01/21/2021 FINANCE COMMITTEE Minutes

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4 Finance Committee Minutes January 21, 2021 NEW BUSINESS Update on Joint Meeting with the Select Board: At the last meeting the Finance Committee agreed to request a joint meeting with the Select Board to review the FY22 budget. Due to a tight agenda, it was determined the meeting would not be feasible,but an alternate date would be considered. The Town Manager is scheduled to meet with the Finance Committee on February 11, 2021 to present his budget recommendation. A special meeting date of February 1, 2021 was considered for the joint meeting. In other business,the Chair of the Select Board recommended the Finance Committee appoint representation to serve on a Wastewater Subcommittee and on a planned Tax Rate Subcommittee to review options regarding wastewater and the feasibility and appropriateness of modifying the current tax rate structure. Finance Committee member Gregory McKelvey agreed to serve as the Finance Committee representative for Wastewater issues. Discussion of Draft Finance Committee Vacancy Procedures: Last fall there were general discussions with the Finance Committee regarding the challenges in obtaining membership to fulfill vacancies and the need for process. Although the Town Moderator is the appointing authority to the Finance Committee it was agreed that a proposal would be developed and presented to the Town Moderator for consideration. The Town Moderator was in support of the proposal and charged Deputy Town Moderator Ed Larkin with reviewing the document, and rendering recommendations to the Town Moderator. The draft document regarding the process to fill Finance Committee vacancies was thus reviewed. The language of the draft was reviewed in detail and several modifications were discussed and agreed upon for consistency to define the duties and responsibilities for the appointment process and for those interested in serving on the Finance Committee. Of importance is the staggered terms of appointment. It was noted the Deputy Moderator conducted due diligence to obtain the correct and definitive dates of appointments/terms of Finance Committee. After reviewing the terms of the successors which would vary, it was agreed that all terms should end consistently at the conclusion of the Spring Annual Town Meeting with an appointment to expire (2) weeks thereafter. This allows for similarity and for the continuation of the committee without interruption.