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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of fin com 10/24/2006 Finance Committee Members Present: l'f/Jff)N f/JF MAN&FIELn'i ~fr.gi,~ED FINANC!; Ce>mmfrr!;!; 07 FEe 15 . nFF ICf PM I: 20 MAtiANSFlELD SACHUSETTS Minutes ofMeetimr held October 24.2006 ..., / James Lazarra (presiding) Jess Aptowitz Jack Goldberg Greg Arnold Charlene Lavin This meeting was conducted in the Airport Meeting Room These minutes were prepared by Greg Arnold. The meeting was opened at 7 :00 p.m. Matters Discussed and/or Voted On An article-by-article discussion was had with respect to the Special Town Meeting warrant articles. Some of the key discussions were as follows: f' Article 1: There was a $20,981.37 shortfall due to rising costs ($66,000 had already been paid out of the budget), which would close out the issue since it was becoming an enterprise account The $1,400 to cover a hearing aid was to cover a long-time employee who operated heavy equipment and was suffering from hearing loss (resulting in a potential safety issue). Article 2: There was a $20,500 'penalty charge' awarded in connection with the late delivery of an ambulance and that money was proposed to be put into the ambulance trust fund. Article 3: This proposed adopting Section 18 (32B), which shifts some of the costs of retirees to the federal Medicaid program. This fee-shifting cannot be mandated unless Section 18 is adopted. Article 4: No final numbers were available yet. Articles 5-7: Kenny explained that the money was originally transferred out for a specific purposes (i.e., a disinfection upgrade), but was not used. It is now being put back into the DTF. Article 8: Deals with Chapter 90 funds. We need to vote to accept them or they cannot be used. The money will be used next year. Jim Lazarra asked that we be provided with a schedule of proposed uses for the money. Article 9: The $2.7 million related to 3 water projects: (1) a 12" main to be put in off of East Street to Mill Street; (2) Stearns Avenue main; and (3) connecting Monahan to Necco Drive. All of these projects were discussed in detail, as well as some other upcoming items (Walsh well, generators in wells, speed motors and Abertine wells). r TII T.- :' Article 11: Request was to use $9,000 from Free Cash to make repairs to Engine 3. Jack Goldberg asked what the useful life of Engine 3 was, as well as why the costs were not in the operating budget. John ". D' Agostino indicated that he would look into those questions. ( , Article 12: John D' Agostino indicated that he would get some additional details. Article 13: This related to leadership conference proposed by the fire chief to train his lieutenants. Charlene Lavin asked why this was not in the original budget. Article 14: John D' Agostino indicated that this request was to cover anticipated increases in electricity costs. There was a discussion about the need for budgeted items to be realistic to begin with. Mr. D' Agostino indicated that he would obtain more information about the process behind this request and what assumptions it was based on. Articles 17-19: These dealt with dam inspections. Article 20: There was a discussion concerning the need to replace the 'temporary' pumping station that has been in place for 19 years. It was estimated that it will cost ~$25,000 to keep the existing pump running. There was a discussion of whether these funds were properly classified as operating or CIP. Article 21: There was a discussion that this seemed to be an end-run around the CIP committee. Article 22: This was a transfer request for $44,000, which was not spent on what it had been assigned to. Greg Arnold asked where the money was going. Article 23: This was money sought for a "slum and blight" study which, if documented properly, had the r ability to generate significant grant money for the town. Article 25: This request was for $6,000 in connection with 3 radios.. Apparently, the Police Department did not include radios for Emergency Management when submitting its 'all-inclusive' requests last year. Article 28: Mr. Arnold asked what was going on with this article, which dealt with a proposal to potentially gift away a parcel ofland in downtown. Mr. D' Agostino indicated that he thought the property was worth at least $300,000. Finally, a discussion was held concerning the issue of ambulance receipts and it was agreed that this issue needed to be resolved. The Meeting closed at approximately 9:00 p.m. ()J,{ T. Arnold, Secretary r 1 .