okay noting the time and the presence of a quorum now that we have the remote remote uh attendee uh with us I'd like to start uh by doing a very quick uh welcome to Allison Jones the newest voting member of the finance committee welcome uh sorry this was a rocky first uh Rocky first day next item on the agenda as always is the oh if anyone is recording this they have to be make themselves not to us now this is being recorded on acting TV um there's no one in the room so I'm not worried about it being recorded I'm also not worried about the first item on the agenda which is Citizens concerns uh seeing no one present we will move over that to the point of view this is the initial conversation the point of view for the new year uh the person who has done the point of view for the last number of years uh has stepped off the committee although we will welcome her back and we will not make her do it again if she comes back um um so I did want to have an initial conversation of if this is the right time for us to potentially make a change to the scope and size or even format of our point of view last couple of years it has been a PowerPoint presentation it is very well received by those that that uh that hear it and see it um uh my question is being that the main audience of the point of view are are is the two other main boards in town the the school committee and the select board uh we used to have a secondary uh audience of all the ptso I'm ashamed to say there has not been as much uh interest in our point of view from the ptso over these last couple of years last year makes total sense we didn't get our POV done until basically town meeting because of the difficulty of the override um but with knowing that we do still potentially have a a dual audience view of this how does everyone feel about a PowerPoint presentation versus a flat flat uh you know more uh more uh narrative document to to discuss our point of view would you like to start us off Mr n sure um I think uh from a historical perspective the point of view started off as a um a narrative document more document um and it got um at the time it was circulated you know pretty broadly around but it has grown to the point where is very difficult to deliver in a brief period of time somebody says you got 20 minutes to deliver the point of view then you you find yourself slashing through slides and saying what's really important um so my thinking is uh we should definitely Ely try and cut back on the volume of slides uh and focus more on key issues uh and in the current budget year is not the the only thing that's a key issue um we don't get a lot of time uh to talk about the long-term capital plans the town and the schools uh and I think that's an opportunity to incorporate that more into to um the point of view right now basically we kind of mention it who's talking me turn my phone uh we have a couple slides on it but mostly we um focus on The Debt Service cost as opposed to the capital so um you know about I don't know four or five superintendents ago um um we're not doing who's out there somebody's out there it's uh it's my grandkids my apologies well if that's the case you know maybe that we're not doing it this year sounds good uh or whatever they said um what I think uh um we need to do um is talk a bit more about the long term um I know one of the things we were trying to figure out last year um is yes um average single family tax bill had been going up it been going up partly because of a new school and new fire station and then on top of that uh there was the operating override but we all knew that there was more Capital coming out there you know that could potentially keep that single family tax bill climbing well above 2 and a half% for many years and I think we we didn't do a very good job um about addressing that concern in the point of view um so I think it has to be a combination of those two things as I was going to say this superintendent from years past used to say your budget is is a reflection of your values as a town or school system and um the um the thing we have you know where we're spending our money uh as a town reflects what we want this town to be um I think we have an opportunity this year where we're looking both at Cost savings uh and um your idea of population growth and incremental costs to do a lot of um background Deep dive analysis on where we are spending our money um and you know this gets to a kind of a pet peeve of mine but um we we usually present a budget as as as a whole you know you know the town splits it up a little bit into some capital projects um in the schools it's just it's an assessment it's one one big number uh we never really get into you know and a lot of the things that are in there have been voted on by previous Town meetings or previous School committees as a one-off item hey let's have a department of this seems like a good idea at the time it's not causing your taxes to go up any more than 2 and a half% that year so let's do it but then when you get down to the um what if like this past year with if cuts are necessary you know where do you start cutting is it last in first out do we go back and look at some more fundamental departments and see if there's opportunities um so I'm what I'm trying to get around the long way around I'm saying uh this point of view ought to have more of a long term Outlook thank you Mr bordon yeah I agree I I still think the PowerPoint document is something that can be conveyed to different entities within the town I think maybe we need to have somewhat of both right like like an executive summary yeah that summarizes it in a one sheet document right and that we we need to definitely work on the long term but I think one of our concerns was when we were going through covid was the town adding staff with onetime Monies then you know now you you did that for a short term but you added them right and now they're permanent employees and they didn't have those when Co hit right we just add them later on because we had the one time money so I think that has to be the town still need to be cognizant of that in a lot of ways so I I think we we need to we need look at as Steve said we need to look at the long term we need to look at what is debt costing us what's what's our what's our debt payment every year on all the items you know and how is it rolling off we we we we have it in that in the graph and all that you know it's I guess it's yeah it's it's what's like the fire and the police and various Town entities we're going to be needing new equipment okay in what time frame do we need all that what's what's the cost of it you know it's like we have an ambulance that's down we only have one that's working right now and the two backups are down or the whatever that's why I asked the question earlier is okay well you have one one one is the back we you the main ambulance and you have the back the next one so basically El call them two front line pieces then you have one in backup all right and we had two down at the same time and now we're going to get another new one and we're still going have three why why can't you keep that extra one for short-term things stuff like that that has to be looked at so I I want to I want to focus on what we're trying to what type of document we're trying to generate tonight rather than actually actually to actually pull out all the items for POV what I think I'm hearing you say is you're fine with a shorter PowerPoint but you want an accompanying narrative document as well yeah because I think that way it if somebody doesn't you can you can p I don't know how to do it but you could publish one of them I don't know yeah they can be a pair that's fine Mr jarbo uh what's your feeling on the format and length of of our point of view for this coming fiscal year I um concur with my colleagues I I think we can um uh shorten up the PowerPoint for those 20 minute or shorter uh opportunity ities if and when they come and um I think we can put um uh the nuance and the detail and the thought that we need to into um a written document that um can be shared in a variety of ways and and whether or not the uh new online newspaper excerpts it or not um I do know that um one of the things we discovered during the sort of runup to this year's election was how many people are reading things on the website so um I'm I'm all in favor of doing both very good what do you think Allison um well so just if it's a question of the medium it's typically the content and the a audience that help you determine the medium and it sounds like you all have ideas for what the outline for the content would include and you based on that you choose the medium that best conveys the information right unfortunately we find ourselves in a weird situation where the right medium for the pto's and the and the rotary clubs and the and the senior citizens uh Senior Center the rate medium for that is Powerpoint whereas the audience of the select board in the school committee the the right the right medium is a short and sweet document yeah the Cliff's Notes so so um while I do not want these to be to to devolve into being two documents for two separate audiences I I want us to try and avoid that um I am aware of the fact that we you the Powerpoint was too long uh we are at a point where we have to do where we have to do both uh but we can't have it be here's what we say to the public and here's what we say to the select board they have to have a unit they have to have a unified message no matter what the medium is does that does everyone agree with that approach thank you very much okay so that said I will take a first swag in time for our next meeting especially considering I think our next meeting is going to be uh delayed because July is July and has done that to us in the past um that said if anyone has any specific you know I know I just cut you off Mr uh Roland on uh on on the substance of the document but if anyone has uh any any specific substance points that they want to make sure to get in there either get it to me nice and early or feel free to discuss it at the next meeting because we've never done a uh two meeting point of view two two meeting point of view voted and done yeah we'll we'll get to that when we do the next meeting date okay uh so that that it's going to be a quick meeting tonight even though we started late the population growth cost estimation we are missing three members of the committee here four members of the committee here um so what I would hoped what I was hoping we were going to do tonight is actually carve up responsibilities of who's going to help help chase down what but with four people missing uh I think what I'm going to do is I'm going to I'm going to punt on this one I'm going to give it one more meeting uh but I am going to send out a message in a in a week or two with all of the topics and asking people to please think of which one they might want to attach their name to and then we can play the matching game when we're all together next at the next meeting it's it's very magnanimous of you Mr chair but you do have the power to make assignments I know but this being a brand new thing I want to give people the opportunity to grab what they're more interested in first and then when things lie fallow that's when I will start assigning try and be nice the first time around okay on to finance committee business we have minutes to review and unfortunately we have a lot of them uh so this actually ends up being a good night to go through a lot of this sort of committee paperwork business because we are missing so many people okay don't forget we're going to need to do a roll call vote yeah we're going to need to do a roll call vote so what we're going to do is we're going to go through all of these make all of our edits okay and then we're going to take them on mass once we've made all the edits we will vote them on mass as amended um I have a couple that I'd like to start with do you want to bring them up on screen no because my computer is not safe for Community work um cuz I got random notes in here for my for my own edification we're going to start let's see here we're going to start chronologically the first one was 21024 this was the uh school committee budget Saturday meeting we were along for the ride so to speak uh I believe these have long since been approved by the school committee I did not see anything glaring in them but if somebody saw something that they want to bring bring to my attention please do so now if not I'm going to say that that one does not need further amending let me also make sure I open up my email because Roland you had sent me a couple of edits and I want to make sure I don't get them wrong those are all 326 okay good so the next one that we're going to go to uh is April sorry is March 26th no I did February 10th did I did I say it wrong it's possible that I said it wrong um the school committee the school budget Saturday was February 10th yeah you said that was okay and we said that was okay so now we're moving on to March 26 March 26 6 okay I have an issue on March 20 on March 26th um the first paragraph uh about the first paragraph under override mechanics is in the wrong place and it's repeated in the very next section as well so that's just a um a oversight someone must have done a cut and paste so that should be cleaned up uh and that it's in the it's in the correct spot the second time around it's in the wrong spot the first time around there's carriage return problem in section four and in the second to last paragraph of section four uh they refer to Mr Anderson that should be Miss Anderson section four section four uh if you want more Miss Russell Mr uh yeah you see that mhm okay uh under override mechanics yeah I'll call it up under override mechanics presentation Miss Russell summarized the POV that was presented and voted on at the last finance committee meeting and that exact same paragraph that exact same sentence is repeated under section three point of view should be removed from section two okay and then Roland which day did you comment on I think to on the budget hearing on section four second sentence said John commented to be Mr maner R okay keep it so that March 26th you said on page two individual is incorrectly spelled yeah I'm trying to find it and on page three Mr bordon comment was in relation to other towns in the geographical area that are seeking prop two and a half overrides which you care to clarify yeah because it said Mr Point comment we're not the only Town Westford conquer car and over to name a few yes so it doesn't really tell you okay context so Mr Boron commented we're not the only Town Westward conquered carile and and over to name a few who are facing a prop two and a half override yes is that an accurate uh yeah adjustment to to the notes correct very well thanked Mr manuti for doing a great job yes manager M for doing a great job manager yeah Town manager hope you one very good and the very next line is the Mr Anderson should be Miss Anderson yeah okay that covers our adjustments to March 26th um so after that I believe the next one chronologically is April 9th okay I had a problem with the April 9th this was the time that we were discussing the Tiff for the Granite Company um the notes call out let me be very clear uh let's see page one section two second to last paragraph on the page Mr Cole commented that insulet promised many new hires which didn't happen therefore he would not like to fall for that again that is not that is not what I said I asked if insulet was in compliance I then went on to say that there are two different types of tiffs one where uh the only the the Chang value is granted some kind of relief the other is where taxes are are um waved entirely right from the start I said that there was one type of Tiff that we would be willing to entertain the other one we are not I did not call out insulate for not being in compliance I specifically asked asked if they were and I made reference to another company who I did not name out loud because I'm not trying to shame people publicly who had a different type of Tiff who did not meet the requirements so please I do not I did not call out insulet as having failed to meet its requirements but I do want people to make absolutely sure they understand there's only one type of Tiff that I believe that should come before us does it if anyone would like to verify that the time stamp is 2435 on the on the replay is that is that everyone's recollection as well yes yes it's also I also believe that insulate is spelled wrong I believe it's an ET I believe you're right I believe insulated well it should be pulled anyway because right well it's out that name shouldn't be in there anyway correct okay also let's see on that same no that's the only change I had for that for those meetings minutes any other any other no changes people wish to make okay okay um I think I had one give me one second I'll give you a second while I get go through my paperwork here it said on two um tax and Comm finance and number two Mrs jarau suggested to talk about how you know I think that it just doesn't flow correctly words I think it too much okay well uh would you say that Mr jarbo um asked for some clarification about how a te a tiff is is brought to the community yeah yeah I suppose would you accept that friendly uh friendly word Smith changing to your to your uh statement Mr jbo yes excellent okay any other changes to April 9th April 23rd the second to last paragraph of section two second to last paragraph of section two Miss Miss Russell the second to last paragraph of section two I don't understand Miss Russell commented that the town sold the land then repurchased it though if and that's the end of the statement I don't know what that means I don't remember what it was in reference to I would say either review the tape or pull that line because it's it's not in a complete thought it's not yeah I think that should be pulled I recommend we pull that line entirely I agree also on April 23rd let me get to the chapter and verse although I'm probably not supposed to say that okay page oh is that page four one two three come on where is it let's see that is Page four Miss Anderson stated a vote of no could represent lack of information Mr call commented that attorney general will inform the town if we're not in compliance hence funding TBS I believe that should be take backs take yeah okay any other changes to April 23rd okay 23rd then we are into May 6th May 6th two small changes or clarifications for May 6th okay they just type poser page one second the last paragraph M Fredericks commented that it is a tick SLA count I don't know what a tick SLA account it is a tick account Miss Frederick's commented it is a tick SL does anyone have any idea what that means no idea no no so I would like that line stricken as well unless somebody would like to uh come back with a a new change no no just strike strike that one line so that we don't have to back back to this um end of section three Mr Cole asked if a first floor could be commercial and Upper Floor is residential answer yes that was not the question I knew what the zoning was the question is could the first floor be vacant commercial and still be Upper Floor residential and there's a big difference there I knew what knew what the what the zoning was but I am concerned about was concerned about the there being more vacant storefront because now that we're allowing for first floor businesses all a developer has to do is say oh yeah sure I've got the space and get the three floors worth of residential above it so we get Zero commercial and we get three 3x residential so I would like the word vac inserted into that line that is in keeping with the purp the the purpose of my uh comment M Roland I agree thank you that's what you that's what you asked I remember that you remember that thank you yep uh and then that's it for May 6th unless anyone else has any comments no and then lastly uh May 28th it's not the last meeting minutes but the last one I have a comment on May May 28th under announcements I thanked uh Christine Russell for her two terms not her two years she was with us for six full years plus if you add the uh associate time so I definitely want to say thank you for two terms not two years and I had no changes to the June 11th uh meeting minutes at this time I will let people comment on if they have any other looking around I'm not seeing any others Mr chairman yes Mr you want to entertain a motion yes Mr I would love to entertain a motion I move we approve the minutes of February 10th of March 26th as amended of April 9th as amended of April 23rd as amended of May 6th as amended of May 28th as amended and of June 11th second thank you Mr jarbo we have to take a roll call vote because we have a member on online and I appreciate being the member online because that's usually me so with that Mr noon I Mr jarbo I Mr bordon I and uh Miss Jones you are welcome to abstain or you can also say yes because if you like all the changes I think I'll abstain wise choice and I vote I okay that was a lot of paper work that we did have to get done tonight so I appreciate I realize this is a a somewhat abbreviated meeting but I'm happy to have the paperwork behind us it's going to be the dest meeting in my my of meetings I'm sorry Alice wow I will try and make it more fun for the meeting in July there Mr noon okay uh liaison reports anybody have anything pressing that has to has to be said I have not been able to go to anything because I've been out of town okay traditionally we only meet once in the month of July we had thought about meeting twice this year because we have these these two larger plans the the population growth incremental uh estimation that I'm trying to uh spearhead and the um cost uh uh cost cutting task force that uh Miss Anderson's trying to lead but being that people are already on vacation and out of town and July is always quiet anyway I propose that we skip our July 9th meeting and come back on July 23rd any objection to that very good and again shortest shortest meeting I think I've ever been to with the finance committee I will now turn to our newest member and ask her if she might have a motion for us I'd like to move to adjourn second it has been moved and seconded this is not debatable we will take a roll call vote Mr jbo yes Mr noon yes Mr bordon hi M Jones hi and I'm an i we are adjourned thank you all