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John Henshaw
Jay Simeone
David Passios
Lunenburg Finance Committee
November 14, 2019 Meeting
Location:
Present:
Absent:
Town Hall
Terri Burchfield, John Henshaw, Jay Simeone, Michelle Walton, Peter
Beardmore, Dave Passios
None
1. Call to Order
• Terri Burchfield, Chair called the meeting to order at 7pm. This meeting is
being recorded and broadcast over Luneburg Public Access.
2. Public Comment
• Dave Passios attended the Capital Planning Committee Meeting and
chatted with the Fire Chief. Their biggest challenge currently is repair cost.
Trucks aren't lasting as long as they previous did.
• John Henshaw spoke with the Police Chief. There has been recent damage
to squad cars by apprehended suspects.
• Peter Beardmore commented that he watched the Special Town Meeting
on YouTube, and feels that he does not understand what is happening with
storm water planning and how that is relating to requirements for new
developments and new additional costs to the town. We should inquire
with the Storm Water Task Force or DPW Director.
• Michelle Walton commented that the costs associated with annual
maintenance on Butterfly Lane were difficult to obtain prior to town
meeting.
3. Review of Special Town Meeting and Symposium
John Henshaw was struck by how many additional positions were
identified by the Superintendent of Schools, though he thought they were
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whether one should be considered separate trom the budget process.
• Michelle Walton and Peter Beardmore agreed to meet to discuss the
timing and level of coordination required from both the Town Manager
and School Department.
Peter Beardmore commented that he's hopeful that the Land Removal and
Fill article will be re-considered and proposed again by the Planning
Board.
John Henshaw commented that he thinks there is opportunity to publish
more commentary relating to the Finance Committee's rationale for its
recommendations to town meeting voters. He thinks we may want to
consider structing a checklist to determine what constitutes financial
impact.
Peter Beardmore commented that perhaps we should also consider
communicating the level to which we were able to consider a particular
article prior to making (or not making) a recommendation.
• John Henshaw volunteered to draft a checklist as described for
consideration by the committee.
• Terri Burchfield reviewed the confusion relating to the changes in the
personnel grade recommendations that happened just prior to town
meeting.
4. Open items, goals, definitions, committee assignments
Discussion on terms for budget process. There hasn't been progress on
identifying these definitions. There is some question on the terms being
used by the Town Manager. We need a meeting with the Town Manager to
clarify the terms and meanings.
• We'd like a multi-year synopsis of free cash, and where the money
originated from year-to-year. Peter Beardmore reported that his
conversation with the Town Manager indicated that fluctuations in recent
years are mostly attributed to unique circumstances in each year (such as
tax title programs).
The committee would still like a list from the Town Manager on non-
municipal funding.
• Peter Beardmore suggested we should look at dashboards from the new
software that is being used for budgeting.
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an RFP out by 1 January for selecting architects. They are planning to re-
engage all the parties who are requesting space. Next meeting will be the
first Wednesday in December.
Peter Beardmore reported that the School Committee met on 6 November
and discussed the budget process following the symposium.
• John Henshaw reported the Capital Planning Committee met on 5
November and met with public safety departments, discussing the police
cruiser replacement cycle the timing of the acquisition of the new fire
truck. They will be meeting with the school department and DPW in
subsequent meetings.
5. Minutes
John Henshaw motioned to accept minutes from October 10, 2nd by Dave
Passios. Unanimously approved.
6. Public Comment
• None
7. Next Meetings:
December 5, 2019
December 12, 2019
8. Adjournment
• Peter Beardmore moved to adjourn. Dave Passios 2nd
1. Unanimous
approval at approximately 8:30 PM.
RECEIVED & FILED
FEB 13 2020
LUNENBURG TOWN
CLERK OFFICE
RECEIVED
FEB 1 3 2020
TOWN CLERK