Reader
Browse passages, annotate evidence, and export with full provenance for citation.
September 26th and then Tuesday October 22nd and Tuesday November 19th again all at 6 p.m. at huckleberry imagine in the upper gym is where we would have is where we can do presentations and things like that we're working to get these live streams as well so people who are unable to make it then be able if not my stream to definitely be able to watch it so there will be access for people to see these if they're unable to make those meetings one other update with the NBC they are reviewing right now the RFQ is for the OPM the owners project manager they should be developing a shortlist and interviewing during their August meeting so we want to get that piece on sooner versus later and just keep moving forward on the three on the three meetings will they each have a theme of what we're gonna cover that or they're all open-ended meanders they're going to be at different parts of the milestone development so the first one will probably still be in the schematic design moving on to the design development and then the other one will probably be after the design development I would assume and then going into the construction documentation or just updates so yes though globally at different points along the way it's important to remember that the the entire time frame that we're talking about now which it was the kickoff meeting essentially through December is really into almost March but you need to have the design done we're in the design phase of the time block and out through December so this is where the input is critical from the community to get that input whether through emails that have come in or you know directly to to Jeff and his team from Tecton you know live at these meetings to really share what would people think there has been input already which is which is great and certainly answering questions was there any thought given to having any of these meetings during the daytime having you know other opportunities for people to attend if they can't do the evening sessions I don't think daytime meetings were discussed just because a lot of the parties have jobs that they did beforehand but I think it's it's good and important to solicit input any way we can so anyone who does have any ideas can always I mean we still have our email address open mm-hmm people can do that but we should definitely that's a good thought we should definitely emphasize that again maybe we can would work with the PTO to have somebody either from the board or the NBC attend the PTO meetings that are around that time and get any input from people that way I just hate for people to say oh you had one meeting and it was on a day I was out of town or all right but if there's different topics if there are different topics yeah I think one of the things that really worked well on the all the stuff leading up to the referendum you know the committee and then communications that was done one of the best things was a visual thing that people could look at right in advance of meetings we did that a number of different times in different ways I'll tell you what it Tecton can feed these with stuff that can be posted or put on on our website saying here's something to look at if you have any questions to come right it's a great great great advertisement to do that thank you I don't know what they would have leading into the meetings but I think that's what they actually came during the interview process with some ideas and schematics to cool and literally something that was built up yeah 3d oh yes it was a little different it was another kind of an updated conceptual design really interesting so something like that would be really any other brushes was a great great ideas if I can just mention that there was an article about the kindergarten enrollment that obviously talked about the new school project as well because both are certainly married in the new kindergarten teacher in the increased enrollment for this current leader in in kindergarten there is mention in there that I said that the board is looking at utilizing center school because of this increase in kindergarten enrollment that is not the case the quote at the end actually is accurate where it says that I said the word is not considering looking at center school you know we have a lot of data to look at that is not something that's being considered however I did have a conversation with the reporter and we talked about I people in the community I'm out in the community and I talked to people when people talk to me and people give me plenty of input on how the board and I can do our job much better of course that's how it goes and I always listen and suggestions have come oh well if you needed more room you could put pre-k at the center school or maybe kindergarten can go there if we had a massive trend and enrollment increase but it was not a the board or superintendent is considering utilizing center schools I wanna make that clear and I would hope that folks that saw that in paper would realize after being into my fifth year now and I don't make Cavalier comments like that and I respect the process and clearly to the point we made about strategic Facilities Committee and the project as a whole going forward to be approved at referendum we take communication and transparency and the process and public input quite seriously so I just want to make that statement very clear for everyone so if anybody's concerned out there in the community but always pick up the phone give me a call we're not considering center school and at this time or any time that I know of we have opportunity and I know Colette talked to Julia about it as well and we purposely built options in the design design at least of the school add up to 12 classrooms so there is there's plenty of room as far as we know it and that's why we want to dive deep on the enrollment study again with Moloney mcbroom it's been about four or five years since we've done a really deep dive and see if this is a trend or this is just the one off year so I just want to make that clear for the board and for the community jumping on to that seem to be kind of segue into the kindergarten enrollment and I know I've communicated to all of the board but just or to the public since this has been an update since our last meeting that at the last board of Finance meeting for to finance did approve funding in additional kindergarten teachers so we're very grateful for the collaborative effort with the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance to approve this really really needed position I would like to add one thing please we do our best guess at guessing how many students are going to be enrolling in kindergarten we do have studies we are out there we are talking to the community we are trying to gather as much information as we can in advance to kindergarten enrollment starting it's not always accurate we cannot always predict when people are going to move into Brookfield we have had a huge increase this year in students that are emerging in kindergarten a couple of the comments that I have read I feel have been unfair we do our job we do it well and we do it to the best of our abilities with the information that we're given if everyone had a crystal ball we would have known that we would have had an increase enrollment for this coming year I just want to make that clear that we were not hiding anything we are transparent and it is because of this we have added the class we are always here for the students and the community okay so now we have our three main points so say the new school project mutates with and with them suggestion that people send in designed comments yes please email them to repeat the email all right I think that's a good either how's the moment to start sending your costume no wait yeah this is the time I wouldn't think I'm the communications kind of a status update on the healthy school start times yeah yes people are interested in that do an additional cannon our teacher we know because we need okay that's a great so we're not putting the metric poison I was thing in the boys locker room Arvid protect them to begin work but yeah what we chose tech done and they're gonna be in hold off maybe hold off on healthy school start times and do something more torture facilities it was something like three eight do we want to do the healthy start times next time when we have our surveys formulated great anything further all right so we have an executive session you know about Sonny Evans actually there's an honest center of a huckleberry the second grade playdate on the playground is from one to two o'clock on Friday July 19th and July 26th and August 2nd in August 9th it's a PTO meeting on Friday August 2nd and Monday August 5th from 9:30 to 10:30 at a new Student Orientation that students who are new to Brookfield is on August 21st from 8:30 9:30 at whisk in air the new Student Orientation that students who are new to Brookfield is on August 21st from 10:00 to 11:00 at the high school the new Student Orientation that students who are new to Brookfield is on August 20th at 6 o'clock in the Orion and the 7th annual sunset sizzler is on Friday August 2nd at 7 p.m.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
is a fun community event hosted by the BHS all sports Booster Club recommend a motion that the board and turn to executive session for the purpose of discussing strategy and negotiations as it relates to collective bargaining and a confidential student matter [Music]
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
on semiconductor and Bald School District are very closely related geographically because watts is actually in the shadow of the on manufacturing plant here on 52nd Street and McDowell and for many many years we've been together even back when it was motorola where the employees lived in our area and and and you know sent their kids to our schools on semiconductor with along with their employees contribute to a fund that goes through our foundation that supports mini grants for teachers on semiconductor employees judged the entries and so we've had many many teachers benefit from this relationship the beautiful thing about learning to grow is that it's the culmination of a year of the children's exploration in nature the grin allowed us to really expand on the lesson the story Alejandro's gift is a story about the interconnectedness of all living things then the children go and explore nature directly through the desert detectives tour at the Desert Botanical Gardens through investigation and critical inquiry then through the art activity they're being able to take the ideas that they've learned and apply them symbolically through their stories that they create and through the artwork that they create at the end of the tour without the generosity of the grant the children would have really been able to explore nature but not in the same way this is a solar cell you know how this is connecting to the wheel and the motor so when the motor gets atoms it spins we were able to get these passports of what the grant that you guys gave us and with it we write down all the places that we've been to a little summary and it's it's our passport to the amazing places to the in the world so looks like you learn a lot from this program which is awesome what are you gonna do next what's the next experiment you guys have planned you might need to take your science up another level and that's been my experience all the projects we've seen to date the students are embracing it and they're taking to the next level [Music] well I want to say on behalf of on semiconductor thank you guys for taking the funds that we gave to the school and utilizing them here in your garden I think it's gonna be a wonderful experience for you it'll be something you'll never forget and as we were walking out here I was mentioning that not only you're learning about plant life you're learning about how to write how to present how to do math because your guys are doing graphs and for myself when I was your age I didn't know if I wanted to be an engineer that's what I am by trade I went and got an engineering degree I work at a computer chip company but all of these experiences can help you mold and shape what you're going to do for your future so on semiconductor enjoys participating and funding these kind of projects we want to continue to do that and it's your thighs ears and excitement that make us come back and want to continue to do more [Music]
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
in today's world technology is a life skill that will help your child to be better prepared for the future it is estimated by 2027 the technology sector will add more than 4 million new good-paying jobs however we need the support of parents teachers and the whole community to ensure students learn to use technology responsibly and safely in the vault school district also teachers have access to a computer document camera and a projector in all students k-8 have access to a computer in their classroom K through 5 students use computers in the classroom sixth through eighth grade students carry their computers from class to class and take them home every day six through eighth grade students should charge their computers nightly so they can be used throughout the day students are expected to take care of their computer at school and at home students should not leave their computer unattended students should transport their computer in a protective sleeve or backpack they should take care to not throw or drop their backpacks students should not pick up or carry the computer by the screen it should be carried by supporting the entire device from the bottom students should not slam the screen down they should also take care to touch the screens gently when necessary they scratch and crack easily students should not have drinks around their computers liquids and electronics never mix well students should take care to not get any crumbs or any other material in the keyboards they should never pop keys off of the keyboard or attempt to repair a damaged keyboard on their own students should not personalise their computers with stickers carving writing or any other means students are required to notify their teacher if their computer is accidentally damaged or not functioning within 24 hours the technology Department will take care of the repair and provide a loaner device in most cases intentional damage will be handled on a case-by-case basis with each student students may be subject to loss privileges disciplinary action legal action and parents or guardians may be financially responsible for up to five hundred dollars for the replacement or repair of the district issued mobile computing device in the event of intentional damage and/or violation of policies and guidelines as outlined in the technology agreement of the student parent handbook students are required to notify their teacher within 24 hours if their computer is stolen or lost if a computer is stolen from an off-campus location parents or guardians are required to file a police report within 48 hours and provide a copy of the report to the school administrator if a student withdraws from school he or she is required to turn the computer in students are also required to turn their computers in periodically throughout the school year missing devices will be handled on a case-by-case basis lost devices should be reported immediately so the district can use tracking software to initiate a recovery lost devices that are not reported by the student may be reported as stolen by the district parents or guardians may be financially responsible for up to $500 for the replacement of the computer if it is not reported within 24 hours each computer is checked out or assigned to a specific student the same applies to chargers for sixth through eighth grade students students should never trade computers or chargers internet filters are in place to try and prevent students from accessing inappropriate content no filter is perfect all students must be monitored online parents or guardians should monitor what students are doing on the computer at home students should report inappropriate content to their teacher so it can be blocked in the future students should never share passwords or write down passwords in an obvious place students should not share personal information online either like names addresses photos etc students should not ever send or encourage others to send abusive messages or engage in any form of cyber bullying students should not try and disrupt the bolts network in any way for example hacking modifying hardware or software they should also not attempt to install other software or modify the software or computer configuration on the bolts district computers the district tracks Student Activity online and archives all email the district has access to all data folders on the Balts network and access to all district managed resources please report accidental damage to your computer so the device can get repaired right away don't forget to report missing or stolen computers right away don't trade computers or chargers with other students and be gentle with your computer don't forget intentional damage will be handled on a case-by-case basis with each family it could result in charges of up to $500 loss of privileges disciplinary action or legal action technology is a priority in the Balts district in the case of accidental damage malfunctioning an accidental loss a loaner device will be provided if one is available students should charge their computer nightly so they are ready to go when they get to school students should not engage in cyberbullying or other rude behavior online report cyber bullies to your teacher students should not share personal information online and parents or guardians should monitor their children's activity online to find parent resources for online safety visit w-w-w org slash internet safety in the vault school district six through eighth grade students will be given mobile hotspots to use at home with their school issued laptops this will be free of charge to all six through eighth grade families a mobile hotspot allows you to connect to the internet in a place where you do not normally have the internet if you don't have the internet at home the mobile hotspot will allow you to connect to the Internet the school issued mobile hotspot and laptop are designed for student educational use when you log in to your school laptop at home it will automatically connect to the mobile hotspot and the Internet other devices in your home can also connect to the internet through the mobile hotspot however your internet connection will slow down as you connect more devices at the same time it's very important to note the mobile hotspot also connects you to the vault Elementary School District computer network this means school employees can find out what you're doing on your school laptop at home and keep a record of it any files created are the property of a bolts Elementary School District and may be deleted if considered inappropriate in particular electronic mail internet searches and other direct electronic communication are not private and may be read and monitored by school employees the mobile hotspot has a filter to block inappropriate internet content the filter meets the requirements of the child Internet Protection Act CIPA please do not try to disable the filter no internet filter is perfect and it is impossible to control access to all controversial materials the district believes of valuable information and interaction available on our network and the internet far outweigh the possibility that users may experience material inconsistent with the educational goal of the district or state or US Department of Education the bulk school district is not responsible or liable for any service interruptions changes or consequences resulting from system use even if these arise from circumstances under the control of the district the bots Elementary School District may make additional rules as needed for the operation of the system thank you for your attention today we hope you enjoy the technology from the vault School District
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
Today, learning to use technology is a life skill that will help your child be better prepared for the future. It is estimated that by 2027, the technology sector will add more than 4 million new, well-paying jobs. However, we need the support of parents, teachers, and the entire community to ensure that students learn to use technology responsibly and safely. In the Bout district, all teachers have access to a computer and projector. All students in grades K-8 have access to a computer in their classroom. Students in grades K- 5 have their computers in the classroom. Students in grades 6-8 carry their computers from class to class and home every day. They must charge their computers every night so they can use them during the school day. Students are expected to take care of their computers both at school and at home. Students should not leave their computers unattended.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
Students should carry their computers in a protective sleeve or backpack. They should be careful not to knock or drop their backpacks. Students should not pick up or carry The computer should be carried by the screen side. The computer should be carried by lifting the entire device from the bottom. Students should not slam the computer lid shut. Students should be careful and touch the screen gently and easily. Students should not have drinks near their computers; liquids and electronic devices do not mix well. Students should be careful not to drop crumbs or any other material on the keyboard. Students should never remove keys from the keyboard or attempt to repair a keyboard. Students should not personalize their computers with stickers, recordings, inscriptions, or any other means. Students must notify their teacher within 24 hours if their computer is accidentally damaged or malfunctioning. The technology department will repair it and provide a loaner in most cases.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
Intentional damage will be handled on a case- by-case basis with each student. Students may be subject to loss of privileges, disciplinary action, legal action, and parents or guardians may be held financially responsible. Students are required to notify their teacher within 24 hours if their computer is stolen or lost. If a computer is stolen from a premises Outside of school grounds, parents or guardians are required to file a police report and obtain a copy within 48 hours. They must give a copy of the report to the school administrator. If a student withdraws from school, they must return the computer. Students are also required to return their computers periodically throughout the school year. Lost devices will be handled on a case- by-case basis. Lost devices must be reported immediately so the district can use the locator program and begin recovery. The district may file a police report for devices lost and not reported by the student.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
Parents and guardians may be financially liable for up to $500 for computer replacement if the loss has not been reported. Each computer is assigned to a specific student. The same applies to chargers for students in grades six through eight. Students should never trade computers for chargers. An internet filtering system has been implemented to try to prevent students from accessing inappropriate content. No filter is perfect. All students should be supervised when using the internet. Parents or guardians must supervise what students do on the computer at home. Students must report inappropriate content to their teacher. Students must never share passwords or write them down in an obvious place. They must also never share personal information when using the internet, such as names, addresses, photos, etc. Students must never send or encourage others to send abusive messages or engage in any form of cyberbullying. Students must not attempt to disrupt the Devils network in any way, such as hacking or modifying the software or hardware.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
Students must not attempt to install other software or modify the software or computer settings on district computers. The district monitors student online activity and archives all emails. The district has access to all data folders on the Valdes network and has access to all resources managed by the district. Now, in summary: Report accidental damage to your computer so it can be repaired immediately. Immediately report the loss or theft of a computer. Do not trade computers for chargers with other students. Treat computers with care. Intentional damage will be handled on a case- by-case basis with each family and could result in charges ranging from $500 to $500, loss of privileges, disciplinary action, or legal action. Technology is a priority in the Waltz District. In case of accidental damage, malfunction, or accidental loss, a loaner device will be provided if available. Students should charge their laptops every night so they are ready when they arrive at school.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
Students should not engage in cyberbullying or other inappropriate conduct. Inform your teachers if you know of anyone who is cyberbullying. Students should not share personal information online. Parents or guardians should supervise their child's online activities. You can find resources for parents on internet safety at the address listed here. Students in the Waltz District in grades 6-8 will receive mobile hotspots to use at home with their district-loaned laptops. A mobile hotspot allows you to connect to the internet in a location where you don't normally have internet access. If you don't have internet at home, the mobile hotspot will allow you to connect to the internet. The district-issued laptops are designed for student educational use. When you log in to your district-issued laptop at home, it will automatically connect to the mobile hotspot and the internet. Other devices in your home can also connect to the internet through the mobile hotspot; however, your internet connection will slow down as more devices connect simultaneously.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
Importantly, the mobile hotspot also connects you to the Valdes Elementary School District's computer network. This means that school employees can see what you are doing on a district-issued computer at home and keep a record of it. Any files created are the property of the Valdes Elementary School District and may be deleted if deemed inappropriate. In particular, email, internet searches, and other direct electronic communications are not private and may be read and monitored by school employees. The mobile hotspot has a filter to block inappropriate internet content. The filter meets the requirements of the Children's Internet Protection Act. Please do not attempt to disable the filter. No internet filter is perfect, and it is impossible to control access to all content. The district believes that the valuable information and interaction available on our network and internet outweigh the possibility of users experiencing material inconsistent with the district's educational goals as defined by the U.S.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
Department of Education. The Bolt Elementary School District is not responsible for service interruptions, changes, or consequences resulting from the use of the system, even if they arise from circumstances within the district's control. The Bolt Elementary School District may make additional rules as needed for the operation of the system. Thank you very much for listening. We hope you enjoy the technology in the Bolt District.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
Nobody likes paying taxes, but when you do pay your taxes, there's nothing better than receiving a tax credit simply for doing something good. And receiving your tax credit is easier than you think. Arizona state law allows you, as a taxpayer, to receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for any contributions or payments you make to an Arizona public school to support extracurricular or character-building activities. This tax credit is not a tax deduction; it's a dollar-for- dollar reduction of the actual taxes owed. For example, if you owe $500 in state taxes and make a $200 contribution to our school district, the taxes owed will be reduced to $300. That's a full refund due to your financial support of public service in our district. And if you're married, even better! Couples who file jointly can receive a tax credit of up to $400. That's not all, because if you receive a tax credit greater than the tax you owe, you can apply this tax credit to the following year.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
No one likes to pay taxes but when you do pay tax there is nothing better than receiving a tax credit just for doing something good. And getting your tax credit is easier than you think. Arizona state law allows you as a tax payer to receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for any contributions you make or fees you pay to an Arizona public school. In support of extracurricular activities for a character education this tax credit is not a tax deduction it's a dollar-for-dollar reduction of the actual tax you owe for example if you owe $500 in state tax and make a $200 contribution to our school district your tax bill will be reduced to only $300 that's a full refund for your financial support of public education in our school district it's even better if you're married because couples filing jointly can receive a tax credit above to $400 that's not all because if you receive a bigger tax credit than the actual tax you owe you can carry that tax credit forward into the next year the tax credit is available to any Arizona taxpayer even if you don't have children just make a contribution to any eligible program in any of our schools on or before April 15th to get credit for this tax year while eligible programs can vary from school to school in general contributions or fees paid for curriculum based field trips or extracurricular activities like art drama music athletics character education and most clubs are eligible for a tax credit when you make your contribution to one of our schools you are in control because instead of giving your money to the state and taxes your money stays right here in our community directly helping our children plus you can specify which program or activity will receive your money you can contribute to one program in one school or spread it out over several programs or multiple schools in the district you decide or simply leave it to us to allocate your donation to the students who need it the Arizona tax credit program is your chance to make an important contribution toward the education of a child you already know or a child you have yet to meet and pay less tax to the state to get your credit for this tax year make your contribution to any one of our district schools right now take the next step visit our website at vault org slash tax credit where you can donate easily and securely online or print a form that you can mail or drop off to any one of our vaults Elementary School District schools or simply give us a call at six oh two six to nine sixty four hundred make your tax credit donation today or anytime on or before April 15th
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
[Music] there's several things that parents can do to make sure that their children are successful at Crockett the first thing is make sure that they are involved in the school and making contact with the parent or excuse me with the teacher as much as possible there's various ways they can do that they can reach out to the teacher directly it can be through a phone call or an email the more support we have from the parent in a connection to the teacher the better the student usually does in the classroom student sees that we're a team and a world working together to support them so number one would be communication on both sides the second one is find another way to be involved in the school so you might want to choose to volunteer on field trips or you might just want to come and help out in the lunchroom or you might want to join our newly formed PTO once you become involved one of those ways you have to be more idea of what's happening on the inside of the school and know how you can be supportive of students number one is make sure that they have good communication with their teacher our teachers work very diligently to make sure that students have all the information they need to complete homework assignments and complete assignments outside of the school but also to complete the assignments inside of the school if they are working together with a teacher whether it's a homework issue or not understanding the curriculum or it might be something like feel that they're having some troubles with with bullying at school once they reach out to a teacher our staff is always willing to make sure they're there and able to help them issue may arise so we've got we have a lot of good programs in place and it's really our year to hone in on what we have we become the first mindful school in the state of Arizona thing thanks to mindfulness first that has allowed us to really focus on students individual needs and not always think about a group of students the the second thing I guess we're really excited about is we have so many returning teachers to Crockett this year which is unique in education around the valley really getting our experienced teachers to have some time to work with our new teachers that are coming on board this year and really creating a new culture at Crockett where you want to stay in that school for your entire career we have a brand new gym that people are dying to come in and use and we can't wait to kind of show it off we're really trying to get our gates open a little bit more after the school day so our school can be used as a park for the students that are around us really opening up more to the community than we have been you know even over the last three years which I think we've done a pretty good job with but we always want to open it up because we are the hub of the Crockett community and have been for 6070 plus years [Music]
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
The tax credit is available to everyone. Arizona taxpayers, even if you don't have children, simply contribute to an eligible program at any of our schools by April 15th to receive your tax credit for this tax year. While eligible programs vary from school to school, contributions or payments made for field trips or extracurricular activities such as arts, drama, music, athletics, character building, and most clubs are eligible for the tax credit. When you contribute to one of our schools, you are in control because instead of going to the state in taxes, your money stays within our community, directly helping our children. You can also specify which program or activity will receive your money. You can contribute to a program at one school or distribute your money among several programs at multiple schools in the district—it's up to you. Or you can simply allow us to allocate your donation to a student who needs it most.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
The Arizona Tax Credit program is your opportunity to make a significant contribution to the education of a child you already know or a child you don't yet know and pay less in taxes to the state. To receive your tax credit for this tax year, make your contribution now to any of our schools. Visit our website valls.org/taxcredits. You can donate online easily and securely. Print the form and mail it or drop it off at any of our school district schools or call 60-26-29-6400. Make your donation for the tax credit today or before April 15th.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
[Music] okay good evening everyone this is Wednesday August 14 2019 I called this regular meeting of the Brookfield water finance order his rise and join him for the pledge okay thank you for being here we do have two absent members today but we do have four of us here so we do the quorum regular business as usual first order of business public comment do we have any members of the public here with us tonight that would like to get comments okay hearing and seeing none move on to communication and correspondence item we don't have any recorded for this time around moving on to the next approval of minutes of previous meetings I move that we approve the July 10th 2019 Board of Finance regular meeting minutes as well as the July 29th 2019 board of finance special meeting minutes as distributed discussion on the minutes as they've been distributed okay hearing none all those in favor of the motion to keep by saying aye aye motion carries 4-0 okay move on to the report of the First Selectman mr.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
Dunn right just a few things phase two of the streetscape is on target on time we've had a few change orders small ones we found nothing but ledge on the west side of the street so if you remember we were gonna put plantings and trees in to do that we'd have to take out a couple hundred yards at least of ledge and we still wouldn't be guaranteed that they would thrive so we made a decision to possibly in the future move the planters with bushes so we took that out otherwise everything's going pretty well on phase two we should be finished with that by the end of September and we're on time and under budget on that the still River Greenway extension you know we got a grant two hundred and seven thousand dollars we've received the initial design for that to go from the parking lot between town hall and Center fire all the way down to the police station where it will join up with the Greenway we've had two meetings on it to go over the actual design where it is we're gonna make one change do we want to keep it worn along the woods rather than coming out that may be a little more expensive our initial cut on the cost from our designer freemen is one hundred and eighty-seven thousand dollars to do it and we have a two hundred and seven thousand dollar grant so we're in pretty good shape there if we have to go behind the fields it might be a little more expensive but we think we can get the cost down because our own Public Works can do a lot of the work the grading angling making it a DA compliant so we're we're in good shape there Marsh is gonna talk about this more but the auditors are coming in towards the end of the mine we're in very good shape for that we did submit and thank you guys for meeting we did submit face for the streetscape to Wescott with the full approval of the town to support the 20% the town would spend and that adds to our points brownie points because they look much more favorably upon programs that have been funded or grant projects that have been funded that towns have committed to they've had a lot of trouble in the past where towns apply for grants and never put up the town side and we're never goes referendum or to Town Meeting and these projects this languish so that's pretty much what I've got so far questions comments concerns for the first segment but okay all right thanks sir move on to the report of the finance director Marcia ticularly thank you that we have been very busy that on revenues and expenditures I'm passing that out tonight I'm sorry I didn't get into an advanced that and I have in big red letters first cut only on the expenditures that they will change but they shouldn't increase significantly they should only decrease that but looking at the revenues there should be a two pager of revenues and a one with a watermark of of others just sorry all right the with respect to the revenues the taxes we've been talking about are much higher than the collections are much higher than what was budgeted due to back collections that she hired a sheriff and to go out and help collect some of those so if you look at the second line down that we budgeted for two hundred and seventy five thousand of collections and we've collected six hundred and eighty three thousand that's four hundred thousand more than what was budgeted that the current year budget is the average of the last five years so off to the right shows the budget for 1920 just so you can kind of get a comparison of here's last year in the Box in the middle on the right hand side is the current year the the year were in right now that so that 425 that we had as collections was based on a five-year average so you can see we are well ahead of five year average last year that and every time we talk about it the tax collector says but I'm worried I'm not going to be able to collect it this year but we've told her just keep keep collecting and we'll worry about that because there's a finite amount of back taxes and it reflects some olive and ankle Upton wants but then on the third line down there's an adjustment and I just didn't want to get anyone excited here too excited you can be a little excited that the way taxes go is it is measurable and available the modified accrual basis describes it as measurable and available available means that it's collected soon enough to cover the current year last year we changed everything except taxes to say available as if we think we're going to collect it in the next year but taxes were not allowed to go past 60 days so essentially what taxes are is you take the collections for this year you add to August 31st and you subtract last year's July in August so it's a cash basis from September 1st to August 31st well part of what we need to subtract out from August of 2018 there was we collected the normal amounts but then there was a tax sale for a hundred and eighty thousand so when we make that accrual adjustment to subtract that out I would expect that the the normal collections would be about the same as last year so usually we don't really deal with us at all because it's always about the same way to collect in August July and August said this year's about the same so I notice the last year nope just don't pin there on there you know about two and a half years ago we were looking at these numbers and I think I discussed it with you Sean briefly and that are overdue taxes are growing you're growing growing and we said we've got to get a better way to do this because people are just ignoring the town sometimes for ten years so we decided to do think two things one is get the sheriff and have they come in and - we never before that I know of actually pushed properties to tax sales to get our taxes and that's work pretty well where people come in and they pay the taxes because they don't want to lose their property I'm sorry yeah it was just one no we pushed more than one drew sale but everybody came in to pay their taxes one didn't and she's going to do another tax out but probably not until September or October there's a to push it to attack sale but last year through in July in August we collected three hundred and fifty thousand dollars of taxes a hundred Nydia this was a tax sale that we're not going to collect this year so we're gonna reverse that out and put this year's in I hate the sixty day thing trying to explain it trying to explain to anyone it makes us look a little sleazy that you know oh yeah this we should practice so I thought well I'm sure by the book it's by the book it is the rule its gap that but but anytime you have to explain something as an accounting thing so I did take a look at it and to say well what if we said we can't go longer than 60 days what if we just eliminated this and said let's do a cash basis well that would reduce our fund balance by a so we'd said zero days it's just purely a cash basis none of the 60 day stuff that would reduce our fund balance by a hundred and seventy thousand cause you couldn't pick up chiller or an estimated hundred and seventy thousand because you couldn't pick up July and August but that's something to think about and because we should be adding quite a bit to our fund balance this year we've added quite a bit to revenue but this year we're feeling good but three years from now what if we're not feeling good and you start to think oh that hundred and seventy would be would be nice right now so I'm just trying to explain it I'm not going to recommend that we we change to a cash basis but that's why that negative 180 is there just so you don't get an overinflated number that and what we'll do is the auditors come to 26 next week we'll be finalizing all the numbers we'll see what we've collected July in August this year and just estimate until the 31st that it'll be close enough and so this is consistent with what we've done the pass correct except that the only thing doesn't know that right you just said line is up yes so the other taxes yeah I don't see the reason it's a timing thing you want to look at it fourth yeah you want to be able to compare one period versus an right without footnoting it for three years so I think it does the trick just to put that hundred and eighty in there to kind of give you an idea of what it should end up to be licenses and permits that we did well over budget on the building permits that includes two of the one full building permit for the medical center in the cornfield isn't of about $30,000 and then there's about about $40,000 for just the foundation of the branson building so there should be a significant about mountain more of branson but we had budgeted that for next year and it's it came when one came in i think made one came in june of this year my view is there's been a general increase in building permits across the town smaller developers people redoing commercial buildings we've seen a growth overall and the Branson part is remember we put that in last year's budget more than a year ago yeah and we did not know and so to be conservative we didn't put any revenue in for Branson for last year because we didn't know when they'd actually get started but they started early and I don't have any statistics on it just from listening to them talk about how busy they are in the land use that they have a lot from the storm so building permits were up from the storm as well and so when we tried to analyze it for next year we tried to take the effects of the storm out of it so when we do next year's budget I we're going to look very carefully at the 730 mm cuz we know what we the additional revenue we put in there but that may not be there again unless we have further develop it for for intergovernmental revenues the only one that sticks out for the for the 19 year is low sip and what happens with low sip as they give us an allocation every year and if we don't use it it just sits up there and we have to spend it first and get reimbursed and so it was higher because we had some reimbursements out there that from prior years that we hadn't applied for so we have applied for everything and and but that's why it's higher than the annual allocations not that the state gave us more money on the second page charges for services nothing too exciting there that we've got a small accrual adjustment the town clerk charges and then the state pays and a little bit in arrears so we've had a few hundred dollars as might change by up or down burn for the accrual adjustment of what the state and federal government of us there is not much else exciting on the rest of this page until we get to investment income that investment income is very exciting that we budgeted for seventy five thousand and we've collected three hundred and twenty-two thousand there's several factors in that we changed the way we do the accounting that that prior you would have you had there were there's about forty bank accounts and every fund had a bank account and you would spend the money and then Shuckle it back and forth between the bank accounts that's a lot of needless work that had and so what we did last September so was just to set up so that do to do from you hear that word a lot its automatic so if I'm paying a bill out of if I'm paying a bill out of the basic checking account in the general fund but it's for a capital project I credit the general fund reduced the cash there and debit the expense over here and we set it up so munis will automatically say oh we are owed money from this fund and this one says out world money if we rolled money to the general fund that's a whole lot easier and more efficient than moving money back and forth and it created that allows us to capitalize and to maximize our in by having all the money together having it all swept out every night to earn interest so that was one change that that we made and then Steve and and John we talked about what else could we do and the second thing that we've done is zero balance accounts so that that up until now if we had a check run for a half million dollars to vendors we would transfer the half-million dollars at the same time we approved it but it would take days or weeks for those checks to clear and so it's set up with the bank that that they'll make the transfer as the checks clear and it won't call us overdrawn that was kind of how you do it personally but it's a form of controlled disbursement we fund it when the Jackson as your intention that so so that they just keep sweeping the money in as as the checks clear so that we are an interest on that money until the checks the checks clear you can see it's made a huge difference that once the size of the what I don't have rejoin any giving today well in at the end of July that we've got thirty five million dollars in there that so that's not included here because I was all collected in July but before July I think we're talking with two separate accounts and I think we're talking ten million 15 million the primarily invest in repo rates so whatever the overnight repo rate is around so it's a north of one and we have a meeting with the banker tomorrow to see you know what else can we do to not only on the the interest rate side that but also on the expense side that because the interest is is after we take the expenses out and so if it would be cheaper for us to do wire transfers instead of instead of checks that we're going to talk about that tomorrow to see what else there is Friday your tax collections those things were driven by a different strategy yes and then under miscellaneous revenue the both of that is the money from kurma that some years that they announced a a rebate and they did announce one in June and so we occurred it as a receivable last year in the same manner that we did the year before the expenditures so on the revenue I'm very confident business I've tied all the red an amount to each of the different departments of land-use has there's a police have there's a tax collector has theirs so I've tied all the revenue out to theirs and have gone through it in a lot of detail the expenditures I haven't gone through in as much detail that other than what we've done throughout the year with the meetings but the expenditures were also in very good shape what we're doing now is just going through the encumbrances and what's out there in the encumbrances that that they have to put in a purchase order and some of the purchase orders are just done and can be closed and and some were still waiting for the final bill and we just need to know where we stand so we can get a better estimate of that and so I just want we want to review that we want to get final numbers before we ask for year-end transfers but that is very very preliminary it is going to change that we're going to change the purchase orders we primarily have the accrued payroll done with you know maybe a few thousand here and there that at June the first payroll in July was a hundred percent of crude against last year but there's some firefighter pension money that's in there that we have to find into a negative accrual to that and then the first pay period had June 30th that will push back to make it make it perfect but at the bottom of the pages are what what we have left to do go through it and we're going to go through it in detail we want to go through that with the department's with the purchase orders payroll accruals and we have this does include all the bills that we have so far except our hooker and just sitting in my desk but there might be some minor additional bills that come in but we're not expecting anything substantial can you talk us through legal healthcare your bet legal being Town Council or Lego being the engines yeah legal fees that first page first so legal fees that we had a large budget in there that we talked Steve and I talked about January about people are are very the department heads are very scary about talking to professionals about their fees I know that I I didn't take advantage of it but I am affected me that but I know that you can talk to them and say listen the hairs were stand so we talked to all of them about purchase orders we talked to all of them about how could we reduce their fees that we've talked about the possibility of you know if everyone has questions and having a gatekeeper and so legal Steve would be the is the gatekeeper so that people just don't call up the attorney and say oh I need to do this I need to do that where he has a retainer but then he charges us but the charges outside if though that's not all the savings the other part is legal fees here that's under budget are lawsuits the primarily lawsuits and we and we had less this year that not you know the people sue because they a lot of land use issues mostly land juice where people don't like what we live in with the salt I'm sorry the salt I've no lawsuits on that at all you know so I think it's it's a common unless lawsuits the is a primary and part of it is just trying to manage it a little bit better that just we talk to each of them said hey you know that and maybe we have the the meeting and then we say will issue you a purchase order for this and and trying to get them into the purchase order it's a pain in the neck for a professional but it's the way we do our budget so that is legal health is health is the same thing hey Jerry I'm fine [Music] health is the same thing that we've been talking about all year that that we had we had over more money than we needed in the budget and then it's also more money than what we had the last time you saw it because what's been happening as we build WPC a once a year for their the health insurance for their employees for the employer portion we're changing that this year so we're going to be billing them monthly for any of their bills so there won't be a big jump in the in the the actual in june or big jump down in the actual in june as we get that reimbursement it should be pretty consistent through the year so they reimburse the two hundred eighty four thousand that's not that that's not all reimbursement that that we knew that we would have money there but if you looked at last time you saw a report that this has gone down the actual expenses down that's why I'm just over estimated the cost for this budget you yes yeah we talked about that that earlier and then any any big ones to talk about on the police are you still going you said you the police have biggest you know the visits on one day so it shouldn't be a big deal that we do get a reimbursement for one of the detectives from the state and so we'll pull out some of that expenses 9600 dollars we'll pull that out of here and put it through grants so that you can see the ins and the outs and not just net them together the biggest one is is the training wages and the training wages it's something with shooting guns they couldn't do last year this year after the storm last year because of the storm they couldn't get the required training in as quickly as they needed to be in that fiscal year so they ended up doing it in this fiscal year but then they had to do it again to stay because they usually do it in the May June time case so we had two hits there was from the prior year and then the Union the Union wages are under there is an officer that went on to military leave and he was expected to come back in January but he was hurt while he was over there and so he is not back yet so that's the the biggest part of that can you remind remind me or remind us the assumptions that went into the theme of reimbursement into the from the budgeting standpoint where we are an actual basis and if there's any risk based upon yes so we if we go back we spent about 1.7 million dollars we originally were told by people we could get 100% reimbursement they then change that about five months ago said oh no our policy is now 75% so we have claims into FEMA which they've approved a few small ones so far thank the group they send it to the state for approval we received one check for about seventy eight hundred dollars we don't see any problems at all with that FEMA's goal is to completely close our record on August 20th so everything will be to the state by August 20th so right now we look to get about 1.5 million so we will have an expense that we hadn't anticipated based on what FEMA originally told us now where does which which your budgets out here so last year we surrender in 18 and 18 we spent seven hundred thousand in cash and we accrued six hundred ninety nine thousand and we accrued a receivable for that that so this year we've got a million dollars in play that we'll have spent a little we'll spend less than a million because we've got some significant purchase orders there which we may have been we may be able to close some of those out so we'll spend less than that and then our goal is to be far enough in order for us to crawl receivable that we have to it has to be measurable and available so available means we estimate to receive it in a year even if we don't that and measurable means we know the amount right now it's not measurable but our goal is to get it measurable available and then auditable so that the auditors you guys find that 1.7 million in expense expense okay that's how much we spend FEMA originally told the town that they would refund 100% yield so they said 75% of that would come back didn't you said 1.5 million it's like one point two seven five so originally when we went to the FEMA meeting Steve Gregg than Baskin I went to the FEMA meeting and they talked about well you're gonna get reimbursed for this you're gonna be reimbursed for this and that was we were thinking it was going to be like 2.8 million because 75% of our expenses they'll also give us a five percent management fee right and we can also apply for all the hours of course that soft costs that we have spent since our first meeting a year ago and they pay that at a hundred percent so what they tell us and that makes up the difference between the whole point two seven five and then one point five but I've had to do a calculation anyway next week for the auditors I'll send that along when let me have it that and then the 18 receivable that is that still it's still a receivable we thought it would come in with a year and as we were told that by FEMA that but it didn't that down but it we still think it's going to come in within this year so our estimate that it was going to commit in a year was wrong but the amount is still odd it's still good and so we just keep it there on the books so the amount is still good because it's kind of at least that that right I know so it says it's the 19 receivable that is in question on the amount we minors you apply the first six hundred ninety thousand dollars received to thee yeah because and that first receivable the reason that it was good is we have one vendor that we can cover that whole receivable that with the series there's the tree and so it so it was not that it was not a big stretch for the auditors does was a specific receivable that you're talking specific expenses so our goal is we want to be able to accrue that this year to have it should be measurable and available they say August next week but let's say September we can't get the audit finished until at least October when the state comes up with their teachers retirement pension reports so that gets into our financial statements so by then we should have all this as if we don't and let's say we don't have a number which is doubtful but more likely is we don't have a number that the auditor feels comfortable signing off on that that's gonna come out of fun balance and it's going to just go down and back up again and and to me it would be worth holding up the financial statements until we can get them comfortable they're not due until December 31st but most likely there's a couple hundred thousand dollar expense hole yes okay yes that's correct um it depends on what we do with the purchase or the purchase orders if we can liquidate some of those we might we might be really good but it but it's the first time don't know well that'll be working yeah yeah just this just this an idea of where we are that we're not just sitting there doing I'm not doing analysis then all right good that we have a new accounting and payroll clerk that started this week that ISA before she retired took all of her sick times so we have not been fully staffed for a single week since April beginning of April so there's my four of us so we've we're down a lot that so you'll see we have a lot of overtime for that one person that gets overtime that but our new clerk is fantastic she came in on Monday payroll day with a grant brand new computer system that wasn't working but so and payroll is in the review stage now that Kevin is back at the office reviewing it Steve will review it in the morning everyone will be paid on Friday and accurately second we've had an upgrade communis that happened over the weekend that a whole lot different in a government than it is in a for-profit that our IT people used to come in from you know like midnight to 3:00 a.m.
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above
to do an upgrade but and then the support would be there with the with the vendors munis doesn't work weekends that doesn't work Sunday's that so but the IT people have done a great job that were converted were operating there's a few glitches here and there but they're addressing them really fast when we when we get to them we had to up rate we've talked this was a third date that we had on the calendar with munis to upgrade the first one was I was really new and was too nervous to do it the second one we were doing something else but this one was good for both the town and the school but we have to do it because it's our version was no longer gonna be supported and and that means things like w2's which are a specific format they would not do o finance Friday that finance Friday was a lot of fun there were jokes they were really good with what my dad Jules what do you call a a chicken that does math mathematician oh except that I know that was Marla at the police station except that our Chairman of the Board of Ed I thought it was a I clock you later but but we we had fun but in addition to having fun we had 25 people that were there for different classes and that were trained that and you actually put you don't call it finance Friday but you do put in the Charter that can post and I are to have these meetings junior July of every year to train people to give them updates and things and so it is part of the Charter not just frivolous that but we had over 25 people attend the classes that we have a written manual that is 58 pages long for purchase order users on purchasing how to do a purchase order how to receive something in how to pull a report to see where you stand that and excitingly enough that this is a combined document for both the town and the school that so will work to keep it up to date that we did it for finance Friday the Board of Ed had our people we had their people at our finance Friday they had our people - the jokes and games and prizes for update training earlier that we have some great pictures on share that and we have another manual like this because our whole thing as we told you when I came in that we want to work ourselves out of a job that so if we were hit by a bus as our standard if we were hit by bus tonight someone could pick it up that so we have this manual we're partway through a manual for budget managers so department heads on how to manage a budget they're great at what they do but not necessarily at budgeting so that when I just have to get back to it and we also have a manual like this that we're working on again to share both sides for how to do payroll that's the whole payroll process we've had it I've been using it because I've done payroll since April that and now we're just converting it to the new the new system that is like a hundred and eighteen pages that again we're sharing it with the board of it that other than that the oh not that one do you know why I became an accountant I didn't have the personality to be an actuary to be a mortician and then the audit audit starts in August that so we are working on the bulk of its in the general fund that's there we're thankful for all the things that we put in so the other funds should be a lot easier this year but we're working a lot to try and get it up to date turn it around because it's just so much easier to just have that done and on one on one fiscal year that we're worried about and one of the things they said it said in last year's what it was that we were not we hadn't done ru koa unifrom chart of accounts reporting for five years to the to the state we are now caught up that that was done for we kept extending it because it required some changes in some of our our numbering system there's still more changes it would be great but it required some so we wanted to wait till the June 30th so we could change him in between in fiscal years so that was all the years were caught up by July 31st any questions questions comments concerns thank you so much that's awesome great news excellent updates thank you well it's important stuff okay to move on to reports of committees where audit community chair has some things to discuss certainly oh I'm so sorry I'd like to invite Collette Stenger the Board of Education up to the table so we can discuss board of education financial sorry financials initial page regards to descriptions and you might notice that the operating surplus is a bit larger than the last report that you had and he does detail the majority where that is coming first I do need to say that this figure where I can think experiment salad it is still an estimate he does plan to have the the full accounting in the final figures in about a week yes your email does have it if you do it but if not I'll talk to it sodium the estimated operating surplus is about a hundred and sixty four thousand five hundred ninety two that the increase from what was initially projected let's say two months ago actually because I didn't meet here with you last week her last month is in two areas really one is special education and but that's generally conservative estimates who are used for the amount and cost of related services relating to special needs those tend to be costs that are very difficult to estimate to begin with when you look at the testing and education of the students but the team that we have in there now has been really good about tightening the estimates and the control of those costs over the last two years Kent we've gotten better numbers and so Ken is going to use that and have greater confidence and tightening up that figure for next year as well and the budget going forward different personnel in place well we have the right personnel that did the the controls going forward and then we do have the assistant that still don't you be there going for this latter the other area where we saw significant increase in our surpluses with a building a maintenance costs Kenan said for the first time and I'm not sure how long they really didn't have any significant surprises this spring normally when you have the warm weather and you turn on the air-conditioning there's always units that are behaving units that need to be replaced or repairs that need to be done this year we were fortunate none of that happened so we ate we saw savings there as well as no but you know member bursts or tornadoes or power outages or anything of that sort so that's another area we saw some gains that led us to the gas surface [Music] okay so I had a few formal conversation with Marsha last week after the town meeting I had a fight through the crowd to get there very difficult chatted about the audit process and where they are in the process things can be going well we just talked about the timing and might be a little bit delayed from the original timeline because of the theme which is fine but in front of us we have the east side of the audit right the time again we have we have the engagement letter for the for the current year which Marsha is sent to me I reviewed it sent it to the audit committee earlier today I'm sorry should have sent it the day or so before but from I read it looked pretty clean the fees as you mentioned are as described and a bit of a discount to last year because we're in much better shape and doing more of the work ourselves so I have no problem that I did I did need to ask you I read through it and everything seems normal but were there Burbidge changes from last last letter in this Levitt I didn't compare it yeah I didn't compare it to last letter I just compared it to just reading what I used to do it was equally confusing but it looked appropriate yeah okay pyrite is it seems fine yeah so fees so it's my recommendation that that's you sign it and authorized Steve to go ahead and execute anybody else from the committee of comments so the same way Thanks now you do thanks for circulating they're doing it okay that's it okay and I will make a motion that the Board of Finance take the recommendation of the audit committee to move forward with the engagement letter an engaging Lawrence table for the 2018-19 we look forward to progress updates and good stop as we go I will say that conducting two audits in a six-month period is a daunting task we have no noted old business nor new business were there any other items to come before the board from any members present okay hearing none do we have any members of the public present that would like to get comment if so please step up to the podium okay human seeing none I move that we adjourn okay how was in favor okay we are adjourned thank you [Music]
⚗ AI-reconstructed · cite from original above