Town of Aquinnah

Finance Committee Meeting
Minutes of Meeting 11-6-17

Aquinnah Town Hall Selectmen’s Meeting Room

Members present: Allen Rugg, Chairman and Tom Murphy, Mark Foster
Also present: Board Administration Assistant Sophia Welch, Town Accountant Emily Day, Town Administrator Jeffrey Madison, Selectman Chairman Jim Newman

- The meeting began at 9:30am

- First on the agenda under Old Business was the review of meeting minutes from 10/17/17. Minutes were not prepared and deferred to the next meeting.

- Next on the agenda under New Business was a Transfer Request from the Library. Emily presented the $1900.00 request to the Committee which would come out of the Finance Committee reserve funds. She explained the reason behind the request and informed the Committee that no one is at fault for the transfer and in fact, the Library’s budget this year was down due to the structure of the payroll and salary. However, to prevent Town’s from cutting Library budgets, the Library Commission generates a formula for libraries to meet every year. When Rosa Parker, Library Director, filed the close out report for this year the Commission informed her that the actual appropriation for next year did not meet the formula. Emily noted that in order to meet the formula and fix this, the Town could either do a transfer request or apply for a waiver. Emily felt that a transfer request was the simpler process of the two. Emily stated that the money will be added to the materials budget line but that the Library doesn’t need to spend the money but needs to have the appropriation. Jim Newman added that this was something that the Library Trustees should have been aware of because it is a mandate that every year the budget is increased a certain percentage in order to for the Library to maintain its accreditation. He suggested that there be a budget form specifically for the Library that includes the percentage increase. Tom made a motion to appropriate the $1900.00 transfer request from the Finance Committees reserve fund to the Library for the use as indicated by the Town Accountant. Motion was seconded by Mark. The Committee voted 3-0, the motion passed. Emily had the Committee sign the transfer request.

- Under Other Business, Allen discussed an email that the Committee received from Selectmen Chairman Jim Newman regarding his recommendation to increase the Board Administrative Assistant hours to included Friday 9am to 1pm. Jim has asked for the Finance Committee to express their views on the matter before he makes the recommendation to the Selectmen. The Committee discussed the need for a liaison to interact with the public on Fridays. Allen had checked with Sibel and confirmed that this increase will be budget neutral. No action was needed from the Committee on the matter.

- Under Other Business, the Committee briefly discussed their previous meeting with the Board of Health Chairman Jim Glavin regarding the hours and responsibilities of the BOH Assistant. Allen reported that since that meeting, the BOH has hired a new part time assistant and has been working a couple of weeks now and has recorded a lot of time. The Committee respected that the hours logged was partly due to orientation but that the budgeted 18 hours/week doesn’t need to be consumed if there isn’t work. The Committee felt that they had made this matter clear with the BOH. Jeffrey Madison informed the Committee that he is making a recommendation to the Selectmen that all part time employee time sheets be processed through and signed by the Town Administrator so that he can keep track of the hours logged and get a feel for what the jobs entail.

- Under Other Business, Mark and Tom gave a report on the Island Wide Finance Committee meeting they attended recently. Mark noted that the relationship between the Towns and the State and Towns are very professional and he was impressed by the depth of knowledge at the meeting. Presentations were given for Elder Affairs Office and A.C.E. MV at the meeting. Discussion took place about the programs that A.C.E. and Elder Affairs offer to the Island. The Committee agreed that Aquinnahs’ participation in these meetings will be an advantage for the Town.

- Under Other Business, the Committee discussed the Town swim and sail program. Allen asked if the program falls under the responsibility of the Town Administrator to which Jeffrey stated that it does currently fall under his responsibility. However, he hopes that with the appointment of a Parks and Recreation Committee the program will be overseen by that Committee. Everyone agreed that the program is a great opportunity for the community and has the potential to become a revenue opportunity for the Town. The Committee asked if there were any records of participation in the program to which Sophia stated that Carolyn would most likely have specifics. Jeff offered to round up information on the program for next year’s budget.

- Under Other Business, Jim Newman suggested for the Committee to consider talking with Chilmark and West Tisbury Finance Committees about school budgeting and that it is important for the Committee to stay in the loop.
Discussion was had concerning the recent Board of Selectmen joint meeting with Chilmark and West Tisbury BOS where the school budget was discussed. Further discussion was had about the formula behind the school budget. The Committee took Jim’s suggestion under advisement.

With no other business to discuss, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn.
The Committee voted 3-0 in favor. The motion passed.

- The meeting ended at 10:04am.

Respectfully submitted,
Sophia Welch
Board Administrative Assistant