Town Council - Ways & Means Committee

Braintree Town Council MEMBERS Meredith Boericke, Chairwoman Committee of Ways & Means Peter Morin, Vice-Chairman One JFK Memorial Drive Joseph Reynolds, Member Braintree, Massachusetts 02184 Julia Flaherty, Member Elizabeth Maglio, Member MINUTES Monday, July 2, 2024 A meeting of the Committee of Ways & Means was held in Johnson Chambers on Monday, July 2, 2024 at 6:00pm. Councilor Morin was in the Chair. Clerk of the Council, Susan Cimino conducted the roll call. Present: Meredith Boericke, Chairwoman Peter Morin, Vice-Chairman Elizabeth Maglio, Member Joseph Reynolds, Member Not Present: Julia Flaherty, Member Also Present: Michael Esmond, Director of Municipal Finance Freddie Viola, Acting Fire Chief James Arsenault, DPW Director Approval of Minutes • April 9, 2024 Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve minutes of April 9, 2024 Second: by Councilor Maglio Vote: For (4 – Boericke, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (1 - Flaherty), Abstain (0) • April 18, 2024 Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve minutes of April 18, 2024 Second: by Councilor Maglio Vote: For (4 – Boericke, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (1 - Flaherty), Abstain (0) July 2, 2024 Ways & Means Committee 1 of 6 Approval of Minutes • May 6, 2024 Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve minutes of May 6, 2024 Second: by Councilor Maglio Vote: For (4 – Boericke, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (1 - Flaherty), Abstain (0) • May 8, 2024 Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve minutes of May 8, 2024 Second: by Councilor Maglio Vote: For (4 – Boericke, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (1 - Flaherty), Abstain (0) Old Business • None New Business • 24 033 Mayor: FY24 Supplemental Appropriations #3 or take up any action relative thereto Director Esmond explained there are a limited number of supplemental funding items that will need to be addressed prior to the close out of Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). Based on updated events since the development of the previous supplemental filing (#2), such as collective bargaining related payments, additional anticipated invoices or final payment schedules, these items are now projected to be necessary. Each item is summarized below. As is typically the case of a year-end supplemental budget request, many of the items included in this request are modest in amount, but are still necessary to align available funding with the projected costs for the remainder of the year. In order to preserve General Fund FY23 Certified Free Cash reserves, we have identified FY24 budget reversions as the funding source of these supplemental funding needs. In these cases, projected surpluses have been identified in various programs and accounts and can be made available to fund projected deficiencies that would otherwise occur at the close of the year. The total Supp #3 amounts total $379,000 all funded from departmental transfers from other departments. We are not relying on additional revenue or free cash to pay for this. 1. Treasurer/Collector’s Department Total costs of the Treasurer’s Department are projected to exceed the available budget by roughly $40,000. The most notable contributor to the year-end deficiency is the fact that the prior Treasurer / Collector has been supporting the transition for the new Treasurer on a Part-Time basis. In addition, annual postage, consultant and fiscal fee expenses have exceeded the levels funded in the adopted FY24 budget. 2. Human Resources Department The HR Department is projected to have a modest deficiency in its administration program in lieu of additional staffing costs incurred during FY24 than originally budgeted. July 2, 2024 Ways & Means Committee 2 of 6 3. Legal Department The supplemental funding request is necessary to pay anticipated legal costs through the remainder of the fiscal year. 4. Insurance Premiums The Town is expected to owe additional deductible payments through the remainder of the fiscal year. 5. Debt Service Interest There is a very small ($5.00) shortfall projected for the Town’s Interest on Principal Owed program. 6. Fire Department The requested transfers move funding between various Fire Department accounts and other departments’ accounts in order to offset projected deficiencies in the Fire Suppression program and the Fire Training program. 7. Highway Department The supplemental funding of $60,000 from surpluses in other Department of Public Works programs will ensure projected program expenses of the Highway Department can be funded as the Department closes out various projects currently underway, including leaf mulch services, patching, and street surface treatments. Councilor Maglio asked for the total number of transfers for the Fire Department? Are all transfers coming from existing accounts? Chief Viola stated $134,500. Councilor Reynolds asked is this the last actions you will need to take to close out FY24 and put it behind us? Director Esmond stated yes that is correct. Councilor Morin asked about the surplus for the Veterans as well as the Braintree-Weymouth Recreational. Director Esmond stated we waited until the end to make it very clear we were otherwise diverting benefits. It has been trending that there are less requests for services. Chairwoman Boericke stated the KP Law request for only 6 months is almost the cost of a in-house attorney after just 6 months. I am looking for some assurance on what the plan was for FY25 because we were assured KP Law would work within the parameters of the budget that was set. I understand we do have some things that are unforeseen. Director Esmond stated we would like to try to keep it level funded for fiscal year 25. Some of these expenses are even if we had in-house counsel, we would still be hiring outside counsel for some of these July 2, 2024 Ways & Means Committee 3 of 6 things, maybe a lot of it. KP Law isn’t the only attorneys we are paying. There are bills for some other residual work. There are other litigation matters we are continuing to have to pay. Chairwoman Boericke stated this feels as difficult to get our hands around right now as public safety overtime. Where is the percentage of time being spent? Chairwoman Boericke asked what the fire suppression program is. Chief Viola stated it is the firefighters. Director Esmond explained beyond overtime there is also other payroll/contract items that have been negotiated in their contract. It is short for the rest of the year. It wasn’t anticipated fully for those adjustments when the original projection were put together. Chairwoman Boericke asked for the Motions. Motion made by Councilor Morin for favorable recommendation to the full Council on Oder 24 033 items 1 through 7: 1. Treasurer/Collector’s Department Motion: That the sum of $9,360 be transferred from the FY23 HR / Salary Reserve, that a sum of $5,100 be transferred from Finance / Administration / Consultants, that the sum of $9,000 be transferred from Finance / Information Technology / Consultants, that the sum of $13,900 be transferred from Human Resources / Veterans / Benefits, and that the sum of $2,500 be transferred from Finance / Information Technology / Website for a total of $39,860 to be transferred to Finance / Treasurer/Collector / Department Head. Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve Order 24 033 (1) Second: by Councilor Maglio Vote: For (4 – Boericke, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (1 - Flaherty), Abstain (0) 2. Human Resources Department Motion: That the sum of $10,000 be transferred from Human Resources / Veterans / Benefits to the Human Resources / Administration / Administrative/Clerical account. Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve Order 24 033 (2) Second: by Councilor Maglio Vote: For (4 – Boericke, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (1 - Flaherty), Abstain (0) July 2, 2024 Ways & Means Committee 4 of 6 3. Legal Department Motion: That the sum of $114,938 be transferred from Finance / Administration / 9C Salary Reserve, and that the sum of $5,062 be transferred from FY23 HR / Salary Reserve, for a total of $120,000 to be transferred to Legal / Administration / Legal Services. Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve Order 24 033 (3) Second: by Councilor Maglio Vote: For (4 – Boericke, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (1 - Flaherty), Abstain (0) 4. Insurance Premiums Motion: That the sum of $5,000 be transferred from Finance / Administration / Website to Finance / Insurance / Insurance Deductible. Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve Order 24 033 (4) Second: by Councilor Maglio Vote: For (4 – Boericke, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (1 - Flaherty), Abstain (0) 5. Interest on Principal Motion: That the sum of $5 be transferred from Finance / Administration / 9C Salary Reserve to the Finance / Interest on Debt / Interest account. Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve Order 24 033 (5) Second: by Councilor Maglio Vote: For (4 – Boericke, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (1 - Flaherty), Abstain (0) 6. Fire Department Motion: That the sum of $1,400 be transferred from Fire Department / Administration / Photo Copy Rental, that the sum of $5,000 be transferred from Fire Department / Building Maintenance / Lighting, that the sum of $40,000 be transferred from Fire Department / Equipment / Tires/Tube, that the sum of $600 be transferred from Fire Department / Fire Alarm Repair / Fire Alarm Repairs, that the sum of $700 be transferred from Fire Department / Hazardous Materials / Educational, that the sum of $900 be transferred from Fire Department / Fire Prevention / Educational, that the sum of $5,000 be transferred from Fire Department / Fire Boat / Overtime, that the sum of $5,500 be transferred from Fire Department / Fire Boat / Boat Maintenance, that the sum of $3,000 be transferred from Fire Department / Fire Boat / Fuel, that the sum of $16,391 be transferred from Human Resources / Veterans / Benefits, that the sum of $24,500 be transferred from Human Resources / Employee Benefits / Workers Comp Public Safety, that the sum of $31,509 be transferred from Department of Public Works / Braintree-Weymouth Recreational / Braintree-Weymouth Recreational Assessment for a total of $134,500, from which the sum of $128,500 shall be transferred to Fire Department / Fire Suppression / Uniform Branch and the sum of $6,000 shall be transferred to Fire Department / Fire Training / Uniform Branch. July 2, 2024 Ways & Means Committee 5 of 6  Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve Order 24 033 (6) Second: by Councilor Maglio Vote: For (4 – Boericke, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (1 - Flaherty), Abstain (0) 7. Highway Department Motion: That the sum of $30,000 be transferred from Department of Public Works / Facilities / Labor/Custodians/Mechanics, and the sum of $30,000 be transferred from the Department of Department of Public Works / School Custodians / Labor/Custodians/Mechanics for a sum of $60,000, which shall be transferred to Department of Public Works / Highway / Leaf Mulching Services. Motion: by Councilor Morin to approve Order 24 033 (7) Second: by Councilor Maglio Vote: For (4 – Boericke, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (1 - Flaherty), Abstain (0) It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 6:41p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan M. Cimino Clerk of the Council Documents provided for Meeting • 24 033 Mayor: FY24 Supplemental Appropriations #3 or take up any action relative thereto July 2, 2024 Ways & Means Committee 6 of 6