2004-2006-FINANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE

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I ■ Mr. Gasior indicated he would like to present a revenue-to-appropriations ratio, and would work with Ms. Mason to develop this. ■ Ms Mason, Mr. Myers and Mr. Gasior felt it is important to present what debt is retired in fiscal year, the source of debt and its impact upon the budget and tax rate. ■ Mr. Halachis inquired how lottery funds are distributed, stating the summer population should be considered in the process. Ms. Mason indicated town is not receiving the full amount of lottery money for which it is eligible. • Ms Mason will have a full revenue & budget picture available by end of December. ■ Committee agreed the Summary format presented by Mr. Gasior will be used, with a fine tuning of categories. ■ Committee also agreed not to include all the detail listed in Schedule C as presented by Mr. Patrick, but to include the information in Schedule A-1 (General Fund Revenues) of his report, with footnotes as needed. ■ Committee also agreed to keep capital assets information and total debt, but that retirement information is not needed. ■ Committee will also include a cover sheet, comments from Finance Committee, Town Manager and Selectmen. Employees • Mr. Patrick queried whether a departmental headcount should be included; Committee agreed this was too much detail and a separate organization chart could be included in backup data. ■ Ms. Mason confirmed the town report already contains employee information. ■ Mr. Halachis suggested any employment issues impacting budget can be included in a narrative. School Budget • Mr. Patrick inquired how best to portray the technical school budget;Ms. Mason stated that this is included as a line item within the general school budget. • Mr. Myers felt it was important to depict the amount of government funds and grants in budget, primarily to show the impact if the grants were not awarded to the town. ■ Ms. Thayer confirmed that school grants are uncertain year to year, and department only spends the funds if they are awarded. • Ms. Mason stated it would be acceptable to include a full page to assess the school budget. Budget Tracking ■ Mr. Myers stated the Finance Committee should be able to track how spending is progressing by department each year. Ms. Thayer reiterated that it is important for the Finance Committee to meet with departments to detail end of fiscal year spending. • Mr. Myers inquired about funds turned back into general fund and how to account for this. Ms. Mason identified an average of$400-800,000 as returned funds each year, a relatively small portion of budget. Next Steps ■ Mr. Patrick indicated assignment of work deferred to next meeting. • Mr. Gasior to work with Ms. Mason to develop a revenue picture, and present a draft revenue page at next meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Chuck Gasior made a motion to approve the Finance Review Committee minutes from November 16. Don Myers seconded the motion. Minutes approved unanimously. FUTURE MEETING OF FINANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE The next scheduled Finance Review Committee meeting will be.held on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 7:00 pm in Mashpee Town Hall.