Wellfleet Finance Committee
Minutes of Meeting of March 19, 2009
Senior Center Long Pond Room, 7:00 p.m.
Present: Chair Patricia Foley, Berta Bruinooge, Dennis Murphy, Dan Wexman, Robert Kelly, Arlene Kirsch, Sylvia Smith, Stephen Oliver
Absent: John Makely
Also Attending: Town Accountant Marilyn Crary
Chair Patricia Foley opened the hearing at 7:00 p.m.
CIP Public Hearing
FinCom recalculated FY10 Budget figures in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) by removing a copier from the Library and a line from the School Budget.
Bruinooge moved that there should be $6,000 on the Education WES line, creating a new total of $40,000. Smith seconded, and the motion carried 8-0.
Bruinooge moved a $51,000 Nauset Capital Improvements line. Kirsch
seconded. The motion carried 8-0.
Bruinooge moved that the FY10 CIP be $2,225,662. Kirsch seconded, and the motion carried 8-0.
FinCom will send the Selectmen a memo regarding their CIP and Budget votes.
Operational Budget
FinCom agreed that $100,000 for paving should not be hidden in the Budget, but should be a Warrant Article. This recommendation was already made in a memo to the Board of Selectmen.
Line 610 Library
Kirsch moved to approve $316,438 for Library Budget line 610. Oliver seconded, and the motion carried 8-0.
Line 300 School
Bruinooge moved to approve the School Line 300 for $2,207,735. Kirsch seconded. FinCom discussed the SPED Budget. The motion carried 7-1.
Line 301 Nauset Regional
Bruinooge moved to approve the Nauset Budget Line 301 as $1,868,768. Kirsch seconded, and the motion carried 8-0.
Line 302 Cape Cod Tech
Bruinooge moved to approve the Cape Cod Tech Line for $133,008. Kelly seconded and the motion carried 8-0.
Education Total
Smith moved a total Education Budget of $4,219,511. Oliver seconded, and the motion carried 8-0.
Line 122 Selectmen’s Budget
Bruinooge moved to approve $11,901 for Line 122. Wexman seconded, and the motion carried 8-0.
Line 151 Legal Expenses
FinCom discussed proposing a lower figure for Legal Expenses. Kelly moved to make Line 151 $100,000. Oliver seconded, and the motion carried 8-0.
Line 196 Consultancy
Kirsch moved to approve the $20,000 as is. Kelly seconded, and the motion carried 8-0.
Line 210 Police
Bruinooge moved to approve Police Line 210 as is at $1,250,368. Smith seconded. There was a discussion of police vehicles. Bruinooge withdrew her motion and Smith withdrew the second.
Kirsch moved to approve Line 210 for $1,224,437. Wexman seconded, and the motion carried 8-0.
Line 220 Fire
Fire Chief Daniel Silverman, who was present for another reason, said that Department Heads should be notified when FinCom makes Budget recommendations for the Town Meeting Warrant. FinCom discussed Fire Overtime, fringe benefits and the current allocation. Smith moved to approve Line 220 Fire for $1,099,707. Kirsch seconded. Fire Chief Dan Silverman explained how Overtime is handled. The motion carried 7-1.
Line 424
Kirsch moved Line 424 as is. Smith seconded, and the motion carried 8-0. .
Warrant Articles
Bob Hubby of Open Space and Peter Hall of the Conservation Trust were present to explain the Article S. The project, if approved, will allow the Town to acquire a waterfront property on Drummer Cove valued at $430,000 for $100,000 of CPA funds.
Emily Beebe offered to bring FinCom questions back to the Preschool regarding their Petitioned Article.
Three representatives from the Board of Water Commissioners, Emily Beebe, Jean Schaefer and Lori Vanderschmidt, were present to answer questions on Article AA. FinCom said they could not vote without a dollar figure stated in the Article. Article BB for an Enterprise Fund will be discussed at the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Tuesday March 24. Dennis Murphy asked the Water Commissioners about water reports on nitrates. Oliver discussed wastewater solutions for the Town. Beebe explained some of the goals that the Wastewater Committee considers. Marilyn Crary asked about numbers of hook-ups to the system. The Water Commissioners announced the meeting with the public Monday.
Finance Committee Recommendations for ATM 2009 Warrant Articles
Article O MGL c. 90 Paving $189,913
Bruinooge moved to recommend Article O. Smith seconded. There was discussion of a priority list. The motion carried 7-1.
Ask that roads be specified in explanation.
Article S CPC Open Space Pinto Property (Map 30, Lot 89)
Bruinooge moved to recommend Article S. Wexman seconded and the motion carried 7-0-1
Article Sa Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Bruinooge moved to reserve recommendation for Town Meeting. Smith seconded, and the motion carried 8-0.
Article T Shellfish Home Rule
Bruinooge moved to recommend a correctly worded Article T. Kelly seconded and the motion carried 8-0.
Article Ta Regional School Planning Committee
Bruinooge moved to recommend Article Ta. Wexman seconded and the motion carried 8-0.
Article U Gifts
Bruinooge moved to recommend Article U. Kirsch seconded, and the motion carried 8-0.
Article V Collecting Taxes
Bruinooge moved to recommend Article V. Oliver seconded and the motion carried 8-0.
Article Na Contribution to Nauset Regional School District
Bruinooge moved to recommend Article Na. Smith seconded and the motion carried 8-0.
FF (not asked but has expenses)
Kirsch moved to not recommend Article FF. Oliver seconded. The motion carried 8-0.
Warrant Explanations
Members will prepare further explanations of the recommendations for the Warrant.
Budget Message
Dan Wexman will perfect the Budget Message, combining the drafts that have been written so far. Kirsch said that since FinCom will have a significantly different line by line Budget, FinCom has a duty to explain it to the voters in the FinCom statement. The comments will reflect the difference in the line items. Last year there was an Overview of the fiscal environment as well as the Finance Committee statement, according to Foley. FinCom agreed to do one message, and Kirsch will write the explanation of the Operating Budget.
Minutes of 3/12/09
Kelly moved to approve the minutes of March 12, 2009. Wexman seconded, and the motion carried 7-0.
Other Business
Dennis Murphy suggested improving the Budget/Warrant procedure for next year. FinCom agreed that the process has to start earlier and that the Charter has to be followed.
Adjournment
Smith moved to adjourn. Wexman seconded, and the meeting was adjourned by consensus at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
__________________________ _______________________
Mary Rogers, Committee Secretary Patricia Foley, Chair
__________________ (Date)
Finance Committee approved these minutes at the meeting held 3/27/09.
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