(6/6/07) The Select Board met at 6:00 p.m. on June 4th, in the music room at the Middle School, prior to Town Meeting. Gerry Weiss, Alisa Brewer, Hwei-Ling Greeney, Rob Kusner and Anne Awad were all present, as was Town Manager Larry Shaffer.
Frank Gatti said that a couple of Town Meeting members had asked him about the Town Meeting childcare situation. He talked about the history of that issue and how a committee he was on had arranged for funding one year and that the responsibility was then put under the umbrella of LSSE. He said that this is a bad time to ask for money but wanted the Select Board to discuss the issue so that the Town might fulfill what he called “our responsibility.”
After some discussion, it was agreed that the topic would be put off until later in the meeting when recommendations for reallocation were to be considered.
Mr. Weiss said that he had submitted a compromise proposal to the Superintendent and Regional School Committee Chair that morning which split the 2% gap between Amherst's desired 1% budget and the 3% the Region had voted. He said he had suggested that an additional 1% come from Amherst's reserves, and that 1% come from the Region's excess and deficiency (E&D) funds. He said it had been offered in the spirit of compromise and it also sought to not pit the school budget against the swimming pools.
There was discussion about how reserves are accessed. Finance Director John Musante said that Article 30 had been put on the warrant in anticipation of the override passing and would have allowed for the appropriation of money into the stabilization fund but that article will now be dismissed. He said that Article 31 is a standard article each year that allows for an appropriation from free cash to balance overages in the budget that have no other funding source.
There was discussion among the Select Board about E&D money and how the Region had previously presented a compromise using those funds. Regional School Committee Chair Elaine Brighty explained that before the latest interpretation of the revised statute, when the Region thought it might be faced with a 1% budget and they were desperate to eliminate the second study hall requirement, they were then willing to use E&D money. She said this was not the same situation and that that money isn't supposed to be touched. She said she had no authority to act on Mr. Weiss' proposal without the School Committee having addressed it yet, but that she would recommend that they reject it because it would lower Amherst's assessment to 2%, and she said they can't lower the assessment for one town.
Ms. Greeney said that she had reviewed two Regional School Committee meetings from March and that she thought they said that if the override didn't pass, the Region would recommend a smaller budget, and that she thought Ms. Brighty had suggested they vote for the higher budget number to lock in that percentage. Ms. Brighty said there was a line regarding a lower budget recommendation if the override didn't pass in the Finance Committee Report, and that it was a mistake she hadn't caught. She said that the Region did not set its budget based on the override potential of one town, and that back in March, lower budgets were being considered because at that point, it was unknown what budget level would be approved by the different towns. She said the concept Ms. Greeney was referring to of locking in the higher budget was the standard practice of requesting approval of a total budget that is higher than all the town's assessments to allow the Region to use extra State aid that might be received.
Ms. Brewer said that she was on the School Committee for the meetings Ms. Greeney was talking about and that there was never discussion of recommending a smaller budget if Amherst's override failed. She said that she appreciated Mr. Weiss' attempt at compromise, but said that a 2% amount is not on the table and that this discussion was an attempt to micromanage the schools. She said that the Region would not be impressed by a proposal from Amherst that took money away from the regional schools and instead put it into funding private human service agencies and swimming pools. Mr. Weiss said his proposal was offered in the same spirit of trying to find a solution as were the previous offers from the School Committee. He said it wasn't micromanaging, it was offering an idea.
There was more rehashing of pre-override discussions and the votes of three other towns for the 3% assessment. Mr. Weiss said there was a slim possibility that Pelham might re-vote that figure.
Superintendent Jere Hochman said that Pelham Town Meeting overwhelmingly passed approval of the per-pupil assessment formula, then overwhelmingly passed the 3% budget. He said there were some questions about their elementary budget, and that ultimately that passed as well. He said later a parliamentary procedure question was raised about the elementary vote, but that there had been no issues suggesting that the Regional budget vote might be reviewed. He said that Pelham supported the 3% budget for the Region in part because it could apply some of its school choice funds to the Region, so that the town didn't need to come up with extra money.
Mr. Weiss said his understanding was that Pelham had called a Special Town Meeting and that they will finalize their budget then, and that anything could change. He said there is no indication that anything will change, but that it isn't a done deal until then, and all agreed that this was the case.
Ms. Brewer moved to recommend the 3% budget of $27,567,000 and 3% assessment of $12,385,188 for the regional school budget and Mr. Kusner seconded. Ms. Brewer said that she wanted to clarify that the vote they had taken on May 23rd that had failed in a 2-2 tie was for a 3% budget and a 2% assessment.
Ms. Awad said that she would find it difficult to support the motion without knowing the source of funds, and asked if that might be incorporated. Ms. Brewer said she doubted they could agree on a source of funds, but that someone could make a suggestion. Mr. Weiss asked if it were true that with no source specified, the money would come from reserves in Article 31. Mr. Musante said that that has been the tradition, and that the budget is traditionally balanced at the end of Town Meeting, though it doesn't have to be balanced until the tax rate is set in the fall.
There was more talk about Pelham's situation and the earlier School Committee proposal that had involved using E&D funds. Ms. Greeney spoke of having had conversations with Pelham officials, and Ms. Awad said that she had as well and preferred that those people speak to the full Select Board if necessary rather than having their positions interpreted in their absence.
Mr. Hochman said that he appreciated the attempt by Mr. Weiss to try to find a way to meet in the middle. He spoke of the previous steps in the process as all parties tried to deal with the confusion about the revised statute. He said that he is Superintendent for Pelham as well and that those town officials have been very tuned into the process, with a Select Board member and Finance Committee member at every school budget meeting. He said that using scare tactics to get Pelham voters to change their minds or pitting two towns against two other towns would not be in the spirit of cooperation. He said using Amherst Town reserves had been mentioned by the School Committee only because it had been previously referenced as a possibility by the Finance Committee.
Mr. O'Connor said that Amherst would not be the first town to use reserve money for this type of situation, but suggested that there might be another option: to dismiss Article 31 and bring it back in the fall when more money may have been found or received, and more will be known about the financial situation. Ms. Awad and Mr. Kusner both spoke in favor of the idea. Ms. Greeney spoke against it, saying that it perpetuated the structural deficit and would impact next year's budget, and that it should be decided now how this will be dealt with, perhaps by asking the voters for an override. Mr. Kusner emphasized how relatively small an amount the extra $238,000 is in terms of the whole budget, and said that even recently the Town has dealt with a much higher amount after the fiscal year was over, in the case of the health care trust fund.
Mr. Shaffer said that he hadn't had the chance to fully consider postponing Article 31, but that he was growing increasingly concerned about an incapability or unwillingness to face the realities of the Town's fiscal situation. He said if the money needs to come from reserves, that should be done now, and that if new money is received from another source, that doesn't change the underlying situation. He said that we might be building traps into the budget that would be more painful in future years, such as funding the regional assessment from reserves and then trying to add 5.5% on top of that next year, if such provisions of the Amherst Plan were to be pursued. He asked when we are going to face the realities of the financial situation and said that he was concerned we are being too cavalier about where we are today.
Mr. Weiss said that money could be moved around anyway and new money could go into the reserves. Mr. Shaffer agreed, saying that money is fungible and people shouldn't be confused by tactics. He said whether the money comes from reserves now or in the fall is immaterial. He said that he is not opposed to funding the $238,000 from reserves, but urged that it be faced this year and not put off until the fall.
The vote on the motion to recommend approval of the 3% budget and 3% assessment was 3 in favor, 2 opposed, with Ms. Greeney and Ms. Awad voting to oppose.
Ms. Brewer said she understood the frustration of having missed a meeting but that the Board had already discussed and voted on this and that she was uncomfortable bringing someone – in this case, School Committee Chair Andy Churchill – back just because one member wants to talk to him. Mr. Weiss said that the request should come with a motion to reconsider. Mr. Kusner said that he didn't want to reconsider the vote but wanted to discuss amendments that would be made from the floor. Ms. Greeney said that she agreed that the discussion should occur with a reconsideration of the vote, and she then moved to reconsider their vote on the elementary school budget, and Mr. Kusner seconded.
Mr. Kusner said that three amendments were expected, and that they should be prepared to deal with each of them. Mr. Weiss asked if that needed to be done as a Board, or could be addressed by the members as individuals. Mr. Kusner said he was deeply concerned that a 1% budget was not adequate for the elementary schools, and that he would like to make an amendment to the Board's previous vote. Mr. Weiss asked how that was different than reconsideration, and Mr. Kusner said there would be three different motions on which to take positions.
Ms. Greeney said she was comfortable with last week's vote and opposed reconsideration. It was pointed out that she had just moved to reconsider it. She said she had meant to move to not reconsider. She withdrew her motion.
Mr. Kusner then moved that the Select Board support a 2% elementary school budget. There was no second. He then moved that they support a 1.7% budget, and again there was no second. He said “I'm sure the school children of Amherst will thank all of you,” and said he wanted to go on record as being shocked by the actions of the School Committee and the Select Board. He said the Town was short-changing the elementary schools and called that “unconscionable.”
Unallocated Conservation Money
Mr. Weiss asked if the Select Board wanted to consider a recommendation for the $12,000 that was not allocated to the Puffer's Pond trail maintenance position. Mr. Kusner said that Conservation Director David Ziomek suggested to him that a smaller amount might have been approved for that purpose, and Mr. Kusner suggested that they try to do that with the reallocation. Ms. Awad suggested that 10% of the money be allocated to pay for childcare during Town Meeting.
Mr. Shaffer said that Puffer's Pond can't be left unattended, and that the trail work and trash pick-up still need to happen. He said not having the money doesn't mean the obligation goes away, and said that money will need to be moved around. He said that there are a lot of spots in the budget that fall into that same category, and that once the budget is complete, he will sit down with department heads to see what money is available and what does and does not need to be done.
Mr. Weiss suggested that they put back $12,000 of the $24,000 that they had cut from LSSE, with $1000 for childcare and $11,000 for Puffer's Pond maintenance.
Mr. Shaffer said a budget amendment would be needed in the fall to transfer the money, but that it could be spent in anticipation of the transfer. He said there were many issues in the budget that would pose similar administrative challenges, and said he would bring those issues to the Select Board through out the year.
Ms. Brewer asked why Puffer's Pond maintenance was on the restoration list, instead of in the 1% budget, if it is something that must be done. She said if there were other things like that, then she wondered what this process was for.
Mr. Shaffer said that was a good point and that there were many items on the restoration list that fell into that category. He said Puffer's Pond was a problem because people still show up whether or not there is money to maintain it, and that will require reordering and reprioritizing. He said there will be still be some expense for that maintenance but it might be considerably less than $12,000.
Ms. Awad moved that $12,000 be added to LSSE to support Puffer's Pond trail maintenance and childcare for Town Meeting. Mr. Weiss said that the motion sounded like an end-around. Ms. Awad said it was honest because it was what the Select Board wants. Mr. Weiss said he thought the answer that Mr. Shaffer had given during Town Meeting in response to the question of whether that money, if voted, would be used for Puffer's Pond or might be used elsewhere, might have dissuaded some people from voting for the proposal. Mr. Weiss said some people might have voted differently if Mr. Shaffer said something to the effect that he would do everything in his power to use the funds for that purpose. Mr. Shaffer said he would try to rectify that if it was not clear to Town Meeting. Mr. Weiss wondered if such a statement from the Town Manager might warrant reconsideration of the Conservation vote. Mr. Kusner said he thought the functions of Puffer's Pond were a hybrid of recreation and conservation, and that it is reasonable to put this under LSSE.
The vote to support the motion was unanimous.
The Select Board unanimously approved a special liquor license for a UMass reception.
Special Municipal Employee Status Deadline
Mr. Weiss said that the application deadline for committees to renew Special Municipal Employee status is June 30th.
Mr. Kusner said that people whose committee terms expire on June 30th and wish to have a second term should respond promptly about their intentions when they receive the inquiry letter from Town Hall. He said others wishing to serve should submit the Citizen Activity Form on the Town web site.
The meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m. According to the Town web site, the next Select Board meeting is at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 6th in the music room at the Middle School.
-- Stephanie O'Keeffe
