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Home My WebLink AboutTBB Minority Report 20060604AsPrinted-PAUL STEWART-ARTICLE 18 MINORITY REPORT RE: Article 18 General Fund Appropriation Fiscal Year 2007 Supported by Finance Committee Members Michael Batsimm, Melinda Coppa, Mike Giarratano, Eva E. Hamori, Keith Mitchell, Mark Nichols, Paul Stewart, and Jack Watkins The ` To Be Balanced' (TBB) budget As has been consistently reported by your Finance Committee every year for a decade, the government of North Andover has serious and deepening financial difficulties. Year after year we have been unable to afford `level service'. The gap between FY07 Department Requests (`level service') and a `balanced budget' based on current revenue projections is between $3 million and $4 million. Simply stated, $4 million, or even $3 million, is an impossible amount to make up without an Override. The TBB budget attempts to "split the difference" and provide as much service as we can afford by relying on, indeed demanding, raising additional revenues such as those listed below, and/or reducing low priority services as necessary to balance the budget by December. The normal practice of the Finance Committee and the Annual Town Meeting has been to aim for a nominally balanced budget, with the acknowledgement that a number of revenues and expenses were still unknown. Any subsequent out-of-balance situation was handled in the short term by the Selectmen, acting through the Town Manager, and in the long term by the December Special Town Meeting. The TBB budget is explicitly out of balance, but the process and the solution are similar to all prior years. There exist a number of heretofore underutilized ways to increase the North Andover government's revenues to help balance the budget. However, most require action that only the Board of Selectmen has the legal or political authority to initiate. Putting the responsibility to balance the budget into the hands of the same group that has the authority to do so, our leaders and policy-makers, should result in significant improvements in our Town government's finances. In summary, the TBB budget (1) provides as much service as North Andover can afford; (2) must be balanced initially by the Manager and Selectmen, and finally by the December Special Town Meeting; and (3) respectfully but firmly asks our elected Town leaders to address our financial difficulties. Revenue Possibilities(Selectmen) Expense Reduction Possibilities Pay As You Throw of all Solid Waste(7.5%overhead) S 1,590,000 ''Municipal TBB exceeds'UBS'by S 273,606 There are about 7,400 households currently served,so Reduce'Group(Medical)Insurance'costs by 1.4% 100,000 the average cost per household would be under$215 per year. Shared Services(Town+School personnel management,payroll,etc.) 100,000 Sell another Town-owned building lot 200,000 Shared Services with neighboring towns(911,Youth,Senior,...) ?? 'Hopkinton Bill'(reassess new construction sooner) 100,000 ;Partially Volunteer Fire Department? ?? Use more'Sidewalk Revolving Fund'monies for DPW 25,000 Increase False Alarm fines 25,000 Other Revenue Possibilities(not under our control) 'Unplug/Plug'(testing of private Fire Department alarms) 25,000 'Final State Aid (may be up to$265,702) S 74,421 Increase existing PILOT fees ?? Increased General Fund Interest(likely) 50,000 Collect existing'[Farm]Animal'and Forest Products taxes ?? Higher Circuit Breaker than anticipated(guesstimate) 25,000 Operating Override ?? Free Cash ?? Surplus Overlay ?? State-Owned-Land hold-harmless ?? Extracted from FINANCE COMMITTEE POLICIES&RULES OF PROCEDURE: "The Act of the Committee will be known by a majority vote. An Act of the Committee represents the decision of the entire Committee,not simply those Members voting in support. Any Act, report, or recommendation of the Finance Committee may be added to by one or more formal "Minority Report(s)". All discussions, deliberations, and decisions of the Finance Committee, including Minority Reports, will take place at regular Finance Committee meetings. A Minority Report must receive at least two votes, else it is an individual opinion. Said Reports will be titled "MINORITY REPORT RE: ". All Members supporting a Minority Report will be clearly identified therein. Any Member may propose or vote for a Minority Report, whether voting for or against the Act of the Committee. All Finance Committee Acts shall include any available Minority Report(s)as, at a minimum, an Appendix. Similarly, no Minority Report may be distributed or made available without being accompanied by the corresponding Act of the Committee and this explanatory paragraph" Article 18. General Fund Appropriation Fiscal Year 2007. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, transfer from available funds or otherwise provide a sum or sums of money for the purpose of funding the General Fund for the Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2006 and ending June 30, 2007; or to take any other action relative thereto. FinCom Fi,nCori Motion 'Minority of Report' 5/30/2006 "TBB" General Government $ 2,351,846 2,380,036 Motion to be offered: Public Safety 8,254,909 81262,081 School Department 31,690,103 33,116,430 MOVE to raise and appropriate funds for Regional Schools GLEC 236,000 236,000 the Fiscal Year 2007 General Fund as School Building Committee 22,000 22,000 Snow& Ice Removal 685,530 685;580 follows: All Other Public Works 3,234,338 3,260,115 Health & Human Services 696,646 751;822 Culture & Recreation 718,934 748;707 And further to transfer to the General Fund Debt Service 9,398,741 9,398;741 $751,356 from NESWC Dissolution Employee Benefits 10,168,518 10,168;518 $150,000 from Bond Premium Liability Insurance 416,516 416,516 $300,000 from surplus Overlay Capital & Reserves - $ 17,928 from Trash Fee Stabilization, Total Town Meeting Appropriation 67,874,081 69,443,496 and $ 65 267 from free cash Overlay Reserve 350 '000 350'000 State Assessments 2,037,201 2;037,201 to reduce the tax rate. Total Expenses 70,261,282 711830,697 Finance Committee Revenues 70,261,282e 70,261,282 sur lus deficit 0 1,,569,415 FINANCE COMMITTEE EXPLANATION: The great majority of our Town's annual operating budget, is in this General Fund Appropriation. This, plus the capital projects budgets (Articles 24 and 25), the Enterprise appropriations for Water, Sewer, and the Stevens Estate (Articles 21- 23), and Revolving Funds (Article 26), are all the spending appropriations the Town will use to operate for the coming fiscal year, July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007, "FY07". The Town of North Andover exists to serve its residents. The proposed budgets attempt to provide the best balance of services to all residents in an environment where revenues are not sufficient to provide all desired services. As a town and an employer in the state of Massachusetts, the Town also has certain state, federal, and contractual responsibilities it must fulfill. As a necessary support to providing direct services to its residents, the Town has certain indirect costs' of administration, and must comply with a plethora of state and federal mandates. The budget shown above is in a particular format with thirteen unshaded 'appropriation line items'. Although the responsible Town official or board can move money within an appropriation line item, only Town Meeting can move money between appropriation line items or appropriate money from revenues to an appropriation line item. In prior Reports the Finance Committee has attempted to explain in detail every part of every line item of the budget, with the result that the explanations were lengthy and it was becoming difficult to see the bigger picture. This year the !big picture is presented in the Finance Committee Report at the front of the Warrant book. In this General Fund Appropriation article explanation we have followed the maxim that "a picture is worth a thousand words" and, although the relevant ratio of words to tables has yet to be mathematically determined,; present the detailed budget line items in a format that relates exactly to the General Fund table above. The two pages that follow provide increased detail on each of the appropriation line items listed above; each of the above lines is a subtotal of a group of detail lines in what follows. The motion on this Warrant Article will be to approve the budget in the amount and level of detail as shown in the appropriate columns'of the table above,' the thirteen appropriation line items. There is additional information given in the shaded areas of the table above and on the following pages on the composition of each appropriation line item within the budget,,;but that additional information is neither a part of the Article nor of the original Motion.