UNAPPROVED


ERCSD Budget Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes

June 27, 2007 – 7:00 PM

SAU Office



MEMBERS PRESENT: Bobby Aldrich, Ed Berry, Simon Heslop, Patty Lovejoy,

Roy Morrisette, David Pendell


MEMBERS ABSENT: Melissa Brockelbank, Deborah Johnson, Mark Poirier, Mark Portu


ADMINISTRATION PRESENT: Nathan Lunney


The meeting began at 7:20 PM in the new offices of the SAU which were not easy for some to locate.

  1. Welcome and Introductions: All members in attendance introduced themselves and Nathan briefly reviewed the process by which the committee was established. The members were asked to complete a brief contact information sheet from which public and non-public lists will be created. Nathan suggested that the committee will have a web presence under the Exeter Region Cooperative’s portion of the SAU16.org website. That site will include the public contact info and other data will be shared with committee members only.


  1. Review of Structure of ERCSD and SAU 16: Nathan explained the difference between the structure and responsibility of the Exeter Region Cooperative and School Administrative Unit 16 of which ERCSD is a part. He also reviewed with the committee the multiple entities that combine to make up the Cooperative School District including Adult Education, Alternative Education, and the Seacoast School of Technology. One goal of the overview was to help draw members’ attention to the diverse governance models, funding mechanisms, and budgetary responsibilities that factor into the development of the ERCSD budget.


  1. Annual Meeting Timeline: The committee was provided and reviewed the draft timeline of the upcoming annual school district meeting schedule. Nathan walked members through the timeline from final Voting Day on March 11, 2008 back through the meetings and deadlines to frame the projected schedule that awaits the committee. This timeline is the statutory plan that districts must follow with postings, hearings, meetings, etc. en route to voting.


  1. FY 2008-09 Budget Development Timeline: A draft plan was reviewed for committee meetings and topics for this budget development cycle. Nathan explained the timeframes within which actionable information becomes available in the budget cycle and noted how that impacts the plan for budget review and discussion. For example, our health insurance carrier provides a “not-to-exceed” rate projection in early November. That data is used in the calculation of proposed budget for benefits. The negotiated contracts that are based upon the Consumer Price Index for growth rates are generally tagged to the November release of CPI which is not available until December 15th. The budget elements driven by these data are best proposed and reviewed subsequent to the availability of the information. The committee discussed how these and other factors help drive the timeline for budget review. Additionally, Nathan reviewed for the committee the process that has been followed in recent years in the school board’s development of the proposed budget. The school board has agreed that it will be resource-friendly for the special budget committee of the board to meet jointly with this Budget Advisory Committee for the presentation of budget material through the fall. This committee may certainly opt to meet in additional separate session, but sharing the detailed presentations will prevent this process from becoming unnecessarily redundant and cumbersome. Nathan asked that the committee work through the budget cycle this first year as proposed in the draft and consider changes in the process for another year after members have first experienced the full cycle firsthand.


  1. Overview of State Reports, Account Structure, etc.: Nathan provided the committee with copies of the MS-26 report that is required to be submitted to the Department of Revenue Administration and Department of Education following the vote and completion of the budget development process. He reviewed the basics of the state-prescribed account number structure that drives the reporting to those agencies. Nathan explained that there is much more detail in the accounting standards of the state and that ERCSD carries a 21 digit format in its numbering. But he shared the budget development materials for FY 2007-08 and noted that all of the budget lines are discussed and reviewed in narrative form without the confusion and density of account numbers.


  1. Discussion of Other Advisory Committees: The committee briefly reviewed the structure, process, and history of budget committees in the Town of Exeter, Town of Stratham, Stratham School District, and Town of Brentwood. The committee discussed the difference between the advisory nature of this and many of the other committees and the statutory structure of the Brentwood Budget Committee. Nathan suggested that the committee operate like a board-level committee, similar to a statutory committee, with public notice of meetings, posted minutes, formal voting, and adherence to non-public meeting protocols should that ever be appropriate in this setting.


  1. Plan for Committee Business: It was agreed that the committee should elect a chair and possibly other officers. The members in attendance agreed to hold that action for another meeting when hopefully more members could participate.


  1. Next Meeting Date: The next meeting will be Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 6:00pm at the SAU office. Nathan will query the absent members to verify that the date will work.



The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:30 PM.


Respectfully submitted,


Nathan Lunney, CFO