Wellfleet Finance Committee
Minutes of Meeting of September 22, 2005
Senior Center Long Pond Room
Present: Nancy Bone, Berta Bruinooge, William Carlson, Carl Caruso, Chair; Pat Foley, Arlene Kirsch, Sylvia Smith
Excused: Mac Hay, John Makely
Chairman Carl Caruso called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Noting Mac Hay’s absence, Caruso said he would speak to Hay about attendance and his intentions of continuing on Finance Committee.
Review of Previous Meeting
Caruso said he would like to establish the practice of reviewing the agenda and follow-up from the previous meeting at each session. There were five items to review:
1.) The letter to the BOS regarding the Marina Enterprise Fund will be sent out.
2.) The letter of support for the MTF plan will be e-mailed for further tweaking, sent to the secretary and given to the BOS & Town Administrator.
3.) The results of the Computerization survey were passed around and examined.
4.) Further inspection of the 20/20 Survey was deferred until John Makely returns.
5.) Berta Bruinooge will complete a letter regarding properly registered and insured vehicles in the July 4th Parade and other town events.
Charter Review Pertaining to FinCom
Reading selections from the Finance Committee Handbook, Chairman Caruso offered possible Charter revision ideas regarding FinCom. The Committee rejected some of the ideas but liked three of the suggested changes. One favored suggestion that emerged reads: “On or before October 1 of each year, the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee shall jointly develop budgetary guidelines for the ensuing fiscal year.” The second suggestion that FinCom liked would requires a separate Capital Planning committee to make a presentation to FinCom prior to the public hearing. The other possible Charter change would be to have alternate members of FinCom. This would ensure a quorum in case of conflicts of interest and be a good way for future members to become acquainted with FinCom
matters.
Ten-year Budget Outlook
Town Accountant Marilyn Crary told the Committee that she has been preparing a 10-year budget projection at the Town Administrator’s request. She described the outlook for a balanced budget up to 2011 as “dire.” Future overrides will be impossible to avoid, she said.
Snow Plowing
The snow plowing issue was put on hold for a future meeting.
NPS Leased Houses
Caruso asked Bill Carlson to find out more about lease-held homes within the Seashore. FinCom would like to see if there is any basis to go to the NPS for more funds.
Preliminary List of Articles for STM
Because of the deadlines for the Warrant for Special Town Meeting, the next FinCom meeting was rescheduled to October 20, 2005. In addition to the Articles that would need recommendations and comments, Town Accountant Marilyn Crary said that there were also several Transfers coming up at STM.
Exit Audit
Caruso distributed the Management Letter (June 30, 2005) and the Report of Examination of Basic Financial Statements for Fiscal Year 2005. The Exit Audit is scheduled for Tuesday, September 27 at 7 p.m., but FinCom members are welcome to come to the Pre-meeting with the Board of Selectmen, Town Administrator and Auditor at 6:30 p.m. Carl Caruso and Sylvia Smith will try to be there. Caruso said that FinCom should try to incorporate some of the material in the Audit Letter conclusion in the FinCom Budget Statement.
Mail
The mail folder contained the following:
~ A “conflict of interest” form for the Chairman from Powers & Sullivan.
~ A letter from Ginny’s Place.
~ The Mass Municipal Directory (to be kept in the FinCom mail drawer).
~ Copies of the Beacon, the Northeast Municipal Forum and the Municipal Advocate.
~ The quarterly police report.
~ Second notice for dues to AMFC (the secretary will submit a voucher for this).
~ Notice of a Conference in Worcester on November 5, 2005 at Holy Cross College.
~ An announcement for the State of Wellfleet Harbor conference.
Adjournment
Just before adjournment, Arlene Kirsch congratulated Carl Caruso on conducting his first FinCom meeting as chairman; everyone joined in with applause. Sylvia Smith made a motion to adjourn, Nancy Bone seconded, all voted in favor 7-0. The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
_______________________ ___________________________
Mary Rogers, Committee Secretary Carl Caruso, Chairman
___________________________(Date)
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