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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFINCOM MIN 12172009 Town of Mansfield Finance Committee Minutes of December 17, 2009 ,-->; r.~ ~--- : (" r: J i '-..,J t.<... l!_;.! r,r. '" : t. 1.~: 11' "-I' ,..I Attending: James Lazzara Charlene Lavin Andres Gazzolo Karl Chambers Tommy Ratliff Jack Goldberg Motion: To Open at 7:30p.m. (Chambers - Lazzara) 5 - 0 Passes Mr. Gazzolo began the meeting by stating that the town has decided to apply for a grant to fund one firefighter for two years, but that for the third year the town would be obligated to fund the position. He said that the grant has not been approved yet; they have just decided to apply for it. Mr. Gazzolo brought up the ambulance situation and said that the town will need approximately $200,000 for each ambulance with equipment. He said that one of the current ambulances need about $100,000 in repairs. Mr. Ratliff said that the town has not been replacing the ambulances as they should be. He said that the town needs to establish a structure where the money is put aside for repairs and replacement. The ambulances should be replaced every four years; there are two ambulances so they would need to replace one every other year. He said that there is the possibility that they could form an enterprise account; but that the problem would be that it would silo the money and could not be used for other things if the need arises. Mr. Gazzolo suggested setting up a revolving account; however, he said that there are limits on how much the town can have in revolving accounts as a whole. He said that he is afraid a revolving account may be inefficient. Mr. Ratliff said that there is $40,000 in a gift account for the ambulance. He said that if they use those funds they would need $235,000 to buy an ambulance in fiscal year 2011; he said that after that they could put aside half of the cost of an ambulance each year. He said that they would plan to keep a third ambulance as back up and not have it fully equipped. He said that the town could also look into leasing an ambulance and that there are some lease to purchase options available. Mr. Gazzolo said that the revolving account would be for the ambulance and hardware, not staffing. Mr. Ratliff suggested that they use $275,000 as a placeholder for the estimated cost. Mr. Gazzolo said that they don't need to make a decision right away, but that they need to start thinking about it. Mr. Goldberg said that it would need to go before town meeting no matter what. Mr. Gazzolo said that if they go with a revolving account they would need to specify the use of the funds and the maximum amount allowed in the account. Mr. Goldberg asked what the implications would be if the town went with a lease to purchase option and then decided not to purchase at the end of the lease term. Mr. Ratliff said that they would need to look further into that. Ms. Lavin said that they would need to include the money for leasing into the revolving account if they decided to handle it that way. Mr. Goldberg said that they would need to have answers for all of their questions if they expect for it to be approved at town meeting. Mr. Lazzara gave a review of the healthcare options. He said that they have a schedule for healthcare costs for fiscal year 2011 based off of November's bill. He said that some of the school employees that were laid off are still being carried in that bill, but that they will be falling off in the next few billing cycles. He said that if they stay with the same group there is a 12% increase in healthcare costs. He said that some of the other towns in the group have made it clear that they are unable to absorb that 12% and that they may have to go with a self insured option. He said that any change would need to be approved by the unions. He said that jf they continued with Blue Cross Blue Shield but went to a self insured option they would be assigned a tier, similar to how the state works. He said that they would need 50% of the bargaining units to agree in order to move forward; if they are unable to get them to agree to a change it 'If is going to end up costing more jobs He said that they would hopefully have a better idea on the costs by mid-January. Mr. Gazzolo said that he and Mr. Lazzara would meet on December 22 to answer some questions. Mr. Gazzolo said that the town has been working on putting together their budgets. He said that they are trying to use their fiscal year 2010 model for fiscal year 2011 with the new system. Mr. Chambers said that they are almost lined with the new system and that there are only minor differences. Mr. Gazzolo said that they have received a first pass of the municipal budget from the town accountant. Mr. Lazzara said that the School Committee was presented a budget on the previous Tuesday evening. He said that the schools are not counting on any stimulus money for fiscal year 2011. He said that there is an increase of almost 14% over last year's budget, but because of the stimulus it is more like 6%. He said that they have some requirements for new teachers and paraprofessionals in special education. He said that the town can not manage a 14% increase. He said that they don't have a bottom-line number for revenue yet. Mr. Gazzolo said that there are meetings on January 12 and 14 and that the Finance Committee has been invited to join those meetings. Mr. Gazzolo said that the state revenue will be down. He said that the town accountant is double checking all of the books to find any errors. Mr. Lazzara said that they are not projecting much for revenue with no stimulus. Mr. Chambers said that he is planning to meet up with Mr. Arnold to work through the errors in the model. Mr. Gazzolo said that this budget model does not include the unfunded liability; that $640,000 will need to be accounted for. Mr. Goldberg said that they need to decide how they want to carry that cost. Mr Gazzola said that the five year forecast that they have in place is very close to reality. Mr. Goldberg said that he is working on a statement for the annual report. He said that he will send it out to the members of the Finance Committee and if they have any suggestions or comments to please let him know. He said that it gives a bleak financial outlook for the town. Ms. Lavin commented on the capital budget and said that she would get an estimate for the budget model. Mr. Ratliff said that the estimate may include money for the ambulance. Ms. Lavin said that she would list the items with the estimate and that she would send it later that evening. Ms. Lavin said that they have studies from the departments from about two years ago and that they should be updated. Mr. Lazzara said that there are some state funded energy programs that the town should look into. Ms. Lavin said that she believed Mr. Azinheira has already looked into some of those programs. Mr. Lazzara said that a citizen had asked him about the town's unemployment expenses; how many people and how much it costs the town. He told them that the town has to fund the first 26 weeks and that is what has been budgeted for. He said that the schools have laid off 27 people; the total of retired, quit and laid off was 58 people for the schools. For the town they have laid off 12 people. He said that these numbers were what were projected. He also said that the town accountant has increased that number for next year's budget. Mr. Gazzolo said that they would like an idea on the ambulances from the chief within a week or so; he said that the cost of the ambulances should be removed from the capital budget. Mr. Goldberg said that the Audit Committee is still waiting to have a candidate interviewed by the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee. He said that they have been waiting to meet again until the last member is appointed. Mr. Gazzolo said that they need to be speaking with the schools about the budget more aggressively. He said that currently they are $4 to $4.5 million short in this area of the budget. He said that the town needs to look seriously at consolidating departments. He said that the town may need to look at how many levels of management there are and reevaluate their needs. 'I\' Mr. Gazzo\o said that for the next meeting the Finance Committee will review their assignments. The current assignments are: Schools - Mr. Lazzara and Mr. Chambers Assessor, Accounting and Finance - Mr. Goldberg and Mr. Gazzolo MIS - Ms. Lavin and Mr. Gazzolo Police/Fire, DPW, and Buildings and Grounds - Mr. Arnold and Mr. Ratliff Parking Enterprise and Engineering - Mr. Arnold Board of Health, Seniors, Veterans and Library - Mr. Gazzola Parks and Recreation and Conservation - Mr. Lazzara Town Clerk and Planning - Ms. Lavin Electric - Mr. Goldberg and Mr. Ratliff Water and Sewer - Mr. Chambers and Mr. Gazzolo Airport Enterprise - Mr. Chambers Town Manager and Personnel - Mr. Arnold CIP - Ms. Lavin and Mr. Ratliff FinCom Model - Mr. Chambers Ambulance - Mr. Ratliff and Mr. Gazzolo Consolidation and Organization - Mr. Lazzara and Ms. Lavin Health Insurance - Mr. Lazzara GIS - TBD Vote Motion to approve the minutes of the November 12 Finance Committee meeting. (Lazzara - Chambers) 6 - 0 Passes Motion: To Close at 8:35p.m. (Lavin - Lazzara) 6 - 0 Passes If , . /Vi I ( . ,/... xl (lj ,,' 1 !! J:IJ~ T)" 40-) I //L .,,{,'( ,,... j L < i ! f 'LA ),,1 I~,( A-./' Signature of Clerk I /-, J' , /. / l ! \___./ Date of Approval -