Finance Committee Meeting Agenda
Otis Town Hall
1 No Main Rd, Otis
Thursday January 16, 2025, at 11:00 AM
Approved Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 11a.m.
present: Jim Crandall
Lisa D’Orazio
Terry Gould
Terry welcomed Jim and Lisa to the board.
Discussion of duties of members: Terry outlined the budget process and discussed the dates provided by the Town administrator for the upcoming budget cycle. Meetings will be held jointly with the Selectboard beginning on February 6th at 6 p.m. and continue every Thursday until the budget is complete.
Jim had one conflict on the evening of the 6th. All other dates are fine with all members.
Election of chairperson: Terry nominated Jim Crandall to sit as chair,
Lisa seconded
Jim accepted and is willing to assume the chair for the committee.
Lisa asked when we would receive the town budget information. Terry responded that the Town Administrator generally provides the information as soon as she finishes compiling it.
Both new members had information regarding the school budget process. Jim has attended several school committee and selectboard meetings. Lisa had the new proposed RDA that she had printed from the website. Lisa and Jim expressed confusion about the new assessment method being proposed and hope to attend additional meetings to be able to better understand the impact the proposed alternative method would have on the Town of Otis.
Jim made a motion that we request that all school budget updates be emailed directly to each member of the Finance Committee. Terry will email the request to the School Committee and provide emails.
Terry briefly outlined the work being done with the Otis Rescue Squad and possible financial impact to the town. She will let the members know when the board meets again with Fire and Rescue.
A discussion about attendance at meetings other than posted Finance Committee meetings was held. Terry explained that, in the past, when there was a question of more than one member attending a meeting, she contacted the Attorney General’s Office to ask for clarification. In the past, the AG had responded via telephone that members of a committee which would constitute a quorum, have the right to attend any public meeting as a resident, and ask questions at said meetings. However, no deliberation or vote should take place between the members of our own committee.
Terry will contact the AG’s office again to renew that clarification.
A question about the possibility of posting the meeting separately from whichever committee meeting we wish to attend came up. This would allow the committee to be able to participate in discussions at these other meetings. We will await the information from the AG as this could become cumbersome. At this time, we would plan only to attend meetings following the original advice from the AG.
The committee would like to meet again on January 27th, 2025.
The meeting adjourned at 12:25 p.m.