MONSON FINANCE COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 1, 2010
Present: Peter Fimognari, Bob Finnegan, Gerry Brayton, Jim Pennington, Bob Margerison, Maureen O’Sullivan, William Dominquez, Brenda Payette (Administrative Assistant)
Absent: Christine Edwards
Also Present: Gretchen Neggers (Town Administrator), Joshua Farber (School Committee)
The meeting was convened at 6:45pm
A motion was made to accept the minutes of the 12/7/2009 and 1/11/2010 meeting as written; it was seconded and SO VOTED.
CORRESPONDENCE:
- Letter from Pathfinder Regional School Committee to the Finance Committee, dated January 26, 2010 inviting FinCom members to its annual budget presentation on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 7pm. Any member wishing to attend will let Ms. Payette know and she will send back the reply card.
MEETINGS ATTENDED BY MEMBERS:
Mr. Fimognari attended the Board of Selectmen meeting on January 26, 2010. He said it was similar to the review of information that Ms. Neggers has already presented to FinCom.
OLD BUSINESS / NEW BUSINESS:
Discussion with Joshua Farber from the School Committee:
Mr. Farber is the Vice Chair for the School Committee and the liaison to the Finance Committee.
- He said that he is here to inform FinCom of the standing on the budget and other information and he would take back any questions that FinCom had to the School Committee.
- He reported the Sub Committee is working on an outlined draft budget
- Hopeful that at the next School Committee meeting on February 24, 2010 a budget will come out of the sub-committee and will be passed along to FinCom.
- The Transportation Budget has the same time table as the School budget.
- $213,000 increase in benefits, this is before step increases and this money will need to come from operations.
- Mr. Farber stated that they are looking at ways to save but he thinks they done a good job so far. He said that Patrice Dardenne, Superintendent sent a letter to the Schools freezing any spending as of January.
- Mr. Farber said that Mr. Keller is chairing the budget sub-committee.
- Mr. Farber asked FinCom if they would consider having a joint meeting with the School Committee. He wants to keep communication between the two.
- Mr. Margerison asked Mr. Farber if the School Transportation was put out to bid to see about cost savings. Mr. Farber said that would require a total overhaul of how the transportation budget looks.
- Mr. Brayton asked if they considered consolidating a central bus stop instead of the bus having to make multiple stops. Mr. Farber said he doesn’t have a budget response but if there are no sidewalks in an area this becomes a safety concern that the school could be responsible for.
- Mr. Farber told FinCom that the Monson Schools have applied to the “Race to the Top Fund” for some money.
- Mr. Margerison asked if more money was being spent on Special Education. Mr. Farber said he would bring that question back to the School Committee.
- Mr. Brayton asked about consolidating positions. Mr. Farber said he would bring that question back, it would be best to have Patrice Dardenne, Superintendent speak on that topic.
- Mr. Pennington asked about giving teachers a day off without pay and possibly adjusting the school calendar. Mr. Farber remarked that unpaid leave would be a little tricky of an issue especially now that the teachers are without a contract. And changing the school calendar would be difficult.
- Mr. Fimognari suggested putting footnotes on the budget to explain.
- Discussion ended at 7:30pm
Update from Ms. Neggers:
- The town received a letter from the Home for the Aged that they will no longer be paying the utility costs at the Senior Center building. Ms. Neggers said the cost is around $20,000.00.
- The heating system at Memorial Hall is fading fast, they had a bad steam leak that they were able to put back together for now.
Discussion regarding memo sent to Board of Selectmen and Mr. Goodrich’s response:
Ms. Payette stated that she sent the memo to the Board of Selectmen that FinCom wanted.
Ms. O’Sullivan said that the Board of Selectmen can take a vote on a budget. If that budget comes to FinCom and the members agree great, if not then FinCom presents what they have come up with for a budget.
Ms. Neggers suggested to FinCom that maybe they have a joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen to establish priorities in putting together a budget.
Mr. Margerison shared his list of priorities and thoughts for one year only, on the budget process:
- Shut down Town Hall one day a week
- Maintain the core services to the town and shut down Recreation, Library and the Senior Center.
Mr. Fimognari said they need to establish what the core services are and what amount is needed to fund them, take what’s left to fund other departments.
He said he will send an email to Ms. Mahar asking for a spreadsheet outlining what it costs to provide core services to the town.
On the agenda for the next meeting on February 8, 2010:
Look over the water and sewer budget; invite Craig Jalbert to come in.
The next scheduled meetings of the Finance Committee are:
Monday, February 8, 22, 2010 at 6:45pm
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Brenda I. Payette
Administrative Assistant to the Finance Committee
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