Town of Newbury
Finance Committee Meeting
Wednesday April 30, 2008— 7:00 pm, Town Hall
Meeting Summary
Committee: Bill Cooper, Larry Guay, Pete Morse, Dave Newbert, Frank Remley (Chair), and Anna Tenaglia
Ex-Officio: Chuck Kostro, Finance Director
1. April 9, 2008 meeting summary: The summary of this meeting was amended by
Chuck Kostro to include mention of the close out of three funds, including the Dog,
copier, and Christmas fund, all of which have had unused balances for more than a
year. The summary was approved pending this clarification to be made by Chuck.
Summary to be posted on the Web Site.
2. Report on YTD Revenues and Expenditures: Since the month of April is not yet
concluded, and reports as yet unavailable, discussion of YTD performance was
postponed until the next meeting, to be held on May 14. Chuck informed the
committee that an invoice of $16,000 might be submitted by the contractor for
screening sand in preparation of emergency beach repairs. This is an unanticipated
expenditure and prompted discussion about how to control such decisions, involving
unanticipated costs whether or not they involve emergencies in the future. It was
resolved that a memo would be prepared by the Finance Committee to the Board of
Selectmen and department heads advising that such expenditures could not be
authorized without notifying the Finance Director and complying with proper
procedure, including state law in the future. Bill Cooper volunteered to create the first
draft. It should imbue those involved with DOR reporting requirements and that a
budget should be established and approved if at all possible before work begins.
Above all, Chapter 30B requirements should be followed. An approach will be
confirmed by next meeting.
3. Final Recommended Budget for FY 09 (Attachment 1):
a. Updated FY 09-revenue forecast: It appears that the House of
Representatives budget will reduce aid to Newbury by $15,000 for FY09.
b. Updated FY 09-expenditure forecast: No significant changes from the
previous forecast on April 9. The FinCom will conduct final deliberations on the
FY 09 budget on May 14 in preparation for the Annual Town Meeting on May
27.
4. Reserve Fund Update (Attachment 2): There are three additional transfers to be
approved, including: i. $12,000 to the Legal Counsel account; ii $96.28 to the
Insurance Expense account; and iii$1,000 to the cost of bonding account. Questions
arose regarding the language of the Legal Counsel contract, so the committee
postponed action on all three-transfer requests until the contract language regarding
budget adjustments was checked against the contract.
It was also noted by Pete Morse that his bank has saved substantial money in the
past by putting insurance coverage out to bid. It was therefore recommended by the
FinCom to the Finance Director to look into this strategy for FY 09
5. Update on Village at Little River financial projections (Attachment 3): Frank
Remley presented a prospective net revenue forecast of the potential Village at Little
River development for FinCom review and discussion. Based on current projections
for RTA, Newbury’s consultant on this matter, and the timing of build-out and the
incurrence of expenses by the community as a result, the first six years of cash flow
should remain positive. Several suggestions were made:
a. Anna Tenaglia suggested that we probe department heads to make sure no
unforeseen costs are left out. Particular concern is for health and welfare
expenses involving the outfitting and operation of the proposed 5000 sq. ft.
senior center to be included by Beacon.
b. Frank committed to meeting with the Assessors to make sure assumptions
with respect to estimating tax revenues for commercial/retail property are
verified.
c. Bill Cooper committed to uploading the spreadsheets onto his software to
enable prospective views of variations in revenues and expenses.
6. Other: Library representatives confirmed that they thought that the state Library
Commission would accept FY 08 actual expenditures rather than the FY 08 budget,
subsequently reduced due to the absence of a director, as the baseline for calculating
compliance with guidelines on the FY 09 budget. Guidelines indicate that the succeeding
years budget should not be more than 5% less than the average of other departmental budgets
or certification could be lifted.
7. Next Meeting: May 14—prep for ATM
COMPARATIVE SCENARIOS, VILLAGE AT LITTL RIVER
POTENTIAL SCENARIO YR 1 YR 2 YR 3 YR 4 YR 5 YR 6
Cumulative
Net
1. Net Revenue, Basic
Case $ 690,592 $ 172,508 $ 648,669 $ 476,361 $ 507,077 $ 540,712 $ 3,035,918
2. Plus 50% More
Pupils $ 690,592 $ 172,508 $ 648,669 $ 376,162 $ 378,990 $ 382,666 $ 2,649,587
3. No Phase 2 Town
Houses $ 690,592 $ 172,508 $ 532,190 $ 363,356 $ 381,094 $ 396,658 $ 2,536,397
4. No Phase 2 + 50%
More Pupils $ 690,592 $ 172,508 $ 532,190 $ 263,158 $ 276,887 $ 288,283 $ 2,223,618
ATTACHMENT 3
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