FINANCE COMMITTEE
MINUTES – March 31, 2004
TOWN HALL – 7:35 P.M.
Members present: Pietal, Heitin, Fixler (arrived at 10:00pm), Goldberg, Goodman, Hearne, Miller, Feldman, Sydney, Tuck
Members absent: Hitter, Rose
Review of Capital Items Request (Article 9)
1. $3,200,000 request
a. Historically, requests total around $1,900,000
b. This year add to that about $600,000 for asbestos removal at SMS and about $769,000 to buy out the lease for the modulars at SMS
2. Bundling of capital requests to meet the threshold
a. Capital Outlay should not be a stop gap to offset the lack of operating needs
i. i.e., wet vacs and back back vacs
b. Finance Committee has questioned this practice for many years
i. Recommend that this message be strongly communicated with the rest of town departments
Review of Tax Exemption Articles – Norma Fitzgerald and Paul Bergeron
1. Number residents effected
a. 2500 veterans
b. 2700 seniors (age 60+)
2. Historical number of exemptions for seniors
a. 1998 – 207
b. 1999 – 196
c. 2000 – 195
d. 2001 – 186
e. 2002 – 183
3. Local Version of Senior Circuit Breaker
a. Would cost about $170,000 to fund in FY ’05 for about 150 seniors
b. What if we spent the same $170,000 on programming for 2700 seniors? (Mr. Goldberg)
c. This exemption is targeted at seniors with need. Not all 2700 are in financial need.
d. FinCom should support this article, but wait for solid numbers from COA
Recommendations for Articles
1. Article 16 (Raise exemption from 4K to 8K)
a. Moved (Heitin/Sydney)
VOTED: 9-0
2. Article 17 (Local Circuit Breaker)
a. HOLD
3. Article 18 (Deferment of tax)
a. Moved (Heitin/Hearne)
VOTED: 9-0
4. Article 19 (Work off for the disabled)
a. HOLD
5. Article 20 (Various classes of exemptions)
a. Moved (Heitin/Sydney)
VOTED: 9-0
6. Article 9 (Capital requests)
a. School items
i. Moved to approve $1,960,346 (Heitin/Tuck)
DEFEATED: 4 -6 [Hearne, Heitin, Fixler, Tuck in favor]
ii. Members in opposition questioned $82,000 for modulars, $13,000 for scrubbers and $150,000 for computers
iii. HOLD
7. Article 10 (DPW)
a. Discussion of road work
b. We should spend a little less on roads and more on building maintenance (Mr. Hearne)
c. Moved to approve $630,000 (Heitin/Tuck)
Included: $450,000 for roads, $150,000 for sidewalks and $30,000 for borrowing costs
DEFEATED: 3 -7 [Heitin, Tuck, Goodman in favor]
d. Moved to approve $480,000 (Goldberg/Fixler)
Included: $450,000 for roads and $30,000 for borrowing costs
VOTED: 6-4 [Hearne, Tuck, Heitin, Goodman in opposition]
8. Article 11 (DPW)
a. Moved to approve $230,000 for equipment (Heitin/Fixler)
VOTED: 10-0
9. Article 12 (Recreation)
a. Moved to approve $163,000 for Recreation requests (Heitin/Miller)
DEFEATED: 3 - 5 - 2 [Heitin, Miller, Tuck in favor; Sydney, Goodman abstaining]
b. Moved to approve $113,000 for Recreation requests (Hearne/Fixler)
All listed except $50,000 for improvements to Memorial Beach
DEFEATED: 3 - 7 [Heitin, Miller, Tuck in favor]
c. Moved to approve $163,000 for Recreation requests (Heitin/Miller)
DEFEATED: 4 - 6 [Heitin, Miller, Tuck, Sydney in favor]
d. Problem with this request is the bundling – there should be no bundling (Mr. Grasfield, Mr. Goldberg, Mr. Pietal)
e. Capital and Priorities Committees should meet before the process begins for FY ’06 and decide the issue of bundling (Mr. Fixler)
f. This is not news to any of these folks (Mr. Grasfield)
g. Moved to approve $163,000 for Recreation requests (Heitin/Tuck)
VOTED: 5 - 4 - 1 [Heitin, Feldman, Miller, Sydney, Tuck in favor; Pietal
abstaining]
10. Article 13 (Fire Dept.)
a. Moved to approve $101,000 for 3 vehicles (Heitin/Hearne)
VOTED: 6 – 3 – 1 [Pietal, Goodman, Tuck, in opposition; Sydney abstaining]
b. Why do we need 2 command vehicles? (Ms. Tuck & Mr. Grasfield)
11. Article 14 (Police Dept.)
a. Moved to approve $73,000 for 2 vehicles and an ID System (Heitin/Fixler)
DEFEATED: 4 – 6 [Heitin, Feldman, Fixler, Tuck in favor]
b. Moved to approve $63,000 for 2 vehicles (Hearne/Goldberg)
VOTED: 9 – 1 [Sydney in opposition]
12. Article 15 (Data Processing Equipment)
a. Moved to indefinitely postpone the purchase of imaging equipment for the Data Processing Dept. (Miller/Hearne)
VOTED: 10 – 0
13. Wilbur School
a. Moved to approve $101,664 to “button up” the Wilbur School (Hearne/Heitin)
DEFEATED: 2 – 8 [Heitin, Hearne in favor]
b. Why $101,000 when everyone agrees it should cost less and there is approximately $25,000 remaining from previous borrowing?
c. Moved to approve $50,000 to “button up” the Wilbur School (Sydney/Fixler)
DEFEATED: 3 – 7 [Sydney, Miller, Goodman in favor]
d. Moved to approve $80,000 to “button up” the Wilbur School (Heitin/Hearne)
DEFEATED: 3 – 7 [Tuck, Heitin, Hearne in favor]
e. Moved to approve $73,000 to “button up” the Wilbur School (Miller/Heitin)
DEFEATED: 4 – 6 [Tuck, Miller, Heitin, Hearne in favor]
f. HOLD and discuss further
New Business
1. Next Meeting April 7, 2004