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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance Comm 07/13/2017E'CEIVEp Finance Committee MeetingUi�l t TFRKS OFFICE July 13, 2017 Present: Walter Wilk, Chairman John S. Feely, Vice Chairman Michael O'Brien, Member Michael DeSantis, Member Liz Christo, Member Brian Eagle, Member Not Present: Yogen Chemburkar, Member Also Present: John Stanbrook 2818 MAY Ib PW, Ib I,NHSFIELO M4,,SSACHUSETTS Minutes Clerk: Christopher P. Walsh 1. Call the Finance Committee meeting to order and review the agenda Mr. Wilk called meeting to order at 7:04 pm 2. FY17 General Fund and Reserve Fund Transfers - John Stanbrook Mr. Stanbrook said that the money for this transfer will be encumbered for potential bills. Mr. Feely asked about $30,000 that had been spent. Mr. De.S'antis asked if there was cap on spending for the park, to which Mr. Feely said there wasn't. Mrs. Christo said $5,000 is being allocated backwards for FY17. Mrs. Christo said the fund wasn't set up like a capital project. Motion: Transfer $5,000 from the General Fund Reserve Fund to Acct, No. 014202-538009 — General Fund DPW Administration Other Expenses Specialized Services (DeSantis/O'Brien). Passes 6.0 Mr. Stanbrook went over the list of the general fund reserve fund transfers for FY 17. The grand total of these transfers was $294,945.00, and when subtracted from the FY 17 General Fund Reserve Fund Budget ($361,500.00 in total), the grand total remaining was $66,555.00. Mr. Stanbrook mentioned that the sewer, water, airport, and parking enterprises have funds to control. Mr. Stanbrook mentioned that they already transferred the funds for the airports (Town of Mansfield Airport Enterprise Fund) last year, referencing Destination Account Code 654621- 511004 in which $1,523.00 was approved for Personal Services Secretarial/Clerical for the purpose of increasing the workload and for employee resignations. Mr. Stanbrook said some of the other funds were transferred because the employee benefit splits were incorrect and to give more for employee benefits in general. Mr, Stanbrook said a lot of the transfers are related since employee benefits are broken up by department. Mr. Stanbrook mentioned that the state accounting code wants employee benefits to be in one spot for FYI 8. The board briefly discussed the annual town meeting transfer on 5/2/17 of ($90,000) which was done to refund FYI 7-02 at the annual town meeting. Mr. Stanbrook left the meeting at 7:16 pm 3. Further discussion on compiling short term and long term options for cost savings and creating new revenue Mr. Eagle mentioned they're going to get hit between health care and fixed costs, so they need new ways to get revenue. Mr. Eagle mentioned developing a town plan for additional land use such as billboards (and other land not being used). Mr. Wilk mentioned that the 7 tax -title properties going forward for auction will be presented to the committee. Mrs. Christo, as a measure of caution, mentioned that the town rejected one billboard for one business. The board had concerns about getting town approval and coordinating it with the town plan if additional land was to be used for billboards (alongside coordinating with zoning). Mr. Wilk said another source of revenue was rezoning areas for higher value properties and industrial parks. The issue with this source of revenue is that they need people to want those areas and to find people who are willing to buy and develop. Mr. Wilk again mentioned that they need town approval for that source of revenue. Mr. Wilk said that they could talk to town planner about pursuing that source of revenue along with others on the list. Mr. Wilk said that the town planner is the guy Mr. Eagle could talk to about incentives for targeted business and development north of train station. Mr. Wilk said they could also do a beverage tax. Mrs. Christo said they cannot go outside of the committee's scope and that the town's approval for certain sources is all driven around revenue. Mr. Wilk mentioned another source of revenue, such as new fees coming from insurance companies for well visits by the EMTs. Mr. Wilk mentioned that the chief was on that source of revenue. Mr. Feely also mentioned that the state has to allow for visits by the EMTS. Mrs. Christo said they have a new school finance director and that there's chance they may have an outside town manager. Mr. Feely said for other sources of revenue that there are shopping opportunities for people who commute here. Mr. Feely said there's also been a positive impact from liquor taxes. Mrs. Christo said they've always tried to raise revenue without raising taxes. Mr. Feely said there's revenue from food and beverage sales, and from revenue from Xfinity Center. Mr. Wilk said a lot of revenue issues involve the town planner, with regard to marijuana and zoning. Mrs. Christo wondered if they should group these sources of revenue into topics for the town planner. Mr. Wilk suggested they should combine sources 1 (billboard) and 2 (private use of land for billboards). Mr. Wilk said 5 (rezone areas for higher value properties), 6 (solicit business in Cabot) and 7 (tax incentives for targeted business development) should be grouped together. Mr. Wilk also suggested 8 (new state and private grants), 9 (adopt Mansfield as school choice town), and 10 (new development north of train station) should be grouped together. Mr. Wilk mentioned corporate investment as another source of revenue. Mr. Wilk mentioned the sale of town services and what they do with other towns (i.e. 911 call areas). Mr. Wilk said they're short staffed on a lot of areas that town may not be able to absorb. Mr. Wilk said they know they need another DPW worker. Mr. Eagle wanted to make sure selectmen emphasized to employees to be creative and to incentivize for ways for people to come to town. Mr. Wilk suggested to Mr. Eagle to resort sources of revenue on tangential items into one bucket. As for potential cost savings, Mr. Wilk said they're tight on improving debt collection/tax enforcement as opposed to years ago. Mr. Wilk mentioned as another cost saving item to partner with high school/local colleges to modernize town functions and save money, including an anecdote about a project that Northeastern students (who lived in Mansfield) came up with a year or two ago. 4. Board Updates (CIP, Audit, School Committee, DPW/Public Safety Complex, Downtown Strategy Committee, Healthcare Committee, Town Manager Search Committee) CIP: Nothing. Audit: Nothing School: First meeting is at the end of August. Mrs. Christo asks about inviting the new school finance director. Mr. Wilk suggested going for a September meeting. Mrs. Christo will give Teresa all the dates. DPW: Steel structure going up. Mike Ahern sent end of June and July meetings Downtown: Working on fixing lighting and bike path behind Jimmy's Healthcare: Nothing Town manager search: Nothing, but 18 resumes sent in for viewing of committee members. There will be executive session on the resumes. 5. Items not known within 48 hours Mr. Wilk mentioned covering new positions. 6. Audience Q&A None 7. Committee member comments Not covered Motion: Adjourn the July 13, 2017 meeting of the Finance Committee at 8:15 pm (Feely/Christo). Passes 6:0 i Date Documents Used in this Meeting: Town of Mansfield General Fund Reserve Fund Transfers for FY 17 Request for Transfer from the Reserve Fund — Request No. FYI 7-17