I will call the meeting to order um of the financial uh oversight committee and uh present are Kathleen Hill, town counselor, uh Rich Ferro, resident, Jim
Brick, resident and chair. Um also in attendance, Tom Christensen, uh town counselor. If I can interrupt for a minute, um Jamie. Oh, all right. Anna just figured out how to get in. There she is. Oh, there I am. Hi, Anna. Also
is Anna Jones, town counselor and member of the financial oversight committee. And uh joining also is Jonathan Torsche. Um does that mean you need should Hi John,
how you doing? Good afternoon. Thanks. Uh, do you need to open a special town council meeting or um only unless right now we're at three.
So if Connor adds in, then um yes, he could open it, but right now three does not have to open. All right. Conor Connor is not joining and he had asked me if we needed to if if I would. So, I told him I would if we needed to, but I don't think right now we do, but
hopefully. All right. So, we uh we begin with number one on the uh agenda is review and approve the minutes of the 42425 meeting, which uh I had failed to produce at our April 30th meeting. And
uh Anna uh that they were I thought they were very well done. um and and she had suggested I thought it was very good um suggestion to attach uh the committee's questions with the
answers that we used as the basis of our discussion with the school committee on the 24th or excuse me on the 30th. Um and uh were there any amendments uh to be made changes? If not, I would
entertain a motion to approve the minutes of the April 24th uh meeting with the addendum uh of our questions and the school's answers. So moved. All right, Kathy. Thank you. Uh and thank
you, Rich. Any other discussion? Hearing none, uh all in favor? And I guess since we're all on Zoom, it has to be roll call. Uh Kathy. Yes. Uh Rich. Yes. Anna. Yes. Jim. Yes. All right. Unanimously
approved. Uh next up is to review and approve the minutes of the April 30th meeting. Uh these were aly done by uh Kathy Hill. Um, and other than the little little
clarification to identify the $6 fee as being storm water, um, are there any other uh, corrections, suggestions during I suggest that Kathy does such good well with the notes that
next year she take them all every response later off camera. You got to give him credit for keeping he keeps trying. Yeah, he keeps keeps keeps that torch lit.
Uh if if there's no other changes, I'll entertain a motion to approve the minutes of the 4:30 meeting. So moved. All right, Anna. Thank you. Is there a second? Second. All right, Kathy. Uh any other
discussion? Hearing none. Uh, all in favor, Kathy, yes. Rich, yes. Anna, yes. Jim, yes. Uh, they are any opposed? Well, we have unanimous. So, they are approved. So, we'll move to the uh
committee's recommendation communication uh that we would propose to send to town council. Um, and we have that. Uh, and I had sent just a brief or
a small uh, adjustment to it. Uh Tom, I I had added some numbers and percentages and sent a copy to you and Kim and she had sent some clarifications back to me and based on that I had uh made some
changes and and basically it's only the um the only thing I did was uh make some clarifications to that paragraph that had to do with the percentages of the increases etc. Don't know if you all had
had a chance to take a look at that prior to this meeting. Um, and if uh you had any comments or suggestions. I personally like the original letter, but I can live with the updates. It's
not it's not I say hill I'm not going to die on, but I really thought the original letter to me captured our process and our and our thoughts. I would um yeah, I'd echo what Rich says. Um
clearly Kim's explanation is very accurate as it always is, but I'm not sure how by talking about taking money from school choice and circuit breaker, we all know those words. Those are in our
vocabulary all the time. But I'm for the public. Um I'm not sure. I think that might confuse them more than if we simply said that when it comes out of the general fund, it's still an expense. So to that and I I read the copy a
little while ago, but I don't have it up on a different screen, so I can't um go beyond that. But um I would I would um in the interests of the public either tuning in next week or um actually
reading any of the submittals, I think it's less confusing to them because um though we can answer the question, it's you know when they start with what's a circuit breaker, what's a school choice fund and so on. um those
that's getting into the weeds that um I don't think are effective for uh the average person. I think the average person wants okay what are the percentages? how, you know, what does this do to the tax rate? And and and
then beyond that, I'm sure the council will get questions. Um, you know, with a $1985 tax rate, you know, what does that mean for me? You know, Mr. Taxpayer with a $400,000 house. So those are the those are the
things that in my experience the practical answers like what's you know how much is it going to cost me is what the public is after. So um I did not try to get into that
explanation Kathy. So, no, I agree. I'm just saying agree with the way that Yeah. I I figured that would take like two paragraphs just and and it's it's it's lost on people. Like I'm not one that can read a manual to do whatever
when you buy something new. I just plug it in and figure it out. And uh some people love that. My husband's one of them. He loves reading manuals before he uh attacks something. But um most people I think are the let's just plug it in
and plunge forward. All right. And the same with the budget. Yeah. Now I I did add, you know, and I realized that uh and and Kim had brought it to my attention that the the town's general
fund budget goes up 3.6%. which is nice. But when you add in the excluded debt, the debt excluded, it actually for the taxpayers goes up 9.6%. Which um you know, I didn't
reference at all in in the original thing. I mean, not that it really has to be because we're just we're just saying we recommend Tom's budget. Um so we don't necessarily have to say that, but I I did include it. And the
only thing I didn't include was, you know, what Tom and Kim's projected mill rate was. But again, I mean, we could potentially eliminate any of that and just say we just recommend, you know, we don't have any changes to recommend to
the, you know, to the budget. Um, so, uh, we sorry, we we met this morning and that that email was out of our conversation. And the only thing I wanted to clarify was the
1.1% that was in the original letter cuz that is actually 2.3 if you if you look at that uh whatever sheet that was I I know I yes
um for town departments and and the way I worded it the town side less the insurance benefits and retirement is 1.1, but you're right. It's 2.3 for town departments. Okay. And then it's
17.9 decrease for the debt. Yes, you're right. All right. That was really all Yeah. So, when I said town departments, you're you're correct. Technically, it's not 1.1, it's 2.3, but it's offset. You
know that the overall is offset. You're you're right. So, let let me read I'll read you this paragraph and you can tell me whether it's too much, not enough, whatever. Uh cuz that's really the only thing that's changed and uh the overall
general fund budget will increase 3.6%. The town's 4.7% increase is a combination of a two 2.3% increase in town department expenses, a 17.9% decrease in general fund debt, and a
9.6% increase in insurance, health, and benefits, and retirement. The 2 and a.5% increase in the education budget is achieved through the elimination of 19 staff positions in order to absorb, among other things, a
39% increase in special education tuition costs. It should be noted that the town's overall budget will increase 9.6% thanks to a $4.4 million increase
oops in excluded debt. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm reading I'm reading thanks to a $4.4 million increase in excluded debt towards the new high school. Period. I I don't know if I'd say thanks. I would say maybe as a result of Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. You're right. I mean, I understand what you're saying, but somebody may say that's tongue and cheek, like thanks for that. Yeah, it sounds negative. Yeah. Well, no, it sounds flippant maybe. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, as a result of or you know. No, good point.
Uh, and that's the only thing and I I just the FY26 general fund budget as submitted, you know, you know, in terms of the reserves and everything else because that's and and everything else stays stays the same.
Does that work? I like it. Yes, I like it. Right. Um, how does this get transmitted? Do we send it a email? Do we do it as a letter or I think you send it to Jeie. Okay.
And when she goes over the um develops the rest of the agenda with this week that will be an attachment. Okay.
All right. If you could also send it to me so I can include it in the notes. Yeah. Minutes rather minutes. Yes. To all of us. But then just just the genie as backup info. Okay. All right.
Um, how do you feel about voting on it? I make a motion to vote on um the letter developed by Mr. Broadick, our chair, uh, being forwarded to the uh, town council. Second.
Uh, other discussion. Hearing none, we'll do a roll call vote. Kathy, yes. Rich, yes. Anna, yes. Jim, yes. Okay, motion carries. All right.
Um, any other discussion we need to have before we adjourn? I may I assume that you will be there on Tuesday night next week, Jim, to make the brief presentation.
I will make myself available. Yes. Okay. And yeah, is that the 13th? 13th. Yep. Yeah. Next t a week from tomorrow. Um and Don too, I imagine. Yes. I she had spoken to me about it,
right? So I think it is your intention to be there as well. Good. And Rich, would you would you be available that meeting? Absolutely. Great. And I know Anna and Kathy will be there. And what time is your meeting
start? 6 6. Jonathan, any parting words before uh we uh give up the ghost? I think uh everything sounds good. Um been following everything via the LCAP, so that's been really helpful. So, but
good work with everyone. All right. Uh motion to adjurnn. Second. Second. All right. Allen. Uh roll call.
Absolutely. Yes. All right. Rich. Absolutely. Anna, yes. Jim, yes. All right, we are all injured. Thank you everyone and Tom. Thanks everyone. Thank you. Have a good night. Stay dry. Byebye
now. Bye. Bye.