Budget and Finance Subcommittee

RECEIVED By Amanda at 9:59 am, 3/25/21 AMESBURY CITY HALL 62 Friend Street Amesbury, MA 01913 City Council Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Tuesday, January 26, 2021, Immediately Following Special City Council Meeting Virtual Meeting **This meeting was not posted online, it was time stamped more than 48 hours prior and was able to be viewed in the Clerk’s Office. All recommendations are unofficial. Finance Committee Chairman Stanganelli called the meeting to order at 7:20 PM. Roll Call was taken and present were: Councilor Stanganelli, Councilor Wheeler, Councilor Gilday, Councilor Hogg, Councilor Kisieleski, Councilor Lennon, Councilor Mandeville, Councilor Rinaldi and Councilor Einson Minutes for Approval: November 24, 2020 & December 22, 2020  Councilor Einson motioned to accept the November 24, 2020 minutes pending the correction of Councilor Stanangelli’s title. Councilor Lennon seconded this motion. Roll call was taken 9 out of 9 members voted yes. Motion passed.  Councilor Mandeville motioned to accept the December 22, 2020 minutes as presented. Councilor Lennon seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 9 out of 9 members voted yes. Motion passed. Finance Committee Schedule for Approval:  Councilor Lennon motioned to accept the 2021 Finance Committee Schedule as presented. Councilor Hogg seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 9 out of 9 members voted yes. Motion passed. Communications & Updates:  CFO Angel Wills began the updates by saying there was only $9,000.00 left in the snow and ice budget.  She stated Rob Desmarais informed her it costs about $6,500.00 an hour for salting/sanding and snow removal.  She began her update about the Cannabis Local Community Host Agreement Distribution for calendar year 2020. The City received the first annual 3% equaling $268,000.00. She stated this was from the medical sales from September and recreational sales from last February.  The first quarterly 3% distribution from the state was also taken in equaling $35,000.00  Angel Stated, between the two cannabis excise taxes, the City budgeted $130,000.00 for FY21 and as of January 2021, the City has received $438,000.00.  Councilor Stanganelli posed the question of where might one find a copy of the Community Host Agreement as well as how the funds are to be distributed to different sectors of the community.  Councilor Wheeler commented that he believed the impact tax and the host agreement were two separate payments and it was either one or the other not both, concluding he would also like to know where the Community Host Agreement could be found. Public Comment:  There was one public comment from, Mel Webster stating it is great news about the cannabis tax revenue, the rainy day fund needs to be “beefed up” and look at starting to fund the trust fund. 1 Administrative Notes:  Councilor Stanganelli commented that moving into budget season, he would like to begin look at will be to start reviewing city license and impact fees and other such things.  He also mentioned he would like to have a running tab on the cost of funding the new AES. 2021-003  Chief of Staff, Paul Fahey, began commenting about this bill had been previously discussed in the January 19, 2021 Ordinance Committee meeting and some concerns; o Whether or not the trust was recorded o Whether KP Law had reviewed the trust  Councilor Mandeville directed a question to Paul Fahey, asking what the financial impact of this trust is. o Paul Fahey explained his does not believe there will be any financial impacts outside of the trust. The board would be made of volunteers. He will get more information from Angela Cleveland and pass it on to Council before the next meeting. Council Mandeville motions to send order 2021-003 back to City Council with a positive recommendation. Councilor Gilday seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 9 out of 9 members voted yes. Motion passed. 2021-004  Deputy Chief Bailey commented that the Municipal Road Safety Program Grant is $19,546.00 total. o $9,718.00 will be going towards equipment.  Out of the $9,718.00, $8,470.00 will be going towards pole mounted radar speed signs. The remaining $1,248.00 will go towards hand held radar. o $9,828.00 will be going to Over Time that will be divided into 5 enforcement periods over the next year.  2 for impaired driving  2 for distracted driving  1 “Click it or Ticket”  1 Speed enforcement period  Councilor Stanganelli asked if there is a matching grant requirement o Deputy Chief Bailey answered by saying no, there is not. He explained this is a grant that the police get every year and use every year with no match required from the City of Amesbury. *Please see bottom of minutes for full document of Municipal Road Safety Program Grant* Councilor Lennon motioned to send order 2021-004 back to City Council with a positive recommendation. Councilor Einson seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 9 out of 9 members voted yes. Motion passed. 2021-005  Please note that VFD stands for Variable Fan Drive.  Chief of Staff, Paul Fahey, confirmed there is no match required by the City.  Councilor Wheeler announce his concern about the Direct Digital Control (DDC) on the roof of the Cashman School because, he said, there has been talk of re-doing the roof and he does not want to see the $32,340.00 go to waste in a few years. o Paul Fahey replied to the Councilor he will get that information before the next meeting, and if he cannot gather it he will contact Matt Bennet and ask him to attend the meeting. Council Wheeler motioned to send order 2021-005 back to City Council with a positive recommendation subject to answering the question pertaining to the Cashman School. Councilor Lennon seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 9 out of 9 members voted yes. Motion passed. 2021-006  Chief Financial Officer, Angel Wills, stated that the reason the funds were being transferred from the reserve fund was because all revenue is general revenue unless dictated by a specific statute, so the funds from the up-front payment of $6,700.00 had to go into the general fund and be transferred to pay for the Rocky Hill Road traffic calming measures.  Councilor Lennon asked about a timeline. o DPW Director, Rob Desmarais, replied by saying it will take place in the spring, and take two days to complete. Councilor Gilday motioned to send order 2021-006 back to City Council with a positive recommendation. Councilor Lennon seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 9 out of 9 members voted yes. Motion passed. 2021-007  Paul Fahey explained how this was an oversight within the last budget. Councilor Einson motioned to send order 2021-007 back to City Council with a positive recommendation. Councilor Mandeville seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 8 out of 9 members voted yes. 1 member abstained (Councilor Wheeler). Motion passed. 2021-021  Chief Financial Officer, Angel Wills, explained the City is allowed to deficit spend as long as the City Council votes for the same or greater appropriations than the previous fiscal year. Councilor Rinaldi motioned to send order 2021-021 back to City Council with a positive recommendation. Councilor Mandeville seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 9 out of 9 members voted yes. Motion passed. 2021-022  Chief of Staff, Paul Fahey, informed the Council this is a topic that Angela Cleveland would be answering questions on if she were in attendance to the meeting, however if there are any questions that cannot be immediately answered at this time, they will be addressed before or at the next meeting.  In lieu of neither Robert Desmarais nor Angela Cleveland being in attendance of the meeting to discuss this order, Chairman Stanganelli requested they attend the upcoming City Council meeting for discussion at that time.  Chairman Stanganelli asked Paul Fahey, for the record, if there is a matching amount for this grant. o Paul Fahey replied, no there is not.  Councilor Gilday informed the Council there was a page on the City’s website outlining the plans of this grant. You can find this page by going to https://www.amesburyma.gov/home/news/amesbury-receives-shared-streets-spaces-grant Councilor Lennon motioned to return order 2021-022 back to City Council with a positive recommendation. Councilor Hogg seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 9 out of 9 members voted yes. Motion passed. 2021-024  Chief of Staff, Paul Fahey, discussed how this grant could either be amended to be approved for the full five year amount or continue approval process every year.  Councilor Wheeler stated that the $125,000.00 would not be a cash out every year, it would be offset by employee labor salaries.  Councilor Gilday would like to draft amended language to the order clarifying, in layman’s terms, the expenditure of the $125,000.00, how it is not a check that is being written out but being accumulated by existing staff member’s time via salaries.  Councilor Lennon explained she was curious as to why the Youth Recreation staff were the only one’s chosen to serve as the employees for the match and why the fire department, the police department, school resource officers, veteran services, and other social outreach services the City provides have not been tapped in. o Paul Fahey replied by saying he will have the Mayor follow up on that inquiry.  Councilor Wheeler informed the Council that the school resource officers were included in the grant.  Chairman Stanganelli noted that having sit in on Essex County asset builder meetings, he believes the program is doing great things for the community. He also believes the City will be able to collect the resources for program through the cannabis sales tax and impact fees.  Chairman Stanganelli opened the floor for any concerns and comments to bring back to the City Council at their next meeting: o Councilor Lennon pointed out the total salary portion of the match time would equate to $76,000.00. She would like more in depth information about personnel assignments. Councilor Wheeler motioned to send order 2021-024 back to council with a positive recommendation pending receipt of clarification regarding additional match requirements of both staff hours, the fringe benefits and other costs that need to be expended. Councilor Hogg seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 8 out of 9 members voted yes. One member voted no (Councilor Lennon). Motion passed. Councilor Rinaldi motioned to adjourn the City Council Finance Committee. Councilor Lennon seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 9 out of 9 members voted yes. Motion passed. Adjourn, 8:48PM Respectfully Submitted, Eleanor Andersen March 10th, 2021