##VIDEO ID:YiQ72_O9IK8## good evening this is um Tuesday October 15th the towns and finance committee and I'd like to call a meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. and I'm just checking for any remote members and I I don't see any so um I guess we'll still go with a r call in the room J bque is yes here Mary Jan chville here Carol H is present Dave Walker present and Don Hayes present and if the other members joined remotely we will okay update at that point um this meeting is being recorded um it will be posted on YouTube and play back on Channel 9 as well as being played live at this point um 1.4 additions or deletions um I this point I have no additions or deletions to the agenda is there anything anybody has to add to the agenda okay then being heard we'll continue um the work session um uh just wanted to the main process we're going to go through today is Introduction we have two new members um and what I'd like to do for people that do watch it have you introduce doce yourself or even maybe we should do everybody what our background is um so that you know where we we're coming from and what we have um so I'll start um Don Hayes I am chairman of the finance committee um while I was working my background in the last bit was I was a business system analyst so I did a lot of reporting it did work with computers um as well as supporting the service business uh for Eastman Kodak which was in the graphic printing um portion of it at that point uh so I came on board into towns and um this pretty much somebody that could run Excel and spreadsheets and have worked my way up through to chairmanship um and learned very much about the financial budget of um okay um I was a business owner my own business in peo I also was on fincom in another Community meaning peil and I've been on fincom here for about six or seven years and basically I'm very interested in the town and as I said I have 50 years experience in business ownership I'm Carol hoses and I'm retired Air Force civilian and I've worked as program management and doing e Force Contracting so I have managing cost schedule performance and I've been with the finance committee like maybe three months maybe yeah two months three months um I'm Mary Jane Churchville I am also a small business owner from years ago and still working and my job is in a forensic abstracting for real estate and mortgages and I'm very familiar with esing reconciliations I am new to this board and expect to learn a lot me too I'm Dave Walker I still working I work as an electrical engineer uh design Electronics I've worked in various capacities designing electronics for different industries from networking to video currently I'm working at a defense Contra contractor Mercury system Mercury a lot of people I used to work with like the Mercury is well Aid that yeah I worked at AVID for a number of years as well that thank you I uh just it's an introduction for people that watch and and it's here and they can see what the the V is and what we represent because we're supposed to represent the town's people and um have their input and interest into the budget and so knowing what our backgrounds are they help them also understand and reach out to us if they see us in the community thank you um so I did um I um after the introduction I would um again this is Introduction Carol is still somewhat new and the two new members so I wanted to go over the budget process um I pointed I think to a link on the in the bylaws on the website and if I haven't here we will continue to do that that's going to be part of our guid line for doing this um we are into and there will be a lot of confusion because we'll be right now we're in calendar year 24 but we're in fiscal year 25 because it starts on if the fiscal year will run July 1st to June 30th and that being the case a lot of times you talk about Q one Q2 Q3 and you might be talking about the wrong year it happens we're not going to hold anybody to you know just kind I've done done it enough but um the budget process starts generally in the December January time frame we a budget message is prepared um by the cwn administrator and sent to department heads to start the process where they fill in spreadsheets and um thinking of till early January to return their their budgets where they're compiled and then with that timing we then start reviewing them and and having questions um the process and we haven't really been sticking to it year over year we need to get so is that the process that they pulled off the website of budget policies and procedures which is a little different that that policies and procedures will tell us that in J in the first two weeks of February we're supposed to have joint meetings with the boards of Selectmen and have the department head in and have our discussions back and forth and questions about the initial budget okay um so we're going to this year like I say this is really my first shot at trying to hit the targets that have been laid out for us okay um prior years we've had interim Town administrators or New Town administrators and it slips into Mar and and April and we're really struggling by the time we get to April we're we're meeting two sometimes three times a week and sometimes multiple hours so we're trying to this year start managing that y ask a question when you say that the town manager um prepares the budget and then he returns it in January is that returned to our committee no we um the department heads will get it and they return it to the Town Administrator and they should return a copy to us as well I'll do we provide any guidance ahead of time say what we expect um there is there is a letter usually prepared by the Town Administrator um which now is Nelson so again we have another new new person in a new position um coming in for the first time for the town so working to the schedule I think is going to be beneficial for everybody because if something is is a skew we we try to catch it early on so I part part of what I missed I was in quality for a while and so I did implemented a quality system ISO 9000 and so processes procedures corrective actions and preventive actions are all words you're going to be hearing publicly I'm just wondering as the finance provide a blueprint to the town administrators say this is what we feel the budget should look like next year we we got more um advisors and and recommendations we're not we're not drivers but I would like to try to drive that one of the things that we're looking at later on is the bwas and so we're looking can we change the bwas where we have a little more power in into that or a little more responsibility into the budget process um and hit that so that's that's something we've been trying to do because we we've sort of been just after it's prepared they run it by us and and we have little little things that we can we can tweet but usually by then it was too late to make any significant changes next year could be a little different um we are um last meeting um we we ended up um looking for our budget was off by about 1 $1.2 million um when we finally passed the one in August um the majority of it is is trying to be made up um it was the school budget approvals by the other two towns that drove us to change our our budget that we had voted in in May so that it was voted at town meeting and so we Ed those those numbers and that was about $1.1 million there's about $200,000 in the budget that are being paid by oper funds right now again a term you you'll get very familiar with um but budgets are supposed to be built on recurring revenues which streams which is your cherry sheet from the state your um excise taxes and your real estate taxes the main the main drivers of of where your you're driving so your budget should be driven after curring revenues not these revenues that um were provided by the federal government to help through the the hard times when Co was in we are a little bit behind the eightball on that but with the budget we put together and the pay you throw program uh for the trash that's how we're trying to um manage the gap for this year it's kind of like um the ambulance receipts were increased by $100,000 transfer into into the general fund um it was a little bit of money saved in the Town Administrator salary um the fire department the sorry yeah by police department put off their Cruiser lease for half a year um and from the reserve fund we transferred $130,000 with the agreement and understanding that when we validate free cash this year that that is repaid back into the stabilization fund um terms you're going to you're going to hear they're on the agenda for later on to talk about what they are how we how we manage them and U Maybe how we report them at next town meeting I think what's important Don is that the new members understand that it wasn't just a school that threw the blood budget out of whack the town was in trouble before it was we we were trying to balance we we put together a balanced budget based on Town increases into their budgets um and some of the increases that we put in the budget were the removal of the arer some of the arer funding lines bringing them fully into the budget so the budget looks elevated in a couple of departments in a couple of lines but that's because we were trying to get off the crutch of the Opera funds um so well I think that's something we're going to have to watch very care we do it's kind of like as as we go um at the trash meeting they said that it's a $550,000 deficit is when a after you take in all of the other things that were done it's 550,000 so total we needed 1.1 million let's say a million okay so 550 was the money from P at well 100,000 was um the extra money from ambulance receipts so that's 650 130,000 from um the stabilization fund that's going to get you to 780 and then the small amounts were okay available to us so that that got up near 8 825 and then the other 125 was squeezed out of the rest of the budget um because it's very um there's in the FY 25 budget there is very little wiggle room when we look at the reports we have here we'll see that there's about 359,000 from fiscal year um 24 that is going to be certified as cash because I'm not convinced and I relay that strenuously at the trash meeting that purple bags are not going to make up 550,000 over nine months okay so we'll talk in more detail on that you you are on the agenda to talk about P because we we had a discussion and I may have misspoken so I want to straighten off okay no that's fine yeah I have some extra information we may get a little money from the state [Music] yes um there a per household stien that they kick in I'll I can talk about that we'll talk about I I brought the paperwork with me that they sent me yeah so at the end of budget Pro back to the budget process at the end we make a recommendation sheet on all articles at town meeting and so as if you've been to to meeting if each article was presented if there's a financial impact the finance committee will put together the recommendation little story that goes with it and whether we recommended to vote for it or against it uh so it would be recommended or not recommended sometimes when we couldn't come to a decision ourselves because it was very tough for us we would put no recommendation because it was just based on not being able to have a full and complete story to be able to make a solid recommendation so um those are the three categories we use and and we build the stories and present it at Tom meeting so speaker sorry thank you um I see Sam come in yes hello good morning good morning you on the west coast um do you know what time you joined in I didn't see your um I didn't see it I didn't noce okay but okay so we'll put your put you that you join the meeting 6:20 620 we thank you Sam um and are you do you have the ability to share um your video and I asked that because we have two new members with us tonight so I'd like to I don't know anymore how to operate this thing okay that's fine I figure it out yeah okay then don't don't work on it too hard if you if you get it we'll see your picture pop up and and um so just so you're aware the two new members Mary Jane uh Churchville and uh Dave Walker are with us they were appointed um to take the positions for Jean dilda and uh Josh you know what I'd like to see this year done y as the budgets I presented in the articles I presented I'd like to see the Departments present their own budgets and answer their own questions rather than to select I know the problem what there how's that look that looks pretty good oh excellent there we go okay so um I don't see the three of us so Mary Jane could you say hello to Sam and oh hi Sam meet you Dave Walker see one more time Dave Walker there we go there you go so what you're getting picked up with is the owl the the the owl it's kind of like and so it was picking up on on the other three of us so that's why I asked for for that so so that's our our new team right now and the other that we haven't in um is not here tonight is Andrea wood she I use her as a reference all the time she has a lot of experience in she she's been Selman water water commissioner name a board and things she's been on a charter um bywise it's kind of all the Committees all the so she she has quite a bit of knowledge and um we count we rely on her yes um okay so that's a bit of the budget process um one thing I didn't mention during all this if we have special to meetings we do the same there articles and the financial articles we will make recommendations on those also because generally in the fall once um free cash is certified you will get some articles to maybe do some things and allocate money to certain accounts and work that need to be done and so the special Town article the special town meeting articles come up they get voted on and that money seems like this year any money we get gonna have to just clean up our our budget as it is it it um yeah it it may it it may just that we allocate it to general fund but um or we may they'll need to be a recommendation to put it into an account for um for the trash so that it can be used to to pay um but again that's that's something that um is out there I will also um the Department of Revenue is the over overseeing Department um by the state for our budgets and so they will be looking for um whether we're hitting Revenue targets with the payia throw program to say that we will be able to fund fully fund the budget so yeah is um his eyes watching us this year so U could be could be a tight year um so that's any questions on the budgets like I say when we get near the end of the budget season and really finalizing the budget we'll be we'll be doing some some extra hours not just not just small amounts now do we get a chance to feedback to the Departments that we think your request needs to go down or up prior to the town meeting we we do um we we will do that in the in the sessions um we have what they have called a budget Summit um usually first or second week and in March it's a Saturday um and all the department heads come in and present that point but we can call them in we can call them in we can call them in and have them come in and meet with us separately also which we've done many times yeah we have it's kind of like a good idea absolutely that's a good ide yeah right and and those are the pieces and and personally um some of my thoughts we want to try to get out and get in the introduction with when somebody is putting a line that says new equipment let's see what the what the equipment is what the invoices are and come up with it up front not just in line with the no value assigned to it yeah it can't be miscellaneous because everybody's miscellaneous for and everything's different than the miscellaneous right so it's kind of like we we need that a little bit more um detail so we're hitting the budget um and again um there were some things done this year in the budget such as the elections we took the elections out and made a special operating fund for the election so you'll see in the budgets that we have a small election fund that's generally for the town election the others for the states and the federal that the primaries and um and say the November election there's a separate fund we put $22,000 in that account at town meeting and what the intention was is to have the budget annually look stable and then Monitor and manage um the extra elections by by funding and using free cash at the end of the year and putting it into this account um in addition um there is some reimbursement by the state for the hours for early voting and the mailing voting and once all those costs are compiled and they cut the check back that can be put into that account too so a little bit of flexibility for the town court to manage elections so the there there'll be things like that that come up that we did that aren't necessarily um standard but as as we hit them I just want you to be aware and ask the questions you know why it's it's it's going to look like a low number it used to be about you know if we're looking at this year the number of Elections we're having this year is sort of s of it's It's the elections and the elections recounts and and um there and Tom meetings all of those have little bit of money associated with more people work because as you're there you have to check voters in you have to make sure there's a quum so they you have to check in at to meeting so there is labor expensed to do that um so that's that's just a piece it's one of those things you going to you you'll learn a lot about the operating of a department as as we buil one of one of the items that we have and we'll talk about it in detail as we get the budget we have um and I've moved on to um to 212 the reserve fund requests this is money that is put in the finance committee's control and it is meant to ensure that if there's an emergency somebody can come in and request an emergency transfer and so we haven't to date actually defined and come up with a list of what those emergencies are um some examples last year um we had septic tank the pump failed both of them so there was no you had this it was an emergency last year but that's really a maintenance item so there should have been money in say a building maintenance account the ceiling collaps in the main hallway same same thing we we paid it out of there so we we wanted to try to identify what are the real emergencies that this it's a small amount it's less than a half of 1% of the budget it's $5,000 that we're trying to manage any of these real emergencies for so that's that's what the reserve fund requests are and and that's what we're going to see um something I have been doing with them it was just a document that would end up showing up um again my my thing with process is I started assigning numbers to them so that um we could identify when we had them when we agreed them and and it had a number so we we could record it in minute in the minutes of the meeting um that we we approved it didn't approve it what the vote record was um and then we would when it passed and was acceptable we we provided it to the accountant and she took care her getting getting the money transferred from the reserve fund into the into the appropriate account that we need it um the last part uh item 2.1.3 Municipal transfer and I put in parentheses relief we have been calling them in finance committee Municipal transfer request um it was submitted last year and it came in through from bard of Spelman a municipal relief transfer so terminology it's kind of like we have to talk to thing the same language um we're pretty much using the same acronyms but just just a little different um that is something that you can do in the last two months of a of a fiscal year in the first two weeks of the following fisal year so for FY 24 we could use the municipal transfer requests to move money from for and June or for the first two weeks of July 24 which is 25 yeah May in June of 24 right which y the last the last two of fiscal year 24 and then the first two weeks we're always a week we're always a week down a year in July you become a year ahead so you're really talking about July 2024 is really the first two weeks of this that's right yeah that's exactly what I said yeah so you got to remember that see because I work for the federal government we go September 1st August 31st yeah so yeah so we we all have different calendar so yeah so you have to yeah when you got yeah you gotta remember yeah that's why the state has always messed me up yeah okay so I just wanted to mention that because what did you actually use this money for this transfer um we we paid for the pumps to replace the when when the subject goes out so um we need to we need to oh so what was the reserve fund request then is that just a request I'm sorry the reserve fund is the request for the emergency emergency something that okay um so when you have a when you have a maintenance and repair line in your budget and you didn't put enough money in that's a reason why we should go to but that was like what's the municipal transfer that would be if if we were running it properly and and followed what we should have done if we had written procedures yeah and followed it I would say that line would the this the the the repair line that didn't have enough money in it for the building repair that okay that should have been a municipal transfer request if we had money from another account that we could cover so if if they had a maintenance budget if they didn't have any maintenance money left well yeah then you do a a transfer so the transfer is taking from one department and giving it to another so one Department that has some money left over this department needs some more money send it over there and the reserve fund request is different that's the reserve fund that we manage that they say oh I didn't budget for this tot totally different thing to totally out of the left field something H okay um you know so those those are the pieces and that's what we're trying we need to also communicate the depart department head so they're not submitting like they did in the past and expecting that we're going pay it at the end yeah yeah right so those um now do we have any get the authorities the word to make them do it right I mean we we have the ability not to approve if if if a transfer request comes in we have the the right not to approve it on the municipal transfer that's something we um both the finance committee and the selectman have to approve uh for the transfer it can't be a water department and it can't be a school system transfer those are those are on the form and we have to check off that is not either one of those two items um the only one we really have is the water department schools are are Regional and manage their own budget so it wouldn't be one of those but on the municipal transfer requests they're not they're not looking to baell out of school um within a town or anything like that they they're really stripped on work so um something like a city like L that manages their own school system they going to make and the and the water wastewater treatment and the water department they can't transfer from those other two entities to operating City Hall for instance good it's kind of like so that that there are limitations put on it um not so much you know we don't have some of those limitations because we're not we're not supporting the the school with our own with our own budget we are we are being assessed a an amount and we pay that amount to the school and they manage their whole budget so if they came back and asked for more we wouldn't be able to do a municipal transfer request either but that that hasn't happened today so lots of I was going to say this I think using a meeting to do to this we're most of the way through but I just I just want to know does it sound reasonable that we use a little bit of it as as training question abely y okay thank you and and I know um I did go out and I I haven't I um I fell flat I tried to follow up today um we have there there are a couple of organizations if I haven't I only talked about the drr which sometimes you'll hear do or DLS division of local Services they're from the state they're they're part of the Massachusetts state government and you can find things on their website um there's also another one called MMA Massachusetts Mutual Association um they have classes in and training um for finance committees as as well as every other department and um Boards of Selectmen um Town administrators accountants they they have they they run the gamut of having training material um we were going to buy manuals from them for finance committee and it turned out that they no longer sell the manual but they gave me the file it's 169 pages so I don't want to print it I I don't want anybody to have to print it and I'm trying to find out if they want me in 169 Pages really doesn't seem reasonable for printing on a printer out here or a copier and and doing it I want to see if they have a contract with a staple Resort or some like that to get them bound get them so that we have reference materials that we can we have hard copy that we can V with but they may have because they printed out those bailing cards they have the mailing cards we do the annual reports every year um that are that are must have a contract with somebody right so um I came up to followup today and um I didn't didn't find the people I was looking for so I'll continue to follow up on that um but we have the file so I can uh can mail it to you but I don't know it's kind of it's kind of big you kill my whole computer is it posted on the town can we post it on the town site so we can load it that may be the place that's one of the things that I can do because that that's that's almost sending the big files for the email systems a lot of times they won't they won't let the big files they kick them out but if you can post it on the town website then we can each individually it right and that that might work better on you're on the finance page yeah yeah yeah and and it's available for anybody in town if they're interested in the committee and want to see it they can certainly download it to and of the two files they gave me one was the older version I think it was replaced in 2020 or 2021 and the newer one newer one so we'll just post the new one and so I will I will do that just going to like um and get it and that's a separate um the website is is managed so I'll send to the person to man and again we probably have to get it updated with members membership okay um any other questions I I know this a lot it's kind of like like being back at school like being back at school kind like you H get filled with a lot of lot of different pieces I'm gonna see if I can share right now just I can see Andre still not in sorry I'm just going to um hardly are you listening I yes uh uh don did you want to have screen sharing capabilities yes please one moment thank you okay you should be ready to go ahead thank you um just to make sure um Sam you're seeing the um agenda right now got it okay thank you I just wanted to make sure thank you um just wanted to start with that um because I will will'll share I did not mail out the BBA so when we get to the that part of the agenda I will display it up there for you we all we all have in the room have copies of it um okay sorry back to the agenda um item 22 the committee team assignments and reports um and Carol I put you on the top of the list [Music] for so I get a little bit of is the team still active with me no okay um this far no I think once they implemented the program um they haven't had any more meetings um supposed uh they got a um from the state up to $622,000 okay it says up to not um and then because it's subject to turs conditions but I don't have the actual terms and conditions but it does um it's like a checklist so it depended on what they checked off as a term and condition which I don't really know but um uh so we have the ability to get up to 62,000 um I'm not I'm not convinced that the meetings maybe just me that um I already know several people have opted out and have gone to private trash yeah um this whole $550,000 recoup um by buying purple bags I mean I brought up at the meeting I didn't believe it but hey I could be surprised but there's a lot of senior citizens like myself I brought up the fact I'm not putting out purple bag every week I can fill fill my purple bag two or three weeks um they were basing it on I think 31 34 households something 30 3,100 total households get picked up um and my understanding was it was a participation rate of 75 or 80% of those households at a bag and a half per week per household right was a bag and a half um I said I said I didn't believe the bag and a half only because we do have a lot of senior citizens which means a lot of Senor citizens like myself put out a bag a week so I put out one bag every two weeks now a lot of people have if you see TI P if you see the truck come through on Wednesday those are the people who have gone and opted to um uh contract with Char right um so I just asked the town well I asked the Town Administrator and the board of selectman at the town at the time I know they've left but just to consider what are they going to do if they don't meet those targets right exactly what they say to that I was like a deer in the headlights and I was assured I was assured that oh no there's no way would not going to meet out T so no plan B no there was no plan B so um okay um so it it's on is there any plan to have meetings to monitor did they put any checks and balances in versus how many how many no and and not and I'm not really sure um maybe you can understand this is from caller yeah the Board of Health yeah um okay now that the program has gone through the proper doc she sent this to Nelson document signing where does the Board of Health stand with receiving the money from the 75 cases that the new contract will take over Taylor indicated this amount to be 36750 how do we process the transfer um and I know you know because now that we've had to select and resign and we have our election till the 16th you know things are up in the air um but okay I know I sat next to Katie when she was trying to do the whatever and her her her her her her numbers were not coming up to Irene's numbers okay so it sounds like maybe we should call meeting I I was I'll jump into it any later later on when I get to the audit comme report but um it does seem like we should get a report say like at the end of each month I agree how much came in what's going on yeah I mean because if we get October November and December's numbers yeah that should be an indication that should be an indication of where we're going we have a benchmark yeah October I'm going to that that's going to be high because everybody needed to buy five bags their first yeah it's GNA like and then it gets into the use how often after that how do they how do they coordinate it with all the different places that the bags are sold well I guess that was my question it sounds like right now it's only hits and mcdabs and two hords from what I understand Lunen and um what H to well until she runs out of them oh she she has a stash and then once those are gone I believe they at least the last time at the last they discussed that they do not want to be selling the bags here at the uh town hall and that once her bags were gone um then then you just kept them at hits and you know early on I talked to Nelson because I went to H of mcns and there was no bags they and people were hoarding them and then I told and I told Nelson I said what are you going to do with this old purple bags and he goes oh no people won't hoard them I says they just came from hand and they told me they hold them and they say so I bought them from Cola down at the Board of Health um but yes you're right this this first month the revenues are going to be high because people were hoing bags it's going to be come December maybe December it's going to there'll be a level but we still need to take we still need to look at the October numbers as well remember right now they can only buy the $3.50 B after December they'll have the small small bag so they so they say but I mean really better how many 10 is it 10 10 yes yes 10 and I think it so it's 2225 yeah and you can't buy a single bag CU I asked for a single bag not the only one people in line they were asking for Signal bag yeah no no it's kind of like they're they're booped in F or that is so presumptuous because $22 extra on your bill when you're I mean that's that's a number for certain families yep y well I also the first meeting as a taxpayer I told them I wasn't happy that's that's the piece it's kind of like as as we did our August 20th special town meeting I don't think there was a good understanding of when we're voting to pay for the schools that means we have to have the additional Revenue to continue funding the rest of everything that but we voted to pay for the trash in in in May correct right so in in may we were doing it but in August when we were when the vote was to add additional things into the into the budget that added the million dollars there was no real explanation that says and then we're going to start charging for the trash yeah but isn't it a double dip no um it's kind of like these are the questions that everybody would have so why not why not bring it up yeah my understanding is that especially with trash it's done in multiple communities that trash is your optional piece you don't have to do the trash pickup so by doing this and then coming up the the main idea the implementation plan a was to build everybody quarterly on their tax bill for the trash based on the total household and so that that was plan a at August 20th that article was voted down for the $25,000 to implement oh I remember that yeah yeah because it was the software it was going to be the software going to be the overtime and then and then and then the quad bilding and then tracking people who didn't because I talked to other towns at the time and it's like a nightmare because they were putting leans it was costing them money put leans on people's properties for not paying for their trash and oh my so next year or this year FY 2025 what happens to the trash budget okay so last year we voted for it we have to go back into the preparation we were doing no um to town meeting in March of last year okay um the there was an article to vote a the selectman to be able to do a five-year contract for trash yes with SH yes um because state law tells you you can only do a three-year contract and Char was looking for a five-year contract that contract was built and put together and that it was voted down not to allow the Selectmen to year so they went back to Shaw and got a one-year extension of last year's contract the the and the what would have been the third year of the of the contract so they chars extended out and said for this year it'll be 825,000 is on the line in the budget and so that's that's the target for this year when I go back and look at those two quotes we had one was with tots one was without totter in the five years that was up around $910,000 I believe if we had not had the extension if we had not had the extension and sign a new contract the the amount we would have been being charged for trash would have been higher got it so what do I expect in in a quote for next year's trash higher higher than the N 25 probably yeah because I got to think it with me now did the 910 include a one-time fee to get to get everybody the toades um because that's the thing they didn't explain well yeah right cuz cuz they were saying if if we if everybody had to spend the one-time fee to get these totes over the long run that would have saved us money because Shaw would have been able to collect the trash with less labor correct yeah and they didn't explain that well and people didn't understand that right and and and that's the that's that's a piece of it it's kind of like I I hadn't seen it till the end but as you do totos you have to have a full set of how you're going to manage the totos what happens if the truck damages the totos what happens if there's an accident what happens if your toor needs needs repair what happens if you have to buy new ones it's kind of like there is a whole buy those and then everybody that was one of the contracts well and then everybody already has trash cans so now what are you do oh my goodness so what do you do with all your trash cans yeah cut it up cut it up get a get a saw off cut it up and put it in your new purple bag sorry it's kind of like sometimes you have to have a little f with it I mean it just goes on I mean it just it it it is it's a what do you what do you do with this well for me I'm just going to use it to all my leaves to my leave file it's kind of like until until the bottom fall out so we will have so I guess I don't understand this trash thing we have a contract with Shaw yes one year this year till July 1st 2025 yeah then what about this pay I mean is it going to is it always going to be this way from now on moving forward I mean it it it could be things could change and what would be those changes what would they look like ABC if we if we work with the selectman and the Town Administrator put together a budget that shows more than one year going forward what would happen What would your tax rate be maybe and and I'm only throwing it out there because they haven't passed is a two and a half override is if you want trash pickup and don't want to have to deal with the bags yeah you can talk about an override but if you have a picture for more than just one year what are we going to do in year two three four um I can't wa why don't they if we can do a three-year contract why didn't they at the beginning just do a three-year contract sh didn't want a three-year contract oh they wanted a fiveyear contract but but the state says we can't do that correct how come sh didn't know that I'm sure they did it's kind of like but but again and and when you look at the contract um when you get to um there pieces there's there's all the different pieces of the contract there was the curbside pickup there was the recycling fees there's all the dumpsters that are all around town um everything was in there um but and then there's a tipping fee for the cost of actually how much per ton they're going to charge you to right right and when they get into years four and five it's said current rate oh so you don't really don't know what excuse me I kind of thought that was pretty specific it was I mean other words it's a specific number whatever the dump whatever you call the landfill whatever you call it whatever they're charging to take that tonnage that's what the fee is going to be raised to and we can't know that far in the future is all everything else was written in stone correct correct you know and that's the piece so but you still have a five years four and five in that contract you don't know what you're what to expect no you but you know exactly why and the the only piece in the puzzle is an is a piece of information that you can't have they don't have uh of what the dump is going to charge to to take the stuff whatever you call it um but other than that everything else was was flat out for five years right yes every everything was was right everything was clearly defined but um and maybe that's what we had to do is a little more explanation about what the fiveyear contract was um but again now do we do that investigation or do we expect no um the Board of Health is really that they report to us they will put together in the budget what those fees are and show us the contract so given that explanation that Sam just made is there a built-in number I mean do they have an extended how much they're going to spend over fiveyear plan I mean do they have does each department have a plan like that not yet talk about we're we're asking for we we want to ask them all for it okay when I talked to library and and Senior Center they say they do it's kind of like I want to see that for every other department oh so another words they don't all have it yet they don't all have it yet it's kind of like um when you look at the policy procedure that Carol had that says when the budgets are presented they're presented for five years and we haven't been we haven't been holding feet to the fire because of all the interim kind of work that's been going on this this is when we get to when we get to FY 26 which is the next July yeah July of 25 um which it and again we we can really confuse you when we throw arer numbers in there but um I I'm on the arer thing now I I'm interested in what that's all about um so with that when we get we're approaching the next budget cycle which is going to be a by 26 when they start presenting Us in January with the budgets that's when we want to see the 5 years and see it longer longer than just one year um it's easy it should should be easy to do if if you're planning growth new employees additional labor they have to do that's all going to be part of part of a plan that paints a bigger picture than one year one year in advance yeah I think that that's absolutely I mean how not move forward we got I think we got to start curbing some growth though right yeah yeah again because people can't afford it one of the other pieces growth was it growth or was um I got to have it now because I didn't plan for it I mean the difference between the growth and not having a plan and grabbing the money right and and and and that's the piece it's kind of like and we also have to request from the school the same sorts of things because this this the schools is where we have what we haven't done lately in our annual report haven't shown past five year there had been some work done by a group called The calling center um and they helped us prepare that once you put in all the data they will give you all sorts of charts and graphs about your your usage well with the transfer of people out out of positions there's there hasn't been any work on those in a long time so we need to either go back and enter a lot of data or work from a point and go forward um and some of it may be just small pieces what I'd like to see is a chart that shows say the last five six years of what the total budget is and how much the schools are and the percentage of our town budget to the schools because we're approaching 60% of the budget is schools right now um and if they're going to continue to ask for more than a 2 and a half% override we're talking about with shrinking that we're running from the town budget we're running the town at less than less than 40% of what the money is so it's it it's a hard piece that's that's why like I say we need to have we we need to have a picture I know um when so we have that data it's just not it's not it's not entered in a way that that we can look at it right we you know it's kind of like we have to get it up but I just I go back and I read the annual reports that are posted on online and I put in some of the numbers and I can see that creep up up a bar chart of right but I want it to be official Town numbers presented by its official Town Financial people once we validate those numbers we can have this chart that shows the shrink the actual shrinking even though the budget's going up is is a shrinking percentage of the budget with the majority tax doll allocation yeah very similar to that and the other one that I want to do is we talked about stabilization fund and I didn't put it in here specifically I mentioned stabilization fund because we were transferring some money out stabilization fund um when the we have hired to do our audit they would like to see us at 10% we were at 8% last year of your stabilization fund to your total budget Town budget it's kind of like so we would like to try to build the stabilization fund back up but again another graph that shows the growth of the Town budget and not incrementally the same amount of money being put into the stabilization so you lose it's almost like having having a safety or an emergency budget at home that you're you're supposed to have a certain amount and you know what that is well ours is sort of going down as as the revenues going going higher so so percentage wise they personal targets I you know I maybe I'm ultra conservative with money I just want to want to be able to to hit it um and have it be there I look at some of the big things it's kind of like I'm not sure there's a lot of knowledge around the town I had a conversation with somebody one time and they said this town does a great job of maintaining building I said does a lousy job we we have a savior and a Lifeline that takes care takes care of us that you don't know about it's kind of like and that that's the piece we we may be lo you know it's kind of like no telling how long that um is going to continue it's kind of like AR stop but we have to be we have to prepare for some ourselves we we have to you know it's kind of like we we did is there's a lot of work that did go on from the um with some of the oper money it was they did a total building evaluation of all the building facilities around the the town and so those reports will be coming in and we'll we'll see the results of those um if you look up here you'll see one of the one of the things Capital planning did last year is they allocated a certain amount of money to update all the lights you know in certain I think it's four four or five buildings and short term it's going to cost us some Capital money but in the long term it saves US Energy money the yeah the ROI is about three and a half years on this so yeah there was a little cost to spend but three and a half years out there's going to be a savings and going forward add that to the aggregation rates may you know it's kind of but there's just so many there's so many moving pieces that that are in here is you know when when to spend the money when when not not to spend the money it's kind of like um all those pieces gonna be here and I've been talking and I said it was sorry okay um okay so um moving on from page throw were there any other questions and P your throw we're all using it I'll be doing my first bag maybe this week up to the curb oh really IED four yeah you know I'm thinking about just calling sh and saying come and get it because it may be cheaper yeah plus the labor dep on the depends on theum dep it depends on the volume it's kind of like um and and so yeah I I mean I found but my companion household I came I drove through and they had three bags out front I said this there's my bag and a half I add M it's kind of like it's said so that's where the a is going to come from so right we're you know it's kind of like this this got to be those me we have to see what the numbers come in see are we going to know because if they're buying in horde like Carol says there's going to be a big there's going to be a dip possibly I would think the dip would be more like in November or December oh you think it would be earlier I would think I mean I get because because I mean it's they're limited how many you're only allowed to buy five at a time right oh a limit how many I thought there was I thought there was in in September at the end of September because they wanted to make sure there was enough they Li yeah they have 20 now so it's kind of like so we may there was an initial run and then they said oh okay wait a minute everybody could only get so much now you can make sure spread out yeah so I think I got to think by December people are going to be in cheaper bags will be out okay so we how many bags are in a roll five five five on the big five currently right well except for Christmas that should get us close to chrristmas there you go christas yeah no bad gifts yeah yeah just w w it yeah so um this is a big deal for the FY 25 25 and Beyond it's kind of like if it's success if it's success if it's successful in FY 25 we could continue it if we can paint a financial picture and gather some steam to try to do a 2 and a half override to bump us to a higher tax rate and we we could do away with PA potentially I'm not I am not running the program I'm just saying that if if the town is Target of buying purple bags and complaining about purple bags um then you know in some ways I think it might not be a bad thing like so because I put I mean I would usually put out a bag a bag a week but it was a kitchen bag right yeah and now so and then last week okay I put two kitchen bags in one purple bag and just put it out once yeah so that's why I said I could do every other week or every third week because little ones when you get little or when you get the little bags you're will to pay the 225 well it's still going to be cheaper to put two of two bags into a 350 bag right than buy two I can get three bags in there well yeah right yeah you squish them down stepping on them it's labor intens yeah yeah that's why some people just said the heck would see that I'm leaning in that direction and those are the things everybody's going to make their own decision about it and based on where that is and where the revenue is the state is going to tell us whether it's successful and we can use it or not the state tells us that um this the state tells us what our revenues look like and compare it to our budget and we'll say whether we have a good budget or not I see it's kind of like so so those those are pces that are upcoming in in the fall in the late fall or early winter is the state's going to be working at are we are we running the Target and getting the revenues we thought we were going to get so that's why the reporting is is important that we we have yes it would be good to know that before so so the idea was from October to the end of June we're supposed to get 550 correct well that's the target date well yeah that's the end y that's it that's the end Target for so October to June June October through June yeah y it's nine months that's nine months oh three quarters okay and then we would have a clue right so we're hoping to have an idea in the first three months how what the revenue right so if we make a third of 550 at the end of December feel comfortable then then we're on our way if we make more than that we're well on our way if we make a lot less than that then we know we're in trouble now how does how does the um pay as you throw program impact the sh contract overall um it really doesn't impact the contract the sh contract is for the $825,000 for the year to do Cur pickup everybody gets recycling so the only thing that's really paying for this you're not paying anything for your recycling it's all the the trash so because we were told at one of those meetings that if we do the recycling and the pink and the purple bags that somehow reduces our trash what Shaw which will drop I got well no what she was selling because selling two words because at the after Irene I forget her name she's the Recycled Theo who's the trash thing her agenda is to reduce trash and increase recycling because her job that's job that's her job oh so she's so so so so when they went through this whole thing she's she talks about a minute she's like a whatever salesman kind of sales she but her her whole thing her cell is oh this program in other places has reduced the volume of trash in increased recycling because people because now that you have to pay to put your trash out you got to be more careful conscientious about what you put in your trash versus what you put in your recycling um so that that's where the the recycling she says will increase and your trash will decrease so how does that make money well it makes money for her it no it makes money for her because she gets a promotion out of it it's more Recycling and she doesn't tell you that most of the recycling Minds up going into the landfill they can't because they can't sell it to anybody yeah nobody wants to nobody wants it but oh so there's no there's almost no benefits of recycling because they wind up most of it winds up getting thrown away as as trash as trash anyway well just look at your just look at all those commercials with all those plastic bottles floating in the ocean and I said to myself why are all these plastic bottles flowing I thought they all went to the recycling plant to be made into rugs rugs yeah well I think most of that stuff doesn't come from the US that comes from over that comes from all the Cru more like third world not it's more like third world countries that don't that don't have a way to get rid of it I want to see data on that one I think we're the biggest contributor personally but I only have a think to that or a suspicion and no fact back it up so in other words it's here to stay or it goes but it doesn't impact our trash contract with sha yeah it's kind of so y it it's kind of like and that's the thing what's what's future going to be so there's there's lots of lots lots continue to to watch on that but um I'm just going to take thank you for indulging us for lot of page should throw even though finan thank you Carol my purpose is even if the recycling goes into the landfill eventually at least there's one a stop in place and there's also someday somewhere some entrepreneur is going to figure out how to use it and it also trains the public to split their trash between trash and recycling so that when there is a place to to remanufacture it it will it will be there yeah yep exactly good point okay I'm going to move on to 2.2 the properties committee um and I am the finance committee representative there um at our most recent meeting we went through all of the properties that the town owns we identified from that list of properties which ones we recommend to be sold um so that it list is being prepared to go to the selectman and we also went through the remainder of the list and rather than just leave it town of towns and we would assign it to a committee like whether it was Cemetery or highway or Conservation Commission so all of the land owned by towns and is not just going to St town of towns and there's going to be a a committee or ownership of that um I have a question yeah so we have properties that no one's paid the taxes on correct are those town-owned properties they are not town-owned properties and then there's the old ones and the new ones so we have to um um it's kind of I'm joking because I'm just there's new laws coming in all the time that impact things and so anything that we had started to do tax taking on has gone is is in process and going through land court now um it generally takes 8 to 10 years before we take ownership of the properties 100% And so um it it does take a long time and they get very overgrown and there's not much value to them but we do get them sold um and I'll give you for instance I I just went buy a property that we're closing in on closing the K on there's no more driveway it is just all taken over by the brush and the and everything it's kind of like you can't really get onto the property and park you have to find a spot on the street and Char for brush is that because of the state's processing for tax sales um it it's part yeah it it's the it's the process that you have to go through now in the past once the town took it you might be able to recover all of it if you if you sold it you would take all of the money from that sale now what you have to do is if you take a property you have to manage all track all of your costs and when you sell the property if the cost if if you made more in the sale than the cost to the town you can only take the cost to the town the rest has to be provided back to the original owner of the property and what if the property's been in sitting there for a hundred years same it it's kind of like you got to find the people you got to find the people over the years or is the cost of the Town include the back taxes that haven't been paid back taxes any maintenance or repairs just kind of like and the lawyer fees because as you go through this now the other part is the new law as I read it and understood it is you have to list that property with a real turnout for a year before you can continue St telling me that after was great big case that really that that's that's what I and again it's kind of like it's what I read and what I interpreted I would have to go the lawyer to get my 100% validation on process it's almost like see but but to offset that as I understand towns and sells the debt to we have done that in the past oh so that's not happening anymore no we we take it and we list it with a um an Auctioneer and the auctioneer the auctions and sells the property so it's about 11 months ago the last time we sold we had three properties and the auction was held here in this room and um we we sold the three properties last year um the the one that was mentioned the 182 Warren Road was on the list but we were still in negotiation with the state to see if they wanted part of it so it didn't make it didn't make that function um so so the the inventory is tax property that's not unpaid tax property yeah and Department property it it is when you when you consider removing the water department it's kind of like um the water department is moving to the new facility and once they're completely out that building has already been allocated to be sold oh the little one in West little brick one yeah uh not the brick one but the one that they their offices are in oh that the brown the brown yeah yeah okay yeah so um yeah I you know so the the properties is you know somewhat active right now it's active and inactive but you know it's kind of like we are making progress to try and again all that this is going to do when you sell these properties the money goes into the general funds so at the end of the year it will get validated as extra free cash because it was not Revenue that was counted on so um if um and you can't use it until it's certified as free cash so it's kind of it's that catch 22 so the ones we sold last November are going to get certified in this year's free cash cycle which is November of this year and so on above December that money will become available to be and certified as free cash who certifies it uh the state certifies it the DLS and who who is responsible for allocating that fre um once we get it is that like could are we the ones that can say okay put that in the stabilization fund we can or does it automatically go to a particular place it doesn't go automatically at this point um in there'll be two things that we generally do with it we will have a fall special town meeting and allocated for projects or things expenses that may have come up um but the rest of it could be allocating it to the capital planning account um stabilization is a great place for it but in the spring that money is also used to pay the U snow and ice budget the snow and ice budget is the only Budget on our list that is allowed to go negative um right because you you you can't plan for that you can't plan for it so that's the only real line in a budget that's that you can go negative on but you have to come clean and balance it for the end of the year so that's usually usually where free cash is coming in um we might use it for Paving plan if we P want to pave some roads and we didn't have the money to fully fund the paving plan that might be a place that they they try to put it too so we we don't necessarily do it we can we can recommend we would and again this year it's going to be a good one I would like to recommend that they take more money and get it get get up to our 10% stabilization fund for the budget um where it's going to be exra this year it looks like but it's all so do we do we know how much we're expecting to get certified um we'll get there but I know I know the number that's on the list and so it's somewhere around there plus that 400,000 so it could be could be a pretty significant number but we'll tou it when we talk about the BB okay that's fine looks like um and next 2.2.3 the audit committee again that's me um with right now Teresa Teresa moris is our only representative we don't have a representative from the town on it um we are for fy2 so the budget we're going to get audited in after it closes in June of next year um that's the end of our current contract so we're going to have to go out and get a contract for fy2 6 27 and 28 for an auditor for an auditor yeah we it can be the same auditor but we we have to go out and put our requirements and go out to bid for that so um and the rest of it and and part of the reason on the page you throw last year and the year before the Auditors have said we need more checks and balances on our revolving account so that's why the interest in the page you throw is we need to make sure it it's it's a significant amount of money for the budget we have to have our checks and checks and balances in there to make sure that that money how do we do that with like monitoring like Dave said um we're going to have to yeah we're we're going to need reports kind of like and it's not just there it's it's the others um Board of Health also has the recycling center we we got to do that um anywhere that takes cash the town clerk takes in cash for um do cat licenses anything and that so there there's money coming around but where's the reconciliation and the and the checks and balances that it's getting from point A to point B don't know it's kind of like the auditor said we have to be more robust so one those words more robust yeah because I know K's always I know with the trash being she was looking for $10,000 to run the recycling center okay um CU that was one of her things I don't know somebody stole her I I didn't really understand stole ,000 I don't know it was like Som somehow it was I'll give her back $3,000 right now um no um we will we will take a look I just got that report it's GNA like I mean maybe she's already gotten it back but I know that was one of things we got we got to see and and again as get to next year I I I have been asking for reports and again we're going to get to the BBA report when we get there I'll talk about it um one of the things that we tried to do is get a report from some of these revolving accounts and put the checks in how are we going to put checks and balances in and we were having some technical issues and I think we've overcome those technical issues now uh so going forward because it's it's an item that we sort of blow by on the annual on on the annual town meeting but we is about 11 revolving accounts that we just say oh this is the number yeah let's vote them and this is how much money they can they can spend this year as part of the review we are going to be getting the detail and validating the money in those accounts um as as part of the budget process for next year so not just putting a number onto a sheet and saying vote on it but actually doing the validation so again a checking okay on revolving accounts um and pay you throw is not a revolving account at this point but it's money that is very very very similar to a revolving account in that we have a lot of the sales and then the money goes from vendors into an account and then is swept into the general fund so it's it's money coming into the general fund not a special evolving account okay so we just it's we need to P that that piece um okay um and last but not least Capital planning um we don't have anybody assigned right now Capital planning I was but I never or was you was it you or was me youed okay okay okay so which one of you wants to be the fin committee you can be it no I'm the person at large I'll be the person at large okay so now you you're on it not yet it's kind of like that's one of my one of my things it's kind of like but have they even had a meeting they they have not had a meeting yet um not until again when we look at it it's supposed to be in the December January time frame so again let's you know let's let's try to build it back um and but um it we haven't provided your name to the board of Selectmen we you can't be approved yet into the board of Select I first I am not on it yet um that's one that John Barrett will assign and recommend people and you have to you have to apply for it you have to apply for it so I have to apply for it I haven't done that yet um is anybody on it um are you on it I am on it you are on it presently and currently as I get SW and I got my letter from John yeah so okay um so I can be the president large or whatever you want it right yeah just kind of like so you um if you want to represent the finance committee then we haven't we haven't made a recommendation so if we we can we haven't done any voting today so well if she's gonna be there would you do both I don't know no so would would you we we can entertain the motion to um recommend Carol hses as the finance committee representative to Capital plan congratulations that's a motion so who was who made the motion don don no I I'll make a motion that Carol should be the representative a second thank you we love you okay and now because Sam is here and we have remote uh it's a roll call vote and in the affirmative T will be our representative to the capital planning committee May chch vot yes jik is yes Dave Walker yes Carol Hoff says yes Sam Grant yes and Don haes yes so it's unanimous I just want to make this very clear I will not be the chair okay no I'm not to be the don don yes Sam I've got to beg to be excused I've got some cleaning up to finish before I can stop for some food so if you'll excuse me please um I will I will just jump right ahead and I'll tell you we we're going to be covering the bva report I think you've seen him in the past I will mail out the hard copy version and an Excel version um that we were able to do so and we don't have the next meeting yet so once we have the next meeting I will email you the date and time and all that look forward to seeing that thank you very much you all have a good night now you too night get rid of this thing hold the plug I can shut your I think he's got to do he's got to do it I think yeah it should be just a place where you can say leave the meeting yeah yeah that didn't show up well now we got full screen great okay yeah should be a little button just turn it off looks like I found you leave okay um at this point I've gone a little longer than expected um on item 2.3 the finance committee byw review um we we're going to review them and look because the bwar committee is in is currently active and so if we want to make any changes to it um are we gonna do that now um or should we do it I'm thinking I'm I've gone WR do you want me send you what I wanted to add yeah why don't you do that and I'll compile them and I didn't ask again we haven't really officially voted you as secretary either but um if you're will here the secet well she has been it's kind of like but we she she volunteered reluctantly oh she volunteered reluctantly but I guess I've been doing okay you've been doing fine and and that's the that's the piece it's kind of like so you know so and it's okay I'm okay with doing the minutes if you're okay with the minutes you're okay with the minutes did you did you put a value on your on your services when you read the B then it's kind of like because it says the only position that may be paid is secretary really I didn't read that it doesn't talk about in the M or anything I I guess I did read that I didn't say I wonder if I am you know can do it yes you can oh now she want to be secet well you could be Capital plan it's kind of like you you just don't represent and bring you you wouldn't report back to the finance committee it would come to car but you can can as a as a why I'm asking is because I'm more so other a few other committees that I have to do a disclaimer whatever we call all you want committees that might be presenting to um to only one oh not the C PL no absolutely not yeah so so okay do I have a conflict if I'm on other committees no not in not in like and and again if you are you either aain from a vote about that committee or you there are forms that we can fill out that identify the clct and they get signed off by town court and your your person I don't think I think what it was what I was thinking about was because I'm I get paid as an electric worker oh I Oh you mean if you get paid as an electure worker that's a conflict it can be oh I get paid as an we all do it's kind of like I don't okay we filled in a conflict of interest oh that's right um form for the elections did we did well you you haven't yet because you weren't on finance committee putting a budget for I didn't either because I wasn't on the committe so when we work on FY 26 budgets um we'll use the same form and format it it just identified my wife off work the polls so it's a but we're identifying the conflict because we're approving money for Budget that will'll pay the vote pay the election we get right now it's not a direct pay personto person position by position right it's an overall $4,000 for elections it's kind of like and the town clerk is responsible so we just identifi that we get a little excitement from the town for doing so we don't have to do this until the next bu right okay uh we'll probably do it when we start voting in March so we'll do we'll do yeah we'll do them in the March time getting so confused with all this disclosure Che okay okay so Sam's gone so um if everybody um okay so I'm G to recommend that we move the finance committee by review um if you have anything mail it to me I will make the updates identify um who made them and we'll go through next time and finish finish them up I only made a couple little notes um just to make sure um like I said I I identified I read it this time and it said the secretary could be a paid position and I never knew that well I guess I missed that one you miss that myx FYI and and so it was it was a total track that the other things were um especially when it came to the um appointment and um when it talks about filling vacancies we have an entry in the bylaws that has a little bit of a conflict with the charter um vacancy so we want just need to be sure that both are in are in sy so that those those that's what I've identified so far there wasn't too much I haven't been into anything else but um if anybody had has anything they they think needs to be in there get it to me we we'll review them in the next meeting and with all the changes compiled into into one and I can mail it even mail that out um and as we're talking about that you probably noticed that I BCC the blind CC everybody um so that we don't stop conversations back and forth um open meeting La requires the requirements so you've gone through the conflict of interest but probably not open read yet um open meeting law is like you can't have a quorum of finance committee members having chats in email or L on the street um VI is that the ethics um I don't know if it's ethics 100% or just open meeting it's not really ethics oh there's another one there's ethics there an open meeting open meeting they're separate and yeah conflict of interest um ethics and conflict of interest I think are the did take the open meeting to the usually has a conflict of interest in it right yeah so so I only mention that just um if we want to share emails and phone numbers we can but like I say i' I've got the emails and I usually just blind I send it to myself and then blind CC everybody else on it so that you can get it back to me if you have questions or answers something all right but the idea is that we can't as a group we can't be having email discussions because it's not open to everybody that they can see on on the yeah so so the the main thing to do in those situations is just to email you and say I'd like to talk to about this at the next meeting yeah and will you add it to the agenda and yeah y y okay okay so next 2.4 the current bva report a um so I gave everybody two what is the BBA um the big big thck book and what is [Music] what budget variance um oh here we go assessment assessment maybe yeah yeah budget variance assessment yeah and so it's it's been run for us when we look at the parameters it um on the top left it talks about being fiscal year 2024 and the start date was July 1st of 2023 to the end date of June 30th 2024 um and we'll just look at the Top Line the um they they have the numeric identifier and what you'll see is on the board of Selectmen the group is 122 so after there's a lot of numbers but we switched it the third and we'll see that the 122 is for everything in Border selectman um the Town Administrator the Top Line um they tell you the total expended for that time period so the 12 months we expended 13531 um the original budget for the line was 32,000 there were no adjustments to the line sometimes and when we when we move money and do a reserve frund transfer or the MTR um you'll see that the adjusted budget may be higher or lower depending on whether money was taken from the budget amount so then it gives you the year to date actual expended and then the unexpended and when you see the negative um and the percent of variance is the 102% so it was it was 2.93% over budget on that particular line now do we have the right so the 102 is the that percentage doesn't make sense to me okay because it seems like I'm I had a 132,000 budget it was off by 3 3800 yeah which is less than 10% but the percent variance is 102 oh okay so you went to 100 you went 2.93% over budget if you if you expended exactly it'll be 100 gotcha okay so basically it's saying it's 2.93% over correct okay yeah got it okay do we ask why or does that not an issue um with 3% maybe maybe not it's kind of like but when we look at this I can tell you that it was the difference of an interim being paid at the same time or in addition to the we had two we had two for a we paid salaries for a little while Eric left so we had paid Eric for whatever his his salary was to the point that he left and then we paid the interim out of the same line and so it went over so it sometimes there's question sometimes you know what's going on in town hall and and you can figure but that's where we're going to we're going to have those question we will have those questions um and so one of the things I want to start doing is inviting Nelson to these meetings and when we have questions inviting the department heads oh good idea good idea kind of like and we can start talking about them because as as we go um it's kind of like we will have we'll have some questions and we'll look at it some of them we may just send Nelson in an email and try to resolve it that way um but I wanted to give you everybody a full year FY 24 what it looked like if you go to the very last page that page and flip it over hang on because that's okay what we have to to do is come back just a little bit um she put some expense controls on the end it's it's going to be page 29 of 29 that's what they're looking for so it's about three pages back from the from the end of it 29 29 yeah 29 29 of 29 don't go all the way to the end oh 29 of 29 yeah 299 okay so the last line is the total the total because somebody asked me the question um so this the total budget on the on the year the original budget was 26 26,2 35,6 n44 and the total the the total expens was 269 26 m913 72 so leaving us in the unex unexpended balance over on that last column is $386,000 373 that would be the amount that we didn't spend on the total budget so that could be the amount we're going to get certified for free cash just strictly from the budget okay so that that money but that's not real money it's not real money yet it it was we we said our budget is 26 million in change we spent slightly under that so we had $386,000 that we budgeted for that we didn't spend spend and we don't get to use that money right away eventually the state basically will come back after looking at it and say okay now you have this money available Y and who gets to decide so the the town is the only one that can decide what to do with that money we can't we don't decide what to do we don't decide what to do with it we and and again we're talking about bwas maybe we say we would like to recommend in the B that we make recommendations on where that money goes so we don't make recommendations at this point um we don't at this point um that's usually the selectman and the Town Administrator that are that are doing it so to try give us a little more okay and now since we only have one selectman at the moment the selectman can't meet and and and make any recommendation about that is that is that correct that is correct okay it's kind of like so so this this this isn't a guaranteed number until the state guarantees it right and what the number is but this is the estimate from from you they're going to ask questions are there any outstanding bills are there anything that you haven't paid or there there's going to be questions and this may get impacted a little bit but probably not not more than $50,000 maybe and then the board SEL tells where it go they they will no they will create a warrant town has to vote on that the town has to vote on so it's ultimately the town has to vote this money and where it goes um but so so what happens so let's say they say Okay I want to allocate this money to X or even to X Plus y right and we go to the town meeting the town votes no now what happens it's free cash it it's still it's still sitting in your general fund okay but but it's not authorized to be spent anywhere it's not authorized to be spent anywhere but it's such a significant number and and what the Auditors have told us if we have things like this you you could maybe I mean ideally you can parket in stabilization funds and put it into an account that's going to get a it's a highin um yielding savings account or CD they um they've they've gotten a little more flexible with with where you where you can put it and to try to get a little more um interest higher interest on it um but that that might be an alternative warrant I mean it seems like yeah I mean it seems like you want to say put put that in the stabilization put it in stabilization in case or put it you know if if it is if it is the there put it to the paving the put it to the paving plane put it oh to the road paving po holes yeah kind of um and that's the piece it's kind of like so um and when I read the paving plan when I look at the paving plan when when is present prepared by the um Highway Department is supposed to be presented to board of selectman and finance committee and we come up with they wa to fund it um they they had identified that certain amount of money be taken from excise tax to it 50,000 50,000 but increasing 50,000 every year we haven't done anything we haven't done that so it's kind of like um and then there was supposed to be X member of dollars from free cash so let's get back to the pavement Management program and and see if there's you know we're going to have to run a tight budget this year very tight I think two and a half is it right yeah it's kind of like so yeah I mean having having extra money is zero right now free free um is is not free cash is not a a a recurring Revenue right it it's unspent revenue from recurring so it's kind of like so you don't want to fund your budget with it except maybe snowex you know that's that's a place where i' say it's okay to use that this is for things if if Town Hall needs a new roof maybe that's you know things things like that so it's kind of like so that plan um that again when I talk it could be that we take take it and allocate it to Capital planning and capital planning approves that so yeah it's kind of like so this this could be and with capital planning we have some big purchases coming up um we did the do two dump last year um we approved the the new fire trucks two new fire trucks I believe two years ago have they come in yet I don't think they've come in yet but we have to have that that's something we we really need do we have the money to pay for them good question so so if we V them I hope we can pay for them so the pieces with that when we have Capital planning is we have to see do we recommend the bond to go out and finance them with with the bond so what's the fire truck a half a million dollars e easily it could be 750 yeah it's they're very expensive and they don't you can't just go in and get a fire truck you you order it like two or three years so he I think he ordered three years in advance so to to hang on to the price so that because if you if I went today oh yeah it's already gone to the ones they being replaced um tra in value there's either a trade in value or you sell them on the use Market because sometimes it's hard to get a hold of of things and and there might be smaller towns that want to want to buy a used the last ones I believe were almost scrapped by the time we finished working um but that that had to be they sure look good yeah the new ones the new ones do but the ones that were that they they repl they yeah they were I just had a question excise tax does is is that not just go to the highway department no no no that go that money goes into the general fund it does why did I always say the excise tax roads and bridges yeah would make sense oh okay go general fund and then to come out of the general fund to go to the highway department um okay sorry and I was just going to jump back um again the second line on the board of select on on the first page the community services coordinator yes again we um the the line number is different because it's a different position so you'll see it's still in department 122 but this one is line 5110 um we allocated $10,000 in that budget last year and you'll see that $0 was actually expended and so there was still $10,000 that's good so because that's proper money see and that shouldn't have been money oh that's the oper money not not specifically that salary line is much higher than $10,000 oper paid all of it and that's so oper paid the whole thing we were trying to build in to this that we were finding a way to fund these positions with I thought you weren't suppos to do funds for positions well exactly the problem yes we yes ex where did that come from now it wasn't from so yeah we'll get to that too we we we will get to that because as as we build out five years um I talked about oper and its whole life cycle opa's life cycle is starting to come to the end the oper money has to be ated with quotes by the end of December of this year if you don't have your all of your proper money allocated and with an appropriate quote for a service and it can't just say oh I'm going to use it for this you actually have to have the quote and the amount that it's going to be and we that has that's December 31st of this year it h it the money will go away the following year de December of 2027 which is halfway through the year and that's when you have to be able to pick up all of the money there's a lot of money in that there's a lot of there's still a lot of money on oper but there's less positions being being funded by the oper today when you say positions you're talking about employment position employment positions but there's other things that arer is used for there is a ton of other things that oper is used for I thought it was always supposed to be used for like fixing things that was at different times it was different things we have somebody at there additional meals at Council on Aging you'll see that one okay okay that's fine the Outreach coordinator was to try to help people in need at the time so timing wise was that but the whole Opera money has its whole life cycle that is is here but now that you have the position you have it here see to me if you if you didn't have the money to begin with to hire somebody and up funds is a limited it's not should hire somebody hire them temporarily that right you you should have you know maybe through a temp agency maybe you know whatever whatever that cycle was but um it was presented at town meeting it it came in at 0 it looked good to everybody because the budget was the budget was there and it all voted through um it wasn't clearly it wasn't made clear that this is the line that we're going to have to pick up on the other side of our so the communication I'm hearing that the communication system between the different departments and the board of selectman and the people I think is perfect yep yep and which we want to try to improve that um you know some of the some of the graphs showing the things that I was talking about it it's kind of like again go back and look at a 2020 annual report and see the charts and graphs and what we reported versus what we report now and like it is significantly racking how we do it today so we need like an overhaul I think we need we need an overhaul and and an update and again that I I call it the picture because if you can show it in graphs you can you can see things because that picture of what our economic position is and how we're going to recover and move forward is is very important so it's how did we get here and and where do we want to go forward because if we're talking about cutting positions cutting hours we we have to there there's lots of different things with that if it's if it's eliminating whole positions now we're looking at the way we fund our unemployment we have to pick up the whole unemployment for that person we don't pay into the pool like like the regular people do like yeah like regular businesses do we we pick up the whole tab so how but what's the term on that though I mean there's always that the term is like 18 months 12 months um it had been 39 weeks for a while it originally Massachusetts with with with Co and everything else there was there was lots of different things it went from 26 to 30 to 52 back to 39 I don't know if it if it reverted back to 26 weeks I thought it was a lot more I thought it was I can ask my daughter she just got laid off she it's again it's kind of like you know but that's knowledge you got to have to make the right decision exactly you know it's kind of like but you probably going to have to wind up paying some because pay something we're not going to be able to afford these that's right that that then you have to see what longm yeah long term so so you know those those are the pieces we have you know what whatever the and and you can calculate the costs what they are and know know what the budget lines that are going to and then you have to explain that to the voters right yeah right so that's that's those are the whole pieces you know if it's us getting it and it was something I thought I didn't think it used to come from the from the finance committee but I want it to because we we are supposed to be the voice we're here we're seeing it we need we need to and we are the advisory I mean we're the advisory and instead of being just a sheet voting yes or no I want to I want to try to paint that bigger picture this you know sort of like they doing the ballot questions s of um country or the state little red I had considered that yeah I like that that's a great the pros and cons of doing some you know it's kind of like it's it's work but you know if if you like it we can you know we can keep try I think we should try I mean we'll talk about it but I think that's I think it's great as a as a voter I think it's really and I also think that um the TV show yeah but but do it peol has just done one recently a financial um presentation um you know what the budget is how you know all all the different terms I mean I'm sure you're hearing just what you're telling us here tonight I think is huge knowledge right that the average voter doesn't have right yeah right I mean the only the only the only problem with that I mean it's a good idea but if we put out a schedule saying on this date at this time we're going to do this presentation I wonder how many people would actually get to show up you put on YouTube and then they can go and see it then they can go and see it yeah are September 17th meeting has 13 views 13 we have to bring those ratings out I mean you can at least get feedback from YouTube of how many how many so that that was a piece okay so that that was DBA um I did give you one a single sheet for this one sheet yeah the one sheet I wanted to do very similar um that when we look at the top is fisal year 2025 it start date is 71 2024 and it end date is June of 2025 um this is just for one month this is three months this it's three months this is July through the end of September and you know that because um be um because of the the run date um oh it's it's in oh September 1st yeah up at the top at the very segment that's segment one segment oh segment I thought it September never mind yeah the filter says oh no segment yeah now you got me right let's put it this way I I when I asked for the report I knew it was I asked for the through the end of September and because she put the end date for the next June it as much as the end dat's out there there's nothing Beyond September Okay so but if this is truly three months oh no it's three months the Town Administrator is should be like 25% it's only 88.9% okay very good now what I'm going to tell you is to look at two three four five sixth line five Fifth Line temporary he yeah look at that okay yeah that's not good oh they relate to each other oh because you're saying we had a we had a temporary Town Administrator months and he his last day was the end of August okay so in in the past and what we have done is paid them out of the Town Administrator line right so I would move a bulk of that money into the Town Administrator line and get both of them close to 25% yeah because was so again this is just ident you know it it's one example of how you can measure where you are and ask the questions this doesn't make sense now in on the bottom line the sub total you'll see that the total of group three says personnel and it's the uh bold number and so for the Personnel expenses they've gone to 20.59% of the budget in the first three months so ultimately that's really what they're trying to capture is Personnel is staying within budget but we really shouldn't be going that negative on a line they that to me looks like okay so in other words the 24550 should be with the 12,19 um or some portion of it some portion of it a good a good portion of it because Ross is also on contract for the electrical aggregate so he's still doing some of the work for the electrical aggregate progr so so now are the election workers in that number no the election workers um back to the big piure the big the big one M um Town Park is to cler group 160 no yeah code 160 to clerk yeah to Clark is gonna have quite a few um because she runs the office oh I see we want actually 162 the next group on the next page Town town okay reg elections and reg yeah oh I see okay yeah have to whole different that's not temporary help that okay yeah it's not fulltime help but yeah it's kind of like and you can see that we're not paying an individual position it's just overall this is we budgeted 8,000 and last year we paid 882 that probably has a little bit to do with all the special elections that we had to hold yes yeah and recounts and you you it's kind of like there were a couple of recounts last right right it's kind of yep yep so and so in this year we've already had what did we have two one election this year only or was it two we had the one the special town meeting we had the special town meeting we had right the the July was the July election the special election in July or was that in June I think that was June we did there was a recount and there was a recount recount was in was election an election and then so do we get any money for the from the state for like the primary election and the general election um we we get money for the early voting and the mail I believe so so after after they compile the hours that were spent on on each one so the day of voting I think is paid to okay so let me ask this question why didn't we do the special selectman vote on the same day as the general election I can tell you okay okay because it would be too confusing because we have early voting we have absentee voting you people would have to get in two different lines and vote twice it just makes it too confusing because all youd have the main ballot is two-sided the other bot is just one one question right but if you were trying you can't you can't hand out two ballots at one time you have to hand out so it's and that's is that a a state law or uh I don't know if it's state law or not but you have to keep your you have to keep your absentee valids and your early vote valids separate from your absentee bads from the other election it would just get two it's too close right and and I thought it would had something to do with the dates and pulling the papers too that they couldn't get it onto the you had to get a certain number of days in advance to pull their papers get them signed get them back in they have dat that they can withraw they have to certify all the signatures to certify all the signature and then there's the withdrawal date which is so that's probably that's probably the primary reason it's not a different date is the fact that you had to have that time timeline timeline like I said you you it it's not committee s sounds like numbers but you end up right because you because we sit there and say well why are we spending this extra money and then and then someone tells us why I wasna say when we were talking about 182 warrant and we mentioned it a couple of times we put it on the list and somebody was proposing that we put it into the low income P or the income housing tool um and one of the questions was well if we put it there we're not going to get as much money because it's not going to sellers at as high a value as it could but our numbers for the state below income housing is low we need to build it up oh so had so there's an opportunity we're selling a piece of property to put to to do two things one put it back on the roles and two being compliance with the state try try to get closer you know so it it's kind of like sometimes it's it's a balance and and yeah it' be nice to get full value and and get a full piece but we're trying to fight some of and I'm not saying fight we we're trying to work with with all the other members and measures that that we have okay um I had put sorry it's kind of like any any other questions about bb or there'll be more questions after you look at it I'm sure um I will I will get you my battery just ran out so okay I I did I did get um a copy of the bbas I got them in Excel um and so I'm working with the treasurer right now to to try to to work it um because what you end up with if you put it into an Excel file and you send it out somebody changes one of the original cells oh oh it's kind of like so I'm working with her to say freeze it block it so no nobody can change it if you're going to work you create another worksheet and work it work it separate um so I I've created that I created a couple so we can we can go in and look at it and I'm identifying I can identify some things on it and it's kind of like and so we can work with with her and one of the things that and we just saw it the um admin Town Administrator salary um if we go the Town the the library create a new position for assistant director all of the money for that is still there they haven't paid the salary they're getting paid out of the children's um line and that Line's going negative because we didn't put any money in it this year so it's kind of like so they created a new position but everything every warrant that theyve signed to pay is out of the old account not the new account so this it the spreadsheets can show you some some things where you need need that so it's kind of it's early on and and it's a good time to see it so I'll get those out to you just so you can see what we can start start having some questions um okay um if there's no other questions I'll just get into the correspondence which I have listed as the North Middle sex Regional School District meeting that they had originally requested for October 1st um I just received email from Nelson and they're moving it to November 18th November 18 18th November 18th do we attend that high school um you you are welcome to attend um at the high school it yeah at the high school it is all town uh my understanding is that he was inviting some uh State reps and maybe even the uh US senator to the meeting for the presentation Elizabeth you think she's going I heard Mar I heard and what and what is the what is the purpose of this meeting this is this is an all meeting to present what their budget like percent of budget plan basically to to start talking because um the schools are a big big part heard mention the 60% what time that meeting uh 6' I think it was 6 I I'll get it out for sure but um but it is kind of um so this is an invitation to to have the start of the talks of what is BU what the budget for the schools it's going to look like for next year um and yeah it well this his the I know he's not going to want to hear it um no but but we've already sent him a letter that three town um Town administrators along with the um select board chairs sent them a letter that that suggested um they can't afford the the amounts that we've been paying in the past Sway and and as much as they try to empty accounts this year to get the budget to balance um the claim is it's the unfunded mandates and the transportation that are Transportation terrible right it's kind of so mandates that when you don't have any free enterprise I I did go to a meeting that representative together and they brought Jessie out which is the um program that was the people and Department responsible for setting the Chapter 70 numbers and so to me that's a big piece is they seem to be on two different pages on how the how what we're paying per student versus what desie is saying is the amount per student that should be required so it's kind of like if we start talking about where where is that difference coming from how come we're so much higher than what Desi is and he can ident you know and those places can be identified that are causing us to have such an increase in overage on that we might have a start at at at I mean if we can get our legislates to appropriate the money well wasn't that the deal originally when we became a Regional School I mean how can they promise or what how am I asking it's not they bigger questions how how can they fund free Community College when they're not fully funding K to tr right how can you have to be 26 years old free Community College yeah and it's a state and for some reason it's a state program but you have to be 26 years old because I was thinking I'm going to get children in college I this is great no there's always there's always a cave well but but they came up with some money for for paying freey college for somebody it's kind of like so exactly you know it's kind of like but yet we're not fully funding K through2 yet yeah or one through2 if they don't massetts through 12 so what I think one of the things i' like to know is what were those promises back in [Music] well well because I did go on representative scale's website what did she say something about the state is legally Bound for those unfunded dollars if if if appropriated so if they're never appropriated then they never then they're never legally bound so my question I was going to go ask her well who appropriates you as a legislature you collectively should be forcing that appropriation and not voting for a budget that doesn't have the Appropriations in there right but but that's but that was the caveat I said Son of there's always yeah the small print yeah V has consequences interesting so we can go with our questions at this High School right yeah October but I didn't know that about the uh free um the Community College college yeah report might and yeah say I'm waiting for another bill to see what this is interesting so there is an dialogue opportunity between the school and the towns of course so you can tell them that's it guys we're but we're we're trying but you know like this year it was 6.9% on increase now one of the things that we haven't mentioned they bar they had five bargaining units with that they just signed new contracts with this year yeah they did so that's that exp we don't know what's in those contracts it's kind of like but they had five bargaining units that they would be a I don't know so just just to throw that piece of increases we have tell to go back and redo it you're deal you're dealing with organizations that have a guaranteed 2.5% increase on their on their tax Bas plus correct if you're negotiating anything different than two and a half% it's not you know it's not on us it's kind well one would think it wouldn't be on us I mean if the ceiling is 2.5 the ceiling for us is 2.5 unless we vote on override it's kind of like but if that's the parameter shouldn't shouldn't they build that into the contract no I me I mean the same the same would hold true for us because we're we're voting two 2% steps and and 2% Co so we're we're at 4% with our town employees so right now so it's it's 4% so it's not two and a half 2 and a half is a is a guideline for for where your Revenue you can increase your payroll numbers but you then have to decrease expense numbers find anothers that are more I mean you can't I mean you know you can't I mean that's what the union are there for to get as much money as they can I know you know it's the old days where you were losing your fingers because you were in sowing machine you need different now well yeah I know child labor laws okay so um I can see um I said identify activities for the for us to do in the fall but we I think we'll just continue as trying to be education go over the bu think that's very important joh this is very I think it's great what you're doing and um then set our next meeting date and time and I did not and when you say activities um well we we had talked about doing the B about doing doing and putting B checks and balance monitoring yeah checks and balance monitoring the procedures for the reserve fund request um I standardizing the um transfer relief I mean some of that's that's what I meant just try to capture those okay and so got them captur it I I have something in the back of my mind and I haven't thrown it out yeah um it's kind of um when we look at the board of Selectmen they they take their board and they divide it up and they have a liazon to each correct of the department I was debating if we want to do that and like have a then one of us has a one-on-one with fire police Library whatever it oh um you want to take fire from a budgeting perspective you're thinking from from a budgeting perspective and working so that so that we if there's a question we're on top we're on top of it might be able to answer it without getting excellent asking question I love that yes I it hasn't been done but if the if select board is doing it I think I it it was just in my mind so I why should there be any secrets yeah right it and I first couple of times I did it there was questions I had on the library and so I called up and I made an appointment and I went up and they weren't quite sure what to expect somebody from the finance committee is coming in like and it was just about trying to get clarity on their on on their numbers that they put together on on the labor it's kind of like and and so it became collaborative it was not it was not combative or anything else exactly because you're trying to go for the attack the same problem yeah trying to help them help them help you help help them because I'll tell you one of the ones that I I my questions on so maybe I take it is fire what's their fiveyear plan fight because they have a chief that is getting a salary that's half of what a standard Chief so gets plenty of money from the town and other other avenues I'm so happy you said that night I know Hees because he did the whole sewer project on South Row Road he got all the money from that so um but you know it and that's the thing it's kind of like what what are the plans it's kind of like and what your future look like it's kind of like and there's no reason why this isn't all fully disclosed right there should be no secrets on this exactly for all the department but that's yeah yeah exactly so you know and maybe some of the department need help you know maybe maybe maybe they do and maybe they don't you know at least they can have a face onto the onto the board so okay well that's something we'll I'm all I'm all of that okay it's good you you you have list of department in their budget yeah if you find one or two you want it's kind of like we can come up with we can come up with the list and assign names to it we get people to volunteer who they want to go see right yeah right yeah okay so we we'll do that and so I guess do we want to meet again for education in two weeks or do we want to go out I like the idea of the education for the first two I won't be here the week of the 27th okay um so the 27th to November 1st I Thanksgiving week no no no that's two weeks two weeks October I won be here no I won't be here from 27th of October to the beginning of that Friday that Sunday okay the 27th to the following Sunday whatever that is so that's the last week in October right so then the fifth is um the fifth is voting voting so that's out so the week after what day is the town election the um 16th Saturday Saturday it's on Saturday so do we always do it on Tuesday nights is that um we we have been um and where you said you're working um I I don't think you're working Mary J are you on Tuesday nights on T just Tuesdays if we were to move it to four oh I could do four no I could I do work but I'm flexible if you can't make for it that's fine it's kind of like um we done yes yes my wife won't let me retire yet I pay my daughter's last tuition bill in December but she won't let me quit um so do you work in town no no no I work in uh when I work in Andover so it takes me getting here by 4 o' now I mean I could probably do five um okay and again if we this we start kind so are we gonna do you want to do November 12th is that is that um I think I think that works November 12th um yeah because the first would normally um okay yes that will work because the Selectmen won't be appointed yet they'll be worth meeting the next week on the 19th okay I'll that's right to okay so that works yeah okay and so we'll just set it one one meeting at a time for now sure I think so because the holidays are coming and election is coming yeah quid election so what is Terry allowed to do is the only select right now nothing correct she can she can have informational meetings she can meet with Town's people and get their input but as her select board and doing doing and can can she meet with departments with committees and departments to get information from them as well yeah she as as as she yeah what what she can't do is is make motions and you can't vote yeah that's I don't think she's probably not in the mood to do anything yeah um you yep um that's it we we are at the end motion of the night I'll make a motion that the meeting Beed Dave second Jerry okay5 822 do you want to tell um we we will he'll um so we had we had the motion in a second and so um both yes yes Carol Hoff says yes Dave Walker yes yes um we standed at 82