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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFINCOM MIN 05282009 T own of Mansfield Finance Committee Minutes of May 28, 2009 l' '-Ii . '; Cu ,~ i""-~ 'CE .:") Li ~'~ j- i .. Attending: James Lazzara Charlene Lavin Andres Gazzolo Karl Chambers Jack Goldberg Tommy Ratliff Greg Arnold (arrived late) ZCui i 2 l~ Ii: 31 Motion: To Open at 7:30p.m. (Lavin - Lazzara) 6 - 0 Passes Schools Mr. Vozzella and Ms. Hodges met with the Finance Committee to discuss the school's budget. Mr. Vozzella began by bringing up that the school's had had a deficit of approximately $5 million and that after the budget was just updated the deficit will be $148,000 if the school's use 100% of the stimulus money and 50% of the IDEA money to make up that difference, Mr. Vozzella said that he would estimate that three to four additional positions would need to be cut in order to balance the budget. Mr. Gazzolo made it clear that until the stimulus money has been voted on he does not feel comfortable assuming that the town will receive 100% of those funds. Ms. Hodges said that she estimates that the minimum deficit that the schools will see for fiscal year 2011 would be $3.4 million; that would be with no salary increases and a rise in expenses of just 5% which is not likely. Mr. Lazzara mentioned that contract negotiations are approaching. Mr. Vozzella said that they would be negotiating all contracts this year. Mr. Gazzolo said that the School Committee will define the budget on Tuesday and that they will need to take future years into consideration as well as have a strong understanding of how the unfunded liability will affect the school's budget going forward. Mr. Goldberg said that the schools are approximately 65% of the total cost of the unfunded liability. Mr. Gazzolo said that he did not want to move forward that evening because if even some of the stimulus money is held back it will greatly affect the budget. The members of the Finance Committee stressed the need to have a number that they could work with, even if that number will need to be changed in the fall. Mr. Arnold asked for an explanation of why the stimulus money should be treated as a grant instead of as Chapter 70 money that would normally be subject to a 70/30 split with the town. Ms. Hodges said that any more cuts to the school will greatly impact classroom size and the services to students which are the top concern of most parents she speaks with. Ms. Miller emphasized that the schools have been more than cooperative when it comes to making modifications to the structure of the schools; she used the middle school high school restructure as an example. She said that generally the 70/30 split would be fine, but that in this instance the schools need the whole amount. Mr. Vozzella said that if they did the 70/30 split it would mean an additional $640,000 in the deficit and would like cost 50 or so more positions. Mr. Arnold pointed out that by giving the schools 100% of the stimulus money it is similar to last year when they moved $450,000 from stabilization to fund the school's deficit; he stressed that the schools keep going deeper into the deficit each year. Transfer Requests Mr. Gazzola said that the Finance Committee had two requests for transfers that they had to vote on. The first was for $4500 from technical support to supplies. The second was for $2134.53 from the Clerk for printing to the Town Manager. . Vote Motion to approve the two transfer requests for $4500 and $2134.53. (Lazzara - Chambers) 7 - 0 Passes Town Budget Mr. Hart presented the most recent budget to the Finance Committee with the numbers from the state that had changed. He said that the primary concern of the previous evening's Board of Selectmen meeting had been about an EMS position that was being cut. He reviewed the budget packet that he passed out to the Finance Committee which highlighted eleven positions cut from the municipal budget. Mr. D'Agostino asked that in the future there be a checks and balance system in place and that any Finance Committee requests go before the Board of Selectmen before the Finance Committee votes on them. Mr. Hart said that in the future the Finance Committee will have a separate line item in the budget that will be split out from other budgets so that they will be able to monitor that account. Mr. Hart presented the requests for reserve fund transfers of $70,000 for snow and ice, $7,000 for veteran's benefits and $1,019 for unpaid bills. Mr. Hart said that as of that morning the town has a balanced budget for 2009. Mr. Gazzolo said that next week the Finance Committee will plan to vote on the town budget and that assuming they get the school budget before then they will vote on that as well. Vote Motion to approve the transfer of $70,000 from the Finance Committee Reserve Fund for snow and ice removal. (Lavin - Arnold) 7 - 0 Passes Vote Motion to approve the transfer of $7,000 from the Finance Committee Reserve Fund for Veterans Benefits. (Lazzara - Arnold) 7 - 0 Passes Mr. D'Agostino said that they have already put more money in the budget for Veterans Benefits for next year. This cost is increasing with the number of veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. D'Agostino said that the stimulus money has become a point of contention within the town. He said that he feels the school's are only going to be facing more financial difficulty in the coming years and that something needs to be done about that now. Mr. D'Agostino stressed that he felt the safety in the town is just as important as the schools. He said that he would like to see one of the fire positions that was cut put back in the budget for fiscal year 2010. He said that lowering the number of firefighters puts the town at a higher risk and they will not be able to adequately respond in emergency situations without the proper staffing. Ms. Baldwin said that in order to save the fire position the town would need a little over 3% of the stimulus money; that is nowhere near the 70/30 split. Mr. Arnold said that if no more money materializes they will need to make a decision. Mr. Moran said that he would have liked to have seen the 70/30 split done and then the 30% for the town put in the capital budget since there is nothing there now. Mr. Gazzolo agreed that these funds should be revisited once they know the exact numbers. Discussion Mr. Gazzolo gave a recap of the previous evening Board of Selectmen's meeting. He said that the priority at the meeting was to save an EMT position. He said that he and Mr. Lazzara had met that morning with the Town Manager and the Town Accountant and found a way to preserve that position. T Motion: To Close at 9:20.m. (Lavin - Chambers) 7 - 0 Passes ,~, ( .:xC1l,l&i i1) '[ttl ,'}~u)j)-LJ 'Signature of Clerk /. ! .., ('J) . I . (/'?' Date of Approval ~