TOWN OF KINGSTON Finance Committee 26 Evergreen Street
Kingston, MA 02364
Finance Committee Minutes Nov. 16, 2015 Page 1
November 16, 2015 Minutes
Chairman Mary MacKinnon opened the meeting of the Finance Committee at 6:03 PM in the large meeting room at the Council on Aging. Other Finance Committee members present were Dana Atanian, Andrew McKenna and Fred Hughes. Absent were Carl Pike and Claire Soares. Also attending was Treasurer Ken Stevens. Agendas were distributed with Mary MacKinnon’s handouts: All about schools power point presentation; SLRSD budget sheets; KES/KIS budget sheets; Mass DOR tax rate; FY17 Department Assignments. This is the third and last Finance Committee training session. The first session was on revenues; specifically the Tax Levy and how revenues/expenditures affect the tax rate. The second session was on revenues and specifically State Aid, Local Receipts and other revenue sources. This session will focus on the schools, both the Silver Lake Regional Schools and the local schools KES and KIS. A power point presentation followed. Local Schools: Budget categories for local schools (K-6) include regular day; special education and out of district vocational. Local schools are funded out of the town’s general budget; rental income; grants and fund raising. Regional Schools: The regional schools (7-12) budgets include regular day and special education. Regional schools are funded through town assessments; state aid; tuition; shared costs; rental income; grants (3-4 million per year); revolving funds; E & D and solar revenue. Enrollment Data (gathered yearly on October 1st) drives the budget process and determines the individual town’s allocation. Foundation Budget is what the state tells us we must spend at a minimum to provide a basic education for each student. Minimum Contribution is the minimum amount the town is required to contribute to the foundation budget. State Aid (Chapter 70 money) makes up the difference between the foundation budget and minimum contribution. On average, Kingston bears 55% of Silver Lake’s minimum contribution. Net School Spending is the minimum contribution plus state aid.
TOWN OF KINGSTON Finance Committee 26 Evergreen Street
Kingston, MA 02364
Finance Committee Minutes Nov. 16, 2015 Page 2
Per pupil spending includes direct costs but does not include capital expenditures or debt service. Charter Schools: Charter schools were allowed under 1983 Education reform. The state sets tuition for each school and the tuition costs are taken off the cherry sheet. Statistics for charter school enrollment of Kingston and SLR students is shown below.
MSBA: (Mass. School Building Authority) 1 penny of each dollar collected of the state’s 6.25% sales tax goes into this fund for construction reimbursement of new schools and helps defray the cost of debt service. Excess Deficiency: This is comparable to a town’s free cash. Only regional schools may have an E & D account. The E & D account is limited to 5 % of the prior year’s operating budget. Any surplus over the 5% must be returned to the member town’s in the form of reduced assessments. Silver Lake Regional School Committee: Membership is regulated by the regional agreement. There are nine members with three year terms equaling 16 weighted votes. Kingston = 4 reps = 8 votes Halifax = 3 reps = 6 votes Plympton = 2 reps = 2 votes 2/3 vote = 11 votes The budget must be submitted by March 31st and approved by two out of three towns. DESE: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website was reviewed. Per pupil spending and Chapter 70 money are available on the finances tab and community comparisons are available.
TOWN OF KINGSTON Finance Committee 26 Evergreen Street
Kingston, MA 02364
Finance Committee Minutes Nov. 16, 2015 Page 3
FY17 Department Assignments: Spreadsheet was distributed listing the primary and secondary liaisons to town departments for budget reviews. Library Building Committee: LBC wants to do a presentation for both the Finance Committee and capital Planning Committee. Tentative date is Dec. 14th at 6:30pm in the Library Meeting Room. (This would replace the Dec. 15th FinCom meeting) Police Station Building Committee: Presentation on the building is ready, the land acquisition is not. The Finance Committee decided it would be best to wait and see how the negotiations with Silver Lake proceed as land acquisition would affect the total project cost. The Finance Committee anticipates arranging a meeting with the PSBC sometime in late January. New Member: Moderator Janet Wallace and Mary MacKinnon will be meeting/interviewing with two candidates to fill the vacant FinCom slot. CPC Projects:
• Gray’s Beach seawall reconstruction.( This project has been withdrawn and will be presented as an article after engineering is completed.)
• Bailey Playground (behind Reed Community Building) • KES Playground • KIS fields (thru KYSO and money not spent at Hall’s property, $400,000) • Archival storage for Adams Center
CPC has extended their Oct. 31st deadline for applications. There is a state list of all authorized CPC projects for each town, minus administrative costs. Tax Rate Recapitulation: A handout with Mass DOR summary was reviewed. Kingston’s tax rate increased from $16.94 FY16 to $17.61 FY17.
• Upon Motion made by Dana Atanian and seconded by Fred Hughes, it was unanimously VOTED: to adjourn at 8:15 pm.
Respectfully Submitted, Diane M. Poirier
