Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text
FINCOM 02-28-2013
Saved text from 1 of 4 source pages. Transcription and OCR may contain errors; verify figures and wording against the original.
Source page 1
Town of Canton Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, February 28, 2013 Members Present: Rob Barker, Sarah Calabria, Pat Johnson, Mark Porter, Jim Sims and Eric Zinc. Members Absent: Barbara Saint Andre and Diane Wolff. Guests Present: James Quaglia, Superintendent - Director, Blue Hills Regional Technical School Terry Longley, Assistant Business Manager, Blue Hills Regional Technical School Aidan Maguire, Canton Representative to the Blue Hills Regional School Committee Jim Murgia, Finance Director Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Secretary Voled ' 3043 Opening: A meeting of the Canton Finance Committee was called to order at approximately 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 28, 2013 in the Upper Meeting Room of the William J. Armando Recreation Center. A. Approval of Agenda Chairman Porter stated the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the request from the Blue Hills Regional Technical School (BHRTS) to establish a stabilization fund /FY14 budget request/Assessment, the FYI Snow & Ice budget, FY14 Revenue Update and Town Meeting warrant articles. Announcements There were no announcements made. B. Approval of Minutes A motion made by Eric Zinc to approve the January 29, 2013 meeting minutes as written was seconded by Pat Johnson. Vote: 5 -0 -1. Ms. Calabria abstained from the vote because she was not present at the January 29, 2013 meeting. A motion made by Rob Barker to approve the January 31, 2013 meeting minutes as written was seconded by Pat Johnson. Vote: 5 -0 -1. Mr. Zine abstained from the vote because he was not present at the January 31, 2013 meeting. C. New Business Blue Hills Regional Technical School (BHRTS) — Stabilization Fund & FY14 Assessments — (handout) James Quaglia, Superintendent - Director of BHRTS, provided to the Finance Committee handouts regarding the FY14 Proposed Budget. Information regarding FYI 3-14 Budget summary and Assessments and draft language regarding an ATM article for the establishment of a Stabilization Fund had been provided prior to the meeting. BHRTS requested an article at ATM 2013 for the establishment of a Stabilization Fund for FY14, however, BHRTS would not be seeking funding in FY14, but in a future fiscal year. A majority of the nine members of the regional district school committee voted to approve the establishment of this Stabilization Fund but the vote was not unanimous. A majority vote of the nine local appropriating authorities (ATM) would be needed to approve the establishment of this Fund. The Stabilization Fund would be used to help pay for capital equipment purchases and for large scale capital projects through borrowing/bonding with some in conjunction with MSBA approval. Mr. Quaglia stated that the establishment of a Stabilization Fund would be viewed favorably by the bond rating agencies. The source of funds would be BHRTS can legally carry 5% of its preceding overall operating budget for a fiscal year as the maximum amount for excess & deficiency which makes it challenging to save for significant capital projects. For the Stabilization Fund, BHRTS would be allowed to carry a balance of an aggregate amount not to exceed 5% of the equalized valuations of the nine- member communities. FINCOM 02282013 MMTES.doc Page 1 of 4 3/3/2013