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Town of AmherstBoard of SelectmenJanuary 3, 2006
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Chairman Marilyn Peterman called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. and wished everyone a Happy New Year. Selectmen present: George Infanti, Jay Dinkel and Thomas Grella. Also present Interim Town Administrator Gary MacGuire and Executive Assistant Sharon Frydlo.
There were no questions or concerns from members in the audience.
Mrs. Peterman announced that the W&M Chairman would not be with them this evening. During the past week Gary MacGuire met with some of the Departments and in the package given them there were new figures. It was her suggestion that they go through each Department and note any changes that were made.
4130 General Government - Mrs. Peterman commented that originally there had been an increase of !3% and it was now at 7.19%, a difference of approximately $20,000. Mr. MacGuire advised contingency was reduced by $5000. Full time wages had been decreased by approximately $5000 due to changing the wage for the Town Administrator from the top grade and step to a mid level starting range. This change also triggered small decreases in the benefits. Equipment rental had been adjusted due to a copier lease that expired. There was a plan for copier movement in the Town Hall in order to provide the public with a different copier. Web design and maintenance had been reduced by $2000 more in keeping with costs. Printing costs had been reduced by $500 – the majority of this was for printing the voter’s guide. The meeting line item had been adjusted by $250.
Mrs. Peterman asked what were they losing? Finance Director Merri Howe advised she was being a little more conservative in budgeting. The meetings line was for conferences and food for meetings. The postage meter they decided to put off for another year. She had budgeted for a low high tech shredder, several new adding machines and a fireproof four drawer filing cabinet for storage of personnel files. One of the copiers is paid up in this current year and have another lease expiring in FY ’07. They will also be purchasing a new one for the Town Clerk because she is coming back to Town Hall. In response to Deirdre Rogusky’s question, Mrs. Howe explained that the machines are not only copiers, but are used to fax, scan and print. Currently there were two in Town Hall without the Town Clerk. The current one downstairs is also used for citizens who are charge for its use.
Neal Foley questioned contingency and had looked at the history expended. He was unsure how they justified $45,000. Mr. Dinkel advised it was one half of one percent of the budget. This year they probably will be tapping into it.
4151Tax Collection – Mr. MacGuire explained there was a half of a percent change. Mr. Dinkel added that COLA was a big part of it.
4152 Assessing and Revaluation of Property – Mr. MacGuire reported the biggest change was how the budgeted for the reval update. Between the capital reserve account and the $16,500 he believed eliminated this as a line. Looking at line item 8312, they will see a $66,500 difference. Mrs. Howe explained the status of the revaulation capital reserve in ’07 which will be the third and final amount going into the reserve so there is no impact on the existing line. Mr. Dinkel advised they will actually have some left over and the contract is still being negotiated. Mr. MacGuire remarked that the only difference is slightly more in wages based on the existing contract as it pertains to the CPI.
4153 Legal – Mr. MacGuire mentioned that cable negotiations were the only line that was not real predicable, but he felt $16,800 was a more realistic number. In response to Mrs. Peterman’s question, Mr. Dinkel explained that no one knew, it could be half or five times depending on the negotiations with the cable company. They were attempting to do a one-year deal with Adelphia and they asked the Town not to meet with the Attorney so perhaps they might consider this. What they were budgeting was a base, if it wasn’t enough they had contingency to draw from. There were a limited number of providers and towns all around were doing the same thing Amherst is - they do not want to “reinvent the wheel”. One thing they agreed to do was to drive to Boston so that the Attorney doesn’t have to drive to New Hampshire. Mr. MacGuire explained that under collective bargaining they only had one contract to negotiate and it will not be a major year for negotiating. This Attorney is also used for labor union issues, grievances and as Sharon mentioned, he is typically also used for all personnel issues, however, he would leave this number for the Selectmen’s judgment. Mr. Dinkel mentioned that their over all legal line was pretty thin compared to a town their size. They were at $80,800 for the legal line and did not think they should drop it any further.
4155 Personnel Administration / Insurance - Mrs. Howe explained that based on a conversation she had with Carl Weber at Primex, because of some additional claims there had been an increase in Workers Comp. Insurance. Mrs. Peterman suggested they look at other carriers and do something with a Safety Committee.
4191 Planning Board - Mr. MacGuire stated there had been no change. Mrs. Peterman reminded the Board that last week they had a discussion about the Master Plan and she thought that Bruce Bowler suggested putting $25,000 in the budget and another $25,000 into a capital reserve. The Planning Department is responsible for what happens long range in the Town. They have an out of date Master Plan that hasn’t been done for 30 years although it has been updated. She thought it nearsighted to not incorporate this valuable planning tool into the budget. If the Selectmen don’t stand alongside the Planning Board, the citizens will not do so either. They could raise the fees and she would recommend putting $25,000 into this budget. It was said last week that it would be difficult for the budget to pass if $50,000 was put into it. There were communities all around them revising their Master Plans to reflect the times. Mr. Dinkel explained he had told the Planning Board last week that this was not an operational issue per se and an issue that should be a warrant article and voted on by the people. He felt they should know what their goals are before they fund it and before they want to take on the Master Plan. He did not believe it should be in the budget. Mr. Grella felt the same and thought it may get more support than what the Planning Board believes. Mr. Infanti also thought it should be a warrant article. Mrs. Peterman remarked they were talking about a revision not an update. By the time the capital reserve meets the amount needed for doing it, it may be another four or five years and by that time it will be another 35 years since they had revised it. Unfortunately, the Planning Board and volunteers who had helped with this kind of effort in the past, no longer have the hours it would take to revise it and she felt this was shortsighted.
Mr. Foley mentioned that W&M had a very spirited and positive discussion with Sally Wilkins and Mike Dell Orfano. He was uncomfortable putting money into a budget they had no intention spending. Mrs. Peterman explained they had put out a RFQ for companies, the estimate was $100-125,000 over a two-year period. The longer it takes to fund it, the longer it takes to complete it. Mr. Foley indicated there was not much discussion on the value of it, but the mechanism of it. They will respond to what they see, which is zero, and they have no objection to this. In response to Mrs. Peterman’s statement, Mr. Dinkel thought it wise to establish a capital reserve with a modest fund and get the thought process and the momentum going and next year determine the total costs.
4192 Zoning – Mr. MacGuire believed the only change was the COLA. In this budget, the COLA’s were at 4.25% down from 4.85%.
4193 ZBA & Historic District Commission - Mr. MacGuire advised the budget change was in the part time wages and nothing else.
4194 General Government Buildings - Bruce Berry commented there was no real change from what was proposed originally.
4195 Cemeteries – Part time wages were up by $50.00.
4196 Property / Liability Insurance – Mrs. Howe indicated there was a 25% increase as advised by Primex. They have already spent $58,000 for FY ’06 and have claims that have boosted their rates. Mrs. Peterman asked that they check to see whether this was a good rate. Mr. Dinkel commented that it was a little different where they have a three-year deal. Mrs. Howe said they could look at what their deductibles are. Mrs. Peterman asked also to look to see what the rates of increase have been over the years. Mr. Foley agreed with this and asked that Workers Comp be looked at also. Mr. Dinkel added there were two non-profit trusts and in each case money is returned based on claims. He was not sure they would receive this for this year.
4210 Police - Chief MacGuire advised that the new Patrol Officer came out of his budget prior to the last printing. There was a COLA adjustment for non-union employees. He decreased his projected increase on vehicle repair by $500. This made him nervous because if they didn’t get the costs under control, he may have to postpone one of their equipment purchases they had budgeted for. They defer most of their equipment purchases, such as radios, towards the end of their budget cycle and would be postponed or not make the budget at all. Approximately half of his increase is taken up by the past union contract – other than a reduction in staff, he has no control over it. In response to Mr. Warren’s question, the Chief spoke about miles driven based on gasoline costs currently budgeted at $2.50 per gallon as the Town’s cost. Under the new equipment line, Mr. MacGuire advised he had reduced the cost of two radar units by getting very good pricing for vendor demo units – he was not uncomfortable about reducing this line.
4215 Emergency Medical Services - There was a slight increase by reallocating the gasoline vs. the diesel. Mr. Infanti commented that $500 was reduced from line items here and there and $2000 was taken out of training. He personally felt that if Brian Gleason was comfortable with the budget, so was he.
4220 Fire – Mr. MacGuire advised the obvious adjustment was the COLA for full time and part time salaries. In addition, the original proposal for 16 hours of part time clerical has remained at the current 12 hours. The decrease was a little more than 1% and approximately $4000. Mr. Infanti added that $1500 was removed from vehicle repair.
4290 Emergency Management – One change was made of a $500 decrease under new equipment. Mr. MacGuire said the impact may slow them down and cause them to be more creative in trying to bring the EOC into the training room of EMS.
4299 Public Safety Communications – The only change was the COLA. Mr. MacGuire reported that this was a budget that had been gone over by four Department Heads. As a team, they had gone over the budget and discussed any other proposed changes and did not come up with anything else.
4311 Public Works Administration – Director Bruce Berry indicated there were two changes, the reduction of $1000 in training and he had taken out $5000 from the DPW building repair line and reduced it to zero. As he explained previously, he tried to keep his building out of the budget and had been repairing it through other budgets and he tried to isolate this by itself. When the Board allowed him to take the engineering reimbursement and put it towards the electrical work, it changed and softened the budget a bit. They were attempting to find places to absorb other needs. Mr. Infanti asked if this was realistic and were there repairs that he needed to do this year? Mr. Berry advised what he controls over all is 5% of the budget. As he looked through all his lines, if there was a comfort level this was the best place. Mrs. Peterman asked how realistic was it before? Mr. Dinkel explained nothing was being eliminated because it hadn’t been funded before. Mrs. Peterman commented that next year they may need it and next year they may be in the same financial position. Mr. Berry thought he would be back and would make a proposal next year. Mrs. Peterman asked if he could find $2500? Mr. Berry told her that if they find room, he would find a place to use it for what was given him. Mr. Foley remarked that clearly the repairs needed to be done and in an effort to get the numbers down, he was leaving himself exposed.
Mr. Grella thought the Department could get by with this and if it can’t do it, the Director should say “no”. When a new job comes up, if he can handle it, fine or if not, the job has to wait. Mrs. Peterman added that the Baboosic Lake Community Septic System was just another added job that Mr. Berry was being asked to handle. Mr. Dinkel would like to see the new hire position get implemented in and see the change from getting away from Town Hall. He agreed with the rest of the Board regarding the landfill addition in terms of the warrant article and the budget – they needed not to expect his Department to do a lot of that labor or they should scale down the project. They had scaled down the Town Hall project by taking one and a half persons and putting them back into DPW. Mr. Berry commented that the difficulty at the Transfer Station is similar as the discussion with the Planning Board –if there is an outside contractor doing it, it wouldn’t pass. Mr. Dinkel would like to have some ideas on how they can do it by doing other things. What could they accomplish for $200,000. Mr. Berry preferred they talk to one of the two co-chairs to advise them. In the four years he has been here, there had been three committees and one engineer and what is being proposed is coming out of this. Mrs. Peterman mentioned that this warrant article was discussed last year and now they were talking about scaling it down again –she thought it was going forward. If there was nothing in it about labor, then they shouldn’t put out the warrant article. Everything they have asked Mr. Berry to do he has done. Mr. Dinkel agreed with the issue on the landfill, if it was driving a need for a full time employee for the Department.
Mr. Berry explained if they didn’t hirer someone with DES certification for the requirements, they would have to certify someone – the personnel activity at this point would be the secondary issue. Charlie Tiedemann was more knowledgeable about the actual construction than he was. However, the system was buried under his roads. If he had to do it over again, he would commit another individual to it. Mr. Tiedemann and he had gone out together and did some follow up -an employee needed to be involved. Relative to the DES requirement, Mr. Grella asked if this was something they knew about. Mr. Berry told them this was something he asked and finally received an answer. Mr. Dinkel said however, he has to account for it and in that role he should hire it out and then receive the offsetting income. This should have no effect on the Town’s over all expense. He would propose talking to the State about deferring Phases II until they determine how they can allocate and get a handle on it. Mr. Berry advised that certification was not whether they have one or three phases.
There was a discussion on how the Department of Public Works evolved from the Highway Department and what the Department now covers than it had when they just plowed the roads and sidewalks and how much it had since taken on. Mr. Infanti commented that people wanted the skating rink and Mr. Grella and someone from the Fire Department did it. He spoke about the people who wanted more trash cans on the Commons, about the people who wanted more crosswalks and commented that Amherst has citizenry who want many things. Mr. Berry did not believe he was meeting everyone’s expectations, but he may be hard on himself, he said. They have drainage requests and are not getting too many of them done. Mrs. Peterman wanted to see one person put back in the budget. She also would ask that Merri give them the tax rate from last year to this year and would like to see it as an exercise and what the overall tax impact would be. Mr. Infanti agreed … he would like to see the impact and then make a decision one way or another.
Mr. Warren asked about Mr. Berry’s job description. Mr. Infanti wondered about the over all parameters of the Department of Public Works. Mr. Berry did not think a list of them existed. Mrs. Peterman suggested he make a list of what the Town expects and add in some of the things that have come to his Department because someone needed to do them. Mr. Berry commented he had a Department SOP in a very rough draft and he would work on it. Mr. Dinkel mentioned he should take projects that were weighing him down for the past several years, such as the New Boston Road Bridge, the Town Hall renovations and Community Septic System. He allowed his Department to carry the load and save the Town money, but they were now going away. These are planned and discussed and they as managers need to understand. Mr. Infanti added there were things they didn’t get done such as stripping, crosswalks and were hopefully looking at new fields and it seemed to him that the Department is terribly thin. Mr. Berry advised that brush cutting and ditching was something they are not finding the time to do like they should.
4316 Street Light - Status quo.
4323 SRLD – Status quo.
4324 Landfill Department – Mr. Berry explained he produced a memo on the revenue side – he reduced the requested 5 hours when he made his original presentation down to 2 ˝ hours for the part time person. Mr. Dinkel asked if he was comfortable about the increase in revenues? Mr. Berry reported that when he first came to Amherst they were charging 5 cents and change it to 10 cents to offset the cost of the weigh master and hauling the demolition and were not totally covering those costs. Demolition was up by $10,000 in the proposed budget because the company where it was being shipped has changed hands and they already said there will be an increase. They will be shipping the electronics some place else and there will be an increase there also. Mr. Berry will be increasing the tipping fees for demolition and in response to the brief discussion anticipated that because of this contractors who do not live in Amherst, but are doing work for folks in Town may be going elsewhere.
4326 Baboosic Lake Septic - There was no change in the original $6000 proposed with funds to be reimbursed by the users.
4411 Health Administration - There was an adjustment in the COLA for the Health Officer’s stipend.
4414 Animal Control Officer – Chief MacGuire advised there was no Animal Control Officer, but rather this line contains kennel fees when a Police Officer drops a dog off.
4442 Welfare (Direct Assistance) – Mr. Infanti commented that the Town was very lucky that the figure was as low as it was and this Department was being run very well.
4520 Recreation Department – Director Nancy McMillan told the Board she had come up with several suggestions in reducing her budget. She had reduced vehicle repair by $2000. She had looked at their incidents per vehicle for the fiscal year to date and only spent a small amount, they had also overspent in the past. Their vehicles are in fairly good condition and had discussed this with Director Berry. She had talked to their Parks Foreman and he thinks the $3000 is doable, but they may be taking a step backwards. They acquired a roller from DPW and it needs to be worked on to get it up and running. He felt the money spent will not require them to rent equipment. They also acquired a mower from the School Department along with a roll behind mower. They would be able to maintain their summer equipment –the only thing lacking is an allotment if something happens. The Parks Foreman had a cushion if, for example, a transmission went. If it stays at the $3000 level, they will live within that line item. If something out of the ordinary happens, they would look at other lines and then come back to the Selectmen for guidance.
Mrs. McMillan looked at the lifeguard line and had put in a call to the Director, but had not had an opportunity to speak with her. The personnel at the Lake consists of an Aquatics Director, Head Lifeguard, WS Instructors and a Swim Team Coach. Looking at year to date, they have spent $24,000, still had another two weeks in this fiscal year and it looks like they have overspent again. Taking the $24,000 and factoring in the Director and Head Lifeguard, she hoped to make some changes – the Aquatics Director might do some life guarding or some of the WS Instructing, consolidate some positions and still have the hours open as in the past. Under maintenance employee overtime, Mrs. McMillan looked at what they spent in the last FY ’04-’05 and what was spent year to date and they had spent almost as much as what had been allocated to them. They had been without a Director for a time and the Parks Foreman took on those responsibilities under overtime. Looking at ‘04-’05 and if they stayed with that number, it would allow them 2 ˝ hours per week. In talking to him that day, some of his concerns are that they will be able to accomplish only basic maintenance with the smaller budget. He had a concern about being able to complete these tasks in a timely fashion. They also talked about the responsibilities he had been given and his concern is that there may be some sacrifices. She said they talked about time management and that each day he should assess what was accomplished and some things may be put on the “back burner”. This number was based on the fact that they hope to have another part time seasonal worker. They had budgeted 25 hours for 14 weeks which was basically Memorial Day through Labor Day. “With this extra pair of hands and time management, we can work within this budget”, she said.
Mrs. McMillan continued … They have asked other Departments if they were being realistic, but she did not have a history, even though she had looked back at the records and they needed to start somewhere. Maybe she will come back next year and tell them “I have been a Polly Anna” and will need to look at things differently. The other thing that was asked for was documentation on the vacuum and is an attachment that went on their system – she presented this information to the Selectmen and W&M. Mrs. Peterman thanked her, knowing that she was at a disadvantage at this time and applauded her for being as realistic as she could. When she had some history, she was welcome to come back to the Board to discuss it, whether she was correct or not. Mrs. McMillan said she would have no problem coming back midterm. Tedd Landon also commended her for her efforts.
4522 Parks & Grounds - There was minimal change in this line.
4525 Peabody Mill Environmental Center - Mr. Warren mentioned that they had a wage requirement around $50,000 and it was now down to zero. Mr. Dinkel advised it was a revolving account and what was shown is the difference on what they raised and what they spent – everything else is self-funded. Mr. Warren pointed out they spent $61,000 and shouldn’t they be showing those wages. Mr. Dinkel explained that typically they don’t because PMEC would raise their own income and this will be patterned next year in their Police Detail fund. They will be self-funding as well as with everything that is raised as an expense associated with the revolving account. Mrs. Howe added that it has fluxuated over the past year or it was budgeted just for wages, heat and custodian. The money was transferred into the revolving account and it was easier to call what the Town was doing to close the gap, a subsidy compared with what PMEC was coming up. The difference is statutorily allowed to keep it out of the budget.
Mr. Landon commented that they have a revolving account for Recreation, but they show all of their expenses. Mrs. Howe advised the only thing the Town funds was the Administrative portion – the revolving account absorbs any activity for programs they take in. Relative to PMEC, Mr. Warren mentioned they received a printout of their expenses and there was nothing wrong and he applauded their attitude. He thought they would be having a hard job if they got into the new building and tried to jump where they want to be in one year. Mrs. Peterman agreed – she would like to see where it shows that the PMEC employees are part of the Town and this is why she asked if DRA was happy with this accounting. Mr. Dinkel indicated that what they care about is the effect on the tax dollar because it was self-funded which they don’t care about. They were trying to present to voters those things that affect the budget. In response to Mr. Grella’s question, Mrs. Howe explained that all taxes are calculated in the PMEC budget. There was a problem that if by breaking it down in the general fund and if they looked at PMEC as a stand alone and show the Directors’ wages, it would be misleading the bottom line. Mr. Dinkel suggested they give them a separate portion labeled “revolving account”. Relative to Ms. Rogusky’s question, Mrs. Howe indicated that it wasn’t until the past year or so that PMEC accounts were consolidated into the subsidy. Mr. Landon questioned why did they treat PMEC one line as a subsidy and Recreation is broken down. Mr. Dinkel felt it was the scope of the programs. Ms. Rogusky suggested they make them both the same and they should be similar. Mr. Dinkel thought the reason for the difference is that Recreation was so diverse. Mrs. Howe added that the Town funds the full salaries for administration for Recreation but the Town does not fund the salary for the Director of PMEC. Mrs. Peterman felt that PMEC will look differently in five years.
4550 Library - Director Amy Lapointe explained that most of the reductions was in the wage area and she had also changed her wage predictions by being more conservative in hours. Several line items had been reduced by a hundred dollars here and there. Custodian service was reduced to 3%. Several hundred dollars had been reduced in the computer line.
4583 Patriotic Purposes - Relative to the July 4th, Mrs. Peterman said the Board of Selectmen would like to acknowledge the passing of Joseph Luongo, a long term resident and a contributor to many things in Amherst. They will never forget his contribution to the Town for the 4th of July fireworks. He also served on the Fire Department and other things too numerous to list. He will be missed by all of them. She had been told he passed the torch and next year they will have Jack Reed take his place on July 3rd.
4589 Heritage Commission – Status quo.
4611 Conservation Commission – There was the addition of $3000 for town meadow maintenance.
Transfers to Capital Reserve – Mr. Dinkel indicated that if the Open Space Advisory Committee has something they needed funded before July 1st there were several ways they can do it – most likely they would issue a long term bond.
4939 Payments to other Governments - Mr. Dinkel asked why was the Souhegan Valley Interfaith Housing in this section? He felt it should be included with the other grant agencies.
3379 Other Intergovernmental Revenue - Mrs. Peterman questioned the amount of money being held for the Town by the SRLD. If and when the warrant article passes, how long was the money available to the Town? Mr. Berry thought there was a misunderstanding that the money would be available to them. The intention of the SRLD was to commit money that the Town was also putting into the facility. If the article doesn’t pass, there will be some changes to the facility any way. Their commitment did not include any labor and is the responsibility of each member town. Some of the money will be used for equipment, but not all of it and some of the money will be lost. If the warrant article doesn’t pass, he did not believe the Committee would come back again.
3502 Interest on Investments – Mr. Dinkel believed this number could be raised by 4%.
3912 From Special Revenue Funds – Mrs. Howe explained the $50,000 was money that came from the Conservation Commission as their portion of the Joppa Hill bond.
3915 From Capital Reserve Funds – The Board reviewed the latest June 30, 2005 Capital Reserve amounts and discussed what should be in this line and what might come out.
Mrs. Peterman mentioned that the revenues were approximately five million dollars. Mrs. Howe added that the net increase in income was $195,225 and will be updated to include the Town Clerk’s registrations.
Mrs. Peterman asked that the figures they discussed that evening be adjusted, and meet again on Thursday with a net tax rate projection from last year to this year. The Board will meet on Thursday, January 5 at 6:00 p.m. to finalize the budget and begin warrant articles discussion. The Board took a recess at 9:15 p.m. and resumed the meeting at 9:28 p.m.
Former Acting Town Administrator Lee Mayhew had proposed an amendment to the above regulations. The change puts them into conformance with the allowable processes for fee setting as authorized by RSA 149:1, in the Selectmen’s capacity as the Sewer Commissioners / Selectmen of Amherst. Mr. Dinkel moved that they replace the wording as proposed into paragraph G of the Baboosic Lake Community Septic System Rules and Regulations, second by Mr. Grella. Vote: Unanimous.
Mrs. Peterman advised the memo was written to them by MRI and she had spoken to Mr. Mayhew about putting this on hold until the revaluation was completed. Mr. Dinkel added that regarding the update MRI was laying the groundwork for next year’s increase.
Mr. Infanti talked briefly about his representing Amherst in Concord on January 5 as it related to the Amherst/Milford boundary change.
Mr. Infanti reported that on Sunday he had gone to the Communications Center to pick up hig packet. There was a young man that was very professional and looked great in his uniform compared to other Communication Centers that he had been in. He was very polite, very clean cut and Mr. Infanti was very impressed with his demeanor and knowledge. This had been relayed to the Chief.
Upon a roll call vote the Board entered non-public session at 9:35 p.m. under RSA 91-A:3 II (a) personnel.
The Board exited non-public session at 9:50 p.m. While in non-public, the Board discussed the Interim Town Administrator’s tasks.
After a brief discussion Mr. Infanti moved to donate $50.00 to SHARE in memory of Joseph Luongo, second by Mr. Grella. Vote: Unanimous.
Mr. Infanti moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:55 p.m., second by Mr. Dinkel. Vote: Unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon L. Frydlo
Executive Assistant