FINCOM 20200619 Minutes

Source page 1

Canton Finance Committee Minutes Voted on: 7-30-20 
801 Washington Street Vote: 5-0-2 
to Canton, MA 02021 
Meeting Minutes 
June 19, 2020 
Finance Committee Members Present: Christos Arsoniadis, David Clough, Dan Cole, Emilio Mauro, Tim McKenna, 
Barbara Saint Andre, Cindy Thomas and Wai Wong. 
Finance Committee Members Absent: Rob Barker. 
Guests Present: 
Diane Tynan, Council on Aging Director 
Randy Scollins, Finance Director 
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Secretary 
Opening: Chair McKenna called the meeting to order at 4:03 p.m. via Zoom virtual meeting. 
Approval of Agenda: Chair McKenna reviewed the agenda. 
New Business 
Discussion of Revenue Relief, CARES Act, Budget Reductions, State Aid — Mr. Scollins provided an overview 
for the Finance Committee. 
• Canton has not yet received notice from the state regarding the Town receiving revenue relief. 
• The Finance Committee had already voted a $1.4 million reduction to General Fund budgets based on a 
reduction in estimated local receipts. 
• Mr. Scollins is recommending to the Finance Committee an additional $1 million reduction. 
• The current language in the CARES Act does not allow for revenue replacement. Legislators are lobbying 
for language changes in the CARES Act. Canton's allotment from the CARES Act is $2.8 million. Mr. 
Scollins stated that it is not prudent to pass a budget assuming the Town will receive the full level of the $2.8 
million fund. 
• The BOS voted to support a $116,667 municipal operating budget reduction and a $100,000 municipal cash 
capital reduction under Article 12 Motion 2. 
• The School Committee voted to support a $233,333 school operating budget reduction and a $100,000 
school cash capital reduction. Mr. Scollins did not receive information from the School Department as to the 
specific areas targeted for operating budget reductions because they have bottom line authority. Ms. 
Thomas stated that the School Committee did indeed vote specific operating cuts and that they were waiting 
for DESE guidelines about the fall schedule. The Business Manager has provided to Mr. Scollins the 
specific cash capital reductions for Article 12 Motion 3. Mr. Scollins screen shared these for the Committee. 
• Two additional transfers have been added to Article 54 Motion 1, each for $100,000. 
• While the School Department could incur additional expenses related to PPE, their transportation costs 
could decrease if students are split between the classroom and virtual learning. The CARES Act would 
cover expenses for computer purchases for virtual classroom. 
• The Town has not spent any of the CARES funds received to date. 
• Local receipts to date have exceeded the budgeted amount by $300,000. 
• No existing employees will be impacted by operating budget reductions. 
• The Town is standing firm regarding the trash budget. Unfortunately the trash company is entitled to their 
fees based on markets. The next trash contract will be more expensive because of hauling costs. 
• FY20 budgets will be coming in within budget or under budget. 
• Mr. Scollins stated that Ms. Butters, the Town Accountant, is doing a great job tracking expenses related to 
COVID. At year end approximately 75% of COVID expenses will be moved into FEMA and the rest into the 
CARES Act Fund. 
• With regard to the OPEB Trust Fund, Mr. Scollins is recommending a reduction to the FY21 contribution to 
the fund. He further stated that some municipalities are reducing their contribution to OPEB by 100%. He 
also stated that the Town should be contributing at double the amount currently being contributed. Mr. 
Scollins will be advocating for plan design changes to the Town's insurances. The current OPEB total 
liability is $90 million. 
• Mr. Scollins reviewed the municipal operating budget cuts for seven departments. 
Page 1 of 5