City Council - Finance Committee

CITY OF EASTHAMPTON OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL Easthampton Municipal Building 50 Payson Ave., Ste. 100 Easthampton, Massachusetts 01027-2260 Telephone #: (413) 529-1460 MINUTES FINANCE Meeting 11/16/2021 Attendees: FINANCE Committee Members: Councilor Dan Rist, Chair Councilor Peg Conniff Councilor Homar Gomez Other Attendees: Hetal Patel, Auditor Jen Gallant, City Treasurer Christopher Norris, Fire Chief Jeff Bagg, City Planner Randy Austin, Assessor Christine Zdonek, Asst. Assessor Meeting called to order at 5:00pm. The meeting was held remotely due to the COVID-19 pan- demic and was videotaped. No minutes to approve. Mayor Communication: None Public Speak: None New Business 1. Supplemental Appropriations A. $2,000,000.00 From Free Cash - To fund General Stabilization to provide stability in the current environment, to fund Capital Stabilization to meet capital needs and to fund the Tax Rate Stabilization to help reduce the impact of debt exclusions on  the tax rate. Discussion: Councilor Rist reviewed the current balances in free cash. Motion (Gomez), Second (Conniff) passed 3-0 3. DPW Revolving Account As per departmental revolving fund statute, G.L. c.44, Sec 53E1/2, City Council is re- quired to vote to set spending caps to maximum amount that may be spent during fiscal year 2022. Revolving Fund: Electric Vehicle charging stations & bike share program (not currently a revenue generator…rather it is a cost.) - DPW - $20,000. There is no money being exchanged for this request, this is largely an administration action. Per Auditor, this is a state DOR requirement to CAP spending. Money cannot be used for specific needs unless this account exists. If it did not exist, revenue would be sent to general fund. This fund will be used by DPW. Expenses must not exceed the cap even if revenue is greater than $20,000 for FY 2022. This cap can be changed year over year. Must be voted every fiscal year. And cap can be raised with approval of City Council. Jeff Bagg clarified that largely this account is used to pay the electric bills for the Electric Vehicle Charging Sta- tions. Motion (Conniff), Second (Gomez) passed 3-0 Old Business 1. Request from Assessor: Re: annual tax classification hearing. Scheduling a public hearing for 11/17. Discussed the classifications and the Board of Assessors has recommended a Single Tax Rate for all classes of property. Motion (Gomez), Second (Conniff) passed 3-0 2. QUARTERLY fiscal reports - City Auditor: Hetal (Auditor) has no concerns about the current state of receipts for the City. For many accounts, we have collected much of the annual receipts after 1 Quarter. GENERAL FUND Local Receipts 56.58% Real & PP Taxes 27.09% Cherry Sheet - Local Aid. 25.67% Total General Fund Revenue. 27.91% ENTERPRISE FUND Water & Sewer. 27.25% TOTAL 27.85% 3. QUARTERLY Report on Covid-19 grant funding and Spending: Jen Gallant (Treasurer) reported on the current state of COVID-19 spending through 9/30/2021  Of $1.4M requested, the City has spent ~ $1.2M. Some expenses are ineligible and those expenses may need to be reclassified from FEMA money to Cares Act money. And lastly, if Cares does not deem an expense eligible, it will be reclassified to the gen- eral fund. Meeting Adjourned at 5:55PM Next Meeting TBD