Paul,

This week's issue includes a summary of the February 27th Select Board meeting and the agenda for this coming meeting to be held on March 5.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions.

Best Regards,

Paul Warren

Please note that this email is being sent by me as an individual and not as an official action on behalf of the Board. The content is created by me and any errors or omissions are solely my responsibility.

What's on My Mind

Forecasted Budget Deficits - Our long-range planning is forecasting budget deficits beginning in FY2026 ranging from $3.3M to $27.7 million in FY2029. The growing deficits are caused by a structural gap between forecasted revenue growth of 3% and forecasted expenditure growth of 5%. The long-range forecast was presented at the February 20 budget meeting.

The growing deficit was reported on by Brookline.News. At our most recent Select Board Meeting I requested that the Board consider appointing a working group or committee to develop alternative approaches to addressing the forecasted deficits.

Last Meeting - Tuesday, February 27

Miscellaneous - 23 items on the miscellaneous agenda were approved. The complete list can be found in the meeting agenda.

Departmental Budget Reviews - FY2025 Departmental Budgets for the Office of the Select Board, Finance Department, and Planning and Community Development Department were discussed.

• Select Board budget is growing 6% to $1,060,758. Discussion included funding for Brookline Interactive Group services, headcount growth, grant funded positions, and performance metrics.
• Finance Department budget is uncharged at $3,591,363. Discussion included changes in cash reserve requirements by the rating agency Moody's, office and commercial space vacancies, readability of quarterly tax bills, and the need to revisit existing Capital Improvement and Free Cash policies which date back to 2011.
• Planning and Community Development budget declining by 13% to $1,622,850. Discussion included spending with minority-owned businesses, design standards, the upcoming Comprehensive Plan, enforcement of building permit conditions, Washington Street redesign project, historic preservation guidelines, 40B projects, and the delayed Waldo-Durgin project.

Remote Meeting Policy - Board discussed and adopted a revised remote meeting policy requiring that all Town public bodies that are under the Select Board’s jurisdiction and subject to the Open Meeting Law utilize the Zoom open platform by September 1, 2024. The revised policy can be viewed here.

Recording of Public Meetings - Board discussed and deferred to a future date potential changes in policy related to recording and providing access to public meetings.

Housing Production Plan - Board discussed and adopted the Housing Production Plan.

Select Board Warrant Articles - Board discussed and vote to place an Article on the Warrant relating to the number of members serving on the Commission for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Relations.

Links:

• Complete Meeting Video
• Meeting Agenda and Information
• Housing Production Plan
• Remote Participation Policy

Next Meeting - March 5, 2024 @4:30PM

Executive Session - Board will enter into Executive Session at 4:30PM to discuss collective bargaining, litigation strategy, and approval of executive session meeting minutes.

Announcements, Updates and Public Comment - Board will continue its public session at 6:00PM

Miscellaneous Items - Board will consider grants from the US Department of Homeland Security's Urban Area Security Initiatives, contract approval for Amory Playground improvements, hire request for the IT Department, and a temporary alcohol license for a Driscoll PTO fundraising event.

Juneteenth Celebration - Request to authorize the Town Administrator to seek one or more community partnerships for a Town-wide celebration of Juneteenth.

Departmental Budget Reviews - Review of the FY25 Departmental Budgets for the Office of the Advisory Committee, Information Technology, Town Counsel, and Veterans. Department budgets can be viewed under Section IV - Departmental Recommendations.

Warrant for Annual Town Meeting - Approval of the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting.

Public Hearings on Warrant Articles - The public will have an opportunity to comment on and the Board will possibly vote on the following Annual Town Meeting Warrant Articles:

• Article 1 Wood and Bark (Select Board)
• Article 3 Compensating Balances (Finance Dept)
• Article 7  Acceptance of legislation to increase certain property tax exemptions. (Assessors)
• Article 12  Accept Chapter 59, Section 5K of the General Laws, allowing an expansion of the Senior Tax work off program (Finance and Council on Aging)

Board and Commissions - Board will consider making appointments to the Preservation Commission and the Housing Advisory Board.

Links:

• Meeting Agenda and Materials
• Zoom Registration