MEETING: A meeting was held on Thursday, March 26, 2015 at 7:00 PM at Town Hall Office Building, 50 Billerica Road, Chelmsford

Transcription

1 CHELMSFORD FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES March 26, 2015 MEETING: A meeting was held on Thursday, March 26, 2015 at 7:00 PM at Town Hall Office Building, 50 Billerica Road, Chelmsford PRESENT: T. Gilroy, S. Pichette, S. Dukakis, J. Clancy, K. Duffett, P. Kimera and M. Kaliviotis ALSO PRESENT: HANDOUTS: P. Cohen, J. Sousa, B. Herrmann, D. Braslau, R. Day, S. Rosa, F. Tiano, A. Fiore, F. Antonelli, B. Skarr, E. Thoren, M. Rigney, W. Thomas, G. Diggs, B. Joyce, A. Tanini, L. Hirsch and public Chelmsford Public Library FY2016 Budget Request, State Aid to Public Libraries Handout, E-content at your Library pamphlet, Board of Health FY2016 Budget Request, Chelmsford Public Schools YTD Budget Report by DESE Function Code, School Budget Presentation FY2015-FY2016. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. Library: B. Herrmann reported that the overall library budget was increasing by 2.9% to $1,860,652. She explained that most of the budget increase was due to contractual step increases and longevity in addition to a 2% COLA for all staff. She stated that for FY2016 they had also funded the Adult Services Librarian position from within the budget. She explained that this had been initially fully funded by state aid and then partially funded by state aid with the remainder funded from within the budget. She stated that this year, for the first time, the position was being fully funded from within the budget. B. Herrmann pointed out that in 2002 the library had FTE s and the FY2016 budget had FTE s so the library was still 3 FTE below where they had been. She noted that circulation in 2002 was about 490,000 and circulation today was about 500,000 so they were dealing with higher circulation using less people. B. Herrmann provided the Finance Committee members with a flier regarding state aid in public libraries. She explained that this handout provided a good explanation of the requirements for receiving state aid and explained why the library needed to be funded at the state level. She explained that in addition to receiving state aid which was estimated between $30,000 and $40,000 for FY16 it allowed Chelmsford to be part of the borrowing consortium. She stated that the requirements included having a budget that is 2.5% higher than the average of the last three years budgets, having a book budget that is 13% of the total library budget from the town,

2 CHELMSFORD FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES 3/26/2015 Page 2 employing a certified MLS Library Director and being opened a minimum of 59 hours per week. T. Gilroy asked if the state funding was received on an annual basis. B. Herrmann replied in the affirmative adding that the amount of state aid has been decreasing from the high point in 2009 of $59,000. She noted that last year the amount they received had been $39,000. She added that in the past they have used these funds for personnel, Sunday hours, HVAC repairs and a web page re-design. D. Braslau stated that the library has been extremely busy and people are still using it. He explained that there were 245,845 visits per year with an average of 856 visits per day. He added that the number of transactions averaged 2.5 transactions per minute. S. Pichette asked if the collaboration with other libraries was supposed to help save money. B. Herrmann replied that it did, especially in allowing for aggregate purchases such as with databases. She added that there was also savings on delivery services. D. Breslau noted that the library would receive bins of books per day. S. Pichette noted that computers and electronic study divisions should not be taken away from young children, but one on one interaction at the library with family or library personnel offered a perfect opportunity to help bring-up children. M. Kaliviotis agreed adding that the library did an amazing job. B. Herrmann reported that the Friends of the Library Book Sale would be on Saturday and Sunday, April th this year. She added that there was a book drop-off this weekend. B. Herrmann reported that about 200 people came to the One Book Chelmsford presentation at the McCarthy Middle School. She added that the book was a very timely book about the Armenian Genocide and was entitled, The Sandcastle Girls, by Chris Bohjaliam. B. Herrmann thanked the Finance Committee and invited the members to send her an if they thought of any other questions. Board of Health: M. Kaliviotis stated that P. Cohen, J. Sousa and R. Day met about a month ago to make some minor tweaks to the budget expenses of the Board of Health, but otherwise it was the same as last year. She turned the meeting over to R. Day. R. Day reminded the Finance Committee that the last time he had been in he had been requesting the addition of a Health Educator for the schools and he reported that the funding had been money well spent. R. Day reported that the only increases in personnel for the FY2016 budget were straight step increases and an increase from one employee who now qualified for longevity. He added that they had an experienced staff at this point. T. Gilroy stated that the Finance Committee had talked with the Police Chief about the opiate problem in Chelmsford so he was interested in getting the Board of Health s take on the issue. S. Rosa replied that one reason she had been so assertive last year regarding getting extra help was

3 CHELMSFORD FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES 3/26/2015 Page 3 that they were in the midst of an opiate epidemic in Chelmsford. She noted that Chelmsford was no different from other communities which have been equally affected. S. Rosa stated that there has already been significant positive impact since the addition of the Health Educator last October. She stated that the first Annual Overdose Vigil had been run. She noted that a police officer had lost a child to an overdose a couple of years ago and his wife spoke at the Vigil. She noted that addiction did not discriminate. S. Rosa stated that the Health Educator was working in collaboration with the schools on a number of programs and they had secured two grants one for $7,500 and one for $6,600. She stated that another educational evening had been held on March 12 th aimed at students that are anxious or depressed. She explained that the documentary Breaking Free from Depression was aimed at providing knowledge to parents and teens about mental health and depression. She added that another educational program aimed at parents dealt with substance abuse in teens. She stated that this program was called PREP (Prevention Resources and Education for Parents) and would take place at the Police Station on April 15 th at 7 PM. S. Rosa stated that a monthly series had also been started in conjunction with the library regarding current health trends such as substance abuse, healthy eating and Internet safety. S. Rosa concluded that in the short time since J. Hayes, the Health Educator, had started they had accomplished quite a lot. T. Gilroy thanked the Board of Health for all that they did. T. Gilroy commented that there was a large article in the Chelmsford Independent about Chelmsford taking aim at drug abuse. He added that the article was somewhat difficult to navigate. T. Gilroy stated that the Police Chief had indicated that he wanted a full-time police presence in the schools. He asked if the Board of Health was also involved with this. S. Rosa replied that the Massachusetts Opiate Abuse Collaborative had met with the police of all cities and towns. She said that she thought it would be a great thing to have a regular police presence in the schools and they would work collaboratively with the schools and the police on education and prevention of drug use. She noted that recently there had been a decrease in opiate use so things were moving in the right direction. S. Dukakis asked how many employees on the Board of Health were full-time. R. Day replied that there were only two FTE s on the Board of Health, himself and the Health Inspector. He explained that the other three employees were all part-time. K. Duffett asked if there was an issue with alcohol abuse in the schools. S. Rosa replied that there was a huge issue with alcohol abuse which they were also addressing. She added that it wasn t just in the High School, but also at the 7 th and 8 th grade level. She noted that alcohol, marijuana and tobacco were all issues in the schools. She added that they had also seen an increase in binge drinking. S. Rosa stated that they used youth risk behavior surveys in the schools to measure issues. She stated that a large survey had been done in the High School in 2012, another small survey had been done in 2013 and they just completed another one this year. T. Gilroy questioned the percentage of students that told the truth on the surveys. S. Rosa replied that they were anonymous and the student name was not on the survey. She said that she would guess that they were mostly accurate. She added that one statistic which was surprising to her was the large percentage of students who said that their parents never talked to them about sex protection.

4 CHELMSFORD FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES 3/26/2015 Page 4 R. Day reported that the Board of Health had regulations in place for dealing with medical marijuana. He explained that they didn t want to wait until after the fact so they put the regulations in place. He explained that a dispensary had been approved for Industrial Ave. in Lowell. He noted that most communities have not yet put into effect any regulations. K. Duffett asked how the food inspection program worked in Chelmsford. R. Day replied that most restaurants were inspected two times per year. He explained that if they had good and consistent inspections in a row they may not inspect as often whereas if they had a roller coaster inspection history of being good, followed by a bad inspection then they would inspect more often. He added that in food service there was consistent turn-over with new facilities, fading facilities and those trying to stay afloat. He added that if the restaurant was consistent they would spend less time on them. S. Pichette asked about the increase in newspaper advertising in the Board of Health s expense budget. R. Day replied that usually this line item was for routine things, but they had increased the FY2016 newspaper advertising line item from $150 to $400 because they wanted to put in an advertisement about medical marijuana. He added that they felt it was something that they had to do. R. Day thanked M. Kaliviotis and the Finance Committee for their time. Chelmsford Public Schools: T. Gilroy stated that there were a couple of open issues regarding the schools which he wanted to address before getting into the budget. He reported that there was another $7,000 to $8,000 in unpaid bills for the schools from 2013 and He asked where they were coming from. F. Antonelli replied that it was mostly from utilities which were given to the Town Accountant after Town Meeting. He added that there was also a payroll expense for which paperwork had not been submitted. P. Cohen noted that there was no funding from the tax levy or free cash available for these bills so they would need to come from the Finance Committee Reserve Fund or the Stabilization Fund. J. Clancy commented that the reserve fund was for emergency or unforeseen expenditures which these didn t fall under. He asked why the Finance Committee didn t hear about them prior to this evening. J. Clancy added that he also didn t feel good about the Town Manager asking for more funding from the Stabilization Fund even though it was a small amount. P. Cohen responded that the Finance Committee Reserve Fund could be used as another funding source as part of Town Meeting. T. Gilroy commented that the School Committee knows about the additional funding needed for the bills. S. Pichette stated that this was the exact same issue as before. She asked when they knew about the problem and noted that it was the same thing happening over and over again. F. Antonelli replied that it was still part of the same mess that they were untangling like a ball of sting. He explained that it was part of the same issue and had not happened again. He noted that they now had checks and balances in place. S. Pichette asked when the Superintendent knew about the additional $7,000 - $8,000 shortage. F. Antonelli replied that shortly after Town Meeting they started meeting with the Town Accountant on a monthly basis and found out about the additional bills. K. Duffett suggested that the Finance Committee could have been informed about the issue at that time. S. Pichette added that the Finance Committee had just gone through the Town Manager s budget

5 CHELMSFORD FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES 3/26/2015 Page 5 and there were already a lot of things they needed to take out due to the free cash being used for the schools last year. J. Clancy commented that there was a problem in the timing. He noted that this meeting was a review of the school budget prior to the warrant book being printed and he stated that the Finance Committee should have known about the issue a long time ago. T. Gilroy stated that there were allegations that NRT Bus had a no bid contract with Chelmsford for special education transportation. He asked if there had been a bid process. F. Antonelli replied that there had been a bid process three years ago for a two year contract with the option to renew for one year. He added that special education transportation was not governed by procurement law so it did not need to go out to bid. He noted that recently they went out to bid the out of district transportation for special education. He noted that this was done in collaboration with Billerica and Tewksbury. He added that even though going out to bid was not required for these contracts he thought that it was prudent practice to bid them. S. Dukakis asked how many bids were received for the out of district contract. F. Antonelli replied that two bids had been received. He added that one was from Merrimack and the other was from Trombly which was owned by NRT. S. Pichette commented that the School Department had done a fantastic job at putting together a comprehensive binder with a detailed budget. She added that she was confident moving forward that things would be in order. She thanked F. Tiano and F. Antonelli for all of their efforts. F. Antonelli reported that on Tuesday night the School Committee had voted on the $52,400,000 budget which was a reduction of $618,938 from the preliminary $53 million dollar budget. He explained that the schools had started with a zero based budget and then added in the needs to get to the $53 million budget. He stated that on Tuesday the School Committee agreed to the reductions. He added that he had wanted to share the reductions with the school first. T. Gilroy commented that the budget process had the departments put together their budget and then reviewed them with the Town Manager and then the Finance Committee could make recommendations, but the only approval body was Town Meeting. K. Duffett responded that Town Meeting could appropriate a funding amount, but the schools had line item autonomy. She said that the School Committee was responsible for the line item choices that were to be made. F. Tiano stated that he appreciated the diligence of the Finance Committee with the meetings they have had with school personnel and follow-up s which they have sent. F. Antonelli explained that what was different about this year s budget in addition to the zerobased budgeting was that they used site management whereby each school was its own site and areas such as technology and special education were also their own site. He added that they had also renamed hundreds of accounts so that they were clear and they created new accounts where they needed to track separate items. He explained that they had also itemized all salaries and setup detailed special education tuition accounts so that the breakdown of costs in special education could be seen. F. Antonelli pointed out that 75% of the budget went to salaries and 22% went to contracted services with the remaining going to utilities and supplies. T. Gilroy asked how many teaching positions would be impacted by the $618,000 reduction. F. Tiano replied that the reductions included one kindergarten teacher, two middle school teachers and one music teacher. T. Gilroy asked if these were eliminations of positions. F. Tiano replied

6 CHELMSFORD FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES 3/26/2015 Page 6 that the ½ kindergarten teacher was no longer needed and they would lose.4 of the music teacher in the CHIPS program and they could make shifts in the middle school to keep class size at 25 while making the two cuts. He noted that all positions would be eliminated through attrition. K. Duffett stated that in looking at the December 1 st enrollment, Harrington School had a high population yet they would lose ½ of a staff member, yet South Row had extremely low class sizes. F. Tiano replied that it was difficult to balance in the short-term because class size would depend on where the bubble goes. He explained that they had asked all principals where they could decrease class size at each grade level. He added that they try to maintain the smaller class sizes. K. Duffett replied that they needed to look at who was coming into grade 5. She explained that as of December 1 st, 175 were in grade 5 at Parker and 206 were in Grade 5 at McCarthy. She added that if all of fourth grade moved to 5 th grade then for FY2016 grade 5 at McCarthy would go from 206 to 190 and at Parker it would go from 175 to 213. F. Tiano replied that this did not take into account that the four elementary schools did not feed evenly into the two middle schools. He explained that for Byam and Harrington Schools some students go to each of the Middle Schools. He projected that the numbers would be 201 for McCarthy and 179 for Parker. K. Duffett asked what the average class size would be if McCarthy eliminated two teachers. F. Tiano replied that it would be about 25, but the average for grade 5 would be 22. K. Duffett pointed out that at South Row School the average class size was pretty low at 17 to 18 students. She asked what would happen to class size if there was elimination there. F. Tiano replied that if they removed a teacher class size could be about 25 in some grades. He added that he would rather have class size of 25 in grade five than in grade three. K. Duffett responded that enrollment numbers drive the budget and low enrollment in that area was something to think about going forward. She added that they should also look to fill spots with School Choice students. F. Tiano replied that the School Committee had voted on recommending School Choice students for grade three at South Row next year. K. Duffett added that they needed to fill the seats to get the revenue so should be aggressive with School Choice. F. Tiano replied that they had 27 offerings for School Choice which he thought was aggressive. K. Duffett stated that 52% of the school employees were at the top step and she asked what the percentage was that would be retiring in the next few years to offer savings from those coming in at lower steps. F. Antonelli replied that 30 school employees had retired last year, while 10 were expected to retire this year. S. Dukakis commented that 75% of the cost for the schools was in salaries. He asked what the percentage increase in salaries was from FY2015 to FY2016. F. Antonelli replied that it was between 3 to 5% including all steps, COLA and longevity in addition to any salary-related decreases. S. Dukakis asked what it would be if there were no personnel cuts and the same people remained. J. Clancy clarified that he believed that S. Dukakis was asking what the average salary increase was. F. Antonelli replied that the average increase was a little above 2%. T. Gilroy asked what the break down was on teachers versus non-teachers. F. Antonelli pointed out that there was a complete breakdown of staffing in Tab 5 of the school budget binder. S. Pichette asked what the status was on substitute teachers. F. Tiano replied that in 2003 they had outsourced substitutes to OPUS and then changed to outsource to Kelly Services. He said that Kelly Services did all of the administration of substitutes, but they had looked at the overall

7 CHELMSFORD FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES 3/26/2015 Page 7 costs and it was steep. He stated that the decision had been made to take a step back and take substitutes back in-house rather than outsourcing it. He added that it would be a change in how they handle substitutes, but it would decrease the management costs and there would be a savings. He noted that they would need to purchase software and add staff to the business office to manage the substitutes. K. Duffett asked for clarification that the actual role of the substitute and the methodology would not change, but that they would simply bring back in the clerical management process for substitutes. F. Tiano replied that K. Duffett was correct. S. Dukakis asked if F. Tiano had the average number of substitutes or absenteeism per day. F. Tiano replied that he did not have that information. K. Duffett noted that one benefit to using an outside service was that they were not eligible for benefits. F. Tiano agreed, but noted that some towns minimize the hours worked to twenty-nine hours. S. Dukakis asked what the status was on the hiring of a new Business Manager. F. Antonelli replied that the first round interview candidates were not satisfactory so they were beginning again. S. Dukakis asked how many candidates had been in that round. F. Antonelli replied that there were six. S. Pichette stated that she was impressed that they had turned the first round away. F. Antonelli pointed out that the FY2016 school budget had no increases in student activity fees, lunch prices, athletic fees and transportation fees. F. Antonelli reported that the cost per pupil in Chelmsford was $12,437 while the average for the state was $14,547. He noted that Chelmsford didn t spend the most and didn t spend the least of comparable towns such as: Andover =$15,185, Billerica=$14,385, Franklin=$11,890, Wilmington=$14,664 and Tewksbury=$13,768. T. Gilroy noted that Chelmsford was right in line with Westford which had a cost per pupil of $12, 526. F. Antonelli stated that he would be happy to come back to a meeting to go over the monthly reports. He noted that they had reviewed January, but were not done with February yet. He stated that the next report should be ready in a few weeks. S. Dukakis noted that the lunch program still did not have a lot of participation and he asked why. F. Antonelli replied that the Chelmsford and Billerica schools split for meal service and Chelmsford did not have the right type of equipment for hot meals. T. Gilroy surmised that it would be a huge capital expense to become properly equipped. F. Tiano agreed that it would be a big expense to become equipped with proper warming ovens. T. Gilroy suggested that in addition to having F. Antonelli and F. Tiano in to discuss the monthly report he would like to have the special education manager in to explain what is going on. He noted that special education seemed to vary every month and seemed to be a contributor to the school budget issues. F. Antonelli suggested that T. Gilroy a couple of suggested dates and they would be able to come back in prior to the end of the fiscal year. K. Duffett stated that when F. Antonelli and F. Tiano were in before there was discussion of being more aggressive on what was charged to community education. She asked if an additional amount was charged this year for child care at the facility. F. Antonelli replied that he did not

8 CHELMSFORD FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES 3/26/2015 Page 8 have a number on that, but noted that they charged electricity and maintenance to community education since they were in the building. K. Duffett noted that the cost operation seemed to be about the same as the prior year maintaining a balance of about $1 million dollars. She asked if there was a vehicle to return some of this money to the town as free cash. F. Antonelli replied that the funds needed to be used for expenses related to the child care service. He stated that there was $1 million as of June 30 th and they would make a dent in that with the $222,000 expenditures. K. Duffett stated that philosophically they needed some reserves, but she didn t think that they needed $1 million and so perhaps some money could be returned to the town. P. Cohen replied that the money had to stay in the revolving account and could not be transferred out to the general fund. He suggested that the funds could be used for the facility since child care was occupying the facility. J. Clancy commented that there would need to be a state level legislative change in order to use the funding for something entirely different. K. Duffett stated that perhaps some of the funding could be used for the CHIPS music program since CHIPS was in that building. She said it was just an idea that the.4 music teacher being cut could be funded in this manner. M. Kaliviotis asked F. Tiano how he felt about the cuts that they had chosen and how they would affect the children. F. Tiano replied that they knew their preliminary budget was on the high side so they looked at reductions that could be made and prioritized them. He explained that they had considered several scenarios, but ultimately chose the one that they did because it would have a minimal impact on the students. M. Kaliviotis asked if there were other areas such as books and supplies which could be cut. L. Hirsch replied that they had already cut text books 3.4% across all areas. J. Clancy asked if there were licenses which were not renewed. L. Hirsch replied that they had renewed all licenses. She added that the decrease in the line item was because they had worked with vendors to get the price of shipping down. F. Tiano added that given the scenarios which they had drafted this was the best and he was comfortable with the cuts. T. Gilroy asked if given the cuts they had not put back the full-time librarian position which had been eliminated the prior year. F. Tiano replied that they were able to restore the librarian position, but did not put back the science and language coordinator positions. He noted that things were working well with those who were now in these roles and he was comfortable that they had a skilled team in place. T. Gilroy stated that he wanted to know how much money had been spent on the entire school budget issue including legal fees and separation costs. He added that F. Antonelli and F. Tiano should be prepared to have an answer at Town Meeting. F. Antonelli replied that he would have to get back to him regarding the separation fees. M. Kaliviotis stated that it was important that the teachers not be confused regarding cuts. F. Tiano replied that nobody would be confused by the cuts as only specific people would be impacted. He noted that they had lost others staff members through enrollment changes and they understood that it was important to balance the needs. M. Kaliviotis noted that it was important to look at morale and to have an open line of communication. J. Clancy noted that the School Committee had autonomy over their budget. He stated that Town Meeting appropriated the funds, but they had autonomy to do what they wanted to bring the budget in line with the funding which they had. K. Duffett agreed that the School Committee had autonomy over the school budget noting that the School Committee was in a powerful position regarding the school budget.

9 CHELMSFORD FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES 3/26/2015 Page 9 F. Tiano noted that the School Committee had already voted the reduced $52.4 million dollar budget. P. Cohen pointed out that the Superintendent had the discretion as to how the funds were spent. K. Duffett responded that the School Committee had the opportunity to express their opinions on the line items and they should do so. P. Cohen stated that the School Committee set categories, but the Superintendent had the authority on how to spend within those categories. T. Gilroy pointed out that this year was the first year that the school budget would be a separate article from the town budget. He noted that this meant that the Town Meeting Representatives did have a vote and some input and responsibility on the school budget. He added that the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee also had some responsibility. He questioned if a school budget would pass Town Meeting if the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee voted against it. K. Duffett thanked F. Antonelli and F. Tiano for providing the detailed audit report. She added that the school budget situation and resulting discussions had been a learning experience, but now recommendations made by various auditors had been completed and checks and balances were in place. She said that the schools and town now worked off of a single chart of accounts in MUNIS and there was more coordination between the Town Accountant, Town Treasurer and the schools. She added that the ordeal had been horrific for everyone, but now the town should begin to feel confident as Chelmsford had a strong school department which was an asset to the town. She added that it was a quality school department and their efforts should be acknowledged. T. Gilroy agreed, thanking F. Tiano and F. Antonelli for all of their work. F. Tiano replied that he appreciated the opportunity provided by the Finance Committee. Old/New Business: Approval of Meeting Minutes: March 12, 2015: S. Pichette made a motion to accept the minutes of March 12, 2015 as written. J. Clancy seconded the motion. All voted in favor. The minutes were approved as written. Next Meeting: T. Gilroy reminded the Finance Committee members and the public that the budget hearing with Nashoba would take place next Tuesday, March 31 at 7:00 PM. He added that the meeting on Thursday of that week on April 2, 2015 would be back to the normal time of 7:30 PM. Public Input: E. Thoren commented that working on efficiencies had been brought up and she noted that there had also been a cost savings sub-committee which K. Duffett had been on. She suggested that it may be worthwhile to review the spreadsheet and documents from these sub-committees. She said that she could forward the materials if there was an interest in looking at them. T. Gilroy replied that she could send them to him and he would share them with the committee. P. Cohen

10 CHELMSFORD FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES 3/26/2015 Page 10 added that there was also a town-wide list done about 10 years ago when there had been a financial crisis. He explained that the three boards had held brainstorming sessions and the cost savings and revenue generating sub-committees had been formed. He explained that they had put together a spreadsheet with all of the ideas. He suggested that it could be worth reviewing this listing every 5 to 10 years. T. Gilroy asked where the funding would come from for the $660,000 school short-fall. F. Antonelli replied that $500,000 would come from the Circuit Breaker account and $200,000 would come from School Choice. J. Clancy asked if this was the buffer which they had established. F. Antonelli replied in the affirmative saying that this was possible due to the buffer established at the Tri-Board meeting. J. Clancy made a motion to adjourn. M. Kaliviotis seconded the motion. All voted in favor. The meeting adjourned at 9:17 PM. Respectfully submitted Pamela A. Morrison