ADVISORY Committee Recommendation
Annual Town Meeting
MAY 14th
2016
NO OFFICIAL FY 17 BUDGET POSTED
AS OF 5/12/16!
ARTICLE 1 CONSENT
AGENDA
The Advisory Board is in favor of some parts of this article.
Unfortunately some parts are incomplete. In voting these as a whole we would
have to take the bad with the good or lose the good parts because of the
bad. For this reason the Advisory
board recommends the town separate the motion into separate items.
Advisory Recommends a NO VOTE
Board Vote: 4 NO
Due to the report
being incomplete, missing reports from town accountant, and town treasure, as
required by town bylaws (article 8 section 4) and mass general laws (chapter 40
section 49 chapter 41 section 61 chapter 61 section 35). We recommend the town
vote no on accepting the reports of town officers.
1B - REPORTS OF
TOWN COMMITTEES
Advisory Recommends a YES VOTE
Board Vote: 4 YES
The advisory board is
in favor of communication. This article allows us to hear reports. Therefor we
recommend a yes vote on this.
1C - REVOLVING FUNDS
Advisory Recommends a
YES VOTE
Board Vote: 4 YES
ARTICLE 2 OTHER
POST EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FUND
Advisory
Board is undecided
Board Vote: 1 YES, 2 NO, 1 NO RECOMMENDATION
*At the time we reviewed this
article the documents provided showed that the amount specified in this article
was not available to be transferred from said account. For this reason the board was split on
its recommendation. In the end the
Advisory Board recommends yes provided the funds are available for transfer.
ARTICLE 3 FISCAL
2016 FINANCIAL TRANSFERS *
Advisory Recommends a
Substitute motion
Board Vote on Substitute motion: 4 YES
The advisory board
believes it is in the Towns best interest to put funds into the accounts the
money is intended to be used for, rather than into a more general account where
the funds would later need to be transferred from. On this article we discovered that funds that are intended
to be used for the town audit expense (which has its own account) were being put
into a general expense account to be transferred later. It is this reason the advisory board
recommends amending the motion as follows.
Concern: Thus far in FY16
there will be 48 transfers totaling $508,000. The fact that a large amount of salary transfers are
also occurring indicates the salary budgeting process was flawed. (Salary
budgets are known expenses and should never end up being underfunded.)
ARTICLE 4 FY
2017 OPERATING BUDGET & SALARIES OF TOWN OFFICIALS
Advisory Recommends a Substitute motion Board Vote on Substitute
motion: 4 YES
Upon review of the budgets
submitted to us we found numerous concerns. Many of the concerns were corrected but others still
remain. The concerns include.
·
Missing funding for existing
town employee presently on the payroll with no know intent to eliminate
position.
·
No warrant article to
support budgeted expense items that are listed as “warrant appropriations” in
the budget. (Scholarship fund)
·
Selectmen’s budget was not
officially voted on at time of Advisory Board’s pre town meeting.
·
The departmental submittal
requests column does not match the amounts for many on the departments as
actually requested on their submittal forms.
·
The revised FY16 revised
budget shown on report does not match town votes.
·
Warrant article 4, motion
for operating budget, amount is different than the final paper & emailed
budget given to the advisory committee.
ARTICLE 5 FUNDING
FOR AMBULANCE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS
Advisory Recommends a YES VOTE
Board Vote: 4 YES
ARTICLE 6 FIRE
DEPARTMENT AMBULANCE LEASE
Advisory Recommends a YES VOTE
Board Vote: 4 YES
ARTICLE 7 FUNDING
FOR ASSESSORS’ TRIENNIAL RECERTIFICATION
Advisory Recommends a YES VOTE
Board Vote: 4 YES
ARTICLE 8 DIRECT
DEPOSIT
Advisory Recommends a
YES VOTE
Board Vote: 4 YES
By having direct
deposits it reduces the cost the town pays for payroll.
ARTICLE 9 ACQUISITION
OF PROPERTY FOR SEWER PUMPING STATION
Advisory Recommends a YES VOTE
Board Vote: 4 YES
ARTICLE 10 PLEASANT
STREET PUMP STATION REPLACEMENT
Advisory Recommends a YES VOTE
Board Vote: 4 YES
ARTICLE 11 FY
2017 SEWER DEPARTMENT BUDGET
Advisory Board undecided
Board Vote: 2 YES, 2 NO RECOMNDATION
The sewer department’s budget had not been received by the Advisory
board at the time of the pre town meeting. It is for this reason two members made “no
recommendation”. However two members
did recommend the town vote yes due to the small change in overall budget size
and history of the sewer departments budgeting.
ARTICLE 12 SENIOR
EXEMPTION: COST OF LIVING
ADJUSTMENT
Advisory Recommends a YES VOTE
Board Vote: 4 YES
ARTICLE 13 COMMUNITY
PRESERVATION COMMITTEE FUNDING
Advisory Recommends a YES VOTE
Board Vote: 4 YES
ARTICLE 14 TRANSFER
TO THE STABILIZATION FUND
Advisory Recommends to “pass over”
Board Vote to “Pass Over”: 4 YES
It is recommended to have 4%-7% go into
Stabilization. A town our size
should have around one million dollars ($1,000,000) in stabilization.
Unfortunately, there was no money budgeted this year to be put into
Stabilization and the Advisory board would have had to recommend major cuts to
the budget in order to fund.
ARTICLE 15 BY-LAW
AMENDMENT: ELECTION OF TOWN
OFFICERS
Advisory Board is UNDECIDED
Board Vote: 2 YES, 2 NO
Concern is this was submitted after warrant closed and not pursuant to
selectmen policy and procedures page 10.
Requested time stamp of the submittal for this article.
ARTICLE 16 BY-
LAW AMENDMENT: TOWN MEETINGS
Advisory Recommends a YES vote
Board Vote: 3 YES, 1 NO
Concern is this was submitted after warrant closed and not pursuant to
selectmen policy and procedures page 10.
Requested time stamp of the submittal for this article.
ARTICLE 17 BY-
LAW AMENDMENT: APPOINTMENT OF TOWN
MEETING CHECKERS
Advisory Recommends a YES VOTE
Board Vote: 4 YES
Concern is this was submitted after warrant closed and not pursuant to
selectmen policy and procedures page 10.
Requested time stamp of the submittal for this article.
ARTICLE 18 BY-
LAW AMENDMENT: RECORDS AND REPORTS
Advisory Recommends a YES VOTE Board
Vote: 4 YES
Concern is this was submitted after warrant closed and not pursuant to
selectmen policy and procedures page 10.
Requested time stamp of the submittal for this article.
ARTICLE 19 CITIZEN’S
PETITION: FLUORIDE WARNING
Advisory Board undecided
Board Vote: 1 YES, 1 NO, 2 NO RECOMNDATION
ARTICLE 20 CITIZEN’S
PETITION: FLUORIDE LEGISLATION
Advisory Board undecided
Board Vote: 1 YES, 1 NO, 2 NO RECOMNDATION
ARTICLE 21 CITIZEN’S
PETITION: REVIEW OF CONTRACTS BY
TOWN COUNSEL
Advisory Board undecided
Board Vote: 1 YES, 2 NO, 1 NO RECOMNDATION
ARTICLE 22 CITIZEN’S
PETITION: PROJECTS TO BE APPROVED
BY TOWN MEETING
Advisory Board undecided Board
Vote: 2 YES, 2 NO
ARTICLE 23 CITIZEN’S
PETITION: ADVISORY COMMITTEE
APPOINTMENTS
Advisory Recommends a NO VOTE
Board Vote: 1 YES, 2 NO, 1 ABSTENTION
The by-laws for advisory board vacancy has many issues now that would be
continued with this language. When
making changes to the bylaws all issues should be addressed. This language would also create new
issues. For instance in FY16 we
had no moderator and we had vacancy’s occur. Had the board been unable to fill these position we would
not have had quorum, not been able to conduct business and not been able to
make recommendations on the budget or warrants, causing us to be in violation
of state law.
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