===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, March 17, 2022 Location: In-person at Lunenburg Town Hall and broadcast on Zoom Present: Chairperson Peter Beardmore, Chris Menard, Jay Simeone, Dave Passios, Evan Watters, Tom Balish Guests: Town Manager Heather Lemieux, Superintendent Dr. Kate Burnham, Lunenburg Public School Business Manager Michael Cassidy, School Committee Chairperson Carol Archambault, Adam Suzor and Casey Chisholm of Suzor IT 1. Call to Order Mr. Beardmore called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and read a statement concerning the Open Meeting Law, and how all public meetings are legally being held remotely. This meeting was recorded and is viewable on YouTube at https://youtu.be/7yNtfe8w2ks 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements: none 4. Public Comment: Lunenburg resident Dave Rodgers asked for the total number in back taxes from the Meadow Woods trailer park. Ms. Lemieux answered that the full amount owed was $733,000 and has been paid in full by new owners of the property. Mr. Rodgers also sought out clarification on how the schools will afford their costs after Covid related monies are spent. 5. Chair Report: Mr. Beardmore reported that the Finance Director will present the FY22 2nd Quarter report at the March 23, 2022 meeting. An engineering consultant for the Flat Hill Rd culvert project will present findings at the Select Board meeting scheduled for March 22, 2022. 6. Town Manager/Finance Director Report: Ms. Lemieux updated the FY23 capital plan, and presented at the Select Board meeting on March 15, 2022. (New lineup of projects displayed below.) One project was removed from the plan as there is no cost estimate, and another project formerly on the plan has been pushed out to FY24. As a result two senior center projects have been moved up from FY24, a generator, which will allow the building to operate in a power outage, and possibly serve as an emergency shelter for the town’s senior citizens, as well as an improved outdoor recreation area. The HVAC system for the Primary School is also now on the FY23 plan, bringing the total for all 29 projects to $3,861,049. Ms. Lemieux also reported that the State Legislature has earmarked $50,000 to fund the School St hazardous materials abatement project. Seven bids were received for the project. Contract will be awarded to Air Quality Experts, who was the lowest, most responsive bidder at $44,650. Ms. Lemieux also reported the town has received an update from Unitil via Town Counsel on street light costs, which are now approximately $91,300. The Green Communities Committee will apply for grants to offset the cost to convert the lights to LED. ===PAGE 2=== 7. Budget Presentations: a. Lunenburg Public Schools: The schools FY23 budget totals $22,325,309 which is a 3.11 percent increase from FY22. It will cost $212,182 to keep services level with FY22, New positions will increase the budget by $193,522, salary reserve is $30,000, and expenses will cost $232,913. The $673,617 increase reflects increasing costs of health insurance, transportation, as well as year one of the implementation of a five-year staffing plan. New staffing will include, more hours for the music teacher, one teacher for Grade 4, a kindergarten teacher, kindergarten paraprofessional, a high school teacher, and an athletic trainer. Dr. Burnham pointed out that if for whatever reason these positions are not needed, the schools will employ an additional clinical social worker/adjustment counselor. Dr. Burnham also cited the uptick in low-income students, that resulted in an increase in Chapter 70 funds, which make up for 39 percent of the school’s budget. Ms. Lemieux added that she spoke with someone at the Department of Education and Secondary Education and found out that the federal poverty level has increased, due to the Student Opportunity Act, from 133 percent to 185 percent. Families that were able ===PAGE 3=== to stay on Mass Health longer because of the pandemic also added to the new Chapter 70 figures. Dr. Burnham highlighted the challenges the schools have met in dealing with the Covid- 19 pandemic such as, nursing demands, a number of students opting for home school, addressing behavioral issues, and MCAS testing, as well as state mandates. The FY23 budget proposes funding for a social worker in each school in order to deploy the Behavioral Health Curriculum Pilot. The schools were awarded several competitive grants that cover costs for summer school, after school, IT products, and curriculum materials. The schools also are seeking grant funds to employ more faculty positions, such as a teacher with both ELA certification and history, a paraprofessional to assist in an intervention classroom, a teacher who can also facilitate the community service program, and a technology teacher for the high school. b. Administrative: Ms. Lemieux presented budgets for general government and highlighted increases to budgets for the Tax Collector, Town Clerk, Land Use, IT, Health and Sanitation, Veterans Administration, Unclassified, Health Insurance, and other categories. The budget reflects a $4,200 increase for the assistant tax collector, an increase to the IT budget to address “Contracted Services,” as well as $900 for “Registration and Census Salaries, and postage lines. The Land Use budget adds a $10,116 for clerical assistance for Conservation, as well as $5,000 to cover the cost of an alternate Building Commissioner. Technology Department initiatives were presented by Ms. Chisholm of Suzor IT. The IT budget includes, a new Help Desk system for all IT requests, $12,200 for Email cloud hosting (a MIIA Risk Management grant has been received and will cover $10,000), a $52,000 network upgrade, $12,000 to upgrade phones to VOIP, and $20,000 for computer upgrades, including funding for Library IT needs. $5,697 will go toward an upgrade in internet access, $15,118 will cover contractual increases for existing software, and software for the Town Clerk’s office, and $3,400 to update the Town Website. A tech support position will also be added to the payroll at $23,545, as well as a remote meeting coordinator for $5,000. Ms. Lemieux also highlighted a 22 percent increase for both Nashoba Health and Nashoba Nursing, as well as a $5,000 increase to the Veterans Administration salary line. c. Unclassified: The actual health insurance renewal for active town employees came in at a 5.56 percent increase, which totals $43,467, and a five percent increase for retirees at $19,738. School retiree health insurance costs will rise $57,496. Unclassified categories include a 5 percent increase for Workers’ Compensation and Liability, a 6.6 percent increase ($19,925) in Medicare costs, an additional $450 for Montachusett Planning, and $1,800 for Town Band concerts. There is no increase for Public Safety personnel injured on duty, Historical Commission expenses, the reserve fund, salary reserve, town reports and physicals. ===PAGE 4=== d. Debt Service: Ms. Lemieux also highlighted that the town’s debt is decreasing, and no new borrowing has been scheduled. The Primary School and Public Safety building will be paid off, and dropped from the debt schedule in FY23, as well as DPW Renovations. Mr. Beardmore pointed out that more debt capacity will be available, and to keep inevitable improvement projects in mind. Committee members also discussed paying down debt ahead of schedule in order to lower tax rates. Ms. Lemieux added that the Select Board is also looking at ways to give property tax relief to senior citizens. 8. Annual Town Meeting Warrant Updates: Ms. Lemieux reported another financial article will be added to the warrant concerning the Salary Admin Program pay scale. 9. Warrant Letter: Tabled to next meeting. 10. Minutes: Mr. Watters motioned to approve the minutes from the March 3, and March 11, 2022 meetings. Mr. Menard seconded. On vote, motion carried unanimously. 11. Committee Reports: Committee members updated each other on their respective liaison assignments. 12. Public Comment: Mr. Balish asked about the financial details of the budget concerning the schools, and pointed out that there were only a few slides in the presentation that described how funds are spent. Mr. Menard agreed, and opined that some other departments also focused on how their department operates rather than a presentation of a financial analysis. Mr. Beardmore also agreed that the committee should work with the Town Manager, Finance Director, and Superintendent to lay out the Finance Committee’s expectations during budget season. Mr. Passios added that the Finance Committee does not have a say in how the school spends its budget, and only passes or denies the budget as a whole. Mr. Watters thanked the School Committee, Town Manager, and Capital Planning Committee for taking another look at the Capital Plan to get the HVAC installed at the Primary School. Mr. Passios added that he spoke with the Superintendent about reviewing the plans for the HVAC project to be sure it’s done properly. 13. Items for Future Meetings: Quarterly report will be added to March 23, 2022 agenda. 14. Next Meetings: March 23 (Remote), March 24, 2022 15. Adjourn At 10:20 p.m., Mr. Passios motioned to adjourn, Mr. Menard seconded. On vote, motion carried unanimously.