Wellfleet Finance Committee
Minutes of Meeting of June 17, 2004
Town Hall Hearing Room
Present: Berta Bruinooge, Chair; Patricia Foley, Arlene Kirsch, John Makely, Sylvia Smith, Mac Hay, Nancy Bone, Carl Caruso.
Chair Bruinooge was welcomed back; she filled in the Committee members on her husband's recovery. She called the meeting to order at 8:08 a.m.
Transfers from the Reserve Fund. There were no transfer requests for this meeting.
Old Business. The Committee brought Chair Bruinooge up to date on the last meeting, including Moderator Dan Silverman's comments at the May 27th meeting on Conflict of Interest and the Annual Town Meeting (ATM). She asked if Silverman had mentioned finding a new member for FinCom and was told that he had said he was working on it.
Arlene Kirsch noted, in response to a point that Silverman had made about FinCom needing to consult a wider cross-section of Wellfleet citizens (see minutes of May 27), that among the people she talked to, the same people who spoke about voting against the override spoke about voting against the water tower. She felt the difference between the two results was due to a campaign to pass the school budget, therefore the override.
Bruinooge stated that Silverman was speaking from a slightly different point of view; she added that she talks with a wide cross-section of the community, and in all her years on FinCom, she has never gotten such positive reaction and feedback from the town as she did for this budget.
Carl Caruso added that not all information gets out of FinCom meetings to the community, pointing out that the Committee had not been against a smaller override.
Mac Hay noted these comments from Silverman came early in discussion, before the Committee discussed its point of view and recommendations with him and set the record straight.
John Makely, alluding to the part of the community he talks with, characterized it as primarily a "retiree wedge" and added that he comes in with his opinion based on this wedge. To get a cross section of the town, he noted, the Committee should ensure that all "wedges" are communicated with. He discussed using the type of professionally designed survey proposed by Dale Donovan in the Board of Selectmen's goal-setting session.
Arlene Kirsch did not see much difference between such surveys and talking extensively with various groups in town. She felt FinCom's job is to get the town into structural balance and stated that she was having difficulty with the BOS' goals when the vision of the town for the next 10 years was not known.
Makely stated that FinCom needed to get more historical data, more trend information and sources of revenues.
Role of FinCom for the coming fiscal year. John Makely had prepared and distributed to the Committee a worksheet on Finalizing Roles for FY05 and Arlene Kirsch distributed a list of Proposed FinCom Goals for FY05 for discussion, points from both of which follow:
Nancy Bone commented on a worksheet point (#3) on what the town expects in the way of services that FinCom had worked hard to give the people the opportunity to cut the services they did not want.
The Chair felt that the Selectmen did not take a leadership role concerning the budget, that it was the Administrator's budget and they had passed it without a cut and without looking at anyone's suggestions. She added that this does not always happen in other towns, referencing Sandwich, Falmouth, and Eastham (where the school budget was sent back for cuts). She said perhaps the fact that Town Meeting lasted 3 nights might make the BOS realize that they had not gotten good information on the large articles.
Sylvia Smith noted that in a recent School Committee meeting, Mort Inger had said that they realized that they would need to cut the school budget for next year.
Kirsch stated that town government had not done its homework on Uncle Tim's Bridge and its historical importance to the town. Sylvia Smith related information she had gained that Lt. Island Bridge is on Audubon property and wondered why the town doesn't know this or take advantage of this for outside funding sources. Bruinooge felt that FinCom was "blind-sided" concerning the budget information on the bridges; Nancy Bone felt that it was an educational piece which should have been planned. The Chair stated that a Fall Town Meeting would include the Lt. Island Bridge (Uncle Tim's Bridge is being repaired).
Nancy Bone noted that all lists of fee increases had been taken off the warrant.
Arlene Kirsch advised that the goal of FinCom should be to work with the Town on a structural balance that includes both the revenue and expense side of the ledger (Goal List #2); she noted that this function falls within FinCom authority.
Chair Bruinooge suggested that if the Town faces an override next year, FinCom should take a different tack and say positively that it will not support an override of X number of dollars and campaign against it.
Kirsch added other suggestions: (1) at BOS meetings, FinCom members should raise the question of how something of financial significance will affect the town's structural imbalance and (2) before FinCom opposes something (e.g., override), members should ask those they talk to about it to send letters to the BOS.
Carl Caruso distributed a sheet containing 4 motions he proposed to make; he noted that he put these motions forward because they are FinCom responsibilities.
The first motion was a proposal for a FinCom information paper to be distributed to the Town so that the BOS will be aware of misleading anomalies in the warrant. Patricia Foley suggested that FinCom members speak up informatively at ATM when articles are presented and that FinCom ask reporters to write information articles in the Cape Codder and the Banner. (The recent Water Commission discussion of the Master Water Plan was cited as an example of the necessity for the better circulation of information.) After discussion and amendment to his original motion, Caruso moved and Sylvia Smith seconded that the FinCom prepare an information paper possibly in essay form to be printed and distributed to the Town with a listing of definitions, using
examples from Town Meeting April 2004 to illustrate these definitions. The motion carried, 8-0.
The second motion involved the preparation and distribution of a mission statement for FinCom. Mac Hay felt that it would be preferable to first formulate such a mission statement within FinCom rather than to hurry to publish it. After discussion and amendment, Arlene Kirsch moved that FinCom prepare a mission statement, i.e., how we see our role for the future. John Makely seconded; the motion carried, 8-0.
The third motion involved an analysis of income vs. expenses of various town departments with suggestions for balancing revenue and expenses. Berta Bruinooge noted that FinCom needs to see back-up sheets listing all sources of income taken in by departments in the previous calendar year (such as formerly were given to the Committee in pre-budget meetings); she suggested that this wait until August, when the Committee could request of the Town Accountant all the information for FY04, including John Makely's request for the Cherry Sheet. After discussion and amendment, Arlene Kirsch moved and John Makely seconded that FinCom prepare an analysis of income vs. expenses with suggestions of how to balance revenue and expenses. The motion carried, 8-0.
Makely then moved to amend the motion with this addition: this analysis shall include revenue opportunities. Kirsch seconded; the amendment carried, 8-0.
Mac Hay suggested a similar motion: he moved that the Finance Committee do all in its power to evaluate the potential positive or negative financial impacts of capital projects or large expenditures with any and all financial data that may be available. Makely seconded; the motion carried, 8-0.
Caruso's fourth motion proposed that a letter be sent to the BOS suggesting that the Town become a beneficiary of the Marina Enterprise Fund revenue (the marina had been mentioned by Silverman as a possible revenue source at the May 27th meeting). Discussion of the function of the Fund ensued. The Chair noted that generally speaking, town FinComs are not happy with too many enterprise funds; she added that the Marina Enterprise Fund had been a hot political issue in Wellfleet when it was passed (proposed because the pier was deteriorating) and that it had been very successful. Carl Caruso asked why the Fund should not contribute to the Town for the use of the real estate owned by the Town and whether this share of revenue should be suggested to BOS. Mac Hay
stated that the Marina Fund has been viewed as one of the Town's greatest assets and advised that FinCom should consider how many people visit the marina and use the pier--that the Fund does already benefit the Town in that way. Caruso suggested tabling this motion; he proposed that he research the history of enterprise funds for the Committee.
Following further discussion of her Goals sheet, Arlene Kirsch moved its second goal: that FinCom work with the Selectmen to reduce the Town's structural imbalance on both the revenue and expenses side of the ledger. Nancy Bone seconded; the motion carried, 8-0.
Minutes of May 27, 2004. Arlene Kirsch moved and John Makely seconded approval of the minutes of 5-27-04 as amended; the motion carried 7-0-1(Bruinooge).
Next Meeting. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m. at the Senior Center. Also, in order to consider any final transfers from the Reserve Fund for FY2004, FinCom will meet again on July 15 at 8:00 a.m. in the Town Hall Hearing Room.
John Makely moved for adjournment; Patricia Foley seconded; the meeting closed at 9:45 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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Frances J. Castillo, Committee Secretary Berta Bruinooge, Chair
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