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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCMeetingMinutes_01.13.05 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes January 13,2005 Attendants: Vice Chairman("VC")Keith Mitchell,Melinda Coppa,Paul Stewart, Steve Dawe,Paula Porten and"B"Fink. Also present mas Town Manager,Mark Rees. Melinda Coppa filled in as Secretary in Mike Batsimm's absence. 1 to Order: VC Mitchell called the meeting to order at 6:36 PM. Approval of Minutes: Paul Stewart made a motion, seconded by VC Mitchell to approve the January 6,2005 minutes as provided in the handout. Paula Porten and"B"Fink abstained from voting. All other members present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. FY06 Capital Improvement Plan("CIP"): Town Manager Mark Rees provided an overview of the CIP. The goal was to maintain a five to six percent Debt to Operating Expense Ratio. To comply with this goal,all major projects would require a Proposition 2'/z override. The FY06 CIP has only two items; School Department's request for technology and a portion to fund the new Police Station. Mark assured the Committee that this plan does not,to the best of his knowledge, defer costs that are detrimental to the Town's operation. His original proposal included spending monies towards the Relocation of the Main Street Fire Station,however,the Board of Selectmen voted, at the Monday meeting,to delay this project and use the funds to lower the Police Station Proposition 2'/z request. Paul Stewart raised concerns over the presentation of these major capital items to the tax payer. Melinda Coppa and Mark Rees plan to work together,with the Town's Financial Advisor to get a better picture for bonding these items. Mark also provided handouts which show a"corrected"Mosquito Brook estimate and answered the many questions raised by the Committee. Concerns over Sargent School Ventilation and Franklin's Roof Replacement were raised. `B"Fink raised a concern over SBA monies for School Projects. There is a question whether some items were even submitted for reimbursement. Melinda Coppa raised the question whether there is"double counting"for technology, as the School Department's budget shows increases in technology. The Committee also had a considerable amount of questions regarding an expansion on the Atkinson School. VC Mitchell will compile a list of questions from the Committee for Chairman Watkins to forward to Dr. Harutunian. Finance Director Status Update: Mark Rees announced that the Board of Selectmen appointed Linda Casey as the Town's new Finance Director. Ms. Casey currently is the Budget Director to the Town of Salem,New Hampshire. She has a total of 10 years experience in the Town beginning with the position of Account and has been the Budget Director for the last three years. She will start February 1,2005. Other. Mark Rees has asked the Committee to help compile per capita comparison data from the Department of Revenue's web site which will compare North Andover to all Massachusetts Communities. Paul Stewart agreed to help pull this information together. nual Report: The Committee held discussion regarding the format,style and delivery method of the Town's Warrant. Paul expressed .cern over the lack of cross training in preparing the document. Paula Porten agreed to help out with the reports"PDF"formatting. VC Mitchell, Paul Stewart and Town Moderator,Charlie Salisbury,will meet to discuss further. FY06 School Operating Budget Questions: Melinda Coppa reiterated the need for the Committee to submit SPED and Administration questions to Dr. Harutunian by Friday,January 14,2005. In addition,Melinda Coppa discussed the need to quantify the"all in costs"of SPED less the total source of funding. Currently,the SPED pieces are in various portions of the School Department's Budget book and are hard to follow. Paul Stewart agreed but added that he would like to see a similar format for all the departments. This request will go to Dr. Harutunian. Adjournment: Melinda Coppa made the motion to adjourn,seconded by Paul Stewart, at 8:29PM. All those present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The next meeting will be held on January 27,2005.