Town Council - Ways & Means Committee

MEMBERS Braintree Town Council Meredith Boericke, Chairwoman Committee of Ways & Means Charles Ryan, Vice-Chair One JFK Memorial Drive Donna Connors, Member Braintree, Massachusetts 02184 Julia Flaherty, Member Steven Sciascia, Member MINUTES Wednesday, May 13, 2020 A meeting of the Committee of Ways & Means was held Remote via Zoom Webinar, on Wednesday, May 13, 2020 at 6:00p.m. Councilor Boericke was in the Chair. Clerk of the Council, Susan M. Cimino conducted the roll call. All votes were taken by Roll Call Vote. Present: Meredith Boericke, Chairwoman Charles Ryan, Vice-Chair Donna Connors, Member arrived @6:07pm Julia Flaherty, Member Steven Sciascia, Member Also Present: Nicole Taub, Chief of Staff Ed Spellman, Finance Director Shawn McGoldrick, Town Auditor Michelle Resendes, Business Manager - Blue Hills Regional High School Jill Rossetti, Superintendent - Blue Hills Regional High School Approval of Minutes • None No Minutes were approved this evening. Old Business • None May 13, 2020 Ways & Means Committee 1 of 4 New Business • 20 038 Mayor: FY2021 Operating Budget or take up any action relative thereto Chairwoman Boericke asked if there was a Motion to take off the table Order 20 038. Councilor Ryan made a motion to take off the table Order 20 038. Motion: by Councilor Ryan to take off the Table Order 20 038 Second: by Councilor Flaherty Roll Call Vote: For (5–Boericke, Connors, Flaherty, Ryan, Sciascia), Against (0), Absent (0), Abstain (0) The following Departments were in attendance to present their proposed FY2021 Budget: APPENDIX F Pages Blue Hills Regional Technical 58 High School Additional documents provided by Blue Hills Committee members asked many questions about increase/decrease line items. Some of the questions/answers are below. Blue Hills Regional Technical High School The Blue Hills Regional Technical High School FY2021 Budget request is $2,672,573.00. Michelle Resendes, Business Manager - Blue Hills Regional High School and Jill Rossetti, Superintendent - Blue Hills Regional High School were in attendance and gave a Power Point presentation. We prioritize needs and have discussions with teachers, department heads and administrators. This is a 2% increased budget. The presentation included FY2021 Budget Priorities, Goals, and Salary Accounts including major changes. The presentation included Expense Accounts including major changes and Municipal Assessment & Enrollment History. Due to additional unforeseen construction costs the FY2021 budget request increased and put the timeline for completion behind schedule. We hope to have most of the project done by June. One major issue was plumbing. The old pipes were leaking and corroded. Jill Rossetti, stated this project was initially a limited scope repair that would cover doors, windows, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems. We ran into a lot of unforeseen conditions. Councilor Connors asked about the Chapter 70 funds and what they would do if they were not available. Michelle Resendes, stated we were told at this time to use the funds like they were available. We cannot discuss at this time where cuts would come from if the funds were not available. We are re- negotiating with our school bus company and hope to have savings with our transportation account. Councilor Connors stated this was a great and informative presentation. May 13, 2020 Ways & Means Committee 2 of 4  Councilor Ryan stated the Mayor of Braintree had all departments cut by 4%. Did Blue Hills cut initially their budget from last year? We have additional budgets A, B, C, and D and they have reductions of 10% to 15%. The additional questions were asked about Blue Hills Regional High School: In the per pupil cost: what is the difference between Per Pupil Required Contribution and the Total Blue Hills per Pupil Assessment? The Per pupil required contribution cost is determined by the amount of Chapter 70 the state allocates Braintree to spend on BH’s divided by the Oct 1 enrollment ($13,454) The remaining amount assessed ($4,176) it the amount to cover the difference between what BH needs to make the budget whole after Chapter 70 funding and minimum local contributions from the Governor’s budget. This amount is the same for all member districts divided evenly. The grand total of $17,630 is almost a 20% increase over the per pupil expenditure for Braintree public schools. Is that difference due to a BPS being a weighted average across all grades vs. just high school? Yes – It is far more expensive to educate High School students then elementary aged students. In High school there are electives, sports, clubs and generally a smaller student to teacher ratio for a few examples. Does the $17,630 include SPED services? Yes, this is an all in cost. Motion made by Councilor Ryan to TABLE Order 20 038 to the Committee of Ways & Means meeting on May 18, 2020. Motion: by Councilor Ryan to Table Order 20 038 to May 18, 2020 Second: by Councilor Connors Roll Call Vote: For (5–Boericke, Connors, Flaherty, Ryan, Sciascia), Against (0), Absent (0), Abstain (0) • 20 039 Mayor: FY2021 Budget – Community Preservation Committee or take up any action relative thereto (Presented by Christine Stickney on May 18) This item will be discussed at the Budget meeting on May 18, 2020. Motion made by Councilor Ryan to TABLE Order 20 039 to the Committee of Ways & Means meeting on May 18, 2020. Motion: by Councilor Ryan to Table Order 20 038 to May 18, 2020 Second: by Councilor Flaherty Roll Call Vote: For (5–Boericke, Connors, Flaherty, Ryan, Sciascia), Against (0), Absent (0), Abstain (0) May 13, 2020 Ways & Means Committee 3 of 4 • 20 040 Mayor: FY2021 Budget - Revolving Accounts or take up any action relative thereto (Revolving Accounts will be presented on the date Department Head presents Budget) 5/5 Library® (R3, R4) 5/6 Golf® (R8) 5/7 Department of Public Works® - Recycling (R5, R6) 5/18 Dept. of Elder Affairs® (R1) 5/18 Municipal Licenses & Inspections® (R2) 5/19 Education® (R7) Motion made by Councilor Ryan to TABLE Order 20 040 to the Committee of Ways & Means meeting on May 18, 2020. Motion: by Councilor Ryan to Table Order 20 040 to May 18, 2020 Second: by Councilor Flaherty Roll Call Vote: For (5–Boericke, Connors, Flaherty, Ryan, Sciascia), Against (0), Absent (0), Abstain (0) Councilor Flaherty asked before we adjourn could there be a discussion on how these meetings are going. Councilor Ryan stated we have very engaged committee members. They have asked questions ahead of time and got the answers. The question is do we need department call-backs. I do not but if anyone wants call backs we should know that. Councilor Sciascia stated we will have to have a discussion on the free cash part of this once we go through the Capital Plan. Councilor Boericke stated I sent questions to the Mayor’s office on free cash, Allen Street and Billboard. These questions should be answered ahead of our May 19th meeting. Councilor Connors stated we need further conversations. I asked for call back of DPW. I have questions I will send in advance. If questions are answered they do not have to be called back. I also have additional revenue questions. Councilor Boericke asked Ed Spellman what happens if we do not get all our state aid. Ed Spellman stated if we have reductions from the state we will need to reduce expenses and possibly come back with an adjusted budget. It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 7:43p.m. by Roll Call Vote. Respectfully submitted, Susan M. Cimino Clerk of the Council Documents provided for Meeting • 20 038 Mayor: FY2021 Operating Budget or take up any action relative thereto • 20 039 Mayor: FY2021 Budget – Community Preservation Committee or take up any action relative thereto • 20 040 Mayor: FY2021 Budget - Revolving Accounts or take up any action relative thereto May 13, 2020 Ways & Means Committee 4 of 4