Budget and Finance Subcommittee

By City Clerk at 11:31 am, Nov 28, 2022 City of Amesbury Office of the City Clerk 62 Friend St. Amesbury, MA 01913 City Council Budget & Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 18, 2022, at 7:30 PM Councilor Stanganelli filled in for Councilor Jon Hickok as Chair in his absence. He called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Roll call was taken and present were Councilor Deschenes and Councilor Stanganelli. Minutes for Approval- September 20, 2022 Councilor Deschenes moved to approve the minutes of September 20, 2022. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 voting members present). Communications and Updates: • Chief Financial Officer, Marisa Batista said that the free cash had been certified, the audit had started on Monday, and talked about other various updates. • Councilor Deschenes said he had confidence in Ms. Batista’s numbers. • Councilor Stanganelli asked about free cash and whether a Councilor could sponsor a bill to spend free cash. Ms. Batista said that she was not sure. Public Comment- There was no one to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. 2022-125 An Order to authorize the Mayor to expend a FY22 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Spending Bill Earmark in the amount of $75,000 to hire a consultant to inventory and prepare an operation and maintenance plan for Amesbury’s open space and natural resources. – Mayor Sponsor • Chair of the Open Space Committee, Jonathan Sherwood spoke about the order. He said that last winter, the Open Space Committee was asked to put together a working group to make recommendations to the city on how they could improve land and resource management. Mr. Sherwood said they met and made recommendations to the Mayor for how they thought the City could use the money. He said they lack planning and information, for example, we are lacking deed and property information for some of the properties in the City. He talked about some of the other goals of the Committee which include some human resource needs. • Chief of Staff, Ann Marie Casey said this money would go towards a consultant for 12-18 months. • Councilor Stanganelli said people were requesting to take down trees and asked if this work would be able to help with identifying ownership of trees and help solve these issues. Mr. Sherwood said that it would and would help with the chain of authority. Councilor Deschenes moved to send 2022-125 back to the full City Council with a positive recommendation. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 members present). Councilor Deschenes moved to take items 2022-138 and 2022-139 out of order. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 voting members present). 2022-138 An Order to fund the employment agreement between the City of Amesbury and the Amesbury Superior Officers Union, I.B.P.O., Local 99-629 dated July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025. -Mayor Sponsor • Chief of Police, Craig Bailey thanked the administration and various others for helping with the negotiation process. He said out of all of the unions in Amesbury, the Police were the first two to be completed. He welcomed questions. • Councilor Stanganelli asked how close the Police and the administration with the negotiating were. The Chief said “lightyears apart” but were comparable to other communities. He asked what has changed in the contracts. Chief Bailey said the things that cost the most were the cost of living and step increases. He talked about some of the various changes. • Councilor Wheeler talked about the salary reserve and asked for updates as it is being spent and where additional sources of funding would be coming from. He talked about some of the amendments and wanted a copy of the old contract. The Chief said he would provide some of the information. Councilor Deschenes moved to send 2022-138 back to the full City Council with a positive recommendation. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 members present). 2022-139 An Order to fund the employment agreement between the City of Amesbury and the Amesbury Patrol Officers Union, I.B.P.O., Local 629 dated July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025. -Mayor Sponsor • Chief of Police, Craig Bailey said this was similar to the other order. He said that there are multiple unions within the Police department. • The Committee had no questions. Councilor Deschenes moved to send 2022-139 back to the full City Council with a positive recommendation, providing the Chief provide additional information at the City Council meeting. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 members present). 2022-126 An Order to authorize the Mayor to accept and expend a grant in the amount of $15,000 from the Amesbury Health Care Charitable Trust (AHCCT) for the Amesbury Carriagetown Connector project. – Mayor Sponsor • Chief of Staff, Ann Marie Casey said this is the Health Care Trust’s contribution to the Carriagetown Connector project. She said it is Chapter 90 money. Councilor Deschenes moved to send 2022-126 back to the full City Council for their October 25th meeting with a positive recommendation. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 members present). 2022-127 An Order to authorize the Mayor to accept and expend funding provided by a Consent Decree for Shea Concrete Products, Inc. Case No. 1:21-cv-10561 in the amount of $32,500. – Mayor Sponsor  • Councilor Stanganelli asked what the total cost of the project is. Ann Marie Casey said that Rob Desmarais is waiting to complete the project and that the funds have already been deposited. She said she isn’t sure of the total cost. Councilor Deschenes moved to send 2022-127 back to the full City Council for their October 25th meeting with a positive recommendation. He asked that the DPW Director be present at the City Council meeting be present to answer questions. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 members present). 2022-134 An Order for the Amesbury City Council to vote to accept Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 41, section 110A: Office hours on Saturday. -Mayor Sponsor • City Clerk, Amanda Haggstrom explained the order to the Committee. Councilor Deschenes moved to send 2022-134 back to the full City Council for their October 25th meeting with a positive recommendation. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 members present). 2022-135 An Order to approve payment from the FY23 general fund operating budget for the below listed prior year invoices. -Mayor Sponsor • Councilor Stanganelli asked why the invoices came after the end of the fiscal year. Ms. Casey addressed some of the issues and why the invoices were not paid in the prior fiscal year. Councilor Deschenes moved to send 2022-135 back to the full City Council for their October 25th meeting with a positive recommendation. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 members present). 2022-136 An Order to authorize a transfer of $2,000 from Conservation Commission Salaries & Wages to Conservation Commission Other Expenses. -Mayor Sponsor • Chief of Staff, Ann Marie Casey said this is needed to pay for a board secretary, who is a vendor, not an employee. Councilor Deschenes moved to send 2022-136 back to the full City Council for their October 25th meeting with a positive recommendation. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 members present). 2022-137 An Order to authorize a transfer of $5,000 from Department of Public Works Salaries & Wages to Department of Public Works Other Expenses. -Mayor Sponsor • Chief of Staff, Ann Marie Casey said this is an administrative transfer to cover training lines. Councilor Deschenes moved to send 2022-137 back to the full City Council for their October 25th meeting with a positive recommendation. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 members present). 2022-140 An Order to appropriate $355,121.34 from free cash for the purpose of funding old permanent fund deficits ($289,284.20) and deficits in liability accounts ($65,837.14). -Mayor Sponsor  • Chief Financial Officer, Marisa Batista said that this is a result of some reconciliations that she’s been working on to close fiscal year 2022 and to certify the free cash. She said she came across some funds that have permanent deficits and they have not had any activity in two years. She talked about the process for these sitting on the books and about some of the funds that were in the deficit. • Councilor Stanganelli asked if these deficits were all from the previous administration. Ms. Batista said yes. • Councilor Deschenes said that based on the previous administrations track record, they new CFO may find more deficits. Councilor Deschenes moved to send 2022-140 back to the full City Council for their October 25th meeting with a positive recommendation. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 members present). Councilor Deschenes moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:22. He was seconded by Councilor Stanganelli. The motion passed unanimously (2 voting members present). Respectfully submitted, October 18, 2022