[Music] [Music] welcome everyone today is Monday April 22nd it is 11 a.m. this is a meaning of the board of Selectmen is there OT to call the meeting to order so moved second all those in favor this meeting is being an audio and video recorded please stand for the pl Allegiance pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right gentlemen the uh first order of business is to try to clean up some of the easier budgets that the board of selectman have under the jurisdiction for fiscal year 24 to 25 I'm going to run right through them real quick um finance committee flat motion to approve second all those in favor Reserve fund flat 150 motion to approve second all those in favor Town moderator flat 875 motion to approve second all those in favor legal Services 107 flat motion to approve second all those in favor soil board 215 flat motion to approve move second all those in favor Mr Kelly you did a um I noticed inside the new warrant I briefly looked at that and peaked into it it looks like you doing a revolving fund for soil okay we did it last year we're continuing it oh it wasn't last year but wasn't put in the new warrant until recently okay boss all right appeals board flat 6,150 motion to approve show move second all those in favor miscellaneous flat 135 motion to approve second all those in favor I seals and weights of weights and measures flat 1169 motion to approve second all those in favor Forestry $24,500 it is up $5,500 the reason being is we have a lot more dead trees on the side of the road that a lot of residents are complaining about so we can get a couple of more days for the tree Warden to get out and tree trim motion to approve second all those in favor snow and ice flat $110,000 motion to approve move second all those in favor all Cemetery 6,789 flat motion to approve second all those in favor Cass 1,322 612 it is up $ 71,2 due to a contractual fuel surch charge of $3,000 a month it is inside that contract to have that fuel search charge if prices get up to a certain price which they have escalated um is there a motion to approve second all those in favor veteran services flat 217 2177 motion to approve second all those in favor Recreation 2,225 it's up $2,375 due to energy motion to approve second all those in favor all par department is flat at 49967 motion to approve second all those favor historical commission is 9,160 it's up $1,360 due to energy motion to approve second all those in favor cable receipts reserved it's not taxation it is flat up 50,000 technically but flat um it keeps the budget flat but we added a $50,000 Reserve fund similar to other Enterprise funds Mr Kelly and I had a conversation about that if you know what hit the fame servers went down and we had an extraordinary expense we wouldn't be able to cover it would was left into supply line item so is there a motion to approve at $240,000 for the cable Reserve receipt account so move second all those in favor Regional is flat 3,748 actually it's up 55 bucks but motion to approve so second all those in favor all and that does it for what we've gone through we've trying to take care of all the what what I would call Simple of budgets um we're waiting to get some more information on further budgets gentlemen there'll be some conversation around that at our next meeting will'll be derived basically what this meeting is doing is budgets Mr Kelly's going to get I believe out to print for May 6th the latest that's correct so we're going to do our in our next meeting on April 30th Tuesday to get through um it'll take some much longer to look at certain Cuts in certain departments the bigger budgets are pretty much the only ones that you have room to do some some trimming to do our part and try to get us down as you know we do have a big increase in public safety for from contract negotiations but it is what it is we have to serve our community when it comes to Public Safety so we will look at every budget and figure out what we can do to bring Mr Kelly um in the town before we in fact fincom before we get to town meeting with a budget that's more normalized as previous years which is roughly one spending roughly 1.2 overall um which will be a tremendous task moving forward but we need to do what we need to do um right now the budget's well over a million dollars in deficit um so with the figures that we're currently given from the town Mr Kell do you have anything to say on the budgets outside of what was just been discussed I'd say half of the budgets that are haven't been discussed there are minor changes in them not major changes we've cut seriously in a number of those there are some larger budgets that we're going to have to definitely look at line by line agreed all right anything on the warrant on the warrant everything in front of you in the book is the same as before it's just I've changed the order now that you've approved these budgets I'll input them in and that will start the process I think uh just setting some amounts in some of the funding articles for the collective bargaining uh and uh once we do that then most of the uh free cash articles you've already seen so I think we're ahead of the game but behind the eight ball correct right now we we we we couldn't go I'm not extremely confident in going to town meeting um at this point we're going to have to see what we can do over the next week if we have to do another special meeting prior to May 6 to give to hline some of these other numbers I'm hoping to get all of this done April 30th by Tuesday April 30th I know the schools said something about meeting their meeting on May 1st um to vote a budget whatever that means to the town I don't know Mr Kelly uh if we need a special meeting after Tuesday it will have to be on Thursday that's fine we'll figure it out um on that um the only thing I do want to add is we've had I thought was great dialogue with o Colony U Mr palansky came in Sarah Griffith the business administrator came in and Shirley Burke one of the budget subcomittee members um came in she's been around Old Colony for a long time I remember being fincom liaison from 2005 to 10 and she was part of that dialogue back then um so thank you to all three of those folks and I did Reach Out out to Mr palansky and thanked him for the follow-up meeting um I thought it was very informational not only for the board of selectman myself and and for the residents but we talked about the lease that they have I know they have some debt um but they didn't know what they were doing with that but they did talk about a lease and it was probably somewhere around that 135 ismach 140 y somewhere around there in order for us to reduce the budget from Old Colony that at least comes off this year we don't need getting input from any other municipalities I think we take a leadership role in that and we say we need an article in the warrant to subsidize that increase no you can do it in the motion on the war on the budget okay to take money from it's just a separate funding source correct I just I want to reduce the deficit and that's how we're reducing deficit right it's a it's a big chunk it it gives this board some flexibility to bring down that 1 million some OD deficit that we're sitting at right now it's basically 10% it's a uh that we can knock off so we need to figure out that funding source so we change that budget right well you you leave the budget alone you bring in a separate one-time funding source however however you want to skin the cat we can we there's multiple ways right yep so I'm fine what however we're going to do it I just want to relieve the deficit right and that's how we're going to be able to do that so either you can reach out to Mr palansky or SAR and find out what that actual number is or we'll we'll play a guesstimate game right usually uh I'm pulling rabbits out of the Hat congratulations you pulled a big rabbit out of the I'm I'm I'm trying to demonstrate to the taxpayers and residents of a cushion it that this board has taking the budget seriously um I think that's what we're we're trying to demonstrate now um in the warrant seriously um um and figure out how we're not going to be exceeding our spending levels that we have in the past right to to hold down that level of Taxation because the more you spend it might look good this year that say oh we solved the problem but you ain't really solving a problem if you're spending an exceeding number from what you've done over the past years because next year is when it's going to come back to haunt all of us taxpayers whatever we spend this year you need to raise next year in taxation and that's the point for everybody at home to get um you got to be careful on how much we're spent cuz that's what results in taxation the following year to raise right and that's what we're trying to avoid so we can look good by saying we have a balanced budget but how much are we spending right and that's why the motion on uh the budget itself is important because it segregates taxation from all other uh sources of revenue correct so we'll figure that out for old Cony right however we're going get that done gentlemen I don't know if you have any other questions comments concerns yeah while we're on the issue of creative financing last year I had uh talked about retiring the debt of the U school debt exclusion from 20 years ago I'd like to revisit that again um I don't if there's an opportunity to do that either at this town meeting or in the fall but um at least keep that concept on the table 100% if it's not this meeting we can do it another one we'll have to look I forget what the exact number is that we carry for the school debt it's pretty big n couple hundred anyway isn't it 100 100 something and I have I have the debt paperwork I apologize I didn't know but anyways I we talked about it before and I agree 100% anytime we can give her a certain debt it would be great is that thatt School refund so about 100 Grand pretty much spot on and it expires when do you know I think it's 2027 is it no that's the roof right the roof we have to change by then no that's not what he's talking no the that's the band down below there different construction right yeah yes the Deb exclusion I think that's 25 or 26 that's what that's what this says it just says a due date I'll look at my paperwork I thought it was 27 but 9 year there maybe that's the golf course 9 year there is yeah we'll figure it out but my agree with select loan 100% we can get that off it would be great and the band we already talked about that for the solo right and then getting creative do you have any um knowledge of I know selectman W also discuss the meals tax any any way we can it wouldn't pull a number to so that we have an idea when we get to town meeting we can let people know what it really means it's approximately 100,000 I was going to say it's going to be somewhere there but it wouldn't affect this year totally understood totally understood but at the rate we're going we need to we need to look three years in you know even great leaders never just look at today right they look at they they have to look forward and it's not forward by a week or two right especially when you're in this kind of a business you got to be projecting Out 3 to 5 years at least right yeah well usually government's future planning is what am I going to have for lunch tomorrow yep but that's not my for but anyway so right I've addressed the Old Colony know like said article but if there's a different way to skin that c Mr inkley nothing else for Warrant or budget discussions no sir all right with no other open business to be conducted we have an executive session on the general R chapter 38 subsection 21 A3 to discuss strategy with respect the collective buying of litigation asme Mo MOA if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body the chair so declares and the board will not return to public session at the conclusion of the executive session is there is there a motion so move second all those in favor I roll call vote Mr engley yes Mr wner yes and I am a yes we are now an executive session thank you [Music] [Music] [Music]