FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 3, 2010 MEETING. Members attending: Mr. Fenton (Chairman), Mrs. Herron and Lennon, Major Ireland, Messrs. Lang, Runstrom, and Schur Non-members attending: Chris de Marcken,Pete Bogren Meeting called to order at 7:30 PM. Minutes of the January 27, 2010 meeting read and approved unanimously. Mr. Fenton asked Mr. Lang about the Personnel Advisory Board approach to calculating the inflation rates. Mr. Lang indicated that BLS data is used for the Northeast Region. BUDGET REVIEWS Council on Aging (Budget 1541) Guests: Gerry Ryan & Bob Callahan Mr. Fenton asked how the budget was going for this year. Not running ahead or behind significantly. 2 more years left in the van fund. Should get some funds from the Friends of COA. They have been very helpful in the past. They pay the postage. Discussed Meals on Wheels. Basically they will take whatever you can offer them as far as funding. Mr. Fenton asked who the Meals on Wheels are from. Mr. Ryan indicated that it is from a quasi organization in Worcester (non-profit). Office Supplies / Newsletter - $750. Mr. Ryan indicated that the company does the printing for free. Mr. Fenton asked about Software - $790 every year. Leased software maintenance costs. Software used for mailing lists and other state agencies. Links MCOA and also helps with grants. Provides for a uniform reporting to the MCOA. Mr. Lang asked if there was any drop off in attendance due to the budget reduction this year. No impact with the budget cuts. St. Patrick s was $450, and they received a $400 grant. Mr. Fenton asked about event speakers for $500. They get 2 or 3, with 65 to 70 people attending. Fills the place. Mr. Fenton asked about the meeting dues for $1,000. This is for attending a meeting (not membership) with the MCOA. Get a lot of information. Meeting once per year, usually Sturbridge or Cape. VOTES ON BUDGETS 1131 Finance $325 1141 Assessor - $72,434 1145 Treasurer -- $36,907 1146 Town Collector - $39,703 FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 3, 2010 MEETING. Page 1
1183 Historical District - $100 Mike Putnam arrived so proceeded to discuss his budgets. BUDGET REVIEWS Highway (Account 1421), Snow and Ice (Account 1423), and Cemetery (Account 1491) Guest: Mike Putnam Highway (Department 1421) Mr. Fenton asked about the Engineering Services. Mr. Putnam explained that it covered various activities including wetlands. Discussed 9 program for signs with 6 lettering. Need to have by 2012. Green sign in the center of town. Federally mandated program. Mr. Fenton asked the reason for the program and Mr. Putnam indicated it was for safety. Sand / Gravel increased due to fuel costs. Drainage / Catch basins increased by $4,000. Mr. Putnam indicated that his stock had been depleted that he had built up some a while ago and now he needs to replenish. Drainage prep job on Laurel Street. Used lots of pipe. Safety supplies increased Mr. Putnam indicated purchase of tripod, confined space entry, cones, etc. Mr. Fenton asked if these are reusable then why the yearly expenditures. Mr. Putnam indicated that they get lost / stolen, etc. Mr. Lang asked about the reduction in Gasoline of 50%. Mr. Putnam indicated this was a shift to the vehicles being on diesel. Mr. Fenton asked if Chapter 90 funds could be used for drainage. Mr. Putnam indicated that this could be done if we bid out, but that he elected to use the Chapter 90 funds for the blacktop. Mr. Putnam indicated that the rototiling process used has been improved for better life. Plan is to get $150K of Chapter 90 funds and $150K from town. Would like to do 3 roads of ½ mile each. Last year only did Laurel Street. Mr. Lang asked if the Police Detail funding was sufficient given the planned increase in activities. Mr. Putnam indicated that he believed so, but would use Chapter 90 funds if need be to cover. Mr. Fenton asked about the one open employee position that has not been filled. Mr. Putnam indicated that it was for the Heavy Equipment Operator. Person that left was making $17.30 per hour. Mr. Putnam indicated that he wanted to include this in the budget for FY11. Mr. Runstrom inquired how long the department had the same headcount. Mr. Putnam indicated that they added someone back in 2006. Mr. Runstrom asked what was in Excess Compensation. Mr. Putnam indicated that it was overtime not related to snow and ice. Mr. Fenton asked about the 72 hours. Mr. Putnam indicated that other hours were in the Water budget. Snow and Ice (Department 1423) Mr. Fenton inquired how this year s spending was going. Mr. Putnam indicated that it was not too bad. Last year they had used 37 loads and was in a deficit. This year they are at 18 loads. Mr. Fenton asked if they had cut back on plowing. Mr. Putnam indicated that they had not. They have delayed a bit when it comes to sanding. Biggest impact per Mr. Putnam was that they calibrated the sanders. Did it to 3 of the trucks. Deposit x lbs / lane-mile. Save quite a bit. New truck is automated. Driver can t change the settings. Will save money. Mr. Fenton asked if the mixture of salt / sand was dependent on the weather. Mr. Putnam indicated that it was not, but FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 3, 2010 MEETING. Page 2
rather the main roads get a richer mix. CaCl is sprayed on NaCl at the lower temps. Mr. Schur inquired if there were any savings associated with the timing of the storms. Cemetery (Department 1491) Mr. Fenton asked if this was perpetual care. Has to do with care of the cemetery. Mr. Runstrom thought that we had attempted to do this last year. Sale of lots is $130K. Mr. Fenton indicated that it needed to be looked up. Mrs. Herron indicated that she thought it was broken out separately two or three years ago. Returned to vote on budgets. VOTES ON BUDGETS 1295 Tree Warden ($25,000 requested, $10,000 approved) Mr. Fenton indicated that he spoke with Charlie Blanchard with respect to potential liability issues. The response was that according to MGL there can t be a lawsuit. Personal Liability is capped at $1,000. Mr. Fenton indicated that we are in a financial situation that we must pick and choose the liabilities. Mr. Runstrom indicated that we need to address the key safety issues. Mr. Putnam indicated that he advised Adam Smith (Tree Warden) to put $25,000 in the budget. Mr. Putnam indicated that many of the people in town thought that the town would be cleaned up by the FEMA funds. In reality, the FEMA funds only dealt with downed trees. Dead trees still need to be addressed. For example, there is an Ash tree up in Asnebumskit that is hollow, rotted and by the side of the road that should be addressed. Mr. Fenton indicated that he fundamentally agrees, however there is $380K in increased budgets. Mr. Runstrom asked what would we do if there wasn t the ice storm. What if budget went to zero. We are paying salary, but no budget. Mr. Fenton indicated that the Tree Warden is supervising and not actually doing the work. He is contracting the work out. Mr. Fenton also indicated that he would like to see funding for tree planting, however just can t afford $25,000 this year. Mr. Schur also indicated that $25,000 is not affordable. Mr. Fenton indicated that he had met with Dr. Pandiscio from WRSD and that initial figures were a 1.5% increase. Mr. Putnam indicated that if there were going to be layoffs, that he would level fund his budget. In addition, level funding is actually a reduction in the budget as costs are increasing. The following proposal was prepared by Mr. Fenton: FY11 as Requested FY11 as adjusted Change Salary 1160 1160 0 Hourly Paid Employees 2000 1000-1000 Purchased Services 21340 7340-14000 Supplies 500 500 0 TOTAL 25000 10000-15000 Motions made for $10,000. 1519 Animal Inspector - $450 FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 3, 2010 MEETING. Page 3
1610 Library - $155,420 Mr. Fenton summarized the current situation that a waiver was received last year. Can they receive this year? FY11 Budget using formula of 102.5% of prior 3 year average would result in a budget in excess of $161K. If we approve at the requested amount of $155,420, it is still below the Mass Library Commission level, therefore would need another waiver. Children s librarian quit, but will replace. Maybe at less wages and use difference in clerical to keep the library open longer. The $31,084 for books reflects 25% of the budget total without books. Major Ireland inquired as to the resulting impact if they did not receive a waiver. Mr. Runstrom indicated that you can t use other towns libraries. Mrs. Herron suggested possibly boosting budget if needed to qualify. Mr. Fenton indicated that it appears that they got the waiver for this year. Mr. Runstrom indicated that he could not forsee the rules being tightened to make it more difficult to get waivers, and maybe in fact more lenient. Major Ireland indicated that if it resulted in a eliminating a job to increase the library funding it would be a mess. Mr. Runstrom commented that it is amazing that they can achieve what they do for $150K. Mr. Runstrom moved for $155,420. 1691 Historical Commission - $300 Mr. Fenton recused himself due to his spouse s involvement with the Historical Commission. Mr. Schur took the chair. Asked who was the invited HC speaker. Mr. Fenton indicated one speaker per year. Not sure who. Mr. Lang asked about attendance. Mr. Fenton did not know as he was traveling and out of town during the last presentation. Mr. Schur asked about the adequacy of the spending for the document preservation. Mr. Fenton indicated that they had purchased about $1,000 some while ago and was now only replacing them as they are used. 1912 County Retirement - $169,973 Chris de Marcken commented that the Tree Warden was working, and not just a supervisor. He used his own equipment. Tree Warden (Adam Smith) is on the DPW. Put in a lot of his own efforts. Chris de Marcken wanted all to know this. Chris de Marcken also indicated that he was going to contact his own attorney regarding the liability associated with fallen / dead limbs. Mr. Fenton indicated that it is always a matter of probabilities of associated liabilities when assessing these types of items. Chris de Marcken indicated that his real estate tax bill increased by 17.46%. Feels that a ranch is taxed at a higher rate. Mr. Fenton explained in California, once someone reaches the age of 70, the taxes freeze. Why not do the same thing here? Chris de Marcken indicated that for those on fixed incomes, these increases hurt. Mrs. Herron asked about the records from Evelyn Lawler. Mr. Fenton indicated that they did go through her house, FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 3, 2010 MEETING. Page 4
and while there were items for the Historical Commission, that there was nothing for the Finance Committee that was old. There may be records in the Finance Committee room in Town Hall. Meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM. Respectfully presented, James Lang FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 3, 2010 MEETING. Page 5