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Minutes of 11/13/2013
November 20th, 2013
Budget Committee
Meeting 11/13/13
Members in attendance : Rena Vecchio, Bonnie Moroney, Mike Hogan, Dave Scalley, Jack Catalano, Joan Karpf, Rob Gauthier
Members of public: Maryclare Quigley, Becki Pederson, Greg Hogan, Scott Sonia, Jeremy Oleson
Pledge of Allegiance
Minutes from 11/6/13 reviewed
Motion to approve made by Bonnie to approve, second by Dave.
All in favor, Rena abstained, Joan voted no.
Discussion about the No vote, Joan questioned Rob's usage of the word hypocritical used to describe what he was trying to say, and how that applies to the budget. Some discussion about it being part of what was discussed when the definition of a conflict of interest came up. Joan said that is why she voted no and she didn't want to go into discussion. Joan sees it as a comment about her personally, and felt perhaps it should not be included in the minutes.
Becky presented her budget as tax collector.Discussion about setting the budget based on projected items such as dog licenses. Discussion about the "splitting" of line items between the Town Administrative lines. Joan asked about the salary increase of 5%, and what the reason behind it was. Becky stated that she had not received a raise in 3 years. Discussion about why the number was 5%. Joan asked how many hours the deputy town clerk works per week, Becky answered 13 hours in a week. Joan asked about job description for both positions and asked how many registrations and tax bills are done. Dave mentioned there are 1651 tax bills sent out twice a year. Discussion about the registration process and the online services offered. Rob asked about what the COLA numbers for the last 3 years and Mike mentioned it is 5.5% increase in cost of living over the last 3 years, approximately. Mike mentioned the discussion about not having a structure in place for the town employees pay scale. Mike mentioned that COLA's not being increased puts us nearly 7% behind when including this years COLA. Mike's concern is that retention of these employees is difficult because we are playing catch up because we don't give a COLA raise yearly. Joan asked what the town can handle in one year to correct this issue. Joan stated that the voters do not want pay increases for town employees and Rena disagreed stating a few years back the voters approved a budget that had pay increases in it. Much discussion about when pay raises are asked for or not. Jack mentioned he thought it was odd that every department came in with raise requests. Fire Chief Jeremy Oleson mentioned the Fire Dept. has not submitted a budget with raises. Discussion that there is no process in place.
Mike mentioned that if there is not a cost-of-living-adjustment to an employee, after 5 years of being at the same pay rate, the employee is actually getting a decrease each year as cost's go up. Retention is a big problem if we are not keeping up with surrounding towns. Jack called for action on this issue. Raises in this years budget reflect only a merit raise requests and may change based on evaluations that are being finalized now with employees except those that are voted in. Joan mentioned her concern about the town profile and that this town is dying and she is not sure a higher tax rate will help. Discussion about the taxes that are collected and should be counted from the Mt. Washington hotel and Bretton Woods.
Maryclare discussed the Town Administrator budget. Maryclare changed the salary line based on evaluations done, and that after not receiving a abrasive for several years, the submitted budget for 2014 included a request. Discussion about splitting the line items and cost's associated to different departments. Discussion about the individual line items that take care of several departments such as advertising. Discussion about the increase for legal and Maryclare stated the Select Board wanted the increase in that line item, increasing it by $7,000. Discussion about the health insurance increase based on the possibility of hiring a new police officer. Discussion about the health care costs. Discussion about the new hire Police officers salary. Discussion about the breakdown of how the employees pay 20% of the health insurance. Discussion about the affordable health care act and the options that could be explored to lower the health care costs. Discussion about the travel expense increase, and the worthiness of going each year to the same training workshops.
Greg went over general buildings budget line by line. Question about the electricity line going down and Greg mentioned a reduction based on this years usage. Discussion about upcoming projects this upcoming year and the costs associated with that, in repairs line. Discussion about the Police Department and the lease cost, $1583 a month. Conversation about fire extinguisher maintenance, and the costs associated with that, and if the town could buy new ones rather than having them serviced. Discussion about the breakdown of the road agent and the water dept. supv. splitting time between each department and how that is reflected in the budget. Greg and Scott discussed about part time labor that is hired and how that person is utilized between the two, and how the two departments help each other. Example being Greg helping on a water break and Scott helping out plowing depending on workload.
Greg discussed the highway department. Greg went through each line item. Greg discussed the increase in the part time labor line as new roads and sidewalk maintenance will require hours yet he is not sure how much work it will take so Greg estimated. Greg mentioned if there were any suggestions he would be able to adjust. Mike mentioned he would rather go high then to be under funded. Joan asked what the total road length is and Greg answered 12.6 miles. Joan mentioned she is asked about the mowing at the corner of 3 and 302, part of it is beautification aspect and to knock down the brush. Discussion about the areas not being cared for by the state. Greg discussed tool purchases and equipment costs. Road maintenance and schedule was discussed. Street lighting was discussed and the possibility of shutting some lights off would save the town money. Much discussion about options with street lighting. Discussion further about the usage of the part time employee to lower the overtime line item and assist both departments at about 30 hours a week.
Scott discussed the water department. Discussion about the use of meters, the State's requirements and the audit that needs to be performed. The water loss needs to be monitored and documented, for environmental and other issue including possible water line breaks that could undermine a road. The cost's for water loss are reflected in the water user fees. Discussion about user fees and the base rate that is being charged to each customer and the revenue that it generates. Much discussion about the warrant articles and how the money for the article is raised, taxpayer or by water user fees. There are 400 water users and depending on how the warrant is written would determine who pays for it, the town as a whole or just the water users. The $9500 warrant article was questioned and discussed.
Jack and Rob mentioned they would not be in attendance on 11/20/13.
Motion to adjourn Joan, seconded by Jack all in favor 9:35pm
Submitted by Rob Gauthier