Town of Becket Finance Committee
July 8, 2008 Minutes
Present: Mike Falk, Jeremy Dunn, Steve LaBelle, Amy Fyden
Absent: Ann Spadafora
Also Present: Richard Furlong
The meeting was called to order at 6:55pm.
NOTE: The August Finance Committee meeting date has been CHANGED.
NEW DATE: TUESDAY, August 5th
1. Approval of 6/5/08 minutes, with some corrections.
2. Transfers from Reserve Fund (8)
a. To Memorial Day $191.12
b. To Outreach $891.29 for elderly aide
c. To Ambulance Exp. $1070.45
d. To Fire Dept. Exp. $1433.98
e. To Municipal Building $336.77
f. To Dog Officer Salary $200.00 53rd week of fiscal yr not budgeted
g. To Machinery $96.01
h. To Highway Salary $408.48 Vacation pay
Balance in Reserve Acct is $857.86, which will probably go to Free Cash.
These are very likely the final FY2008 transfers. FinCom voted unanimously to allow the Chair (Mike Falk) to transfer any amount up to the balance of the reserve account, at the request of the Town Administrator, prior to the next FinCom meeting without further approval by the committee.
3. Transfers from other accounts (already approved by Select Board)
The FinCom Chair (Mike Falk) signed (13) additional transfers
a. From Highway Culverts to Demolition $2000.00
b. From Transfer Station to Payroll Tax $1583.88
c. From Garage Repairs to Vocational Transport $2275.50
d. From Tree Acct to Conservation Commission $1361.81
e. From Gravel Roads to Tax Title $5000.00
f. From General Maint. To Tax Title $4500.00
g. From Vocational Tuition to Tax Title $4870.00
h. From Veterans Benefits to Winter Roads $1000.00
i. From Board of Health Salary to Winter Roads $3800.00
j. From Public Safety to Winter Roads $1300.00
k. From Postage to Winter Roads $1500.00
l. From Fuel Acct to Winter Roads $5000.00
m. From Assessors Expense to Winter Roads $1500.00
4. Carryovers from FY 2008 -> FY2009
Richard asked the town accountant to carry over unspent funds in the following accounts:
a. Articles: Audit; Highway Truck Body; Highway/Police Building Study
b. Expense Accts: Recreation Commission; Parks Commission; Demolition Fund
5. Increased Mileage Reimbursement Rate
Richard noted that the Federal Mileage reimbursement rate was increased to 58.5 cents/mile as of July 1st. He has authorized this amount for all town employees in FY 2009.
6. Audit update. Audit is complete; no majors findings. Will receive a management letter as usual.
7. Town Accountant update. The accountant has been coming in; things have improved.
8. Follow-up on Issues with FY2009 budget.
Tasks from June 2008 FinCom meeting, not yet done:
Richard to speak with DOR to find out what happens if the Overlay account is overrun
Richard to speak with Accountant re free cash certification
Richard believes this issue can be resolved without recourse to a special town meeting, by transferring funds from various accounts. Will be addressed later in the fiscal year
9. Verizon DSL
The Verizon public-affairs officer said DSL may be available in Becket as soon as the end of August 2008. They are not promising more than 768k downstream. Price is $19.95/month, plus initial cost for line filter, and router if desired. The Verizon representative will attend the Town Fair on July 19th.
10. Highway / Police Facility
The committee is still studying the proposal and has not yet made a decision, which is expected within 3 months. A percolation test was completed for the proposed building site, with good results. Soil analysis is needed to see if geothermal energy is possible.
A presentation will be made at a Special Town Meeting, possibly as soon as Sept. If the Study committee decides to recommend in favor of the new facility, Finance Committee may need a special meeting to review the recommendation.
Possible price tag is approximately $4 million. For a 20-yr bond at 3.5-4.0% expected interest rate, this would yield payments in the $250-275,000/year range, adding ~.50 to the tax rate. The committee recognizes that this may be difficult in a contracting economy; but on the other hand this is a long-term improvement for the town.
11. Wahconah Building Committee
The building committee needs additional members. Rita Furlong may be interested.
There was no public input.
Note: Jeremy will be absent for the August & September meetings. Ann Spadafora will handle the minutes.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:42 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeremy Dunn
Clerk
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