07/25/2019 FINANCE COMMITTEE Minutes

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4 Finance Committee Minutes July 25, 2019 NEW BUSINESS Discussion of Budget Process: A brief discussion followed regarding the role of the Finance Committee, and protocol to request information and meetings with various Department Heads. When available, liaisons generally attend committee and budget meetings. To enhance the communication structure between the Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen budget meetings would be requested. To assist in the budget review process, the End of the Fiscal Year Report will also be requested. Action items and dates to meet the deadlines for the October 21, 2019 warrant and Report of the Finance Committee were reviewed. With the Selectmen taking action on the warrant at their meeting of August 5, 2019, the Finance Committee agreed to meet on August 8, 2019 to begin the review process. The final draft of the Finance Committee recommendations for the warrant is September 9, 2019. The Finance Committee Report submitted to the voters is due in final format by September 12, 2019 to allow for printing,publishing and dissemination to the voters. It was agreed that regular meetings of the Finance Committee would be held on the second Thursday of the month starting at 6:00 p.m. During the budget process,the Finance Committee meetings tend to be more frequent to adhere to deadlines for publishing. The Finance Committee in preparation for the May 2019 Town Meeting warrant was noted to have deliberated in-depth making several inquiries on the Departmental and Town Manager's Recommended Budgets. There was interest in regularly attending the Board of Selectmen meetings. Finance Committee member John Miller is the recommended Liaison to the Board of Selectmen. John J. Cotton is the assigned Selectman Liaison to the Finance Committee. With regards to the Annual Town Report, it was suggested that employee compensation be placed in descending order by department and by value to better inform the citizens of salary/wage expenditures.