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Minutes of the October 19, 2011 meeting

October 21st, 2011

Carroll Budget Committee
Minutes of October 19, 2011

These minutes should be reviewed in conjunction with the subsequent meeting minutes, at which a review is conducted and any approved amendments recorded.

Members present: Bill Vecchio, Joan Karpf, Karen Moran, Sue Kraabel, Dan Walker, Mark Catalano. Linda Dowling was excused. Members of the public: Police Chief John Trammell, Mike Gooden, Calvin Belknap, Selectboard member Bonnie Moroney.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00. A quorum was confirmed and the meeting began.

Joan motioned to accept the minutes of August 17, 2011 as written, Dan seconded, all in favor. Karen abstained as she had not been at the meeting.

Sue motioned to accept the minutes of the September 1, 2011 meeting as written, Joan seconded. All in favor, with Dan and Mark abstaining as they had not been at the meeting.

Discussion took place regarding the “Rules of Respect” which had been discussed and amended at the August meeting. Because the change had been approved at that meeting a further vote was not necessary.

Calvin Belknap, General Manager of the Omni Mount Washington spoke to the committee with an emphasis on retaining the life safety coverage currently offered by the town of Carroll. The resort anticipates 10% growth, is in process of hiring between 200-300 new associates which will put the total workforce at over 1,000. Guests can number over 6,000. Mr. Belknap was at the meeting due to rumors he had heard regarding drastic budget reductions being contemplated for both the Police and Fire Departments. Mark requested clarification of the rumor, as nothing has been proposed, and Mr. Belknap said he had heard it and was concerned enough to attend the meeting. Discussion took place regarding lack of Police coverage on two occasions, when emergency calls were made and local police shifts were being covered by state police. One trooper responded from Colebrook to one call, and one other occasion, the troopers were in the southern part of the state, thus unable to respond. Chief Trammell noted that the shifts are open due to the restriction of overtime imposed for 2011, the majority of which has been used for required court summons. Any ticket written can be appealed and the issuing officer is required by law to attend the hearing. The full time officers cannot work overtime, and with the lack of part-time officers is restricting the level of service the Police Department is able to provide the town. Mr. Belkanp indicated that the well-being of the property owners and tourists are important to the town overall, as they use services in both Bretton Woods and Twin Mountain. Discussion took place regarding the role of all of the life safety services, particularly the police, and the concern that long-time residents on limited incomes are being asked to cover the needs of thousands of visitors. Some offset to the cost of the service should be explored. Chair agreed but noted the services and costs to pay for them must be reviewed at the whole town level. Mark noted that the resort had plans a few years ago for growth that did not happen. Mr. Belknap understood the concern and reiterated the expansion of the work force, growth in visitors, and purchase of 4 properties. A cut to safety and security would be a blow not only to the resort, but to the town in general. Mark noted approximately 70% of tax dollars come from the Bretton Woods end of town, and understands that of 300 privately owned condominiums, about 100 may file for abatements. Tough decisions will have to be made. All agree that the police and fire are very important, Mark noted that there are no statutory requirements for either department, but he would not want to live in a town without them. Majority of people want to protect the police, fire, and water. Further discussion took place with Mr. Belknap noting his understanding of the difficult budget process, but simply wanted to convey the importance to the resort of maintaining the level of life safety currently in place. Joan noted the state police are required to provide coverage to the town based on population, and discussion took place regarding the typical trooper numbers on duty at anytime. Troop F covers Coos and Grafton counties and typically has five troopers on at any one time. Difficult to respond to an emergency call in a timely manner, if at all. Mr. Belknap again thanked the committee for allowing him to express his concern, was invited to discuss his concerns at the Selectboard level as well. Chair noted he would like to attend. In closing, Mr. Belknap said he had no complaints with the local community, grew up near here and lives in a similar small town. Expressed his wish to “spread the wealth” by employing local people, using local auto shops for vehicles they have, etc. He noted the resort had invested $1million in marketing alone, and was featured on the Today show last weekend. A comparison was made to the Balsam’s resort, with the bad ripple effect of such a large employer spreading widely and disrupting the economy of the area. The committee thanked Mr. Belknap for coming.

Discussion then took place regarding the concern about revenue. The Coppola report noted that most revenue comes from property taxes. Chair expressed lack of knowing how other revenue can be obtained, and desire to be a community, not simply a place on a map.

Sue noted that the police department is not, nor will be, a revenue generating department, and she expressed that people concerned about the taxes should attend the School and County budget sessions, as those are where the bulk of our tax money goes. The municipal portion is tiny.

Mark noted that thinking about things in a different way, more like a business, may help. He noted that Bill Dowling is working to transform the transfer station into a consolidation center, to which other communities would pay Carroll for use of our facility. The expectation would be a boost to revenue. He then discussed running our ambulance as an individual department, and running it like a business too. If other services can do it and make money, we should be able to do that too. Suggested that the concept of segregating the fire and ambulance functions is just a concept worth exploring and he is working with the fire chief. Discussion then turned to the Bretton Woods usage of safety services, and were there ways to make them pay their fair share. Chair noted they pay property taxes. Discussion then turned to what is included in the amount billed to insurance companies when someone is transferred to the hospital, and if any additional costs can be included in that. Mark stated again that nobody wants to cut the police or fire departments, but we should “swizzle” what we have and manage it in a different way.

Further discussion took place regarding again the concern that long time locals may be subsidizing the resort which was not in full, year-round operation in years past. There is a concern that the increasing property tax burden may force some to have to sell their property and move.

Regarding the ambulance and other resort towns, some have privatized services and the question is at what costs to those towns. All agree that the services and the level of service should be maintained with quality as the goal. Focus again was then placed on the small portion the entire municipal portion of the property tax bill is and the school and county large pieces. Community members should attend those meetings as they represent a much larger part of our tax dollars. Joan noted, as one with an education background, and a former Article 15 member, changes to education costs are difficult, as most costs are basically unfunded mandates from the state or federal governments.

Chief Trammell noted he had addressed the ordinance package (see Selectboard) and there may be ways for the town to receive some of the fines assessed. Further discussion took place regarding the employment at the police department: 4 full-time, 3 part-time, with one not readily available. Because the 2011 training and clothing budget was cut, the Chief cannot hire any new part-timers, as there is no money to train or outfit them. The need for bullet-proof vests is real, as the vests have expiration dates on them, which are due. The requirement of a second cruiser was reiterated for both shift coverage and court travel, as the LGC has said that personal vehicles will not be insured if used for official duty. Taser certification has lapsed, therefore all tasers are being taken back from the officers, as they cannot use them if the certification is not current. Traffic violation tickets issued with fines assessed are split at the state level only. 16% goes to the Police Training Academy, which indirectly benefits the town, as our full-time officers attend the academy at no cost. The highway safety grant, which pays for details, is split at our town level with 5% for the general fund and 95% placed into the revolving fund, which is used to pay for the police details. Regarding routes 3 and 302, if they are state roads, the question was why do the Carroll police officers patrol them? Response was they are within the town boundaries, used by all townspeople on a regular basis. Regarding tickets and arrests, Chief noted he had prepared a 39 page report for the Selectboard, which notes that most troubles are not from residents, rather from people passing through town. Further discussion took place regarding who pays for the services. Chair asked if a proposal was available and the response was no. Chief noted with the shift changes instituted over the years, incidents like drunk driving have decreased, as the people who would normally have waited at the bar until the police shift ended, no longer know when the police are on patrol. All agree that the police do a good job. Mark noted that, excluding payroll, the police department operates on a budget of about $64,000, which is small and referenced as a “rounding error” in the big picture. There are only 4 full-time officers, and he acknowledged that the Chief runs his department on a shoestring, but there is concern about changes in the valuations and the tax rate per thousand and an impending crunch so more creative ways to do things has to be found.

Selectboard member Moroney was asked if she has heard people express concern about their ability to pay taxes and she said no, people know taxes are expected and they budget appropriately for that, even if it means giving up on other things. Some newer residents may have different expectations than some of the older residents, and it is a matter of perspective and common sense.

Selectboard member Moroney then noted that the lack of overtime availability came into focus when, while at a friend’s house, an apparent heart attack took place, and the emergency response was slow. It was a frightening reminder of how budget cuts truly impact life safety services.

Mark noted that in prior years the town survived well with 2 police officers, Selectboard Moroney stated that was when the population was smaller and the hotel was not open year-round.

Joan noted that a statute had been passed that allowed for tax caps to be put on school budgets. The tax cap must be approved by town vote, via petition warrant article.

Chair noted that we will listen to any and all ideas and networking is important. See what other towns are actually doing and if we are doing better or worse.

Selectboard member Moroney handed out the selectboard budget to each member. Sue asked if had been approved and was told no, the board did not vote on it. Mark noted he had questions for the fire chief about splitting the fire/ambulance into 2 distinct departments, which theoretically, should sum to the same budget total. Clarification about the structure was requested, and it was compared to the separation of the Highway department and the Water department. If the ambulance department could fund its own operation, it would take the discussion of privatization off the table.

Regarding the salary lines, which were the same from the 2011 budget to the 2012 budget, a question regarding the actual amounts per person was raised, as the budget for 2011 did include 3% raise which has not yet been paid to any employee. Reviews were completed, and the decision regarding which employees will receive what amount of their 2011 pay raise will be determined, with budget numbers probably not presented until all of the related employer insurance and tax costs are also known.

Fuel for town buildings was discussed, with 13,000 gallons used, so the same usage was estimated for 2012, at $3.199 locked in rate through Stiles Fuel.

Detailed discussion took place regarding the Notice and Agenda for tonight’s meeting, which outlined tentative dates for the budget review process. The adjusted dates were determined to be:

October 26, 2011 7:00pm Property Inspector, Planning Board, ZBA, Conservation Commission, Health Officer, Chamber of Commerce, Water Department

November 2, 2011 7:00pm Town Moderator, Budget Committee, Recreation Department, Library, Trustees of the Trust Funds, Cemetery Trustees.

November 9, 2011 7:00pm Transfer Station. General Buildings, Highway

November 16, 2011 7:00pm Police Department

December 7, 2011 7:00pm Emergency Management, Fire Department-Ambulance.

December 14, 2011 7:00pm All general, executive, administrative, insurance, welfare, financial, Treasurer, Town Clerk, any non-petitioned money warrant articles

January 4, 2012 6:00 pm Public Hearing.

January 10, 2012 is the final day for submission of petitioned warrant articles.

January 11, 2012 7:00pm Second Public Hearing if necessary, if any petitioned articles are received after first public hearing.

Chair noted that the department heads will be contacted by him, and invited to attend the appropriate meeting.

Chair then noted that the energy audits he arranged are in progress. North Country Council conducted one at the town hall, and GDS Associates will conduct energy audits at the highway garage, water department, and fire department on Friday October 28. He will forward the GDS email to the department heads, so they can be at their respective buildings when they come. PSNH may have funding mechanism for the town to use to implement weatherization ideas resulting from the audits.

With nothing further, Sue motioned to adjourn, Karen seconded. Chair closed the meeting at 9:20pm.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday October 26, 2011 at 7:00pm at the town hall. These minutes will be reviewed, and any amendment recommended and approved, will be so documented in the minutes of that meeting.

Respectfully submitted:
/s/ Karen Moran, Secretary

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024