welcome everyone Today is Tuesday April 22nd 2025 at 6:31 p.m This is the Finance Committee meeting and I'd like to call the meeting to order with a pledge of allegiance I pledge algiance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the republic which is which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Under Mass General Law chapter 30A
section 20F this meeting is being recorded On March 28th 2025 Governor Hilly signed into law a bill which extends the temporary provisions pertaining to the open meeting law to June 30th 2027 Specifically this further extension
allows public bodies to continue holding meetings remotely without a quorum of public body physically present at a meeting location and to provide adequate alternative access to remote meetings The language does not make any substantive changes to the open meeting law other than extending the expiration
date of the temporary provisions regarding remote meetings from March 31st 2025 to June 30th 2027 Well hello everyone Hello Well hello Hello So I'm going to do a roll call to uh let everyone the members know
who are here So we have Hugh Morton Al Le Duncan Law Gary Carrero Cindy Brown Christopher Thrasher and myself Karen Rouse At the present time we are missing just one member Zach Leu I don't see him
here Okay Um so our first item on the agenda was to have a or is to have a discussion introduction with our new town moderator but I do not see Oh Kurt just joined and Zach just joined So Zach
Libru is here and we Hello everyone Hello Hi Good evening Hi Zack Good evening Hi Kurt Mr Hayes Hello Yes you can call me Kurt All right Kurt We sure will Um so our first item on on the
agenda is to uh welcome our our new town moderator and maybe you can introd introduce yourself and we'll be happy to introduce ourselves and talk a little bit about town in two weeks Yes I'm Curt Hayes I uh I'm an attorney I've been practicing law in Rhode Island and
Massachusetts for about 38 years Uh I have five children They're all grown from 47 to 20 Uh we moved to Westport in 20 we purchased the house in 2011 moved here in 2013 We have a lot of family
relatives that live in the community Um my wife's sisters Um I was the parliamentarian and chief legal counsel for uh the Providence Community Action Program I've been a
parliamentarian and legal counsel to a number of nonprofits Currently I represent I think three or four nonprofits Uh so I am accustomed to conducting uh meetings and acting in that capacity as a
parliamentarian Um and I thought what I would do is uh I know I have to appoint members to the finance committee which is part of my role So I'm going to appoint myself and resign as the moderator No I'm just kidding So
anyhow that that that's who that's who I am And I'm happy to answer any questions Thank you So did you um I we only exchange emails so we haven't spoken So did you meet with the town administrator today um I did I met with Jim Hart What
a great guy He actually knows my brother and sister-in-law Frank Cindy Roso well so yeah Yeah So it's interesting how the elections go because you just jump right into town meeting So are you ready no one was more surprised
than me Well the But no I'm looking forward to it I I think it'll be uh it'll be fun and I hope I do a good job and live up to your standards That's my goal not to make a mess of things Well we're all here to support you So
thank you for for taking the job that uh didn't seem to be too high in demand but thank you for doing it We greatly appreciate it Um Oh well thank you So the um what nor what normally um happens
is the the finance committee does a very brief presentation and I can talk to you offline too on when when you'd like us to do it Typically um Steve opens up the meeting and then gives the floor to the finance committee We do a very brief
budget presentation and then then the articles start Um so I I think we stick with Steve's formula I I did meet with Steve also and he exchanged some emails with some really useful information and he certainly knew what he was doing So I
I think he set a good example Okay So once we get the PowerPoint finalized we'll I'll send that off to you Um Steve had always asked for it kind of a week before the meeting So this way he had a chance to get it in his grander PowerPoint presentation of everything
else that you've got there So um okay so we can um and just um by the way we have um as you know as you know you appoint finance committee members so we we currently have eight members so we have one open
seat um so that's you know to your discretion whenever uh you can find a candidate for the finance committee that would be uh helpful um to to get that seat filled Okay Yes I will And then there's two two
um terms that every So there's three terms every year So there's two members that would either renew or so you'd have to touch base with with those members Okay Well we got time So those are for July 1 So so nothing urgent but uh the
sooner this you know the sooner we fill the seat for July is helpful to us before we get busy into the I would think Yeah we're kind of in the windown mode now So which is helpful Anything else anyone want to ask
any questions of Kurt while he's here no just welcome to the gang Yeah Oh thank you Thank you I think Mr I I You're an attorney aren't you
mr Thrasher is and Mr Morton is Oh okay I I thought I read I had a professor in law school His name was Duncan And was his last name law no not law Yeah M Mr Mr Morton and Mr Thrasher are
both attorneys Oh okay So they feel my pain So um yeah I I'm looking forward to uh to that I am I I just got the warrant today and I've been going through it Um so it's uh have you had Hey my
question this is Cindy Brown speaking Um have you had the opportunity since you've uh resided here in Westport to attend the town meeting i've been to four town meetings Yes Okay good Oh good Yeah it was fun Good Yeah I never I just
never had that You're a sick human being Yeah I I understand not everyone shares that sentiment Right Right Jim had told me that back in the 90s sometimes town meeting would go three or four days Oh yeah Even back in the 70s even Sure Even
before that Yeah It would go on and on So uh yeah there's no no question that Steve ran a very tight ship and he didn't mind it going until 11 or a little bit past if it was going to be done in one night So um and you know
it's keeping people there That's always the hardest part right is keeping people interested enough to stay the whole for the duration because the articles at the end are just as important as those in the beginning And it's always hard as
you know to keep people there So y but as Cindy probably indicated when you have late in the day the audience may end up being the finance committee and the selection Right That's about it
Right Right Okay So um I I any other questions I'm happy to answer or Okay No I think it it was great to put a name to the face so we're not likewise for the first time in two weeks So um I'll I'll be in touch with you about the
presentation and then um I haven't seen the final warrant with the motions printed in them Did Jim give a copy of that i'm actually Yeah I actually have them right here Oh okay We'll have to get that soon Okay Um we can have the the because as you know I you always
call to the chair and I read the motions as as on most of them So um that would be great Okay Okay Did you ever Karen is that my responsibility to get this to you no I'll ask Jim for it I'll get I'll get it from Jim Oh okay All right Yeah
And we'll circulate it Did you happen in mind introducing the members of the committee or they just stand in our faces um we can go around again We had just we had just gone around saying who was here We can go around again
Yes Um so you everyone can introduce introduce yourselves So that's that's perfect Well I already said I already had raised something So I'm Cindy Brown Yeah nice nice to meet you Same here
And I'm Hugh Morton As mentioned I'm a former probate lawyer with a with a fair amount of probate litigation Oh okay That's a lot of what I do Now did you ever know Budgie Baron he was on the committee He was a law
professor of course tracks The name doesn't strike a a bell He was a law professor at Boston College Oh Yeah My brother went to BC Yeah Um Al Le I'm a recovering grosser
Well thank you for all of your years of eating I've done I'm Christopher Rasher I'm a an attorney I specialize in mostly election law actually some criminal defense as well I'm also on the school Oh that's good Very good Nice to meet you Chris
Could I just suggest that that you could turn the volume up just just a tiny bit there we go Yeah That's a little better That's better Thank you A little bit better All right Zach Hi I'm Zach Leu and I'm a
project manager for uh general contractor Nice to meet you Zach Nice to meet you Car So G we have Gary here He's the It says name not available That's Gary It's the you because I'm on another meeting at
work So um my name is Gary Kuro I've been on the committee for a little bit over 12 years I'm the chief financial officer for the town of Dath and also Okay the uh current uh interim town administrator for the town of Dartmouth All right Hey it's nice to meet you Nice meeting you
And we have Duncan Law which you met I know he's been having some audio trouble Yeah I couldn't hear him earlier Yeah Right Yeah we still can't hear him No Yeah Duncan's got to get a new microphone Yeah Yeah Something
I think my wife wishes could shut my microphone off occasionally Yeah he's not he's not on mute so he'll he'll his his uh his discussions will show up in the chat Okay great
All right Well um appreciate your time Great to meet you We'll we'll touch base soon All right Thank you Take care Thank you All right And I think um Nicole mentioned in the chat she said the motions are on the website So it looks
like there's a so we can grab it from there as well The general public can see it Um didn't know it was there but thank you Nicole Um okay So the second item on the agenda tonight is uh a discussion of uh to get
an update from the school from Evan who Evan Gendro who's here with us to give us an update um on the school budget So we we all know um the budget constraints in the the 54%
split that the town uh has generated leaves a significant gap to the school as well as many other departments Um but I wanted to get an update from um the school committee on on where where you're standing with the budget what
what cuts have you or what what do you what have you done successfully and and where do you stand with the budget now thank you uh Madam Chair and uh thank you um to the committee for inviting me
tonight to speak and give an update Um I also wanted to thank Jim Hartnett and other members of the finance committee that I've had the opportunity to speak with over the last few months as we've gone through the uh you know not easy process of developing a budget
and adjusting to different estimates and as a numbers come in um particularly Miss Brown and and Duncan Law as well um as we've had those discussions Um but I just wanted to give an update as now the vice chair of the of the
school committee and um where we're at Um I wanted to just I'll preface this with obviously nothing is concrete yet Um you know we're still waiting on a number of things And this number this we the school committee itself hasn't voted on a on a on any changes but this is
what what the thinking is um going into based on where we're at with uh both the um the finance committee's recommendation um and work that I asked our business office to do as well um in an effort to to sort of close the gap in
our recommended figures Um so we started with uh I'll just go down I guess starting from our recommended budget to to kind of where we're at right now So we started with our recommended budget from the school committee of just over $24,40,000 Um and we presented that uh
to the finance committee earlier this year in our presentation Um but also happy to to discuss that again if anyone had questions Um the after the select board's recommended figure came out and uh we were roughly 500,000 just under there
apart and following the finance committee's recommendation of the 23,254,000 Adding in the 400,000 free cash gets us to just over 23,654,000 which leaves us at a
difference of $385,000 uh roughly So I I then asked our business office who works very diligently uh in in concert with the school committee on our budget every year to take a look at the especially
the the the larger items that were included in our recommended budget to see what could be done there uh outside of of cutting from our contractual obligations What what adjustments could be made that would that would close the
gap So um I will note that obviously it's not ideal because the committee recommended that figure because we felt that that's what needed to be uh included in the budget But what I will say is you know obviously we we all know the the difficult realities of living in
in a town like Westport that receives little state aid um includ also with Chapter 70 um and other formulas that leave Westport out So after talking with our business department who then worked with um our
other departments to find ways to to get that closer So if we look at the two largest items that were included in our recommended budget they were a subsparate classroom um at the Mumbre School and uh a
therapeutic classroom So those costs between those two um lines were just over $300,000 from our recommended but actually was $31,000 from our recommended budget Yeah
So the thought of including those in the in our recommendation was that there was you know identified students as uh as potentially benefiting from those programs and possibly preventing uh future out of district placements which
end up costing the district uh money as as everyone's aware Um that is you know that's based on the assumptions and the projections of our of our staff But if we held off on on um those two line items that would reflect an adjustment
of just over $300,000 in our in our budget I just I'll just note that the risk that we run by doing that is if those students particularly the ones that are um identified in early intervention at the Mumbre School if if those end up
coming with placements that could create a cost But um assuming that that doesn't happen and we reduce these lines we're looking at a at a difference instead of $385,000 of um just over $80,000 difference in budgets So that's that's
if we if we um don't include those two items in our budget that's that's roughly where we stand um now So uh I I felt that um the finest committee would you know appreciate that update on our end and
you know obviously it's it's not um an ideal situation but would certainly appreciate any thoughts feedback um uh what the feeling of the committee is on on opportunities where we may be able to close that gap would certainly be appreciated So thank you Thank you
And you know I I chatted with Evan um you know I I was trying to put together the presentation that you know that the finance committee does and and I feel I couldn't even say if the school was planning on layoffs or or have any idea
how you were trying to close that gap and and really where you stood And I think it's it's helpful so we all understand um you know what what what you're trying to do to to you know to to get that down And I was encouraged to hear that there wouldn't be you know
teacher layoffs and and everything that you're trying to find creative ways to to bridge that gap But um so that's what prompted the conversation here today I think it's helpful that we all have an update on uh what's happening with the school Um so go ahead Ally You've you've
got your hand up Yeah Yes This is more information Uh Evan of the total budget how much is um uh contractual or obligatory based on you know whether
it's state statute or whatever feds or whatever and how much it is discretionary um 8020 9010 7030 ju just you know a ballpark number so while I don't have a ballpark off the
top of my head what I can tell tell you is that a lot of our especially our larger increases are not discretionary So those are whether that's um if it's uh special education related right those
placements we can't do anything about those That's a that's a significant cost of the district right um and it that's probably the in the I would put that in the second largest category The first is our just our contractual from collective bargaining and transportation So that we
can't we we can't control those that that's based unless unless we cut staff Um because most of our budget is is salaried Uh so that's subject to collective bargaining The same with our transportation that's subject to the contractual agreements we have with with
um Amarls and others um that we work with So but I would say particularly on the special education front that's it's it's um higher cost category Um the same is true for I mean we're you're required
to provide transportation up to a certain grade You know there are some discretionary obviously some discretionary things that we include like we don't have to include the athletics that we do or the you know that but that's obviously important to running a school district and
um but I will say a lot of it I while I would refrain from a percentage what I would say is a lot of it is um is non-discretionary It's locked in Yeah a good percentage is locked in is Yeah Okay And I would say
just just adding to that one one other piece is is with um classroom ratios which is important because I I can tell you especially on the the special education side if we get um a certain number of students that are identified as as requiring services that we can't
provide outside of a certain um class ratio Say the um say the capacity for a certain subsearate or other program is seven students and we get another placement that is now a instead of just including them in that room if that's the capacity
that we're required to have we would then have to pay for an out of district placement on that So that's in addition to just the placements there there's questions about capacity and so there are a lot of things that play into that but I appreciate that That's per that's that that's fine Yeah Thank thanks
thanks for the info Thanks Al Um Gary you you're next if you're available Okay Yes Um so you know does the does the amount that was um rejiged here uh include the free cash
allocation that was uh originally uh presented whatever amount that was is that this is net of all that right the 301,000 Correct So this is so um when I took the original difference that's not from the base the base budget was
23254 So that the difference is after adding in the 400,000 in free cash that was recommended by um by I believe both the finance committee and the select board So after adding that in I the original difference was taken from our uh the school committee's recommended
budget um with the the the finance committee's recommended budget Okay So I mean I wouldn't want the public to think the impression is well they're going back and looking for 3001,000 They can cut another 200,000 I I don't think that's the case here Um you know we still had a remaining amount
of free cash Uh have they looked at busing i know that I think last year the the school school department looked at uh combining some routes trying to be a little bit more efficient in uh you know the transportation of students Has that been looked at in this budget cycle uh to my knowledge it has and I can tell
you that So our our business manager works very diligently on our bus routes with um with Amaralls So they um I know that they're constantly assessing rooms particularly as it gets closer to the new school year to see if there are opportunities for that Um what I can say
is that the difficult part about about busing in Westport is that the students can't be on the bus for longer than a certain amount of time So when you have those longer routes that go into especially the you know the if it's further in the southern part of town or or uh other places it can be difficult
to stay within those time constraints So that's really what's prevented um more consolidation but um I know that our business department works diligently to make sure that it's that it's efficient Yeah I think it's more than an hour They can't be on the bus for more than an
hour Correct Yep Correct Yeah Okay Thank you I appreciate that Thank you Thanks Gary Uh Christopher you've got your hand up Yes thank you Madam Chair I was just going to add a little bit of context for Mr Lee's question Um I I know that on the original amount that
the school committee requested um I believe it worked out to like a 6 it was either 6.3 or 6.4% increase and it was 4.5% of that was all contractual
obligations So whether including uh uh the the uh additional union uh the union renegotiation and also the the transportation contracts So it's represents a more of that now with the
uh with the the amount that the number is at right now but that's that's where it was at the original uh for the original ask for the school committee Thank you So I know um I just want to throw this out there So you know I know we um voted
in March and made the recommendations for the budget and that's is what's printed in the warrant and that is what uh is already on the website and that will go Um I just I just want to give ourselves just a little thought and consideration if if we wanted to
approach that gap a little bit and uh revisit the budget So um I just want to throw it out there as an option for everyone So in the free cash that that the town had and that was allocated to all the warrants when we wrapped up um
the last three articles which was 32 33 and 34 which was the stabilization fund the capital stabilization fund and then the uh special education fund There's about 82,000 left in free cash that isn't allocated anywhere And so I just
want to give some consideration if if that's something that um we could consider funding helping fund the school a little more for a little more free cash Um and just to remind the the budget in last fiscal year used 652,000
in free cash So while I think it's incredible that we're down to 400,000 in free cash and we're moving in the right direction I'm just a little fearful if we move too much too fast and we're a little overexposed Um as you know I'm
not a fan of using free cash in the operating budget and and um but there is some available that we can consider uh helping the school out in their their last last bit So I just wanted to open that to discussion It's not uh it's you know it's it's a
it's a hard one all around right because we've got to come with some way and and the the goal the goal of the five-year plan was to try to reduce it a 100,000 each year and kind of bring it down And so um I know last year we went above and
so you know so this is a 650 a $252,000 difference which is is drastic Um but so I just wanted to throw throw out um an option for for everyone Yeah Karen I agree I think that was one of the questions I was going to ask is
what we had available in free cash Um you know we asked the school department to go back and look at costing uh you know going back and look at the budget trying to scrub the budget a little bit They did They found $300,000 worth of that Um you know and you know as I've spoken in the past I'm not a as you are
just not you know uh in favor of using free cash but I like the trend It's going downward Uh and I think that if anything it's it's headed in the right direction and maybe the schools now are looking at their budgets a little bit more closely and trying to trying to you know use uh more
efficiency in their budgets They hadn't before but uh I think maybe now uh it to meet them in the middle or uh to close the gap I think that it's it's you know it'd be it'd be the right thing to do in my opinion Madam Chair if I may I just wanted to
quickly comment I I uh I just want to know I share the goal also of reducing the free cash allocation um going forward So that that's one of the the many reasons uh you know I took a closer look at this budget and
asked our business department to to do that as well uh was to help get us as as close as we can uh without starting to reduce services uh for the district So um certainly share that goal Just wanted to point that out Thank you Thank you Um
so we've got a lineup of of hands So I'll go ahead Zach You're next Um so I guess in this question would be for Evan and and the school committee Um in a hypothetical situation if you know
the budget recommendation um standed stands as is um has the school committee put any thought into the 80 to 84 roughly K deficit right now with the
301,000 reduction um for a discretionary cut like if if you didn't have that the additional free cash is there another you know what would be your next priority for a discretionary item that
you guys would have to cut have you put any thought into that um I mean the not at the committee level the committee hasn't met to discuss what to cut um in that scenario and I don't want to speak for committee without the
committee having voted on uh potential cuts I mean what I would say is um when you're looking at you know town meeting you know is where the the dollars and cents are approved But what I would say is with that figure when you're dealing
with a number in the you know almost at almost 100,000 we're looking at probably you know salaries make up the most of our budget I I would not want that to happen But whether it's that or whether it's reducing a a program I know last year we we cut the um summer school
program uh which cost the district uh I think it was I want to say around $30ish,000 uh somewhere in that range um in last fiscal year Um so it would be likely something along those lines We'd have to sharpen our pencils and and look through
the budget to see what what my goal is going into cuts and this was the same case in the last fiscal year as it is now is we want to be in a position where we have the least impact on on students So we would you know my goal would be to sharpen in the committee to sharpen our
pencils and and look where that would be the case Um you know we'd have to you know every department in town's in the same boat with with where we're at with our budgets and and being tight So we'd have to really take a close look at that to see where where we'd be best without impacting students Um but I wouldn't
feel comfortable at this point specifying certain areas just because the committee hasn't um had a chance to to come to consensus on that Okay Yeah No I totally understand I don't my horizon Yeah Thank you Yeah And I don't ask that question you know to to look at
other things to cut but more so I think it's important at town meeting that when we when we vote on this if we did recommend you know this $80,000 of the free cash that we have left to go towards that that the voters and the taxpayers understand the repercussions
if we didn't you know put this this free cash towards that Um so I was just trying to understand kind of the bigger picture and and worst case scenario I guess if you will No I I appreciate that And I know in the past discussions have been had on you know what it would look
like to to reduce kindergarten and uh preschool services right that's not a those are are I think it's important that we provide it and it's a and it's a needed service but those are when you know when you look at discretionary right those are things that we're not required to do at at least at a
full-time basis So I know that was part of the discussion in the past Um I'm not sure what the appetite would be you know to look at that but um that's certainly you know we talk about discretionary that's that's where you know would would be found unfortunately right which is very
unfortunate because I I think that's a important service But y thank you Thank you Zach Uh Al you've your you've got your Yes Thanks Karen I just had a uh you know a quick question for the
finance committee and obviously for for uh for Evan Can we split it down the middle what would 40 grand do rather than rather than 80,000 or
nothing what would 40,000 do i'm just asking you know uh you know will it will it preserve certain services will it add will be additive in certain areas but still allow for free
cash uh what whatever is left is to go somewhere else for the for the other 40 That's that's all I'm asking Uh what I would say it was it would still mean about 40,000 in cuts Um but y
um but if that's the if that's what town meeting decides then that's what the uh the district has to uh live with Um so I mean yeah I if that's the uh the will of the voters then you know we'll we'll obviously make it work Um but that would
that would just result in about 40,000 of uh of cuts on from the district Thank you No and I just want to say as a followup and then I then then I'll be quiet I think we all sympathize with the with with the situation I you know there's there's no negativity here
whatsoever But we also look at the other side of excuse me the equation whether it is cemetery highway you know you pick the thing and and uh you know the schools are dealing with as we know so I
won't belabor the point tons of unfunded mandates tons of things tons of blah blah blah and and we get it we get it completely and we're trying to come to an accommodation it's this is not a a you know a a negative against the school department Uh maybe a few years ago it
was but now it's not you know and so I just wanted to toss that out on the table to see whether or not um you could get some of what you're looking for in the 80 but maybe not quite as much So the
other you know 40 or what you know whatever the math is could also help other other areas of of of the town That's that's that was my only reason for the question No and I and I appreciate the the point Um what I what
I would say too is that why I feel that this is relatively conservative is because the the uncertainty that we're facing with uh not only with state aid but also some of the title money that we receive Um
there's there's a lot of that's sort of up in the air at the moment um not sure to what extent that'll impact our district So uh there is there is still some uncertainty So this is this is operating on assumption that that we're receiving the aid that we've expected in
the past Um Okay All right Yeah Yeah So that that's that's another you know another factor as to your point about um both unfunded mandates and the uncertainty of of aid figures Um but this is operating on the assumption that we should expect the money that we've received um which may not be the case It
may be the case but it there's there's certainly it's it's a consideration Okay Thanks Great Thanks Uh Cindy you you're next Um so I I've got a couple of points to make and then a couple of questions Um you
certainly the the Westport Community Schools are certainly not alone in in having to deal with uh austerity in local budgets Okay you can pick up any local newspaper from the Providence area the Boston area wherever Connecticut
Rhode Island New Hampshire Many many school districts are facing these same issues And I might say to a much larger degree I mean they're they're looking at significant cuts Many much of that has to do with declining population which I
know we're not facing here Your enrollment is is growing so it's a little bit different story uh but it certainly is uh is a very common theme u that's present now I guess so one of the questions I have regarding some of your
title teachers and that is those teachers are there under contract only to the extent that that funding is available is that correct so your title your title one or is it title two the reading program the
teachers that are employed using those title funds their contracts are subject to receiving that that funding Is that correct i would have to get back to you on the on if that's subject I would have to follow up on that But what I what I can
say is that we is that because that funding has been at a predictable rate that is part of our budget Yeah So whether it funds their salaries or or whatever it may be that that is that is part of our budget because it's it's not a in other words it's not a uh like
competitive type funding right as you as you know So that that has been part of our budget because of the the predictability of it Okay Right Okay But if that funding were to go away does that program go away uh it it may I can certainly tell you
that with the the dollar figures that large I mean there there was talk um about I know um Superintendent Aubin shared at a recent meeting that the school superintendent association shared you know you can expect a you know I don't know if it was it might have been
a a quarter of a cut in in title funding which you know for Westport for some of our for some of our the funding that we receive could be as high as $100,000 It could be right who's saying what that could be but when you're talking about numbers that large you are talking programmatic cuts if that's if that's
with reading programs if that's you know it'll be staff that that's a significant cut to a district of our size Okay Um Okay So then moving on So if this if the finance committee were to uh recommend
that we increase funding um and I'll I'll just go to the I'll go to the the extreme I'm I'm certainly not speaking for the rest of the committee but if we were to say we would go with the 80,000 that we have remaining in free cash somewhere in that figure 70
$80,000 and we we would then and Karen correct me if I'm wrong We would have to make an amended motion at town meeting because right now the budget is printed with the number we have with the number that we last voted on So we the finance
committee could uh amend our motion on the floor at town meeting to increase that number if we if we as a committee voted to do so by whatever amount if if we choose to do so um prior to the vote
So that would be an amended motion on the floor Um I guess what uh what I would personally like to know and I'll tell you I asked this question uh about three or four years ago and a former chair bit my head off when I asked the
question but I'm going to ask it again If we were to um propose such a number and have an amended number that would include an additional I'm going to call it 75 $80,000 whatever that number is uh added to your
budget Would the school committee be satisfied with that number and not um not uh volley for additional funding above and beyond that
i I would not um would do you would you as a school and I know you can't speak for the committee but would you would you say that your committee uh you you could even go back to your committee and take a vote that that you as a committee
would not propose such an additional amount on time floor if we were to provide the additional 80,000 what I can there's nothing worse than us going to town meeting and bickering over a small amount of money in a $52 million budget
Okay It's silly for us to go and fight over $80,000 So either if we as a committee agree to it will you as a committee accept it and say "Okay we're we're pretty much where we thought we were We know it's not the big number We don't
have the big number So let's just take this big number off the table because above this $80,000 you have to name what department you want to take the money from So if you want more I if it did come to where
we agreed to more and you wanted more than that then you would have to stand up and say you want an additional 200 300 100 and where it's going to come from Is it going to come from the police department are you going to shave off a police department that's already providing two uh security uh school
resource officers to you are you going to take $100,000 out of the fire department who's just managed to get their themselves to a full staff are you going to take $100,000 out of the library that only gets a few hundred,000 to begin with i mean I don't know where
$100,000 would magically appear from So I guess my point is is that if we as a committee decide to provide an additional 80,000 in free cash that's it There's no more money that we have sticking anywhere else If we have some
additional funding and free cash that we're trying to save it's because this town finally has the ability to structurally put together some savings for a rainy day in the future if we had a special town meeting in the fall we
need to have money to be able to deal with with such things So I guess my message me personally because this is not coming from any other committee member but myself is that if we were to go forward with that I would like to think that you as a committee would at
least understand that we work for the entire town and most of the people that and the in the and the children in your school district live in the entire entire town I don't think you want them to lack police or fire services or have
bumpy roads or roads that don't get plowed in the winter uh to the extent we still get snow But uh you know I I think you want a town that has services and that's where it's going to come from if you don't Yes that's kind of my jack
Right I think she's gonna let you answer the question now Sorry Yes No And I and I wouldn't want to give the impression that that's that that's the um the sentiment that I have that you know we should be without other services Um but what I will say is um I
would be comfortable with a budget that supports that free cash allocation Um if the if the committee were to support it um I would be comfortable with that with that figure I've also um you know I I feel that our business department would
be comfortable with it Um and I s I wouldn't support uh you know I I I wouldn't foresee additional amendments on the budget if there was an effort made to meet us That's why I'm here today is to is to explain is to explain
the gap and see how we can how we can make it up because I feel like we're we're very close and we've both worked I know the town uh Jim and and Karen and the finance committee and the select board have worked very hard to whether it's on um you know the receipt estimates or or other areas to to try to
get us closer um and the revenue and and I'm trying to do the same on on the school side as well That's why I'm here today is to is to say this is our this is the number we're apart after we after we sharpened our pencils and took another look at it and how can we get there so I I can say that I would be
comfortable with um with a budget that supports making up that gap Thank you Am I yes And just to just before you go Hugh I just wanted to to clarify um Cindy's
point that you I I believe that's correct So the the motion that right now is printed in the warrant that's or ordinarily what the finance committee would read We would let Mr Hayes know
that we're going to be amending it and we'll we would read something that's different than he's going to project on the screen if if we took a vote to that So we would we finance committee would change the motion on the floor and we've done that in the past I mean
it's yes little complicated but not unknown but I want to take Cindy's point one point further and I know that you I mean you can't speak for the committee at this point but I think it is more than a thought that I think that before
being agreeable with that approach I would want a commitment from the school committee that this is it that there would be no second thoughts about it at on town meeting four you can't give that commitment I'm not asking because you're
not the committee but the committee can and that would reassure me and the point that Cindy was making that that's it Second point which is not the same area you supply basically nursery school and
kindergarten or part of the schools I think that town's people pay for those I'm not sure I believe they pay right there is particular Yep On they do they do pay tuition for um for our our uh
preschool program Yeah Have you compared the payments that you charge for tuition for their programs with other freestanding uh child care etc around town uh I don't have those numbers tonight
but I can certainly follow up with the with the committee on that How do they compare if they're if they're under the market then it would seem to me there's no reason they shouldn't match what others are charging I'm not suggesting
that you try to to uh push them up as high as possible but simply they should not be undermarket If that were the case I can make up a number but I won't because it could be anything that is at least a possible source of some revenue
that may not have been looked at Right Yeah I I appreciate the point Um yeah I would have to get back to you on the comparison but back to discussion in your head Right Right I know that's how our that's how our um out of school time program
operates as well That's it's a it takes in you know we take in a certain amount that that's charged to parents for for the care after school and that operates in a in a revolving account that covers its expenses So that's that's kind of how how that program works as well thing is your bookkeeping may be different
than the outside but the to the charge for the parents should be comparable Uh we're not out to rake them over the coals but I think it should not be a bargain necessarily against other providers but
it may turn out it's a non-issue I understand but worth a look I think Right Thank you Thank you Hugh Um Gary did you do you have a hand back up yes Uh I just had a quick question I don't know if anybody has this number or maybe um Nicole has
it if she's on board online Does anybody know how much we collect in school choice every year average It's on It was on the uh cherry sheet the most recent cherry sheet I know Um the school choice uh gets washed
through there Uh I don't recall what it is but um I know it shows up on the cherry sheet Well I don't know Okay So maybe we can get that number but um so the question is is school choice used as part of the
operations of the the operational budget i am asking Nicole's gonna hand up Maybe Nicole can answer Go ahead Nicole School choice is a revolving account uh for the school Uh and currently this the balance in the school choice account
which I don't know if that's everything from this year because I don't have the full uh numbers but the the balance right now is 122 and a half thousand So So okay So is I don't know if all of
that came in this year But it comes right from the cherry sheet every month Yeah So yeah anybody who wants to go online to the cherry sheet will it'll show what our projected amount should be for fiscal 25 Okay So I
guess the question is to the schools do they use that as part of the operational as part of the operational budget it's not it's a revolving account So so it's not general fund revenue It is completely separate So it it's only used for the program itself It cannot be used
for the general fund budget the operating operating budget Okay Correct Is that is that um is that the way it's always been set up uh as long as I've been here
Okay Um that's interesting Some communities don't have it set up as a a revolving fund may be something that the schools want to look at because if you got a pot of money sitting there and can only be used for that particular program how much are
we how much are we spending to um how much are we spending in effect on that program i guess that's that's the question you know Um I mean 100,000 is 100,000 It's a lot of money especially now like we're talking $80,000 if it can be used as part of operations
it might behoove the town to change that from a revolving fund back into the general fund operating budget That's just the point I just you know things I think as we talk more and more uh as you had mentioned um there's things that I think that we can explore and maybe different ways of doing
things and be creative about this Uh but you know I think to Al's point if we can meet somewhere in the middle uh not saying have the schools go back and and cut another $80,000 but um maybe have them relook at uh you know tightening up
a program maybe you know so on and so forth But I'm in agreement with and and you know I'm not I'm not the first person that's going to say "Let's use free cash." But I again I like the point that we're weaning off of it and not increasing it I think that's what what the goal is and what's been the goal with this five-year pro uh plan that
that was put forth Right Thanks Gary Um so I think those are those are good points I think to to talk about in a a budget strategy meeting after town meeting and as as things go through I'm not sure those answers can necessarily get taken care
of quickly But um I just I think Duncan I wanted to read So Duncan is not able to uh his speak Uh so he said uh he said "Sorry I can't speak You all know my
position How do we not fund our school?" Um so that was a his comment um at a little bit ago And then he just asked "Is anyone going to ask about the multiple lawnmowing contracts we have in
town how many?" I don't think that's a conversation for now but um one of my one of my favorite one of my favorite subjects Yeah Um it's a the lawnmowering is always a very uh interesting point but um just
really trying to keep us focused back here to our conversation where you know the budget's already been approved We've already had uh a tremendous budget meeting with the school back in February And uh while any question is a good question we're we're we're kind of at
the point now of um you know that's that last 80,000 and uh Oh Al you've got your hand up Sorry I missed that Go ahead That's Oh that's that's quite all right And I'm teeing off on what Hugh and Cindy was saying earlier Whether it is
my suggestion of maybe going halfway or all the way or whatever I think we should consider making the uh the recommendation um conditional on the school committee's
uh support or um yeah support of of that the fact that they won't go any further than that number So if Evan if you go back to the school committee and they say "Well no we want to go for more and more." No No If you
say "Yep we're going to you know we're on board with the finance committee to to to do this," then we will we will uh lever our support whatever that number happens to be That that's that's all I'm saying Yeah Thank you I would be I would
certainly be willing to have that conversation with the uh with the committee Um okay I know we're on a condensed timeline given town meeting is in I think it's two weeks today Two weeks today Do you have Do you have a meeting between now and town meeting i
believe we're calling one um before town meeting Um we are as well I'm hoping that we're meeting next week Um that's my hope Um and that we can bring this up as part of
discussion Um but I certainly want to continue the the partnership and working together on this budget So you know no one is is uh surprised going into town meeting right on the recommendations right uh Karen Chris has Christopher has
Al I think you've got someone talking in the background That's um I do I do But anyway we Sorry That's all right You might want to mute So um I I will say I I think it's I I think it's somewhat
inappropriate to ask for a commitment from the school committee prior to town meeting Um I also think it's worth noting here that it's not the school committee's purview so much to to to fight on the floor of town meeting or
anything like that Um and I think that that might be a little bit of a misconception here Um I I will say just logistically speaking the next meeting will be uh almost solely for the uh interviewing and and recommendation of the uh the next superintendent So um I
just you know I I understand the sentiment here but I I think to ask for a commitment from the uh school department or from rather from the school committee on that I you know the committee can make a commitment but it really has nothing to do with what what
could happen on the floor town meeting Well a commitment means to some people it may not mean something to others If it's if it is too difficult to give a commitment then that raises questions about the sincerity
right i think that it's it's just that the school committee would not be the the group that would initiate anything can happen at town meeting I totally get that but for the school committee to initiate uh a a request on town meeting floor for
additional funding above and beyond what we as a committee or two committees here may agree upon I think that I I don't understand why you think it's inappropriate to ask for a commitment in in advance It's it's having an
understanding that your committee is satisfied with what we have been able to recommend and that things may go more smoothly at town meeting I'm not suggesting that that the school committee would go up there and you know
be uh aggressive in any way but just the mere thought that there would be an additional amendment above and beyond perhaps what the finance committee has agreed upon and is recommending makes it more difficult at
town meeting It raises lots of questions about many things and now the number could go to who knows where and other departments may be sacrificed as a result I don't know I don't know if that's true I mean it pound town pound town pound town meeting will vote with
town meeting votes But if we can have a a some some type of uh harmony going into it it it reduces the chances of there being that type of uh that type of uh uh
situation happening on town floor I know it can still happen but it would be nice if this committee knew that the school committee would not be the initiator of such That's all I know other things could happen and I don't know why you think it's not right for us to ask for
that You're asking for us for us to give a recommendation which is what our job is but your job is also to live within a budget Well and I I would just say that the school committee has already previously recommended a a number that
we are you know well well off of Um I I don't want this to get lost in the into a tit for tat here because I I I I just think that you know we we first of all we all we also have a have two new school committee members We have uh we we we're
planning on having a a budget work session uh the day of meeting actually So um you know I I just I I think that realistically to ask this right now um you know I just don't know I frankly I don't know how it would
go over with the with the full committee at this point And I think that for the record right are you speaking as a member of the school committee or a member of the finance committee question Excuse me I'm gonna finish my thought here Uh I I think if there's there's really a question of of not wanting to
utilize the remaining free cash to plug this um hole after all of the all the work that's been done to try and bring it bring it uh down from the original 385,000 or so I think that was the uh that was the
gap You know that's that's I find that concerning but you know I'm just uh it's one vote So I I'm I'm sorry I don't understand what number you're talking about that that we're to use up the rest of free cash
You mean the 80,000 that's left or That's what That's what I was That's what I was refer Yes Okay Um anything else Christopher no Okay Thank you Um all right So uh Al
no I'm gonna defer to Zach if you go ahead I I guess I just it's similar to to what Hugh said Chris like I'm curious what your thought is you know coming from the finance committee perspective Um I
understood your role as being on both committees would be more of a bridge between the two And as Cindy said you know this is a matter of of the school committee aligning with the finance committee So when we go to the town as a
whole we all are benefiting You have the finance committee who is in charge of the budget of the town not just the school And then you have the school committee that are looking out for the better interest I think this conversation started off under the idea
that the $80,000 roughly that we have left could fill the deficit of what's left out of the 385 because the 301 was going to be taken away from the subsparate classroom and the
therapeutic classroom So I'm interested on your take from a finance committee perspective on on what you think is best for the town as a whole So I I will answer that and say that as a from a finance committee perspective
um I'm not thrilled with a a whole lot of the the way things have been allocated that and the school department is only one part of of my my concerns Now that being said I don't want to lose sight of what we're actually talking
about here And I you know I I I think that the question right now is how to utilize the resources that are available to fill a gap And you know I don't want
to turn this into I don't I don't want to turn this into into like I said a tit for tat back and forth there I just I do think that asking for asking for the school committee to redo their budget again or to redo the
the approved budget um ahead of town meeting on top of everything else that that needs to get done at the next next part of it just a timing issue So I mean I'm not really and if you're asking you know do do I anticipate the school committee yelling and screaming at town
at town meeting no I don't So I just at this point like I said I I I don't want to lose sight of where we are on trying to trying to fit these uh fit these parameters But for the record I never inferred yelling and screaming Okay i was not I was not inferring that
anybody was going to be yelling and screaming I am just talking about bringing up bringing up yet a different number Yet again I wasn't talking about yelling and screaming And I take exception of the fact that you thought that there was going to be some shouting match I'm talking about a disagreement
on town four That's all I'm being I'm being facitious Obviously I'm not Okay then Fine Okay Accepted Bring it down a notch here Okay No accepted I just My position is really easy
Putting Ronald Reagan trust but verify Yeah So so you know you know Oh go ahead Christopher I the plan was to have a budget work session before a town meeting uh just to go over all all the
uh really if nothing else to to bring the new committee members up to speed Um so you know I I I can I can tell you I I I'd have to you know think about putting that on on on the on the agenda but also
again I if if the finance committee is willing to make that recommendation you know I uh I if they want to if you're if you're saying it wants want to be contingent you know so be it I guess But I I just I I'm not
really I guess I'm not really understanding exactly what what is being asked other than if if you're asking if if the does the school committee intend to lead the char lead a charge on on the floor of town of uh town meeting and
that I can I am asking is a vote saying they're not planning to do that Nothing say more than that a confirmation of the understanding And if they're not willing to give that assurance that raises some
suspicions because there's no reason they shouldn't be willing to give the board with it Well I I can't give you that assurance I I don't Evan's a meeting and the and the committee will make it have a vote
Y and Chris saying whether the finance committee is asking you're a part of the finance committee we're this is a discussion yes I'm aware but what I guess you know I uh I did not intend to vote on any motion that would be made on
on this particular thing but uh in any case if you're asking you're asking for this for well first of all there's no there we don't have a motion or anything on the table So is there correct what you're saying you want a contingent motion is that no all I'm saying is the
when you gentlemen who are part of the school committee attend the next meeting that's the proper venue for there to be a vote to support the president's situ the situation we're talking about that's all Okay we can um uh Al uh Evan you had
your hand up in the need down Go ahead If I if I could just comment quickly on that I before we we get too far off I just wanted to bring it back and and note that uh again the the reason I'm presenting this tonight and going through the numbers is because I'm I would be comfortable with that with that
and I feel that the and again I'm not I can't speak for the committee What I'm saying is I feel that the committee would also be supportive of it and there would not be a uh an effort at least you know endorsed by the committee that would that would change that Um I'm not doubting anything you say I'm just
asking for them actually to confirm that's the case Right Yeah That's all I go back to trust and verify I mean that's a slogan but at the same time make sure that the the the uh ducks were in a row
Great Thanks Um so um I I think we've got a few more hands I just wanted to just jump in for a second because I've let everyone speak So you know we all know using free cash in the operating budget's tricky And um but we also have
we've we've had a year that we did have an ex an a good amount of free cash and so uh we were able to fund uh all the articles as needed and then there's $80,000 that didn't get allocated and
which would otherwise at this point roll into next year's free cash Um so I would be more inclined based on Evans repres representation that if 80,000 can kind of fill that gap to to really make the
budget solid that we can all walk in together You know I'm I'm in favor of of pushing another 80,000 to it Uh and again last year's budget was 652,000 in free cash You know if this year if it
was 80 as an example it's 480 Uh I think we're making some good strides Um so you know I would be in favor of of that support Yeah Um and just just so everyone knows we don't have on the agenda tonight to make a motion to vote
So how if what we'd have to do is the our halfhour meeting before town meeting is when we would make the reconsideration and we'd vote then because it's not on the agenda tonight to to to make a motion
Uh go ahead Uh Al I ju I just want to reiterate and I think Hugh Cindy and and Zach have have said it better than I ever could I'm not opposed to uh taking the free cash and moving it into the
bucket But what I am opposed to is not having a consolidated uh agreement between the school committee and the finance committee So you know the floor fight which which Christopher and and Evan with all due
respect there has been a number of years where there has been a floor fight We all know that I don't I don't even need to go into that And and dipping into other pockets and and whatnot So I just want us to go in
together if we agree on the 80,000 plus or minus whatever the number is and say we all agree on this number and put it aside take it take the win and move forward That's and and if if we can't
agree as a school committee and a finance committee on that I cannot support this If we can agree with it I completely support it Good way to put it Mr Lee I I I share your your goal and uh going into town meeting without a floor
fight That's that's I I don't want one either Wouldn't that be great um so yes I I would I I am hoping that that I'm hopeful that we're working and we have worked together in this budget process and I'm great and I'm grateful
for the for the partnership Um and I think that that's a result of the of transparency on both sides and coming together and and having serious discussions about um both the school budget the town budget um and what can be done So uh I share the goal of of of
going in um without having a a reassure at night you know asking for it You guys can't give a commitment tonight because you're not the full committee You're on the full forum The committee can however and that
would simply tell us that all members of the committee feel the same way that you are That's fine right shouldn't be that hard I suspect Yeah All right Well I think I think we've where I think where we leave it off is
if if you and Christopher somehow can uh have a discussion with the school committee and then we would uh at 6:30 the night of town meeting is we'll put on that agenda uh for reconsideration of the budget for for you and then you know
we'll touch base with you on on where we're at and then we'll we'll vote at that time Um it sounds like and I don't can't speak for everyone and we're not voting today but it sounds like um more of us feel we'd be in favor of doing the
80,000 if we kind of come walk in together It sounds to me that's where people seem to be going So um so I think that's I think that would be uh that would be great on the agenda
Appreciate that Well thank you Uh thank you for being here Evan I appreciate uh you know it again it was as part as I was trying to put the presentation together to talk about the overall budget and where we're at and you know
and and I think this was extremely helpful and and um let's see we let's see what happens in two weeks So um again I'm I' I'd be in support of it if we can all walk in together with it And thank you again for uh inviting me
tonight and uh certainly um hope to continue the conversation over the next couple of weeks Thank you Great Thank you so much Thank you All right Take care And is that the end of the meeting yeah it's just about um I I have a draft of
the presentation that I didn't uh send out but I I'll I'll send it out to everyone afterwards and then uh if anyone has any comments you can get back But I I really wanted to keep the PowerPoint presentation at town meeting really brief Um I feel like I keep
hitting the repeat button without anything interesting and new to say Um but um you know I I I think what I wanted to really in part communicate with the the town residents that are sitting at town meeting is to really
just explain the budget process of how it really starts in October and how the town administrator meets with departments in October The first draft of the budget becomes available in December that's discussed at the select
board every it's an agenda item for virtually every meeting and so you know if there's discrepancies or ideas for the budget or concerns of department funding or priorities you know the the resident
should be encouraged to participate in this process as it unfolds over a six-month period so I just somehow wanted to just very briefly explain the budget process And it's not just sitting at town meeting tonight Um and you know
I would suggest maybe you got this already in mind to to remind people that it's all an estimate and we're working against um there are known knowns and unknown knowns and so forth and so on but we
don't know what the state's going to do until it does it we can guess but we don't know until the governor's budget until this the house and the senate and other things like um receipts by the town are still
somewhat subject to not really an audit but to a former projection and it's all based on the estimate of what we're going to have to spend usually pretty good but not guaranteed But but along with that Karen I think it's very very important to include the
fact that we we had a lot more free cash this year than normal Good point Good point That that I I don't think you can say that loud enough that it's an unusual year Maybe it will happen again but there are a lot of reasons you know
and Jim highlighted many of the reasons why free cash is so much higher this year and to not expect those same types of things to uh recur So I think that that's really important because they're going to see some large numbers uh
coming from CIPC They're going to see some large numbers uh being put away in you know in in some of the stabilization accounts And it's like oh well we have all this money It's very temporary or it's very I I shouldn't even say temporary It's very unusual That's all
And unpredictable money I also point out there two easy things to point out One is steward that the state has had to put a lot of money into the Steuart hospital situation And also the illegals or
migrants as you choose to call them has taken a lot of money out of the state and the state has less money It's has less money He was so inclined to pass down to us And and may I just add Karen if you
don't if you don't mind CIPC has deferred some m for another year some major expenses on equipment for example uh for one more year So whatever whatever we have in free cash or
whatever it might be that's coming down the pike So it's it's it's not as though they're we we we're starting at zero on on this year and and moving moving forward Thank you Those are all terrific points
So I'll make sure I I'll I'll incorporate some bullet points in the presentation and then um I'll send it out to everyone and then individually you can get back to me individually if you have comments on it and then I'll I'll get them incorporated in But thank
you Those are all terrific highlight points and not not not to get into any detail but really try to stay at that 10,000 foot view So that's terrific Great Thank you Because you look up and people are already you know tuned out Oh my god
But this is important and you know and that's where I I really want to reiterate those that those you know residents and voters and that are interested in the budget that there's a whole six-month process that's is going on prior to town meeting that is
encouraging for people to get involved earlier on in this You know many of the questions that you all asked of Evan tonight um are great questions and not every question can get answered on the fly There needs to be research and and
so you know it's it's not an easy thing to discuss a $50 million budget in five minutes and get u people to understand it So um so thank you I'll uh I'll work on a draft and I'll send it out Yep Go ahead Al Erin I I would just like to
say that I I want to thank uh Evan and Christopher in particular because you know the the last and I've been on the committee for three years I think it is It really doesn't matter but I've been interested in uh longer than that And
it's always contentious between the school side and the town side if you you know ju just to look at that But I I I ju I just want to thank them for being thoughtful uh which
I have not seen in in previous uh meetings So I'll leave it at that But I just want to thank them both for um thinking through and the committee that they represent u you know for understanding
Thank you Al That's a great point Thank you Al Thank you Um all right So I'll uh any if any I think you all gave me some great highlights on the on the uh PowerPoint I'll work on that Got a few days before
I need to wrap that up Okay So um next item on the agenda was just a standing item If there's any committee or leasison updates that anybody would like to provide I'm not looking at the screen but I'm guessing that's going to be a
no Um correct Oops Go ahead Als No the only thing I would I would like to say is that is that I don't think that we have approved the minutes of the previous meetings yet Now maybe that's further down the list but I just wanted to to bring that up Thank you Um yes
that is the next item is to approve the April 8th 2025 minutes We did approve three sets of minutes at our last meeting so we did catch up So the only minutes to approve was April 8th 2025
And if uh Cindy's on mute she's still on mute There we go I will I will move that we uh approve the um minutes of April 8th 2025 I'll second that A second Any discussion on those
minutes uh I hear none All right So I'll go for a roll call Hugh You Al uh abstain and I was not at that meeting Okay Christopher Christian
Thank you Um Gary yes Thank you Uh Cindy Cindy Brown I Zack Zach Leu I thank you Uh and we did uh we Duncan did have to leave at around 7:30 for the minutes and Karen Rouse I on the minutes Thank you
Um okay so we are I have no correspondence So our next meeting is going to be at 6:30 before town meeting Um I'll put on the agenda the reconsideration Uh the only topic we have is just uh just catching up but we
will have a specific topic which would be the reconsideration of the the budget for what we discussed tonight And then um if we come at 6:30 and uh it's we enter by the the middle part of the school not the front door and we meet I
think in the cafeteria and um and then we'll get ourselves set up for a town meeting Is is there a full meal i mean if we're going into the cafeteria not it vending machines We have vending
machines Right Right I don't know if they still take money I don't know Do the vending machines Evan do the vending machines take money you're on mute I'm not sure actually It's healthy But I can tell you that the
we can provide meals but that that we need free cash to provide meals right right Free free lunches are going away Right Free lunches are going away Right Still subject to annual appropriation Good for you Good Good one Evan That was
a good one Thank you Thank you again Truly Thank you All right Thanks Evan All right So uh no topics in within 48 hours and so I would entertain a motion to adjurnn Make a motion Second All right I will do a roll call Hugh
Hugh Martin I Al Al Le Christopher Christopher Ther Thank you Gary Yes Cindy Cindy Brown I But uh Al I just sent you a text message about a meeting tomorrow morning for the historical society So that's my little that's my
little thing All right Zack Zach Leu I and Karen Rail's eye Good night everyone and we'll see you soon A cube