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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-02-02 Finance Committee Minutes di Finance Committee Meeting Minutes of February 2, 2026 I IIIIiY)loll`ii�Ei@tl} �}pIt 1}i'I}y, (IIII II Illt'lll�ll I i ,i Call To Order: Chair Regina Kean called the open meeting to order at 7:OOPM in the Select Board Meeting Room located at 120 Main Street North Andover. Present: Chair Regina Kean, Vice Chair Denevan O'Connell, Nancy Sarro, Jeanne Irwin, Eva Pastor, Christine Allen, Keith Chaney, and Jennifer Watson. Not Present: Dustin Silk. Non-Board Members in Attendance: Finance Director Dennis Keohane. PUBLIC COMMENT John Watters of 2125 Turnpike Street asked the Committee to take a look at the line item for the new fire station number 3 in the Capital Improvement Plan as the financials seem off. Mr. Watters expressed that there should be more of a discussion about where the new fire station should go. NEW BUSINESS Discussion on NAPS FY21-FY25 General Fund Actual Expenditures Ms. Kean explained the data they received. Ms. Watson stated the budget increases tend to be much higher on average than what is projected forward. Ms. Watson stated she is concerned about the trend being sustainable. Ms. Kean stated these are the actual expenditures and not the budget. Ms. Watson asked if this was the operating costs. Ms. Kean stated no. Ms. Watson asked if this included grants. Mr. Keohane stated yes. Ms. Kean discussed her thoughts on the growth percentages on the education row. Ms. Irwin stated grants may have something to do with that growth trend. Ms. Irwin discussed the different grants. Mr. O'Connell stated they were using grant money for operational expenses. Ms. Sarro stated there was a lack of tools that allowed the spending to remain to budget because there was a lot of overspending. Ms. Sarro expressed her thoughts on why they were over budget in 2024. Ms. Irwin explained chapter 70 money. Ms. Irwin asked if the Superintendent submitted a budget for 4% increase. Ms. Watson stated it was 6.5%, the Town's recommended budget was 4%. Ms. Kean stated after the 11% increase in 2024, the next year she calculated a 3% increase. Ms. Watson stated there is a note that stated $2 million was charged to a different account so if you include that it affects the increase of that percentage. Ms. Watson asked if$69 million is the plan for this budget. Ms. Kean stated its $69 million but once you add in the Greater Lawrence and Essex Aggie. Ms. Irwin stated they are going to take a million and a half out of the circuit breakers to meet that gap. Discussion of FY27 NAPS Recommended Budget Ms. Kean explained that she placed this on the agenda to gather the Committee's thoughts on the budget that was presented to the School Committee. Ms. Kean stated the Town's recommended budget increase is 4%, which would equate to a $72.2 million budget for the schools. Ms. Kean stated the Superintendent outlined a budget of$73.7 million. Ms. Kean discussed the plan outlined by the Superintendent. Ms. Kean stated she is concerned about the approach of using circuit breaker money to cover the gap as they do not know what that funding will be. Ms. Watson discussed her concerns. Ms. Watson explained her concern of a$250,000 transfer from grant to general fund. Ms. Irwin explained why this is common. Ms. Watson discussed what the Superintendent stated and why this was still a concern. Mr. Keohane explained the history of the expenditures. Mr. Keohane explained the major grants. Ms. Kean asked about the all other sources row. Mr. di Finance Committee Meeting Minutes of February 2, 2026 I IIIIiY)loll`ii�Ei@tl} �}pIt 1}i'I}y, (IIII II Illt'lll�ll I i ,i Keohane explained that the green bar on the document was the summary of the total, and below that is all the grants and funding sources that equal to what the total expenditures were up above. Ms. Kean asked about the last row of that funding source that shows all other funds. Mr. Keohane stated those are other smaller grants. Ms. Kean asked if they transferred money from a stabilization fund, that would just be general fund. Mr. Keohane stated yes. Ms. Irwin stated school lunch is a revolving fund that they cannot touch. Ms. Watson stated she would like to ensure they are not getting themselves into the same kind of situation they have been in before by relying on what is meant to be temporary grant money for general expenses. Ms. Sarro asked if the circuit breaker offset the expected savings from this year. Ms. Irwin stated it is one year behind. Ms. Kean stated she believes they are going to get$2.5 million back from FY26 and therefore, they could use $1.5 million of that and put the rest in a reserve. Ms. Kean discussed the January update from the schools, which included the estimated carryover of circuit breaker as $2.1 million. Ms. Watson stated they should consider any steps they would want to take now to mitigate the risk of a failed override in FY28. APPROVAL OF OPEN SESSION MINUTES FROM JANUARY 5, 2026 MOTION: Mr. O'Connell motioned to approve the open session minutes from January 5, 2026 as presented. Ms. Allen seconded. Motion approved 8-0. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Mr. O'Connell made a MOTION, seconded by Ms. Watson to adjourn the Finance Committee meeting at 7:35PM. Motion approved 8-0. Respectfully submitted. Nicole Civitarese Executive Assistant Documents used at meeting NAPS Proposed Budget Presentation Minutes from 1/5/26