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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFINCOMminutes07122012 Town of Mansfield Finance Committee Minutes of July 12,2012 'resent: Members: James Bazinet, Liz Christo,Michael O'Brien, Walter Wilk, Steve Schory #d4 ► � l�am Ross, own Manager,John Stanbrook, Town Accountant, Lee Azinheira, DPW Director. ICE Absent: n/a loll SEp - p 12: 00 Call to Order: Chairman Wilk called the meeting to order at 7:30 m. p• al� jj r91_. A n E'j ly F I ( S Approval of Minutes of June 14,2012: Chairman Wilk asked if there were any suggested changes to the minutes, and there were none. Motion: To approve the minutes of June 14, 2012 (Christo/Bazinet). Roll call vote: Wilk aye, Christo aye,Bazinet aye, O'Brien aye, Schoonveld aye. Fund Transfers .. : Mr. Stanbrook addressed the Committee and explained the provisions of Chapter 44 section 34B, explaining that the Selectmen and Finance Committee must vote on transfers. He indicated that the Selectmen voted on July 11, 2012 and all were approved. He explained that all transfers are within the guidelines of the statute and equal approximately .35% of the FY 2012 budget approved at Town Meeting. Transfer No. 1: From Debt-Short-term Interest to Personnel -Other Expenses Drug and Alcohol Testing- $5,065.00 Mr. Stanbrook explained that this transfer is for expenditures to pay four outstanding invoices related to drug testing and other employment related testing. He explained that the personnel budget is depleted and this transfer is necessary to pay "'hese bills. Mr. Schoonveld and Mr. O'Brien both inquired as to how the decision is made about which accounts to ,ansfer the funds from. Mr. Stanbrook explained that he often makes this decision in collaboration with the department head. Motion: To approve the transfer(O'Brien/Bazinet). Roll call vote: Wilk aye, Christo aye, Bazinet aye, O'Brien aye, Schoonveld aye. 5:0-passes Transfer No. 2: From Debt-Short-term Interest to Public Buildings-Capital Outlay Building Improvements: $15,000 Mr. Stanbrook explained that this transfer is necessary to replace the HVAC unit in the Police Department which was destroyed by fire. Mr. Ross indicated that an insurance claim had been filed and that some reimbursement could be expected, but there is a$5,000 deductible on the policy. Motion: To approve the transfer(Bazinet/O'Brien). Roll call vote: Wilk aye, Christo aye, Bazinet aye, O'Brien aye, Schoonveld nay. 4:1 —passes. Transfer No. 3: From Highway-Personal Services Public Works Services to DPW Administration-Personal Services Employee Benefits: $6,320 Mr. Stanbrook explained that this transfer to pay for additional expenses related to contractual salary increases that were not in the budget and expenses that were under-estimated. Mr. Azinheira attached a letter to the transfer request explaining this transfer. Chairman Wilk inquired as to why the under-estimation wasn't caught sooner. Mr. Azinheira explained that there is typically a contingency fund for these items, but that the contingency fund had been exhausted. Mr. Ross assured the Committee that the FY13 budget accounts for these contractual increases. Motion: To approve the transfer(O'Brien/Schoonveld). Roll call vote: Wilk aye, Christo aye, Bazinet aye, O'Brien aye, Schoonveld aye. —passes. Transfer No. 4: From Highway-Personal Services Public Works Services to DPW Administration-Other Expenses Refuse 1 Collection: $36,650. Mr. Azinheira indicated to the Committee that there are a number of variables involved in estimating solid waste collection fees. He explained that the values of recyclables fluctuates with the market and it is highly unpredictable. Bulky items were up during the fiscal year. He also indicated that the number of bulky item pick-ups increased this year. --He explained that the revenue from the sale of stickers for bulky items does not come into the DPW budget to offset the ,ost for the pick-ups. Mr. Schoonveld expressed the concern that the amount of funds transferred out of the highway budget is getting close to the statutory 3%cap. Motion: To approve the transfer. (Christo/O'Brien). Roll call vote: Wilk aye, Christo aye,Bazinet aye, O'Brien aye, Schoonveld aye. 5:0—passes. Transfer No. 5: From Highway-Other Expenses Construction materials to DPW Administration-Other Refuse Collection: $10,000 Mr. Azinheira indicated that his explanation for this transfer is the same as his explanation for Transfer No. 4. Chairman Wilk asked if it was possible for the shortage to reach $100,000 if the trend continues. Mr. Azinheira stated that he is already working with Waste Management and will be watching this line very closely. Chairman Wilk asked that Mr. Azinheira keep the committee informed of the progress on a monthly basis. Motion: To approve the transfer(O'Brien/Bazinet). Roll call vote: Wilk aye, Christo aye,Bazinet aye,O'Brien aye, Schoonveld aye. 5:0-passes Transfer No. 6: From Public Buildings-Personal Services Seasonal Services to Public Buildings Other Expenses Contract Services Support: $10,000 Mr. Stanbrook explained that this transfer is requested to pay for unforeseen repairs and equipment replacement in various town buildings. Mr.Azinheira indicated there is always more need in the buildings than there is money. Mr. Schoonveld asked Mr. Ross why Mr. Riccio signed the transfers, and Mr. Ross indicated that he was on vacation but that he was fully aware of the transfer requests. Motion: To approve the transfer(O'Brien/Christo). ---moll call vote: Wilk aye,Christo aye,Bazinet aye, O'Brien aye, Schoonveld aye. :0-passes Transfer No. 7: From Police-Personal Services Employee Benefits to dispatchers-Personal Services Employee Benefits: $30,000 Mr. Stanbrook indicated that these funds were not budgeted in the dispatch line items, but the police line item was over budgeted. Chairman Wilk inquired as to why this wasn't budgeted, and Mr. Ross explained that two dispatchers who were previously not taking health insurance both enrolled in insurance during the open enrollment period. He assured the Committee that this expense was captured in the FY2013 budget. Motion: To approve the transfer(Schoonveld/Christo). Roll call vote: Wilk aye, Christo aye, Bazinet aye, O'Brien aye, Schoonveld aye. 5:0-passes Transfer No. 8: From Fire-Personal Services Scheduled Overtime to Emergency Medical Services-Personal Services Ambulance Service Salaries: $7,200. Mr. Stanbrook indicated that this transfer is necessary to pay for salary increase due to contract settlement which was not provided for in the FY2012 budget. The Fire Chief was able to reduce overtime making funds available in that line to cover this transfer in the budget. Motion: To approve the transfer(Schoonveld/O'Brien). Roll call vote: Wilk aye, Christo aye, Bazinet aye, O'Brien aye, Schoonveld aye. 5:0-passes Transfer No. 9: From Debt short-term Interest to Town Clerk Personal Services Employee Benefits: $260 Stanbrook explained this transfer is necessary to cover increased costs due to an error in health insurance. lotion: To approve the transfer(Christo/Schoonveld). Roll call vote: Wilk aye,Christo aye, Bazinet aye, O'Brien aye, Schoonveld aye. 2 5:0—passes n� n Ove rview of"Town Departments and:Budi s DP Mr. Azinheira presented the Finance Committee with an overview of his the Department of Public Works and the offices and personnel within that department. He presented a breakdown of the department budget totaling$13,945,248. • Mr. A provided an overview of office staffing and responsibilities within his department. When discussing billing staff, Mr. Azinheira suggested that the Department is considering moving to a monthly billing system for water and sewer which may impact staffing needs. He stated that a monthly billing system helps residents with budgeting and allows for speeder detection of leaks. • A brief discussion took place concerning the winter maintenance budget and the ability to deficit spend this budget. • Mr. Ross briefly discussed ongoing communications with Norton and Foxboro to create a wastewater district. • Mr. Azinheira believes that the Highway Division is the most significantly understaffed department. He is continually looking to see how the operations can be improved, including the use of outside sources. He discussed the use of chip sealing and provided a brief overview of its potential to save the Town money and preserve the life of the Town's roadways. • Mr. Azinheira indicated that Public Buildings and Special Projects staff has also been reduced and is a concern. Chairman Wilk asked whether any thought had been given to consolidating some services with the schools in order to share resources and Mr. Azinheira indicated that he thought there was a study which indicated that both the school and town are understaffed in this area. Mr. Ross and Mr. Azinheira explained the purchasing groups which the Town is involved with which provide significant cost savings. �vls. Christo asked Mr. Azinheira what his main concern is in his department. He stated that the highway division is of greatest concern. He indicated that the new storm water regulations will have an impact on an already stressed department by way of increased sweeping and the increased cleaning of catch basins. Mr. Ross indicated that this department is down from 17 employees to 12, but that the road surfaces have increased. Mr. Azinheira also indicated that he is concerned about public buildings and that he would recommend evaluations be done in order to identify necessary repairs Chairman Wilk thanked Mr.Azinheira for his presentation. Closine:Remarks Chairman Wilk asked the Committee members for their thoughts about the role of the Finance Committee. Mr. Schoonveld suggested that he believes that the Committee should focus on Annual Town Meeting and its responsibility to make a recommendation to Town Meeting on Articles 1 and 2. He stated that there is verbiage within the general laws and in the Finance Committee handbook which places responsibility for the budget with the Finance Committee. Mr. Ross stated that Mansfield's charter assigns this responsibility to the Town Manager and that he would like to work with the Finance Committee and the Board of Selectmen and the School Department as a collaborative group. The roll of the Auditor was then discussed, and Mr. Ross clarified that the roll of the Auditor is to look at past financial statements. Chairman Wilk indicated that he would like to have an understanding of how all departments function in order to address the budget from a different perspective in the best interest of the taxpayers and the Town. The Committee discussed its desire to have five years of historic data and to work towards developing financial projections for one, three and five years out. Chairman Wilk suggested that the Finance Committee would like to have This discussion with the Superintendent of Schools and Business Manager and that this should be done at its meeting on August 23`d. Chairman Wilk will call the Business Manager and let him know what the Committee hopes to accomplish 3 at this meeting. Motion: to to adjourn(Schoonveld/O'Brien) _toll call vote: Wilk aye,Christo aye, Bazinet aye,O'Brien aye, Schoonveld aye. 5:0—passes Adjourned: 9:25 p.m. /dah Signatur of Clerk Date 4