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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-01-10 Finance Committee Minutes TOWN OF NORTH ANDOVER FINANCE COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes Meeting Date January 10, 2017 Meeting Location: School Administration Building 566 Main Street Bill Callahan, BC, Chairman X Sasha Weinreich, SW X Jennifer Goldman, JG, Vice Chair X Divya Bhatnagar, DB X Karin Blake, KB X Angela Ciofolo, AC X Thomas Ringler, TR X Chris Nobile, CN X Timothy Tschirhart,TT X Liz Gerron, LG X Note: All FINCOM votes are subject to change upon receipt of new information. Note: Documents used in this meeting are listed in Document Table, herein. Non Finance Committee Members in attendance -Andrew Maylor (Maylor) Town Manager Call to order: 6:45 Approval of Minutes Discussion starts on or about 6:46pm/000:34 on video time October 18th, 2016 JG: Made a motion to approve the October 18th minutes as written CN: Second the motion All were in favor to approve the minutes that were present at the October I8thmeeting TR& TT abstained from vote November 1 st, 2016 JG: Made a motion to approve the November 1 st minutes as written TT: Second the motion All were in favor to approve the minutes that were present at the November 1 st meeting KN& LG abstained from vote 1 January 10,2017 December 6th, 2016 TT: Made a motion to approve the December 6th minutes as written SW: Second the motion All were in favor to approve the minutes that were present at the December 6th meeting_ JG & LG abstained from vote BC: We are expecting the Tom Manager to arrive, before he arrives we will take the time to talk about the analysis from TT and questions. BC: The Town Manager prepared the budget,but the big question on the CIP is the 4 million dollars that is being moved out of free cash(reserves) going towards an expenditure in FY 18 was unanticipated. BC: TT's analysis asked the question, how does this fit into our Fiscal reserve policy and, is this the best use of these dollars? Capital Improvement Plan Overview with Andrew Maylor Discussion starts on or about 7:00 pm/015:50 on video time. TR: Commented that the Town Manager has arrived and will be able to answer our question(s). BC: Stated to Maylor that he wanted to layout the context of tonight's discussion. Basically, we review our Committee as the one to think about and look at the big picture so we want to anchor our discussion on; 1. The Financial Reserve Policies 2. The tradeoff between going out to market for debt and using free cash. The Financial Reserve Policies TT: The bottom line we are well within the reserves but the question is that we are inching down from maxing thein out towards shaving them a little bit. Maylor: I have a little bit of a different prospective, in the sense that the policies were driven to understand that, and that they were created between the help of the Finance Committee and Selectmen. The policies that are common in municipalities talk about floors and not ceilings. Remember here the reference here is that the ceilings are the cap. Being below the ceiling is above where we want to be. The goal is not to exceed the ceiling. The way I look at it is that we are sufficiently and adequately above the floor. Maylor: went on to say that the balance here is to have appropriate reserves, but not to have too many. TT: Thought some floors were too low. Maylor: Commented that the minimums are a reflection to where we have been and to a certain extent we must be mindful of that, and over time when we are more confident we should raise the minimum. 2 January 10,2017 Maylor: Agreed with TT that minimums should be raised so we are always in a comfortable spot. KB: Asked how much in total are we under the ceiling? TT: Responded we are roughly under $500,000 under ceiling. Maylor: Stated that we are not trying to achieve the ceiling. BC: Commented that a useful way to think about it is our target is to have between 5-15% of our yearly revenue in reserve. Maylor: Commented that our financial situation has been improving in good strides. FYI allowed us to do what we could not do in past fiscal years. The good news is we are strong financially and are improving, but Maylor stated that he is an incrementalist. CN: Highlighting these reserves are a product of the process. The reasons why we have these reserves is because you put these processes and policies in place and that is the difference between FY2009 and FY2017. Maylor: agreed with CN's description. TR: Are we doing too well? If you are a little bit tight you think twice before you do anything. Maybe it is time we can do something on the revenue side. Maylor: There are more difficult decisions to make when things are going well. The challenge becomes a balance and Maylor also spoke of sustainability. One of the real challenges to make sure is that we stay within our lane, and not go beyond what we can afford. Maylor: Continued by saying that by using retained earnings to pay for capital dollar for dollar, I am ensuring water and sewage rates do not increase. If this continues to grow I may recommend to Selectmen (in the future) lower water and sewerage rates. BC: Questioned and expressed concerns with OPEB and health insurance costs. Maylor: Stated that OPEB is a future liability and Health insurance is current cost. The Stabilization Fund has ability to move dollars out and Trust Fund is locked in and has limits, it is future cost, and not current costs. BC: Commented that we will move on to the third question. TT: Asked of the request vs. recommendations on the Facility Master Plan, I could not come up with the $175,000. May]or : I know what it is, the original expectation for the Master Plan for the Kindergarten was 6 million dollars. The final request was 6 million one hundred and seventy-five thousand 3 January 10,2017 dollars, and that is the delta. Maylor: Answered and commented on various questions such as police radios, police storage and carports, building maintenance and various contracts regarding the maintenance and repairs. Library roof repairs, such as tiles, the flat roof and roof leaks were also discussed. Maylor spoke of the generator systems and the regular maintenance that goes along with it. Questions regarding contracting vs. staffing were asked of Maylor and addressed. Maylor: Commented on the life expectancies of fire trucks, engines and ambulances. JG: Asked a school related question on modular classrooms and why it was not on the Facility Master Plan Maylor: Responded that it is not in the 5-year Master Plan but, it is part of Facility Master Plan II. TT: Regarding the school expansion TT expressed his concerns to Maylor and that he would like to see the big picture, the 5 year plan, both CIP and operating cost, and also where are the revenues coming from BC and the Committee Thanked Maylor for coming BC and the Committee discussed the upcoming meeting for January 17, 2017. Adjournment Discussion starts on or about 8:52pm/126:40 on video time TT: Made a motion to adjourn CN: Second the motion All in Favor 4 January 10,2017 Minutes November 1st, 2016 Minutes October 18th, 2016 Minutes December 6, 2016 Reserve Balances/Projections Decemeber-16 ** Capital Improvement Plan 2018-2022 --------------------------------------------------------------- * Hard copy/also on Google drive ** Hard Copy/ also on the Town of North Andover's Web Page 5 January 10,2017