##VIDEO ID:SccNSTEpXmU## okay this is um towns and finance committee calling the meeting to order at 6:11 p.m. the uh roll call umot is here Mary Jane Churchville here Dam Grant here and's here um that's four we have a quum we are ready to continue um this meeting is being reported on Channel 9 and will be available also on the YouTube channel this point I have no additions or deletions to the agenda for this evening okay my turn you your turn is we at session to okay good evening everyone my name is Laura shiffon and I will call our portion of the select board meeting to order for January 30th 2 at 6:13 p.m. I'll call please Veronica present Laura sh present please join me in the pledge of allegiance to the of the United States of America and to the for it stands Nation indivisible andice for all I want to thank all of our military serving us now all of our veterans all of our First Responders and I'm becoming very fond of all of our volunteers and I do appreciate youing okay Our Town Administrator Nelson is here attending remotely as well and I don't think there is anyone else is there anybody else on the participants did you I don't see anybody else on the participants campaign get the down and Lisa brothers and c and who CK CK all right yes so that is um already let me finish um the meeting is being recorded and uploaded to YouTube and is there anyone else recording the meeting if so signify that you are recording hearing none I currently have no additions or deletions for tonight's meeting and we are not doing the minutes so don I'll turn it over to you for our joint meeting thank you um the purpose for tonight's meeting is mainly to discuss um the role in the upcoming budget season and as we are um set our schles review the meetings we know we have the big budget Summit on March first but we can set dates that we can also have joint meetings and and have departments Comm in um this my my thought on the Summit is that if we were to do a full review of everybody every Department's Budget on that day it it would take more more than the full 24 hours in a day yes my thought on that is I do think we should give every Department 15 minutes if the point of the meeting is for us to discuss the budgets and where we think it would be I would want the department head to be there during that time to um provide any input any any that is needed um in your r so either by Zoom or in person correct we um we have had three departments in already with the finance committee we Assessor Collector collector and a little bit of it we have three members that are new on the on the finance committee this year so a little bit of an introduction to to department heads and and so we've been we've been pretty much asking for iners if we can um this is a little more a little more interactive and we get membership see to see that so that and our typical review would be we take the spreadsheets that have been provided um come up with questions we we do comparisons we look at the percentages and percents of changes and the changes we look at the BBA as of where it is at that particular time um so right now we have the end of December U we we do four months um look at it so as we hit the beginning of February um as we get into that the assistant Treasurer will provide um seven months so we take that we look at it um as we're doing that comparison we're looking to see are we running about the correct percentage for that line for that year or are we going run into if we use the same numbers year over here we could be just putting in another bad budget if if we're overrunning lines and there are exceptions um things like the longevity is paid on anniversary date so it may show 100% so it's kind of like we it's not just a strict look at a percentage in a number it's look at the line um and and have that discussion with if there's any questions with the U Department do you also look at if you're if you have six months now do you look at the difference between the six months of the prior year the first six months do you look at the same time table for each year is what I'm saying and then know where're um a little more difficult to do that because the bbas are if done we we don't we don't have they're hard cppy in in many cases hard copy so if you're doing all this back and forth you're trying to compare hard copy um I know we can get Excel spreadsheets now with the BBA information that would make it a lot easier to to do to compare I mean if you it's just a hard you know it's a lot of work and in some cases year over-year um the the budget lines change so whether whether you're running in the same I I suppose it could work if if you want to track Trends to see if the department track the same way year over year we could try to put together something with Trend Trend trend lines on it so you can see you know it was was in FY 24 somebody at 40% and this year they're at 35 or 55 um but I'm talking about like actual expenses it would work for any line um you if you get the two reports and have the same then you can bring in the information format it and come up with TR trending so I mean that's that's something I I don't mean to delay with that but I just think of a lot of I mean I've done other organizations let's say and we kind of we try to compare the apples and apples and you can see a trend sometimes and yes you make changes in the budget but you have those numbers there so what was budgeted before may not be budgeted right again and for various reasons I understand yeah I mean yeah I mean they they they'll change year year over be year um it is going to be an example we had a significant increase in the it budget this year over last year so if you were to compare it last year to this year you'd be running way even higher than we are today it's kind of like so there's been an adjustment in the budget but we still are running a little bit the expenses are running ahead of where you'd expect them to be at at the 50% Mar of of the year and that's that's just one but but again you know looking at so can I um my feeling is if you have and I did I did I was on the budget meeting last week to see the assessors and the treasure collector so my feeling is if you guys are having the department heads come in to discuss their budgets we should attend and we could post it as a joint meeting right um and that might make it um easier than having the department heads come in twice to do um so if you know what your schedule is for that it would be nice to look at our calendars and see if we could make that I wasn't on because yeah we could post well but and I'm the lia on for finance that's yeah that's um so I'm gonna come anyway but I think if we could post it as a joint meeting just to even sit in and and listen so that we understand um what was what they have the reasons that they have added a line or subtracted a line um that would be good and could save time in the future and would prevent the department heads from coming in twice exactly that's and that's exactly what to me the purpose of this meeting is is to talk do you want to do it on any of the Selectmen Tuesdays um your meeting on the 4th and the 11th I believe it is no the fourth and the 18th and the 18th there are meeting right now if you did not want to bring and do joint meetings and do department heads then then we're looking at the Tuesdays we have and have you already scheduled department heads to come we have not we we held off on on we we held off on it until we had this meeting to determine so what we see not the fourth because we've already posted for that right yeah okay so if you guys are meeting the following week you know you could invite in whoever the next department heads are and then um the following week we could do it in the select board meeting right and you guys could and then the next week we could do it in finance now generally what we were also going to do is the weeks you're meeting on Tuesdays um we had planned Thursday meetings for those weeks that's so like it it starts with the six which happens to be North Middle SE so we're already doing we're we're we're already doing one and it happens to be North Middle 6 okay because the timing work February 6 is North Middle 6 is that here or it's going to be here it's a joint meeting again we're going to try to do the zoom here bring we'll all be in we'll be all in the room inste everybody from home we don't have to be joint in some of them because I have mrpc the 6th and the 13th which are Thursdays oh so you're saying you're not going to be there no okay well I'll be there on the set so okay so are we changing it to the six no we're doing six and North Middle six okay um we are seeing a presentation from tomorrow morning I'm going to are you going I'll be there you are gonna be there right no no okay okay so the next meeting would be the and for us you're saying for us our our normals are will be on the Tuesdays is the 11th so we'll we'll do a joint on the 11th and we'll 6m uh 6 PM we we're keeping it at 6 we have a member that is still working I can do that um Jo who's coming in on the ele um I have to refer back to oh I have fire in fire police and communication we wanted to keep them together because they cross over that's 6 o00 y so we we haven't reached out so hopefully they I think fire things every meeting on so we can we can post the 11th this joint yeah and we have that I'll get the zoom information to to Sabrina and the the whatever the words for the crazy words yeah okay on the 18th I will be virtual the 18th okay and so on what were you thinking for the 18th um have you done land use um we haven't done land use the um we can do some town hall or or do you want to do library that's that might be good so both of those on the 18th we'll do library oh just the library library pretty big sometimes it can we'll take a look and see again we don't know these schedule these ATT tenative until we reach out we'll have alternates right for them do we want to do Council on Aging on that day too um that's a good hour meeting on the 18 we the sixth and the 11th board select is the 18th yeah and then the next one is the 27 which is awful close to the first what happened to what about we have the we haveth yeah oh oh we could do that we can do the 25th the 13 and the 25th is our is our next meeting anyway so you do you one and three we do two and four month so so do the 25th Y and who is is everybody else left like facilities highway highway Waters and Recreation are left Recreation but what about land use uh I thought we put they didn't what's on the 20th um the 20th we don't have anything yet so I think we'll filled out with a lot of the the town hall like land use highway is a big one oh are we doing anything on the 13s yes I can do the 20 as virtual no no I have yeah we originally thought the 13th no no no we were we were talking about it if we wanted to go to two meetings in a week um yeah and and yeah if we are doing that it's kind of like if we want to we can request and see see if this I didn't have anybody Zo on the 20th the the 20th I think Highway um Highway what you say water water and water that's what usually comes in and does a presentation we might want treasure at the same time we we did I'm sorry account account because water is going to put together an article when transfer money and the and um the accountant takes that money and puts it into the budget and we use it so we we really you know look at the the accountant budget Plus have there for checking back board and see if there's anything missing from the water department do you want water and accountant at the same day yeah think Highway water and the accounting the same day yeah I know it sounds like a weird one piece 20th February 20th so Highway account in water okay yeah I know it sounds like a weird combination but especially when it comes to water department water doesn't run the budget for they just transfer they have their own budget they vote okay and but they transfer to the town to pay things like right health insurance and and other services that we that town the town side so what about the says attorney fees things like that turn she what no she's saying Highway water accounting on the 20th 20th Y and 25th and then where's land use we don't know yet that hasn't been building department we do the building department we had not done the building department right so it's building land use these are leftovers do we have the 13th what do we have on the 13th no not I down right apparently no no no we we had talked about potentially doing days two two week because we're trying to get if we're trying to get through everything we can request a zoom meeting do the 13th and add some people let's do that to get this over on the 13th you won't be here um I have mrpc at five in person it may not be oh that's the caucus that's the caucus I think there's a dinner involved with that oh so I have no idea I do it may not be wrong I could I don't know just correct me so what are we doing on the thir don't know yet you'll probably be meeting righte um well right now we have the the uh the sixth is school committee right um the 11th is um fire police Communications right the 18th is Council and aging and Library the 20th is Highway water and accounting okay so our free days are the um 13th the 25th 25th and then we have a meeting on Saturday the March 1 so what are our leftover um so we have building I'm just going through the downstairs building um we have Health Board of Health oh that's right we have um town clerk no they did them oh you did town clerk already if you want um if you want to revisit with the town cour no we don't need no no no we don't need to revisit if you guys saw them we're good anything I don't remember I'll look at the yeah and I can look at yeah we're good so um let's do building on the 13th good do building Board of Health um done the treasure you've done land Cemetery um did you guys mention [Music] Cemetery okay Cemetery Cemetery okay Cemetery sharan Parx for the Board of Health and building and building that sounds like a fun name I think that could be okay so when do we want land juice Tuesday the 25th okay that's the only slot open well if we're doing three per um so land use and what else you've got uh facilities facilities so what dat are we on now 25 still on the 25th facilities so facilities land juice hang on you're gonna make me I'm going to we're gonna go back over be nice get them all in by the first or are we gonna do that under land juice all SE uh conservation planning all under land use it's one office isn't it is it um they have different separate budgets really oh conservation and land when we do land use we should do conservation and planning CBA and what CBA the Sony board of appeals zba okay and what was the other one conservation zba planning all and all under land use okay who are we missing okay so I um anybody know AC AC [Music] Animal Control animal controlc that is typically fire um police okay communication Animal Control is under one of is in that area of the budget can do that tea is gonna be and tea te is gonna be with fire okay so put animal control on the 11 okay um the support Organization for um fire Town's an emergency oh the EM uh there if there's a disaster disaster like if we have a hurricane was itle that always did the opening statement at the beginning of town meetings what do they do Charle qu she would come up at the beginning of every town meeting and and give the team a introduction and tell you what need to be way back really but so is Bill Elliot now tea or what is I don't know who's doing tea right now I can't tell you do you know Nelson who te who's doing tea um I thought it was Billy I could be mistaken I thought it was yeah I don't know yeah so we're doing a lot on that night fire police communication animal control and tea yeah they're safy they're all in the public safety SE police Cemetery Council on Aging tea the water department um Bo of Health librar Facilities oh where are we putting um with facilities and land use or with building Board of Health and cemeterian Par what building Board of Health and Cemetery Parks um let why don't we do facilities I just think you're have to get more sleep yeah take where you putting it she wants to put it on the 25th the that should be all right yeah who else is there we get the we did get the library again okay Library C and with Board of Health when we do them I also see the show the health here okay yeah they're part of that but they're part of that yeah okay why do you have Sabrina has a question oh yeah we need theard budget and the finance committee I was thinking today that I had not do we have a budget too well wait a minute absolutely foren SES okay so what do we do can you just at that me just thereal yeah the historical commission under your Board of Health that's not board Health under your I think it's under Board of Select already uh no I don't think so I I didn't do last year's budget that's that's where it was we didn't typically do that well because we never had a budget before right that wasn't the three years that I was as s we didn't do that they just went into so I don't know where it was put building inspector is that's oh that's a good idea because he enforces he's the enforcer enforcer right commission oh that makes sense okay so let's put it there where is that that's 13th 13th yeah distri commission no okay trying to get the on the bus up the American flag committee doesn't have anything well they do have a budget but it's very small like a oneliner do we need to see or that I think Nelson can just ask them what they need for this year what about the gas electric those inspectors that all come under building building um the other one is the um Betty Mays for the oh the band concert oh yeah what do she oh yeah it's towards the end of the budget but like where wreck is yeah should be with wck should be with W should be with wck okay but wck is with it's not under the wreck budget it's own budget but um where do we stick w we put underne land use facilities conservation so this is um BS minut is that the 25th yeah yes okay yeah and and again I mean some of this we're we're getting it in we have the budget Summit if we need to push some make want to get the smaller ones done during the week I think we should get everybody's input and discussion and then on the day of the budget Summit set up for 15 minute time slot and it's the time for us to discuss and come to so we'll vet everybody so to speak prior to the summit and then at the summit will we choose certain people or will everybody come I think we should have an opening for everybody some we might have more it depends on what I think we should have a time for everybody I do so not that they're going to present anything they'll be more there for if we have questions or if if we have um differing views on what something should be okay um so they can well I can tell you um that when we met with the few people that we met with the town clerk that um assessor in the treasurer first of all it was very very knowledgeable information I mean that it was very interesting but as a result of those meetings we found three spots that had to be addressed in the various budgets so my point is that that we have to see them and then assess everything and then come back to them well that's and that works with your saying yeah sobrina had a question Services officer oh we need that veterans officer oh yeah I was just going through um couldn't she go into the 18th library in COA that sounds like a good plan doesn't it what date is that that's the 18th the 18th so veterans off so where do we put the Selectmen where did they end up okay um we [Music] we but and and finance committee so that um and again some of some of that may be we have to we haven't should we put another day in almost every day 27 twice a week 27th yeah Thursday the 27th we can save the best for last finance and select board yeah but that that would make it three meetings that week we up for a lot and we haven't even talked about Capital planning that's right or audits or anything like planning and audits that would be with Finance well the capital planning is on its own they make a presentation that that it has to do we do we want the capital planning hasn't pulled together a meeting yet so it's so they haven't even restructured yet um well so in in any event we just sang three meetings a week you and I are both on Capital planning and you and I are both on audit you're not Capital planning who is you are know somebody from finances and um Carol Carol and Carol planning I'm going I'm select board now I had been okay so Carol's coming in it's fin I'm doing we'll double check doing the web he's showing on the web is as um on as the finance committee appoint B until 2025 so well Mark I see I don't know if that was just a oh right we can reach out to Mark and see what's heing have you reached out Sabrina have you gotten a response oh the capital planning you talking about yeah if you go to the capital planning page it's showing Mar in any event it's a it's a question of how much time do we have for meetings if we're doing if we're doing right Capital plan to take some some um it could right and we should ask everybody well have their capital budget prepared want to reach out and say come in with your capital information some of the members are there but we could have questions in our joint that may help yeah Capital planning right right so we a l i don't think we'll try to get together as I mean all the members are there could you do a three board joint where the capital planning falls together and ask Capital questions well um not a bad idea not a bad idea don't think that's a bad idea either should aim for that okay then does that work for you Nelson what do you think about that that you mean a a a triple commit triple with capital on the same day so they could bring in their capital budget that would be great U so would that be like uh a working session or this is a as a result of all the discussion and then they meet with us well do you want to have them towards capital is a separate entity Capital yeah right so maybe we should just have a capital planning meeting after after the joint meeting on the day yeah or something like that we'll have to talk about that you want to do that on the 27th I know it's three times in a week but you've got a short window so on the 27th we would do what finance and well Capital planning is going to have to meet several times okay so I'm just I I don't have of my working files so I only have the list I um let me blow it up a little bit um I have taken and filtered by the by the gray cells so this is the and and so this is the section so the board of Select room finance committee accounting Board of assessors Treasurer collector legal which is probably the same time it's Board of Selectmen well they've already yeah they've already turned in a letter for what they what they want but we haven't looked at it so we can do that for so Mis will be board with the board of Select sure so that's on the 27 so Board of Selectmen uh Finance legal yeah an Mis Mis yeah and then the next section that we add town court is is elections uh Board of regist speak listing then you have conservation um mrpc is going to be that's usually under planning board in that same that's land use okay and land use has a separate budget as well right yeah um it is the land use is facilities police Fire EMS Emergency Management is the tea uh Communications the building department with all his all that stuff yeah um animal inspector animal inspector animal I usually see that um if you look at the budget it's usually where okay I'll I'll spread it back out after yeah then we had tree wood maybe they've changed does a tree wood have a is there a tree wood aood just like there's Dona um the burial agent we know was the schools we are covering highway highway gets snow and ice and street lights um Solid Waste is Board of Health uh cemeterian Parks housing authority and Housing Trust um is that gonna be where do I I brot that under the 25th for land juice okay because the the administrative person is under land juice so I put it there then B of Health show bard of health and engineering is all Board of Health right um and they have their separate section so it's every Tuesday and every Thursday the mons that way but again I think by moving February we're not g to have the panic in March and April yeah that's the plan that we're not the day before town meeting I couldn't there was we can't do that we did I know but those are all things that get figured through the well really ours the Deb the retirement the unemployment insurance well I I think we need to cover them in to do that in we we did run through a lot of this with a lot of the insurances with um yes Melissa Melissa but we also want to as we're going through this one of the things that I've been keeping tabs on so far is number of employees and number of benefited positions because as we do Cal I just want to see where we I think that those last five things in my opinion are things that we can put on the Saturday the 1 okay okay um because they're really dependent on all the rest and they and I I'd like to add um a lot of those the certainly the um the insurance portion I I'm um working on that pretty pretty actively you know I'm the one that's been uh talking to our um liability insurance uh agent um the health insurance you know through Maya so I've been in constant contact with them and trying to figure out what is a good percentage to to put in into the budget for next year so um I can speak to you know a lot of those uh Insurance items Nelson does is does March first give you enough time to have those together for discussion uh yes um the health insurance we are we have already been given a general range from the health insurance carrier um they're going to spend the next few weeks actually um looking at each City in town and providing each of them with an actual percentage increase but I do have a range at the moment and I think I'll have an actual percent manage in the coming weeks um The General Insurance liability insurance um premium um yeah I should have a pretty solid number by then as well okay good thank you sueme flag [Music] flag flag FL flag committee yeah where do we put it we can put them um I would put them on the 25th with the concerts etc etc oh so flag committee couple big ones we'll do in in order I probably do the flight committee first but oh you do the I do the yeah rather than make them yeah oh sit through everyone so so order you can pick the order that you want to put them in yeah you're right conc isck where do we do this Summit um the Summit is usually here in this room um on the Saturday I think it usually starts at 9 and then we go so it's not a it's not the public coming in no it's not the public coming in but people can it's open we don't shut people down it's posted as an open meeting if anybody wanted to come in it yes usually 9 to noon is what we always targeted and then it wound up going till 1 3 but again I think that was budgets were passed further further down on the line we weren't seeing them so there was a lot of activity um this and doing it in February pretty much by the policy that says review in February and have joint meetings we're we're going back to what's what's posted and what we have for policy procedure and that's what we're trying to do um so um I think this is this is a good list I'll cut out the list and that helps with the dates too it's like so you will notify the people send out invitations y saying that we're going to have joint meetings and um you're invited to discuss your budget all right so can I just R right time most of them 6m can I just review the dates Tuesday the 11th is fire police Communications tea Animal Control yes the 13th is building Board of Health which includes nishoba cemetery and parks and historic district commission yes what nooba ofth of Health two of Health Cemetery yeah our of Health andoba Board of Health supports us so we have a contracts oh and the nursing and the food clinics building um the 18th is uh veterans agent Council on Aging and Library the 20th is Highway order and accounting I um I thought we already had accounting though no we got it all right the 25th uh facilities land use which includes conservation planning CBA housing wreck oh we're doing housing in that oh yeah yeah it's part of land use okay those are all in and we're doing facilities there uh facilities land use and all the subs of land use Recreation concerts and flags night and then the 27th BOS um finance committee select board not BRS select board finance committee legal and Mis yeah and then Saturday is review of everything and um Insurance yes the tree Warden list uh yeah we should probably do that under building and was Capital planning for the 27 to uh well Capital planning we need to talk about so how that's going to work but we can ask them to have the documentation handed in when they visit with us yeah I think that Highway firey and police have already turned theirs in okay I'm not sure if that's true but but I thought I saw that somewhere yeah um so and and maybe in the letter in the invitation that um we just I mean IDE just ask everybody to bring their stuff in to bring their stuff you know if you haven't submitted it bring in or at least think about if you had to replace anything your department uses is it going to be falling into the capital category going forward and so we know about it and so going forward with capital planning you've got a list of things that could when they need to get replaced no problem like that's the biggest thing that's com I think Capital planning is going to need to meet sooner than the end of February yeah yeah I think it's usually been a weekly meeting right nobody has set a date and there's no one in charge so who was the vice chair last year I don't even know um I thought Teresa was the chair Teresa was the chair um see I think I was vice chair but I don't want so far appointed were you Vice chair I thought there was four was I got too much going on I just I mean [Music] committee um and if you want to see it's up there um oh there it is Christ he's not there yeah we don't even have Mark there well let him still be there mark would made a great chair person I I have replaced Teresa yeah okay um okay did we have one even um I don't I don't know I I don't even see where a chair listed so I it's kind of like is that is that it five people that's what last year that's usually three at large there's a planning board member a finance Committee Member select board member well it must be Capital planning must be Jerry and Carol right wasn't Carol appointed to the Capal planning she was the planning board Saina Sabrina I have the last roster from the town clerk yeah and January 7n Basie call Car Mark H and then now Veronica I was at large John appointed me this summer okay but then I ran for select board so I've just gotten sworn in of Select board and signed the outar okay I guess that's where I came in it could there enough to call a meeting there's there are but someone has to take the initiative to do it and normally I have but I don't want anybody saying oh you've violated the open meeting law and so I won't do it okay someone else needs to do we G find someone to do it so either Mark or who the other car Carol someone that was on it last year I wasn't doesn't like the chair no I really don't someone just needs to set up the meeting and then we can appoint a chair Carol can yeah commit aren't we all we all are forms are out there we have every day every single day volunte you know like you know how they what do they call those people I try to do it every day every single day try to say you think good for this yeah and then they just go away what they call Job trading a job show for the volunteers yeah I think people would come it's possible but yeah so I'm I'm looking at the at the same item that s had um it's so and doesn't identify it chair Sabrina could you uh email all those that have been sworn in and currently and ask them um to please arrange for a meeting and um if they need any help they can call me because I'm not affiliated with board that my suggestion was um I will reach out and uh to meeting okay thank Youk there okay and if they and if they're all retired we could beet in the yeah as which is fine oh me too I love actually I think most of them are I think most of them are it's what could meet during the day absolutely yeah I think they're all reti thank you all right okay so meeting we have our list of departments plan and D you'll do the reach out to Y I can send [Music] emails especially nothing onist anyway Nelson anything else that you think we should cover um no I think that's pretty much every um I think we've covered the entirety of the the various departments we have covered that now the big one the Omnibus budget um which is the compilation of every single one of these individual sheets onto one master sheet that's what the on the bus is and um that I've been um populating that on my end because uh it's such a gigantic um beast of a spreadsheet so I've been um inputting what people have been sending me um you know um for a few weeks now so it's it's pretty much complete there's still some big gaps that obviously we uh I don't have you know school um the uh the trash and um maybe a couple other things so I've been um inputting um what I can into the spreadsheet uh over last several [Music] weeks yeah that that'll be that's that's the huge part and that's what we put together um there are a couple of couple of items on the on the bus that have to happen um a lot of times you'll see dollars and cents um everything in your on the bus has to be rounded up to the next whole dollar um that's the way the budgeting is is handled in that piece so that there they little pieces but just things that we'll have to for get um when we print it out maybe we print it going into um the warrant where you repeat headers so that you're not guessing what a colum is when you get a page oh yeah you're trying to get and put P page breaks in it when we get to the warrant so General there's nothing else under General you you get three into General there it is then you get the fire or fire safety or or whatever that the big problem so that you can really segment it out so that people aren't flipping and searching as much as we do um try to try to make it to a more readable section and uh give people that that opportunity because you're you're always seeing people trying to which which line numbers are they and then they they flip them could it be on the screen like it was the other night beh you know when Erin put her put forth her presentation she had the screen behind the board could it be that way and then people can at least identify where should be able to just screen share and and put up the but and put it up yeah it shouldn't be a problem and then people can just sort of look at the top and find it on their page did you still have the light on to do that we just have to sit some else that light right in our eyes and it was so at the end of the meeting I had a headache from having that light there right so really you need an overhead projector that's like this or from up in the ceiling which I anyway yeah oh what it's not there up in the ceiling maybe facilitate facilitate facilities and um T cam can figure something El right otherwise we have to or you know I guess the screen comes down in the center there I'm trying to we just need to be offset from that that's all so or we should have like what do you do down you know on the finance table you look up right and we can't see it but I was sitting next to Nelson so on his computer what was going on up there so figure something out Sabrina Sabrina the a committee be joined with anything or uh I don't think so I think we just need work to do um the audit committee wouldn't really have anything here the audit committee is is dealing more with the external auditor but we're a point where we need to go for the for bid for the next fiscal year for the aitor um and and the question is well we can talk in audit committee so yeah so the the audit committee is that's their piece and then generally there's not much other than uming with it one of the things could be that the audit committee changes and monitors the results and has reports from the people implementing what the audit come back with or that's well there that can be that that's the review that happens according to the policy that's in the review but there's is there followup to make sure that what they've recommended to do is following that's up to um so uh what I was gonna say what was I gonna say there is a spot though for the audit and I think it's under accounting it's under accounting um so I I so depending on the three years that are in play right now is it 24 to 26 or was it 23 it's going to be 25 last year so okay so it is 26 so we do have to get numbers right so y it's kind of like pretty I I think it's pretty pretty close to saying but um having read some of the B and things it may be ex that we may need to have done I think the to housing Housing Authority trust trust needs an audit basis right which may not have been included in the last last quote not no for acity it's not and one of the other things that we haven't done in the past that I would suggest we do this year um get reports from the treasurer not the treasurer the accountant um in review generally it it's the item for the revolving funds it's kind of like we really don't do a review of them they we just pop them in we don't do well with cash and which yeah int we don't um I don't mean do well with I mean we don't uh keep track of right there's no tracking mechanism for cash and hasn't been forever and it's one of the things that always has brought up yeah you it comes the the auditor typically has a line item that says yeah do better with cash put in for years you know but but um in all the revolving accounts we we have what what they need to spend but we don't and we don't we don't see balances at the beginning year the end of the year we should be looking at at those and and look at the revenue that that's coming in and because we assign a dollar value for what they what they can expend from the account um but we don't necessarily look at at do a real look at the accounts themselves and see what the activity is the recycling Cent I I yes and it's fine um I dropped things off in December one year and my check cleared in March so so gets to the Auditors those revolving accounts do they generally have money in them that is and it's just for them so does it earn interest I I that's I I believe the answer is yes but uh the treasurer would have yes she it may be that she accounts for it individually and just puts it into one account I know we have about 30 bank accounts but I don't know what each one of the bank accounts is for good to know I have a question about this audit yeah so why can't we look at the audit and when the department head comes in to talk to us we have some clue as to well it isn't really auditing the Departments it's really a so it's more you could talk to the accountant or perhaps the treasure but it's more accounting than it's a combination their so you could talk to them about it because that's really Department wise where any corrections need to be made but if it's in the handling of cash and deposits between the recycling center I think that's Bo of health so yeah um we should take a look at it anyway at least we but that's what I say it's kind of like those those are things we haven't looked at before I don't know if we need to look at them Department wise we can talk about them and do them before the meeting well if like R says it wasn't I don't want to if cash is bad who's responsible like you said recite uh recycling department so well and then if you would go to the senior center for lunch there's a a revolving account there you pay cash or however for your lunch so how does all that work and how is it how do you know that what you took in is what came into the treasurer um where are the checks and balances there that's the question or riding the senior bus there's that there there's a lot so that adds up well I I don't know never can I know budget and process policy refers to article six of the Town Charter oh we need to update the policy then right yeah so we since the charter chair please put that on the agenda sometime we we are going to do that we're gonna um update the yeah because it's like uh you know eight years old anything the after that right Charter just got updated and posted to if we look at this and one of the items that came in the packet today um if I jump over to it um one of the things in the in the policy is the fiveyear work oh yeah it's kind of like so we've been preparing budgets it's kind of like it's whack Whack A Town Administrator in here you know in turn we haven't done a right it's kind of like and yes I understand this estimate maybe it's not five years maybe it's three got no to a five year look especially Capital planning I'll let you finish yeah what happened to the clear go software that we got a grant for several years ago that was supposed to provide us with a five-year look we were they were populating the fast the past years this was in 2023 we got the software roughly January of 23 I went out as a selectman in in uh April of 2023 and I thought okay we have clear go we're good to go why did that never get implemented the budget the the budgets that they put in never it was never they put they put numbers in but you couldn't relate it back to the actual budget so there was no correlation between what was entered and the actual well wait wait wait number one that's that's just one why was that I would have to I don't want to discuss this here but I would like to have clear G software well that's number one number two is it was a grant and then we were going to have to pay for it the next year that that's typical Grant was not over so we haven't but it isn't huge money it's in the 15 to 20,000 which we typically have um uh free cash available at that rate every year anyway right what does it do actually the the clear go software is supposed to help with the inputting of the budget instead of going in year over year you can just put in some parameters and and you know if you say I'm increasing 4% on a salary and it automates so it's the spreadsheets that Dawn shows but it's within an application they they created an application on a web that interfaces and uses it uses the spreadsheets as a database that's all it's really doing and it formats there and you can do the different pieces you can look back and analyze or you can look forward and so we used grant money we received it and then we never did anything with it we never did anything we we got a community compact grant for it um as a best practice Grant the training that they offered never never came to fruition why is that that that's tells me that someone didn't follow through I'm not saying you I'm just saying that it didn't get followed through somewhere and then because we never wasn't waste of money there there needed to be time spent to get it right and I don't think is that the answer or is doing spreadsheets that help you with this what happens because when when we don't have the people that are here what happens when there is a transition we are re we are recreating the wheel every year with budgeting and we shouldn't have to do that and that's where cleargov would provide clear had a piece for the budget but they also had a a an additional module for Capital planning correct was so it really help could be yeah how much is it every year on the renewal um do you know Nelson I think you're right it's about5 to $18,000 and and then depending on the other licenses in users you're probably 20 so but you're saying it's best practices right it well we we used a we are a community compact town that gives you the right to apply for certain grants right we applied for a bre best practices Grant through the state so if you Google Community compact best practices you can see the types of grants you know the different categories um and we applied for one um and we got the clear GFF software so the softare somewhere working I mean should have been able to I don't it's in the cloud okay yeah okay I get it but I me you have a log into a web page and I know that I logged into it when I was a selectman last time around we waiting waiting for training some some people experimented with it but in general we were wait who was supposed to give the training um clear clear themselves and then never anybody El um well apparently it never got scheduled oh never scheduled by on our that's my guess that there was that there don't want to schedule it until you know you have good data in because people are just going to question the data more than anything so that's capture that cash type thing that you discussed earlier I don't know about that but it could with a different an additional module right yeah understand I mean something you can but it would back to the fiveyear plan it would allow you to do those sorts of projections right and I mean you can you can do it I think it's easily you just have to do a little setup in in Excel spreadsheet you do which can set you up for error well see that's what had though didn't we have that issue already we've had that multiple times yeah yeah and and so I I just think we should look at it um should revisit it each year Town Administrator Town County jointly do this five year great under clear or separately no it it doesn't no this is policy it's not telling you what two no consistency no consistency consistency right in both parts and so that is so I just think we should look at it again not for this budget by any means but a couple years I I believe we can go back and so we're gonna get on track in other words we're getting back on track we can try to get back on track with this with that software yeah and what that will help us with because we have no idea so when we do our budget Nelson we might want to consider putting that in we can talk about what do you put it in the IP or you put it in the it budget right it's kind of those those are the places so yeah but yes and we put the policy on the agenda for one of our meetings to get updated yeah and the last piece of here they're part of the fivey Year BLS also has tools on their web pages for five year with FS um but they're also doing training um and they're doing seminars um DLS is DLS is doing seminars um for forecasting it probably came in your email but I could I couldn't get into the link um the best practices one I tried but I need a little bit more guidance on how to get in so um I I took all those classes though from DLS that you sent they were excellent okay so excent I have it up here DLS sent this out it's kind of like so you can see it up um and they're doing um classes for for the forecasting classes in Asbury and Millis Sal so on the coast oh yeah where's M that's on the that's on the sou side but anyway they're they're there they're offering the courses I figed what we're talking bu I think go that I would I would um so and again the February are too close with everything we're doing so it would have to be March it would have to be March oh my God that's the day before the St Patrick's Day that weend okay no that's that's fine it's kind of like I just threw it out there is this I would like to this is available from from one of our support organizations with the St you have to reserve by February 14th if you're going to do it so coming up in couple we might have something to do for we may have something to do for that day we have the dancers at 11th this Tuesday that was all I had I wanted to touch on the budget set the schedule make sure we had a schedule with the joint meetings good departments I'll reach out letters to them you have the schedule um and I wanted to at least mention that the DLS forcasting Workshop was available having said that Sabrina do we have anything else that you think we [Music] missed okay nelon anything else you would like to mention uh uh nope I think we covered everything okay all right and I will entertain a motion to adjourn our joint meting with the finance at 7:22 p.m. um so moved second yeah we're not we're not adjourning yet Veronica yes laor yes and I'm hoping it wasn't that you had a question for sele me okay Sam then I'll recognize you thank you uh I'll just you're going to send out the calendar as it's been discussed tonight correct I'd like to confirm everything I wrote down yep I having July something for all I know okay than you we can all do that okay thanks Sam I will get that I a motion to the finance committee meeting second thank you everyone thank you yes Mar Church yes ready for wait yes I am okay then we stand you do aoll they did we did they did Sam got thank you very much