March 23, 2016, Finance Committee Meeting. Minutes — 179bb037304f30e80d

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Town of Canton Finance Committee 1vlinutes voted on: 3/30/16
Meeting Minutes Vote: 9-0-0
Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Members Present:
Rob Barker, Sepp Bergschneider, Jim Casamento, Gerald Dorfman, Nichols Gallagher, Dianne
Gustafson, Stephanie Leach, Tim McKenna, Barbara Saint Andre and Jim Sims.

Members Absent:
All members were present at the meeting.

Guests Present:
Bob Golledge, Chair, School Committee
Jen Henderson, Interim School Superintendent
Mike Loughran, Member, School Committee
Barry Nectow, School Business Administrator
Jim Murgia, Finance Director
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Secretary

Opening: A meeting of the Canton Finance Committee was called to order by Chair Saint Andre at
7:02 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 in the Salah Meeting Room of Town Hall.

A. Approval of Agenda

Chair Saint Andre reviewed the items on the agenda.

B. Announcements

There were no announcements.

C. New Business

Article 44 —Reconsideration — Building Needs Study —New Motion $250,000 — (see meeting
handout) Members of the School Committee and School Department attended the Finance Committee
meeting to ask the Finance Committee to reconsider Article 44. They acknowledged the feedback that
they had received from the Finance Committee at a prior meeting to pursue studying the space needs of
the Canton Public Schools.

The School Committee had also received feedback from the Paul Revere Heritage Committee/Board of
Selectmen that the Rolling Mill was not being offered as an option for School Administration space nor
was space at the site being readily offered for the construction of a new office building for Administration
purposes.

Ms. Gustafson commented that there has not been any comprehensive analysis done of the Rodman
Building to see if 1) the Rodman Building would address enrollment issues and 2) if it would be suitable
as classroom space that the MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Authority) would support for
reimbursement.

Mr. Nectow informed the Finance Committee that he had worked with Town Counsel in developing a
motion for Article 44. The motion being proposed was to transfer $250,000 from Free Cash
(Undesignated Fund Balance) to be expended by the School Committee to hire an engineer or other
consultant to study the school building needs of the Town.

I n response to members' questions as to how Mr. Nectow arrived at the $250,000 cost of the study, Mr.
Nectow stated that he had used a sample of a study from Billerica as a guideline. The cost of the 2012
Billerica study was $283,000 which included nine school buildings. The School Committee has not yet
developed a scope for the study. Mr. Nectow stated that the scope of the study would eventually drive
the study cost.

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Mr. Casamento inquired about the $155,000 study that had been approved at the 2015 ATM. This study
had been approved to address the present and projected conditions and repairs for 25 school and
m unicipal buildings. The study did not address space needs. The study has been pending the hiring of a
new Facilities Manager. Mr. Nectow stated that their $250,000 request could be reduced since the school
buildings were included in last year's $155,000 study.

A~i~.~~le 19 —Vote to Approve Free F~~~ ~av Kinderaarten -Motion Mav Not Be Leaal

Chair Saint Andre informed the Committee that she had received an email from Town Counsel that the
motion the Finance Committee had voted under Article 19 may not be legal and that was not within the
purview of Town Meeting to legislate a program (the full day kindergarten) on behalf of the School
Department.

M r. Casamento suggested removing the phrase "for implementing free full day kindergarten" from the
motion in Article 19.

Another suggestion was to cluster Article 19 with the budget Article 45, with the Moderator's approval.
When the Budget is addressed at Town Meeting It would have to be announced to ATM that the School
Department's budget number would be presented for $38,077,710 and then a motion could be made to
transfer $495,000 from free cash to the FY17 budget. When the FY18 budget is established it would be
reduced by $495,000.

M r. Murgia would contact Town Counsel to convey to him that the Finance Committee would be keeping
the motion in Article 19 as a separate motion.

Article 45 —Appropriate ~~~a~~ to IVle~t Expen~~s for Ne~~ ~u~cal Year (FY17)(see meeting handout)

M r. Murgia stated that the Board of Selectmen voted at their meeting the night before a municipal budget
of $19,006,901. This budget represented a 5% increase from the FY16 budget. This budget included
funds in Department #910 for implementing the results of the HR study and would help in leaving
$555,955 of unused levy capacity.

Chair Saint Andre gave her opinion about the FY17 budget process. She explained that the Revenue
Committee met and came up with a revenue forecast that was reasonably attainable. She also stated
that the Revenue Committee does not recommend town budgets and that the statement the Revenue
Committee set target budgets with 6% increases is incorrect. It is the function of Annual Town Meeting to
establish the budget. The Finance Committee is only one of the players in the budget setting process
and that input from the BOS, the School Committee, the Capital Planning Committee, the Community
Preservation Committee and the Planning Board is taken into consideration. While the Finance
Committee set a target number of a 4% increase, the School Committee and BOS cut their budgets to a
5% increase. The 5% is a good compromise.

Electricity Budgets — (see meeting handout) — Mr. Sims provided information with regard to the actual
expenses and FY17 budget regarding electricity budgets. The first spreadsheet Mr. Sims provided
compared the FY17 budgeted amounts for electricity against suggested amounts based on historical
information. It was his intention for the Finance Committee to consider reducing the electricity budgets for
many of the departments based on the departments actual expenses being substantially lower than the
a mounts budgeted for several years. He estimated a savings of $92,002.

The second spreadsheet Mr. Sims prepared had cuts to both the school and municipal budgets to
represent a 4% budget increase. Mr. Sims proposed eliminating $16,800 of salaries for elected officials,
cutting the salary for the unfilled Animal Control position, delaying the hiring of a Police Sergeant, various
electricity budget reductions and delaying the hiring of a new firefighter and the promotion of four
firefighters to Lieutenants and elimination of the stipends of Emergency Management volunteers.

Mr. Murgia explained that the Town had been receiving the benefits of a good electric supplier contract
over the past three years with a $.067 per kwh rate. The contract ended June 30, 2015 with the new
supplier rate of $0.09 per kwh beginning July 1, 2015. While Mr. Murgia was not opposed to the Finance
Committee making adjustments to budget line items to more accurately reflect spending based on

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historical expenses, he did state that this review should have taken place earlier in the budget process
when the budget worksheets were distributed in November.

Mr. Casamento spoke in support of 4% budget increase. Ms. Gustafson spoke in support of unused levy
capacity for future use. Ms. Leach spoke in support of adding funds to the Town's unfunded liability of
OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits).

FY17 Budget Votes — (see meeting handout)

The Finance Committee voted the following FY17 School Department Budget:

Dept. Amount Motion by Seconded Vote Comment
School $38,077,710 Mr. Ber Schneider Mr. McKenna 7-3-0

The Finance Committee voted the following FY17 Municipal budgets:

Dept. Amount Motion b Seconded Vote Comment
Assessors $295,704 Mr. Ber schneider Ms. Gustafson 7-3-0 Budget includes salaries for elected o~cials.
Bld . & Zonin $361,554 Mr. Ber schneider Ms. Leach 9-1-0
Committees &
$24,268 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna 9-1-0
Commissions
Conservation $137,846 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. McKenna 9-1-0
Council on A in $357,245 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. McKenna 9-1-0
Executive Area $1,169,942 Mr. Ber Schneider Mr. McKenna 6-4-0 Budget includes salaries for elected officials.

Finance $982,703 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna 8_2_p Accounting Dept. was cut by $5,00o due to
attrition.
8_2_p Includes $150,000 dispatch fee, s mos.
Fire $5,451,942 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna
dela of romotions. Floater has been cut.
Health $365,030 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. McKenna 6-4-0 Budget includes salaries for elected o~cials
Parks &
$677,362 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna 9-1-0
Recreation
Plannin Board $63,130 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. McKenna ~o-o-o
Police $4,650,614 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. McKenna 8-2-0
Public Libra $1,228,137 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. Barker 9-1-0
Public Works $2,729,289 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. McKenna 9-1-0
Town Clerk &
$232,405 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna 9-1-0
Elections
Veterans
$278,730 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna 9-1-0
Services
Total $19,006,901

The Finance Committee voted the following FY17 Fixed Costs budgets:

Dept. Amount Motion by Seconded Vote Comment
Blue Hills
$1,195,356 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna 10-0-0
Re Tonal
Debt Service $4,883,206 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. McKenna 10-0-0
Employer Share
$11,339,278 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna 10-0-0
Health/Life
Norfolk Agric,
$10,000 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna 10-0-0
HS
OPEB Transfers $750,000 Mr. Ber schneider Ms. Gustafson 5-5-0 Motion failed.
Motion passed increasing the OPEB
OPEB Transfers $770,000 Ms. Gallagher Mr. Dorfman 8-2-0 budget by $20,000. Mr. Murgia is
recommendin $800,000 for FY18.
Reserve Fund $500,000 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. McKenna 10-0-0
Retirement
$4,397,322 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna ~o-o-o
Benefits
Snow &Ice $564,500 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. McKenna ~o-o-o
Street Li htin $120,000 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. McKenna 8-2-0 The main motion for $120,000 passed.
Mr. Casamento amended the original
Street Lighting $100,000 Mr. Casamento Ms. Saint Andre motion from $~20,00o to $00,000. The
3-7-0 amended motion failed. The original
motion then assed 8-2-0.
Town Insurance $1,084,985 Mr. Ber schneider Mr. McKenna 10-0-0
Trash Collection $1,840,240 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna 10-0-0
Unemployment
$100,000 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna ~o-o-o
Com .
Total $26,804,887

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The Finance Committee voted the following FY17 Enterprise Funds' budgets:

Enterprise Fund Amount Motion by Seconded Vote Comment
~o-o-o Includes debt service, Rec. Director
Rink $113,444 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna sti end
Sewer $6,496,640 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna 10-0-0
Water $6,396,172 Mr. Bergschneider Mr. McKenna 70-0-0

Article 45 —Motion 1 —Votes to Transfer Available Funds

A motion made by Mr. Barker to transfer available funds totaling $2,148,003 as follows was
seconded by Mr. Bergschneider:

Transfer From Amount Pur ose
Ambulance Service $650,000 Fire De artment
Water Enter rise Fund $510,539 Fixed Costs
Sewer Enter rise Fund $356,442 Fixed Costs
Solar Facilit $323,067 Town-Wide Electricit
School Food Service $146,805 Health Insurance
Ambulance Service $111,150 Debt Service
Greenlod e Street Parkin Fees $35,000 Executive Office
Sale of Lots/Graves $10,000 Cemeter Maintenance
Cemeter Per etual Care Ex endable $5,000 Cemeter Maintenance
Total $2,148,003

Mr. Murgia explained that the $323,067 being transferred from the Solar Facility was through funds
collected from leasing the land.

Vote: 10-0-0.

Article 44 —Reconsideration —Canton School Department Office Building Construction

Earlier in the meeting the Finance Committee had been asked by the School Committee to reconsider
Article 44 for a new motion (see meeting handout)fora $250,000 building needs study using free cash as
a source of funds.

A motion made by Mr. Barker to reopen Article 44 was seconded by Ms. Gustafson. Vote: 9-1-0

Mr. Casamento stated that if $250,000 of free cash were used for the study it would leave an approximate
balance of $151,000.

Ms. Gustafson stated the importance of having reliable enrollment projections completed by a
professional company in order to have a starting point to see if additional classes are needed, and if so,
how many classrooms would be required. It also should be determined if the Rodman Building can be
used as classroom space. Ms. Gustafson also stated that a professional company should complete the
study instead of a volunteer committee.

A motion made by Mr. Barker that $250,000 be appropriated from Free Cash (Undesignated Fund
Balance) to be expended by the Canton School Committee to engage professional engineers or
other consultants to study the school building needs of the Town was seconded by Mr. McKenna.
Vote: 4-6-0. This motion failed.

A motion made by Mr. Sims that the subject matter of Article 44 as printed in the warrant be
indefinitely postponed was seconded by Mr. Barker. Vote: 10-0-0.

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Article 27 —Reconsideration -Vote to Approve Term Limits for Elected and Appointed Boards &
Committees

Ms. Gustafson asked the Finance Committee if they wanted to reconsider Article 27 because
Mr. McKenna was absent from the meeting at the time Article 27 was voted on.

A motion made by Ms. Gustafson to reopen Article 27 was seconded by Mr. Barker. Vote: 7-3-0.

(The original vote on Article 27 was 5-5-0.)

Mr. Sims, the Article sponsor, spoke in support of letting Annual Town Meeting voters decide on
Article 27.

M r. Barker spoke in opposition to Article 27 stating that it is very difficult to get individuals to serve on the
many boards and committees of the Town.

A motion made by Mr. Sims to amend various by-laws for term limits for elected and appointed
Boards &Committees was seconded by Ms. Gallagher. Vote: 5-5-0. The motion failed.

A motion made by Chair Saint Andre that the subject matter of Article 27 as printed in the warrant
be indefinitely postponed was seconded by Mr. McKenna. Vote: 5-5-0.

M r. Murgia recommended to the Finance Committee members that they consider using Motion # 1 from
the motion "cheat sheet".

A motion made by Mr. Casamento that because the article does not address municipal operations
involving an appropriation, the Finance Committee pursuant to Canton General By-Laws Article
VII, Part B,section 1, voted to take no position on the subject matter of the foregoing article was
seconded by Mr. McKenna. Vote: 7-3-0.

D. Other Business/Open Issues

Liaison Reports —There were no liaison reports given by any of the Committee members.

E. Approval of Minutes

There were no minutes approved at the meeting. The minutes for March 9, March 14 and March 16 will
be approved at a future meeting.

F. Next Meeting Date: The next meeting will take place on Monday, March 28`h in the Salah
Meeting Room of Town Hall. Article 19 would be discussed at the meeting.

Adjournment: A motion made by Chair Saint Andre to adjourn the meeting at 10:10 p.m. was
seconded by Ms. Gustafson. Vote: 10-0-0.

Minutes reviewed by: Nichols Gallagher

Respectfully submitted,

Barba a Saint Andre
Chair, Canton Finance Committee

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Town of Canton
                      Finance Committee Meeting —Wednesday, March 23, 2016

                                      List of Meeting Handouts


Please note: These meeting handouts may also be found on the Town's website under the Posted
Minutes section (Laser Fiche).

Agenda (1 page).

Article 44 —New Motion —Email from Paul DeRensis, Town Counsel, to Jim Murgia, Finance Director,
dated March 23, 2016 (1 page).

FY17 Budget Summary with 5% increases, Email from Jim Murgia to Barbara Saint Andre, dated
March 23, 2016 (1 page).

Summary of Revenues and Expenditures, dated March 23, 2016 (1 page).

Property Tax Revenue (with $555,955 of Unused Levy Capacity) dated March 23, 2016 (1 page).

M unicipal Departments' Operating Budgets, dated March 23, 2016 (2 pages).

Enterprise Funds' Operating Budgets, dated March 23, 2016 (1 page).

Operating Budget by Voting Category as of March 23, 2016(2 pages).

Budget Report for FY2017 as of March 23, 2016 (8 pages).

Electricity Budget Department Worksheets, FY07 Actual Expense thru FY15 Actual Expense, provided by
Jim Sims, as of March 23, 2016 (1 page).

School and Municipal Budgets with 4% increases, provided by Jim Sims, as of March 23, 2016 (1 page).




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