March 29, 2016

Westport Finance Committee (Fincom)

Meeting Minutes

Westport Town Hall

March 29, 2016

Present: Shana Shufelt (SS), Dick Brewer (DB), Gary Carreiro (GC), Charles “Buzzy” Baron (BB), Hugh Morton (HM), Bob McCarthy (BM), Mark Carney (MC), Tracy Priestner (TP), Karen Powell (KP)

Attending: Terry Provencal (TA), Tim King (TK)

SS opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. with the traditional salute to the flag.

Minutes: Tabled til next meeting in order to get started on budget hearings

Reports:

Administrator: TK stated that as we get closer to the end of FY16 we are seeing some departments over budget and some under budget. He went over some modest changes that were made to the FY17 proposed budget by the BOS. GC questioned that local receipts as of March 1st looked a little low compared to FY15 but TK is hopeful we will exceed our estimates. TK said they are running approximately 5.7% over FY15.

School Building: None

Accountant: None

Liaison:

FY17 Budgets:

Regional Schools: Bristol Agricultural HS: TP read a presentation that stated the actual rates will not be set until the April Board of Trustees meeting. The FY17 budget is set at $75k. We currently have 30 students from Westport attending.

Diman Regional Voc-Tech HS: TP read a short presentation and introduced Superintendent Dr. Marta Montleon, who will be leaving her position at the end of the school year. She spoke about the foundation budget and how they never ask the towns for more than what is in the calculation set forth by the State. The only way to change the formulas for the foundation budget or the percentage of students allowed to attend from Westport would be an act of the State legislature. The current percentages were set in the 1960s. The foundation budget does not include transportation. The FY17 proposal is $1,564,737 which includes transportation.

Westport Community Schools: TP read a short presentation then introduced Dr. Ann Dargon, Superintendent, Melissa Sousa, Administrative Assistant for Business Services, Michelle Rapoza, School Business Officer and School Committee Members Melissa Pacheco, Tony Viveiros and Nancy Rioux. Dr. Dargon proceeded to read through a prepared presentation. The FY17 requested budget is $17,145,822 of which the BOS recommended $17,002,364. She spoke on goals of the district to remain a Level 1 district. 80% of the budget is for salaries which includes contractual obligations of some pay increases. She spoke on grants being more scarce and the ones they do get are for less money. Unfunded mandates regarding Special Education are another problem as they are mandated to accept students that move into the district regardless. There are more State Initiatives which have more standards that need to be met and they require more training for the staff and teachers in order to meet the criteria. When asked about the cut the BOS made in their budget, they stated that if the lesser amount stays, it will mean cutting positions which could result in the students getting less than a Level 1 education.

The budget included $466,900 in contractual obligations. They stated they would turn back $75k from what was given them at the Special Town Meeting in December. They have a request in Article 9 for $100k to repair the Macomber School parking lot to add to the $110k given them at the last town meeting. The BOS is only recommending $80k.

Debt Service/Long-term and Short-term Interest: DB discussed these budgets based on information previously given to the Fincom from the Treasurer. These numbers cannot be changed as they are locked in till 2033 unless we refinance them. Our debt is well below the norm and we have a very good bond rating.

Annual Town Meeting:

Article 9: These are all on the plan by CIPC.

a. $160k for IT from free cash. The BOS recommends $150k. This is considered a high priority by CIPC as it is necessary to keep the infrastructure of the computer networking running smoothly.

b. Fire station well at Briggs Rd for $15k. DB had a narrative from the Fire Chief that stated frequent repairs are becoming costly. It was asked of TK if they looked at tying into the waterline from Route 6 as an option. DB recalls that it was too costly and this was the best option. They are currently researching all costs of the new well and comparing to running pipes from Route 6.

c. Highway garage roof is estimated to be paid out of Chapter 90 funds.

d. Highway truck for $160k which was not recommended by the BOS.

e. Police Department cruisers for $126k to be funded $100k of general fund and $26k of free cash.

f. Fire Department SUV at $35k

g, COA parking lot for $55k which was recommended by BOS not to fund because it is a low priority. It was asked if it could be funded through CPC.

h. Marine services truck to be funded solely from Municipal Waterways.

Article 4: This is a transfer from free cash to the Capital Stabilization Account which is not recommended by the BOS. DB said there is $100k in the general fund budgets for capital expenditures. TK said this was originally to move monies from sale of surplus equipment which can’t go directly into during the year. The figure of $41,538 is from FY14, 15 and 16.

Article 39: This is a zoning by-law article and BM motioned and DB seconded to make no recommendation on this. All were in favor.

Article 28: This is the Hunting By-law which is same as last year so TP motioned and DB seconded to make no recommendation. All were in favor.

Article 15: This is the $1,155 for Buzzards Bay. BB motioned and HM seconded to recommend and all were in favor.

Article 11: This is the article to participate in the Mosquito program for $1. TP motioned and GC seconded to recommend and all were in favor.

Article 10: This is the boilerplate article to authorize the Treasurer to borrow as needed. GC motioned and BB seconded to recommend and all were in favor.

Article 1: This is to turn back any articles from previous years. TK stated there were none so BB motioned and GC seconded to recommend passing over this article and all were in favor.

Other: Articles 25,26,38,37,29-36 and 16 were all recommended to have members do more research and report back at subsequent meetings as to whether Fincom should take a position on them or if they have financial impact.

Adjournment and next meeting: There being no further business to come before this meeting, a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:35 p.m. was made by TP and seconded by KP and the vote in favor was unanimous. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be on April 5th at 7 p.m. at the Westport Town Hall.

Respectfully submitted,

Nicole Botelho, Recording Clerk