Committee Report - Finance - 6-13-11 — File 191681

June 13, 2011 Finance Committee Page 1 of 3 Printed 6/15/2011 REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Maryann M. Heuston Chair Present William A. White Jr. Vice Chair Present John M Connolly Alderman At Large Present Rebekah Gewirtz Ward Six Alderman Present Thomas F. Taylor Ward Three Alderman Present Bruce M. Desmond Alderman At Large Present Walter F. Pero Ward Four Alderman Present Dennis M. Sullivan Alderman At Large Present William M. Roche Ward One Alderman Present Sean T. O’Donovan Ward Five Alderman Absent Robert C. Trane Ward Seven Alderman Absent Joseph Curtatone Mayor Present Omar Boukili Administrative Assistant Present Tara Acker SomerStat Present Steve Craig Constituent Services Present Michael Meehan Communications Present Stephanie Hirsch SomerPromise Present Elizabeth Craveiro Treasurer/Collector Present Ed Bean Auditor Present Angela Allen Purchasing Present Marc Levye Assessing Present Kate Ashton Grants Present John Long City Clerk Present Gregory Jenkins Arts Council Present Frank Wright Law Present Frank Senesi Veterans Services Present David Lutes OSE Present Nicholas Salerno Elections Present • FY-12 Budget Mayor Curtatone presented an overview of the city’s FY-12 Budget and told the members that decisions were made responsibly and in keeping with the core commitments and values that residents have come to expect to continue to make Somerville a great place to live, work, play and raise a family. . Due to the current economic climate, all Massachusetts communities are facing fiscal challenges, brought on by cuts in State aid, an over reliance on property taxes, the high costs of health insurance, energy, and pension costs. Over the past ten years, the financial

Committee of the Whole June 13, 2011 Finance Committee Page 2 of 3 Printed 6/15/2011 burden on the city’s residential property tax payers has increased dramatically, from 43% to 60% while State aid has decreased from 38% to 25%. The proposed General Fund Budget for FY-12 is $169,732,903 which represents an increase of $4,225,499 or 2.55% over the FY-11 budget. The largest expenditures in the budget are for Public Works (11%), Public Safety (18%), Pension & Fringe benefits (24%) and the School Department (27%). Even after using all available State aid, the city will still be in the hole for $9 million in health care costs. The Mayor estimates that if the city moved to the GIC, the savings in health care costs would be $8.3 million, at an 80/20 split. Somerville currently has the distinction of spending the least per capita of any city in Massachusetts ($1,828). Rather than making cuts across the board, the city has continued to find ways to do more with less. By using $7.5 million of various reserve funds, increasing some fines and fees and implementing departmental efficiencies and reorganizations, the FY-12 budget gap was eliminated. (Enforcement for expired vehicle registrations would bring in $939,000, increasing the resident permit parking fee from $20 to $30 would bring in an additional $466,000, increasing the late fee for parking tickets would bring in an additional $200,000.) Sound fiscal responsibility has led to the City of Somerville enjoying the highest bond rating in its history. While the proposed budget contains new positions for 4 additional Police Officers, a Fire Management analyst, an additional Traffic and Parking clerk and an additional Clerk in the Elections Department, it also eliminates 3 Parking Control Officer positions. In the School Department, the biotech curriculum and music program will be expanded, more computers and smart-boards will be available in classrooms, four new instructional coaches will be added, a high school dropout prevention program will be implemented, the science curriculum in the middle grades will be enhanced, the Healey School will be unified and there will be afterschool programs for foreign language and robotics. While many communities are charging for extracurricular activities, Somerville continues to lead the way by not imposing fees for extracurricular activities or sports. The following departments presented their budgets for FY-12: Executive Office, SomerStat, Constituent Services, Communications, SomerPromise, Finance, Auditing, Purchasing, Assessing, Grants Management, City Clerk, Council on Aging, Arts Council, Law, Veterans Services, Elections and the Office of Sustainability and Environment. Alderman Pero was recused from the SomerStat discussions. The following information was requested: Ald. Gewirtz: • requested (from the Mayor) to know which positions were new or re-filled • requested (from David Lutes) to know if Stretch Energy grant funds could be used for Green Roofs Ald. White: • requested (from Ed Bean) to know how much $ was used from the reserves from revenue sources other than the Rainy Day Fund, to balance the budget

Committee of the Whole June 13, 2011 Finance Committee Page 3 of 3 Printed 6/15/2011 • requested (from Ed Bean) figures for employee contributions for FY-10-11-12 • requested (from Marc Levye) to know how much remains in the overlay reserve • requested (from David Lutes) a cost analysis of going towards recyclables Ald. Desmond: • requested (from Angela Allen) to know what equipment the city is renting • requested (from Angela Allen) to know why the city isn’t leasing copiers rather than buying them. (Report back with answer, printers, computers, copiers, etc.) • requested (from Marc Levye) to know why funds for computer equipment is not listed under Professional & Technical or Property Data Services? Ald. Pero: • requested (from frank Wright) that a copy of the court ruling on the Logan Runway suit be forwarded to BOA members Ald. Taylor & Heuston: • requested (from Frank Wright) a breakdown of the salary & increase for the Legal Assistant position