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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of fin com 02/23/2006 (' RECEIVED TOWN CLFRHS OFF ICE 06 HAY I' 411 10: 22 MANSFIELD MASSACHUSETTS Minutes of MeetinQ: held Thursdav. Februarv 23. 2006 10<<11( (Jf t# fU(ffftefr/ f/I(fJ/(~ &MMI"ttu Finance Committee Members Present: Andy Gazzolo (presiding) James Lazzara Jess Aptowitz Jack Goldberg Charlene Lavin Greg Arnold Tom Stevens These minutes were prepared by Greg Arnold. The meeting was opened at 7 :00 p.m. Matters Discussed and/or Voted On r Chairman Gazzola reported on his meeting this morning with the Water Department concerning the state oftheir budget. It appears that they have done a very good job and the process is coming along nicely. They are making some needed capital improvement, but not hiring any additional personnel and essentially only increasing their budget by -2%. Jack Goldberg raised the issue of the possible combining of electronic water meters with those being propose for the Electric Department, wondering whether any savings could be attained in that process. It was also noted that the billing was going to move to a monthly cycle, which might allow for the 'joining' the bills to save postage costs. The quarterly property tax bills have not started yet due to a timing issue, but that will start soon. Also, the Water Department anticipates monthly billing by 2008 and beyond. A discussion was held concerning some proposed salary increases in the budget as a result of "step increases." The budget appears to show the amount of some such increases at 5.9% for an administrative secretary and almost 3% for a clerk. It was proposed that a memo be sent to Board of Selectmen seeking additional information with respect to the impact of such step increases. This lead to a broader discussion about the upcoming union contract negotiation process and the need for parameters or guidelines to be set in advance of such discussions. Chairman Gazzola also reported on the Airport Commission budget, which looked reasonable and presented no major issues. ~ Chairman Gazzola then reported on the recent TIF meeting, as well as a memo received concerning the Southeastern Regional Vocational Tech School funding proposal and a memo from the Town Manager dated February 21 st outlining his proposed 14 new hires. A short discussion was also had on the School Department's proposed "draft" warrant articles. (' The Finance Committee discussed putting a warrant article on Consolidation onto the Town Meeting Warrant. John D' Agostino joined the meeting at 7:35 p.m. Jim Lazarra reported that we had not yet heard a response from the Schools yet, although it was vacation week so that was not unexpected. Chairman Gazzola stated that he had asked for a presentation to be made by the individual who prepared the school expansion proposal. A discussion was had with the Town Manager concerning the present Warrant Articles. In connection with Article 4, Mr. D' Agostino reported on a utility charge discrepancy concerning an amount by which the Town was undercharging the School, as to which he had worked out a solution with Mr. Moretti. The Town has agreed to eat the cost this year, but the Schools will budget for it next year. The discussion then turned to the proposed school expansion project, including the proposals about Memorial Park. Mr. D' Agostino stated that he had already told Mr. Moretti that he did not feel it appropriate to lose the park to a synthetic field, pointing out that there are some maintenance issues with the present synthetic fields. A short update was provided on the CIP Meetings, with Mr. D' Agostino indicating that they had just received the 5-year forecast numbers and hoped that they would be ready to go by the first I"'"" week in March. A discussion of the Stabilization Account was undertaken and Mr. D'Agostino indicated that he was not proposing to take anything out of Stabilization to balance this year's budget. Jess Aptowitz and Greg Arnold reported that they were still in the process of trying to schedule meetings for DPW, Fire and Police. John D' Agostino indicated that he would get dates shortly. Chairman Gazzola recapped his summary ofthe Water Department for Mr. D' Agostino. Mr. D' Agositno indicated that he had looked into the step increases for non-supervisory personnel, stating that he has cut them back in the last 2 contracts from where they had been. Now, the steps kick in every other year, whereas previously it was every year. The 5.71 % step, which was the initial (and highest) step was slated to come out this year. A discussion was held concerning the likely dates for Town Meeting. Mr. D' Agostino presented on the snow and ice spending. Jess Aptowitz made a motion that "The Finance Committee authorizes the deficit spending for snow and ice," which was seconded by Greg Arnold and passed on a 7-0 vote. .1"'"" A discussion was then held concerning the Finance Committee's concern over the rising healthcare costs. Mr. D' Agostino indicated that he shares this concern and is planning to introduce a higher deductible option which, with the 70/30 split, is likely to be more attractive to the unions. He understood that this issue would impact the budget, but felt that he had budgeted ,...- it conservatively enough to make it work. Mr. D' Agostino reported on the audit meeting that was conducted with the Light Department, indicating that he was very impressed with Mr. Goldberg. He indicated that he welcomed Mr. Goldberg's participation on a town audit committee going forward. Mr. Gazzola indicated that the intention of such a committee is not to 'veto' the Town Manager's decisions, but simply to provide some oversight. Mr. D' Agostino indicated that he hoped to have improved revenue numbers in about 2 weeks. The minutes from the December 15,2005 and January 19,2006 meetings were approved unanimously. The Meeting closed at approximately 9: 10 p.m. r r