HomeMy Public PortalAbout20180309 - Select Board - Meeting Minutes
TOWN OF HOPKINTON
Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes – March 9, 2018
80 South St., Hopkinton MA 3:00 PM
Board of Selectmen Members Present: John Coutinho, Chair, Claire Wright, Vice Chair, Todd
Cestari, Brian Herr, Brendan Tedstone
School Committee Members Present: Jean Bertschmann, Chair, Nancy Cavanaugh
Officials Present: Norman Khumalo, Town Manager, Elaine Lazarus, Director of Land Use and
Town Operations, William Remillard, Finance Department Temporary staff, Susan Rothermich,
Director of Finance and Operations (Schools) , Carol Cavanaugh, Acting Superintendent of
Schools, Cathy MacLeod, Superintendent of Schools (participating remotely).
CALL TO ORDER: Mr. Coutinho called the meeting to order at 3:00 PM.
Mr. Coutinho stated that the current draft budget shows a 7.3% increase, which is too high for
residents. He stated that the increase needs to be 5% or less. Mrs. Bertschmann stated that the
School Committee reduced its budget by $600K as requested, and they thought this would be
sufficient. She stated a 5% operating budget increase for the schools would mean a $1M cut.
Mr. Coutinho stated that cutting capital does not help the bottom line. He noted that for the last
several years the school budget has gone up steadily, and it’s scary going forward. Mr. Cestari
stated that a $1M reduction is not a cut, it is a lower percentage increase. Ms. Bertschmann
referred to the special education problem this year and other issues previously discussed, adding
that they have found $400K in savings from capital. Ms. Wright stated the issue is that the taxes
can’t go up by the amount proposed. She stated that the Town might have to look at reducing
services.
Ms. Rothermich reviewed the budget projections provided by the School Committee. Mr.
Khumalo clarified that if the tax impact is around 5%, then the increase would be about $489 for
the average single family home. He stated that the number doesn’t solely depend on the
operating budget numbers, it also factors in the revenue sources. He noted that considering the
amount of debt service in future years it is good to reduce capital expenditures, but reducing the
pay-as-you-go capital has no effect on the tax impact. It was noted that debt service is 3% of the
proposed FY 19 budget increase.
Mr. Herr suggested trimming out items that are not the contractual, required expenses. There
was a discussion relative to getting to a 5% overall tax impact, and whether that should be the
goal. Mr. Khumalo stated if that is the goal, he will work with the departments, including
schools, to make it happen. The issues were discussed. Mr. Cestari stated he would like to work
1
up from last year’s budget and how much it can increase over that, both town and school. He
stated it appears there is $1.3M to be cut, 60% from the school and 40% from the Town, based
on the overall budget proportion. The Board discussed having Mr. Khumalo work with the
school to achieve a 5% tax impact, with the resulting budget split roughly proportional to the
FY18 budget. Mr. Herr suggested not putting funds into the Stabilization account this year. It
was noted that the budget numbers should be presented at the March 20 meeting.
MOVED by Mr. Cestari and SECONDED by Ms. Wright to give direction to the Town
Manager to work with the School administration on a version of the budget that shows no more
than a 5% tax impact on the average taxpayer, and which reflects roughly the same proportional
split as the FY18 budget. Vote to Approve: 5-0.
Michelle Murdock, HCAM-TV, questioned the wording of the vote, and the motion was
clarified. Amy Ritterbusch, Grove St., asked about capital versus operating budgets. It was
noted that reducing capital requests funded through free cash does not affect the tax impact.
MOVED by Mr. Herr and SECONDED by Mr. Tedstone to adjourn the meeting. Vote to
Approve: 5-0.
Adjourned: 4:46 PM
Approved: March 27, 2018
Documents used at the meeting:
Document entitled “Town of Hopkinton, Sources & Uses - General Fund Budget”, undated
Document entitled “Town of Hopkinton, Tax Increase Summary”, undated
School Committee Budget Projections 3-8-18
2