Advisory Committee Present: Brad Cote
March 24, 2016 Connie Benjamin
Joseph Myerson
Ted Kirchner
Craig Lauer
Kenneth Troup
Chairman Cote called the Advisory Committee meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at the 2nd floor table in the Town Hall. Ninotchka Rogers and Donna Madden also attended.
TRANSFERS.
The Advisory Committee unanimously approved the following transfers:
Account 145 $1025 for additional but unanticipated tax taking expenses
Account 135 $2500 for production of financial statements by the town’s auditor. Previously the town accountant produced those reports because she was a CPA.
TOWN WARRANT
Donna Madden confirmed that the borrowings for culverts would be 10 year notes, the trucks and other DPW equipment would be 7 years, and the police cruiser would be 3 years. Based on input from Donna in calculations that she, Don Lowe, and Brad Cote had done since the Advisory Committee meeting on March 22, it was determined that all money articles on the warrant can be borrowed within 2 ½ without the need for debt exclusion and that the town would be just under the levy limit for the year if all articles and budgets pass the town meeting.
Armed with that information, the Advisory Committee voted to approve the following articles with debt exclusion language removed when appropriate:
Berlin Road Culvert (Article 10 at that time) Unanimous
Wilder Road Culvert (Article 11) Unanimous
Town Hall Repairs (Article 13) Unanimous
Police Cruiser (Article 14) Unanimous
Public Safety Building Repairs (Article 15) Unanimous
DPW Truck (Article 16) Unanimous
Traffic Light Cabinet (Article 17) Unanimous
New Backhoe (Article 19) Unanimous
Sander Body (Article 20) Unanimous
Fire Engine Repairs (Article 21) Unanimous
Chest Compression System (Article 22) Unanimous
Mosquito Monitoring (Article 23) Unanimous
The Advisory Committee voted to recommend withdrawal of the Long Hill Road culvert (Article 12) and the Traffic Light for 110/117 (Article 18). If those two articles are not withdrawn, then Advisory disapproves of each, unanimously.
The Advisory Committee also discussed and approved unanimously Article 31 to transfer funds from the 2006 Tree Replacement article to apply the Fire Engine Repairs article in the FY17 warrant. The recommendation is that the article be placed in front of the Fire Engine Repairs article.
Having completed its business on the Warrant, at 7:55 pm the Advisory Committee moved to the Selectmen’s meeting to participate in the Selectmen’s warrant review. During the meeting, it came to light that the Advisory Committee had not weighed in on the funding mechanism for the Minuteman Regional School building Article 9. The Advisory Committee moved out into the hall to discuss the pros and cons of debt exclusion versus borrowing within the levy limit, and whether or not the vote should be contingent on ballot approval of the debt exclusion override.
By a vote of 4-2, the Advisory Committee approved the article as written with a debt exclusion contingent on a ballot vote. (Cote – yes, Benjamin – no, Myerson – yes, Kirchner – no, Craig Lauer – yes, Kenneth Troup – yes)
Members of the Advisory Committee returned to the Selectmen’s meeting and participated as appropriate until that meeting adjourned at 9:35 pm.
Respectfully submitted by Kenneth Troup
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