05/02/2016 Annual Town Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Motion: I move the Town vote to establish the FY 2017 operating budget for the Department of Natural Resources, appropriated as follows: Salary $307,205 Expenses $ 53,000 Shellfish Propagation $157,000 Total Budget $517,205 and to fund said operating budget, that the Town appropriate and transfer $222,205 from the FY 2017 Police Department salary budget, appropriate and transfer $32,000 from the FY 2017 Police Department expense budget, appropriate and transfer $20,000 from the FY 2017 Police Shellfish Propagation expense budget, appropriate and transfer $70,000 from the Waterways Improvement Fund, and appropriate and transfer $173,000 from Revenue Available for Appropriation. Motion passes unanimously at 8:12 PM. Article 7 To see if the Town will accept General Laws Chapter 44, Section 53F 3/4, which establishes a special revenue fund known as the PEG Access and Cable Related Fund, to reserve cable franchise fees and other cable-related revenues for appropriation to support PEG access services and oversight and renewal of the cable franchise agreement, the fund to begin operation for FY 2017, which begins on July 1, 2016; and to appropriate the sum of $500,000 for expenditures from the fund, and to fund said expenditures, the Town appropriate and transfer $115,000 from the unencumbered balance of current cable funds, and appropriate and transfer from Revenue Available for Appropriation $385,000, or take any other action thereto. Submitted by the Board of Selectmen Explanation: In January 2016 the Massachusetts Department of Revenue issued an Informational Guideline Release detailing how municipalities must account for cable franchise fees collected from customers by cable companies and other cable-related monies negotiated in cable television agreements. One of two alternative options for cities and towns to establish a separate account for these receipts, which allows cable receipts to be segregated from other general fund revenues, is to establish a PEG Access and Cable Related Fund under G.L. c. 44, §53173/4. To establish such an account, the Town must adopt §53173/4 by a majority vote of Town Meeting and appropriate the sum necessary to fund prospective annual expenditures from the fund. Receipts from cable fees and revenues received during the fiscal year will then be credited to the fund and be available for future appropriation. For the first fiscal year during which such a special revenue fund is established it is necessary to appropriate the funds anticipated to be expended from the fund in advance, by transferring existing cable revenue funds into the new account or by raising or transferring additional funds for this purpose. This article adopts G.L. c. 44, §53173/4, establishes the PEG Access and Cable Related Fund and 10