Back to Advisory Committee Minutes
September 7, 2010 Meeting Minutes
Hingham Town Hall
Present: Committee Members Manning, MacCune, Eldredge, Ellison, Farrell, Friedman, Innis, Johnson, Marwill, Mooradian, Power, Pyles
1. Call to order
Chair Jack Manning called the Advisory Committee meeting to order at 7:08 PM.
2. Discussion of Advisory Committee Rules
The Committee engaged in a discussion of Section 7 of the Advisory Committee Rules in light of a commentary by Dennis Friedman published in the August 25, 2010 edition of the Hingham Journal.
Dennis expressed his belief that he submitted the commentary solely to correct what he believed to be misstatements of facts published in the previous week’s Hingham Journal in a commentary by Bernard Manning. As he believed this did not constitute advocacy as prohibited by Section 7 of the rules, Dennis believed that there was no need to discuss his commentary with the Chair prior to publication as is suggested by the rules. Several members expressed the view that it was difficult to distinguish between advocacy and the presenting of facts and that erring on the side of caution, i.e., consulting with the Chair, would be advisable in the future.
Lizzie Eldredge noted that a recent edition of the Hingham Journal included a quote by Jack who attended a Selectmen’s meeting and was speaking “as a taxpayer…” The Committee discussed if, when and where such comments might be appropriate especially in situations where a Committee member serves as a liaison to another Town board or committee. There was general agreement that care must be taken to ensure adherence to the rules.
Upon completion of the discussion, there was an understanding among the Committee that if a similar situation arises in the future, it is expected that the Chair will be consulted prior to any member acting on his/her own. With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, Dennis acknowledged that his sense of urgency in correcting misstatements should not have outweighed conferring with the Chair, and he would do so in future situations.
In a related matter, the Jack reminded the Committee that using the “reply all” function when responding to emails could constitute a violation of the Open Meeting law and should be avoided.
3. Budget Process
There was a brief discussion of the timing and format of the FY 2012 budget process. Jack expressed concern over the quality of last year’s (FY 2011) budget, especially with regard to the initial input provided to the Committee by the Town departments. Ted Alexiades, Finance Director and Interim Town Administrator, expressed confidence that the process would be improved from last year and that initial budgets would be ready by Thanksgiving.
Several members of the Committee expressed a preference that all the departmental budgets be voted on at one meeting after all the departmental budgets are presented as was the case for FY 2011.
The Committee discussed the role of benchmarking with other towns in the budget process and it was noted that Mary Power had offered to take the lead in accumulating the relevant data.
Jack suggested that some budget guidance similar to last year should be given to the departments to help drive the process. It was noted that the capital budget has a profound impact on the overall budget, but is often not ready until late in the process; however, there are limitations that make moving the capital budgeting process up unlikely.
4. Library Repairs
There was discussion of needed repairs at the Library for leaking windows. The cost of the repairs was estimated to be approximately $3,800. The Library’s management will attempt to fund the repairs from its FY 2011 operating budget, but wanted to inform the Committee that a reserve fund transfer may be needed if the library is unable to reduce other expenses to fund the repairs. The Committee did not vote on this matter, but acknowledged the issue and there was general agreement that the Committee would be inclined to approve a reserve fund transfer if needed.
5. Reserve Fund Transfers
The following Reserve Fund Transfer was reviewed and unanimously approved by the Committee.
Department Rationale Amount
Town Hall Correct persistent flooding in the basement of Town Hall $21,000.
6. Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Greg MacCune, Secretary