2001-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Pressed for discovery and identification of stu- Report of the dents attending Mashpee public schools ille- Finance Committee gally. • Facilitated reorganization of the Capital To the Honorable Board of Selectmen Improvement Committee for greater impartial- and the Citizens of the Town of Mashpee: ity and accountability. The Finance Committee was a member short • Participated in selection and establishment of during most of the year. One member was hired to fill MUNIS software installation. the vacant Treasurer/Tax Collector position and her appointed successor subsequently resigned for person- 2002 OUTLOOK (and beyond) 9 reasons. Three seats will become vacant at the Our goal is to achieve control of annual budget forth-coming town elections. growth by taking a proactive role in affordable budget formulations. We will strive to: The committee's greatest concern continues to be unrestrained growth beyond affordable levels of annu- • Encourage the Board of Selectmen to institute 9 budget outlays. A look back at the past 6 years a hiring freeze of both full and part time posi- shows extraordinary expansion, particularly in the tions and bring departmental staffing to man- four largest departments: ageable levels through attrition. Vacant posi- tions must be justifiably defended or deleted. SCHOOL POLICE FIRE DPW OVERALL • Assure that capital improvement projects are FY97 $ 9.7M $ 1.7M $ 1 AM $ 860K $ 19.9M not shifted to departmental expense budgets, FY02 $ 15.7M $ 2.9M $2.1M $ 1.2M $ 37AM which thereby expand and distort the depart- ment's year to year base. The overall increase includes a 32% jump from FY01 to FY02 in medical insurance that is paid by the • Assure expenditure/appropriation articles are town. This continuous increase is fueled by adding limited to the Annual Town Meeting in May. more full time positions each year. The only expenditure articles at the Special Town Meeting in October are those items Massachusetts is among 36 states currently in which have arisen due to emergency or unfore- deficit. It is anticipated that the FY03 revenues will be seen circumstances. significantly reduced and FY04 and FY05 state assis- • Require that each department submit a priori- tance to towns may be even less. Our most compelling tized list of its functions and programs and be mission must be to hold the line on spending. prepared to realistically identify and, if neces- sary, delete the lowest priority tasks. 2001 Accomplishments • Enacted an Accrued Benefits Account line Jeffry L. Arnold, Chairman item to offset effects of early departures of Carlton Meredith, Vice Chairman contracted employees. Dean Arden Frederic Blythe • Impelled the need for publication of a list of Kathleen Lynch delinquent taxpayers. James Morgan • Established committee representation at col- lective bargaining negotiations. • Stressed that surplus county funds returned to the town be used for programs for which funds were expended or for town infrastructure. 11