Town of Newbury
Finance Committee Meeting
Tuesday Mar. 20, 2012 7:00 pm, Town Library
Meeting Summary
Committee (alphabetical): Gene Case (Vice Chair), Bob Connors, Erica Jacobsen, Marshal Jespersen, Frank Remley (Chair), Frank Wetenkamp
Ex-Officio: Tracy Blais, Town Administrator/Finance Director
1. Mar 6 Meeting Summary: Unanimously approved without revision
2. Feb YTD Expense Summaries: No new updates since the previous meeting on March 6.
3. Reserve Fund update (Town Administrator): three requests for transfers were made:
i. $15,000 to the DPW wage line item to cover the under-appropriation in FY12 for the Director’s contracted salary. This was an oversight to be corrected through this transfer.
ii. 1,070 to the Building Inspector’s expense line item to cover necessary training, including travel expenses
iii. $4,000 to the Veteran’s Services to cover anticipated additional requests for veteran assistance in FY12.
All three requests were unanimously approved.
4. Review FY 13 Override request vs. budget: The Chairman distributed a summary of (i) the anticipated Departmental increases should the override request be approved by voters on May 8; and (ii) projected cuts to the proposed budget, should voters not approve the override (See Attachment 1). After discussion, it was resolved that an explanation of the impact of $293,000 in cuts from the FY13 budget would have on town services was needed so that voters could make an informed decision. It was also stressed that the uses of additional funds due to a successful override vote needed to be made clear as well. Erica Jacobsen volunteered to work with the Town Administrator to construct a fact sheet outlining the sorts of real service cuts and/or uses of new revenues. This fact sheet may be offered to the Daily News and
posted on the web-site for public digestion.
5. Capital Planning Committee update: Bob Connors, Chairman of the CPC presented the final CPC Report for 2012. He explained its various contents including recommendations for immediate improvements to be undertaken if financially feasible in the next year. The total cost of the immediately needed renovations or replacements is estimated at
$493,500, to be primarily funded from capital reserves, Chapter 90 state assistance, and Free Cash or the general fund. These recommendations may be included in warrants for approval at the Annual Town Meeting on May 22. The 28 page report also includes an inventory of capital equipment and facilities with condition assessments and targeted improvement or replacement dates; a list of prospective projects and tentative costs totaling $2.64 million has been identified thus far. The CPC Report also included a 28 Page Program Manual including key guidelines and policies. After considerable discussion and explanation by the Bob Connors, the Finance Committee thanked him and the CPC for this contribution and work well done.
6. Other: Marshall Jespersen raised several questions regarding the following:
i. Expanded PILOT program in Newbury: Newbury has many non-profit or 501c entities that pay no financial support to the town for services received. Together they control large amounts of land and facilities that are not taxable. A Committee has been approved by the BOS to explore how to urge non-profit entities in Newbury to agree to regular PILOT commitments. Selectman David Mountain has volunteered to participate, and representatives of the Board of Assessors and Finance Committee are requested. Bob Connors agreed to help assess the issues and get this effort underway. Marshall Jespersen volunteered to participate on the Committee.
ii. FinCom email accounts: The question of establishing email accounts for the Finance Committee was raised. The Town Administrator is looking into this, but there are currently constraints on the capacity of the server to add new accounts. She will report on progress at our next meeting, or sooner. Apparently even the Board of Selectmen does not have accounts, and the only Selectmen group account goes to the Administrative Secretary.
iii. Tax support for elderly residents: Regarding the issue of tax support for qualified elderly, Gene Case has contacted the Finance Director in Hamilton, which successfully implemented such a program, including legislative approval, to see how it is working. Erica Jacobsen volunteered to attend a meeting with Gene and to help assess the feasibility of the parameters and steps needed to establish such a program in Newbury.
7. Next Meeting: Tuesday, Apr. 17, 7:00 pm, Library (Tentative)
Attachment 1
Projected FY13 Budget Increases Gen'l Gov't (3,192) $ Police 48,500 $ Fire 14,852 $ DPW 74,631 $ BOH 35,901 $ Library 37,702 $ Sub-total 2 08,394 $ Emp Benefits 45,683 $ Comp Adjust 40,000 $ Total 294,077 $
PROJECTED CUTS IF OVERRIDE OF $293,000 FAILS Cuts from FY 13 Budget GENERAL GOVERNMENT (30,000) $ POLICE (100,000) $ FIRE (100,000) $ DPW (29,000) $ LIBRARY (34,000) $ Total (293,000) $
| 
