HomeMy WebLinkAboutAd Hoc Fiscal Committee Minutes - May 20, 2009_201402060901513995
Town of Nantucket
Ad Hoc Fiscal Committee
Minutes – Ad Hoc Fiscal Committee Meeting, held May 20th, 2009
Approved June 3rd, 2009
A duly noticed meeting of the Ad Hoc Fiscal Committee was held in the conference room at 16
Broad Street on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009, commencing at 9:00 AM.
Present: Facilitator Dual Macintyre, Rick Atherton, Louis Bassano (via conference call), C.
Elizabeth Gibson, Greg Keltz (via conference call), Melissa Murphy, Dr. Robert Pellicone, Dr.
Janet Schulte, John Tiffany, and Constance Voges.
Absent: Neil Paterson
Also present: James Kelly, Irene Larivee, Malachy Rice, Marcus Silverstein, Whiting Willauer and
Craig Abernathy
Call to Order:
Mr. Macintyre called the meeting to order at 9:04 AM.
Opening Remarks:
C. Elizabeth Gibson, Town Manager, stated that several issues came up in the FY 2010
Budget process. She cited identifying essential services and communicating to the public the
challenges of budgeting as primary concerns to this process. Ms. Gibson explained that the
intended objective of the Ad Hoc Fiscal Committee would be to focus on three areas:
Recommendations on essential services
Spending reductions and efficiencies
Identify revenue increases
Member Introductions:
Mr. Macintyre asked that Committee members to introduce themselves.
Minutes – Ad Hoc Fiscal Committee
May 20th, 2009 Page 2 of 4
John Tiffany, Finance Committee representative, characterized himself as retired but
active.
Dr. Janet Schulte, at large representative, introduced herself as the Director of the Maria
Mitchell Association.
Melissa Murphy explained that she was attending as the School Committee
representative in the absence of the permanent representative, Jenny Garneau.
Rick Atherton, Board of Selectmen representative, spoke of his experience working with
Town of Nantucket government in roles with both the Finance Committee and the
Board of Selectmen.
Dual Macintyre, Facilitator, stated that he worked with the Navy for thirty years and
AT&T for thirty‐five years prior to retiring. He added that his work allowed him to
receive training in facilitation.
Greg Keltz, at large representative, highlighted forty‐years of Nantucket residence, ten
years of Finance Committee experience, and his current work in real estate.
Louis Bassano, Advisory Committee of Non‐Voting Taxpayers representative, stated that
while he lives in New Jersey he has owned property on Nantucket since 1985.
Overview of the Town of Nantucket’s Municipal Budget:
Irene Larivee, Assistant Finance Director, provided a broad overview of the municipal
budget. She explained that the major components of the municipal budget are the Town,
School and enterprise funds. Ms. Larivee then spoke of revenues and expenses, while reminding
the Committee that fiscal year 2010 revenue will remain a projection until the Tax Recap is
certified.
Directing those in attendance to a chart showing a five year forecast both with and
without a Solid Waste Enterprise Fund (SWEF) subsidy, Ms. Larivee pointed out that cuts made
to balance the FY 2010 Budget reduce the projected amount of cuts necessary to balance future
year budgets. She added that without a SWEF subsidy there would be a trend of slowly
decreasing expenses. Mr. Tiffany asked where the funds would come from if they no longer
came in the form of a General Fund subsidy; to which Ms. Gibson responded that the subsidy
would need to be covered through fees or taxes.
Ms. Larivee then spoke of some of the revenue “pressure points” affecting municipal
finance specifically in the general fund:
Tax revenue is limited by Proposition 2 ½.
New growth is declining and expected to continue to decline for the next twelve to
eighteen months.
State Local Aid is expected to continue to decline.
Local Revenue is projected to continue to decline.
Items of interest as expense “pressure points” were cited by Ms. Larivee as follows:
The Solid Waste Enterprise Fund subsidy
Personnel cost growth outpacing revenue growth
Minutes – Ad Hoc Fiscal Committee
May 20th, 2009 Page 3 of 4
Noting cuts that were made in order to balance the FY 2010 Budget, Ms. Larivee
reminded the Committee of the following actions taken by the Town and School to reduce
expenses:
Town
¾ Elimination of the Mosquito Control Program
¾ Alternate funding for Adult Community Day Care
¾ Reduction of Lifeguard Program
¾ Reduction in personnel spending across the board by five percent
¾ Reduction in operating expenses across the board by ten percent
School
¾ Reduction in personnel spending, including up to 40 positions
¾ Elimination of School Committee Television Contract
¾ Reduction in copier printer expenses
Citing ongoing efforts to reduce expenses, Ms. Larivee stated the following items are
being considered for outsourcing or refinement as potential cost saving measures:
Grounds keeping
Community Pool
Teen Center
Emergency medical services
Med‐flight support
Adult Community Day Care
Review of Plan of Action:
Mr. Macintyre spoke briefly of his interpretation of his role of Facilitator. He stated his
belief that the Facilitator should help the Committee make the best use of its time and
resources, and added that the Facilitator will also handle scheduling arrangements and
summaries of meetings to ensure that members will be able to focus on the task at hand.
After discussing the tentative schedule and broad goals for the Committee, Mr.
Macintyre opened discussion on altering the schedule to hold meetings on a day other than
Wednesday. Mr. Bassano stated that since he is normally required to be at work in New Jersey
from Monday though Wednesday he will not be able to make any of the meetings as scheduled.
After discussion other options, Mr. Bassano asserted his desire to ensure that the Committee
receives regular representation from all membership groups. In this context, Mr. Bassano
stated that he feels it would be best if another representative from the Advisory Committee of
Non‐Voting Taxpayers be appointed prior to the next meeting.
Mr. Macintyre commented that he expects the Ad Hoc Fiscal Committee to be a fast
moving workgroup that does research between meetings and keeps outside interference to a
minimum. He added his belief that members are resources and expressed his wish to draw
upon the broad expanse of experience and knowledge available within the ranks of the
Committee.
Minutes – Ad Hoc Fiscal Committee
May 20th, 2009 Page 4 of 4
Research for Next Meeting:
Mr. Macintyre noted that the focus of the next meeting will be to develop criteria for
essential services, and asked members to look at essential services within other communities.
He then asked for volunteers to look at the Town Charter, Town Bylaws, and Massachusetts
General Law in order to determine if there are any mandated services. Mr. Bassano suggested
contacting State Representative Tim Madden as there is a research agency within the State
Legislature that might be helpful with this research. Mr. Macintyre thanked Mr. Bassano and
stated that he will be in contact with Representative Madden’s office. Mr. Atherton
volunteered to research mandated essential services within the Town Charter and Mr. Tiffany
volunteer to perform the same research within Town Bylaws. Mr. Macintyre asked that all other
members do internet research on the topic.
Public Comment:
Marcus Silverstein stated that in a previously discussed example using a disaster
scenario several essential services such as water and public safety were identified. He
suggested that these types of services be set aside prior to beginning discussions. Mr.
Macintyre responded that this will be considered in the next meeting.
James Kelly asked to be added to the Committee’s e‐mail distribution list. Mr.
Macintyre said that he feels it will be best to limit e‐mail communication to membership, but
encouraged Mr. Kelly to check the Ad Hoc Fiscal Committee’s web‐site for agendas, minutes and
other information pertinent to its work. He also asked that any requests for information from
the Committee go through the Facilitator to the Town Manager.
Date of Next Meeting:
The date of the next meeting was scheduled for June 3rd, 2009, at 9:00 AM in the
conference room at 16 Broad Street.
Adjournment:
Mr. Macintyre asked for a motion to adjourn that was “so moved” by Dr. Pellicone. The
meeting was adjourned at 10:26 AM.
COMMITTEE OBJECTIVES
1. Develop criteria for essential services.
2. Recommend expense reductions or efficiencies in current operations.
3. Recommend actions to increase municipal revenue.
Prepared by Craig Abernathy