Town of Concord Finance Committee
FY09 Guideline Subcommittee
Minutes of November 8, 2007
Final Approved
The Finance Committee Guideline Subcommittee met at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 8, 2007 in the Board of Selectman's meeting room at the Town House, Concord, Massachusetts. Notice of the meeting was duly filed with the Town Clerk, Town of Concord, Massachusetts.
Members Present: Susan Bates, Walter Birge, Mark Howell, David Kramer, Judy Quanrud, Mark Russell Prior, Charlie Blair, Tom Anzer, Carol Wilson
Also present: Tony Logalbo, Concord Town Finance Director; Virginia McIntrye and Anne Shapiro Board of Selectmen; David Verrill, Carlisle Finance Committee; Becky Shannon, School Committee;
Subcommittee Chairman Walter Birge brought the meeting to order at 7:32 PM.
1. Approval of Minutes
a. November 1 Guidelines meeting - The minutes were distributed in draft format for reference only, approval is still pending.
2. Guideline Review and Adoption
Mr. Birge reminded the committee that the purpose of the meeting is to revisit the preliminary guideline approved two weeks ago, and to make a guideline recommendation to the full Finance Committee on November 15. He noted that the Finance Director stated that there have been no changes in the estimates of available funds for the budgeting at this point in time. The Subcommittee proceeded to discuss the status of each budget entity.
Concord Carlisle Regional School District:
Mr. Russell Prior asked if there have been any changes in Carlisle's projections. Mr. David Verrill, of the Carlisle Finance Committee, indicated that the issue for Carlisle is that there is very little flexibility in the budgeting because new growth has been almost zero. They are trying to avoid override activity. Across all three Carlisle budgets they are trying to manage the spending increase to less than $300K over FY08. Based on that, Carlisle would be able to support a regional assessment increase of about $128K, which includes about $28K for enrollment shifts for FY09. That level, which is well below Concord's levy limit, would result in $550K reduction in FY09 from the operating budget when compared to FY08 after including the unavoidable cost drivers of contracted salaries and special education. In response to a
question Mr. Verrill stated Carlisle's recent history included an override of about $230K last year.
Concord Public Schools:
Middle school enrollment is down and the administration seems to be able to accept the preliminary guideline level and still be able to implement the full day kindergarten. The committee discussed the desire for transparency and visibility to facility maintenance set aside, the administration has stated that guidelines are being met with respect the building maintenance. There is support on the finance committee for additional efforts on the part of the Town and Schools to join together in programs focusing on energy efficiency and building maintenance.
Town of Concord:
The preliminary guideline allocation recommendation of $692K is below the reduced updated needs that Mr. Whelan reviewed on November 1 of $824K. Some committee members expressed concern that Town allocation appeared to be insufficient to meet the critical needs.
The subcommittee discussed at length the needs presented by each budgeting entity, the challenge presented by Carlisle's low growth, and prospects for changes in the available resources. The discussion included consideration of how Free Cash could be used and how to address the risks associated with changes in forecasts over the next few months. After the discussion:
Mr. Anzer moved that the guideline subcommittee recommend that the finance committee allocate an additional $100K of Free Cash to the levy limit for the Town of Concord. And further, should additional growth or new revenue materialize it is the intent of the finance committee to reconsider the Free Cash allocation. The motion passed unanimously.
3. Finance Director's Report
None
4. Other Business
Mr. Birge thanked the members of the subcommittee for the work on the FY09 Guideline. Mr. Blair, commenting on the Special Town Meeting, raised a question about the cost of the school debt. He was requesting data on the Thoreau, Alcott, Willard and costs per/100K of valuation. The data was available in handouts last week.
Mr. Blair distributed data available about the current real estate market in Concord and Carlisle at the moment.
Reminders
a. Next Regular FinCom meetings -Nov. 15, Dec. 13
b. Special Election for Willard School debt exclusion: Nov. 14
The meeting adjourned at 9:58 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark L Howell
Guidelines Clerk
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