1993-FINANCE COMMITTEE - Laserfiche WebLink

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FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES 3/2/93 Meeting commenced at 7:00 PM Members Present: Deirdre Greelish, Chairperson; Dan Goggin, Vice Chairperson; Denise Sullivan, Clerk; John Ferriday, Ed Baker, Tony Gallo, and Roger Dunivan. Guests Present: Selectmen Chairperson Nancy Caflyn and Executive Secretary Robert Whritenour. The Recording Secretary was unable to attend the meeting this evening. Deirdre will be taking the minutes. Therefore, she turned the meeting over to Vice Chair Dan Goggin. MINUTES Roger Dunivan motioned to accept the minutes of February 23, 1993. Ed Baker seconded the motion and members voted unanimously for acceptance. OLD BUSINESS: Middle School Addition Furnishings Ed Baker and Deirdre Greelish attended the Middle School Addition Building Committee meeting today to get an explanation for the increased estimate for furnishings and the new budget of $45,000 for equipment. Deirdre presented the Committee with a handout obtained at the Building Committee meeting. Ed said the Building Committee explained $90,000 for furnishings rose to $120,000 when built- in ftimishings were removed from the construction documents. The architect said there would be a 25% savings from this change. Dan Goggin said the continued spending of the $45,000 is of concern to him. John Ferriday said it points to the attitude in the School Department. The available funds should not be seen as a cue to spend. Ed reiterated the Finance Committee's understanding of the agreement last spring when the addition was voted at town meeting. That is, the project would not be bonded until it was complete, and we knew exactly how much the addition cost, furnishings and all. Executive Secretary Bob Whritenhour explained that he supported bonding prior to completion because the bond rate had dropped to the lowest rate since the 30's, and because the contracts had been awarded for construction ($1,470,000, down from the estimate of$1,790,000 at the town meeting). Mr. Whritenour asked the Building Committee to estimate the rest of the costs, and the final bond figure was $1,945,000. Ed said his objection to the bonding was that it broke an agreement between the Finance Committee, Selectmen, and School Committee, and we were not notified of the change. Selectman Nancy Caffyn asked about the procedure on signing off on bills. She had been told that a member of the Building Committee, Bill Jones, was signing off on the bills. Ed said his impression is that they are acting independently. Bill Martiros from the Taxpayers Association, mentioned that he sat on the Town Hall Building Committee, and that Committee handled its own bills. He added that a Selectman was a member of that Committee. Bob Whritenour will find out who is signing the bills, since only the Selectmen can transfer such authority. SELECTMEN'S BUDGET Bob Whritenour handed out a budget and transmittal letter from the Board of Selectmen, a copy of which is included with these minutes. The letter states the budget 'Ireflects a fiscally conservative viewpoint, and provides for certain initiatives...for improving the delivery of services for our growing Town." Town insurance has been reduced $135,000, and short-term interest costs will decrease $73,000 as a result of quarterly tax billing.