) 2. Mr. LaCasse described the second request was for $83,048.72 for the Water Emergency Salaries and Water Emergency Expenses lines due to the September 11, 2022 Water Emergency where Town Employees were needed to help and for the Town to supply residents with water. Motion: Mr. Feely moved to approve the requests FY2302 in the amount of $83,048.72 to the accounts described. Passes 7:0 (Feely /Cooney) Scott and jack 3. Motion: Mr. Feely moved to approve the request FY2303 requests in the amount of $100,000.00 from the General Fund Reserve Fund (to General Fund Acct. No. (Town Manager— Legal Fees) Passes 7:0 (Feely/Thurston) 41:53 4. Motion: Mr. Feely moved that they approve the FY2304 requests in the amount of $96,720.00 from the General Fund Reserve Fund to General Fund Acct. No. (DPW Admin. -Specialized Services) 45:40 Passes 7:0 (Feely/Tarsi) S. Motion: Mr. Feely moved that they approve the FY2305 requests in the amount of $194,528.72 from the General Fund Reserve Fund to General Fund Acct. (Police - Non -Vehicle Equipment) 52:37 Passes 7:0 (Feely/Wilk) Mr. LaCasse left the meeting at 8:29pm i 6. Survey (Post on website and plan for next process): pp Ms. Walsh spoke about the survey done last May 2022 and June 2022. She then suggested that they speak with I Ms. Zlatkova, the MIS Director regarding setting up the Survey again using new software and starting in May/June 2023. Ms. Tarsi stated that she has done survey research, has done Town surveys and would take this on. Ms. Walsh said she would share the past questions and results with Ms. Tarsi and the Committee said for her to feel free to make suggestions on how to enhance the survey. 7 Goals: Review and Reset Ms. Walsh suggested that two to three Finance Committee members get together to review goals and aspirations. Mr. Cooney, Mr. Flaherty and Ms. Thurston agreed to meet and have something for the March meetine. 8. Special Education Stabilization Fund Policy— Discussion and Vote: Ms. Walsh stated the school committee wants to create a policy regarding how this fund is funded, how they make requests, and to put a process and procedure around it. They have some documentation around it. The School Committee hopes to have something more final for the Finance Committee to review in the February 16th meeting. Mr. Feely stated that we get reimbursed for Special Education but the reimbursement usually lags about a year so we need some sort of tool to track this and smooth out the budget. Mr. Wilk mentioned that the reimbursements can fluctuate depending on if parents choose a different school district. 9. Comments from Community: None 10. Comments from Committee: None Ms. Walsh said the next Budget Subcommittee meeting is February 811' in the Public Safety Building and next Finance Committee meeting will be February 16". She will be sending the Committee a draft of the budget to review and comment. She then noted that the Annual Town Report representing the last fiscal year is due January 315' and she will share it with the Committee for their review and input. Mr. Flaherty welcomed Ms. Tarsi and Ms. Thurston and thanked Mr. Eagle and Mr. DeSantis for their service and that it was a pleasure to serve with them. Mr. Cooney welcomed Ms. Tarsi and Ms. Thurston and thanked Mr. Eagle and Mr. DeSantis for their service and noted that being on Fin Com is a lot of work. Ms. Thurston said she's excited to be there and that she's already learned a lot Mr. Feeley said he really enjoyed working with Mr. DeSantis and his efforts and Mr. Eagles efforts, he really worked hard at this stuff. Mr. Wilk wanted to thank Mr. Eagle and Mr. DeSantis for everything that they have done and welcomed the two new members. Ms. Tarsi wanted to thank everyone for their service and for the opportunity to serve on the Finance Committee. She shared that she had served on a Finance Committee before in Halifax and is happy to be back on the Committee in Mansfield. Ms. Walsh welcomed everyone and thanked Mr. Eagle and Mr. DeSantis. We are in a very good spot thanks to them and the members here even though we have a lot of work to do. We've got the right people to do it. 11. Items not known within 48 Hours: None 12. Adjournment: Motion: To adjourn t eeting at 8:52pm. Passes 7:0 (Feely/ Ik) 11(6W Date