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TOWN OF ANTRIM
Select Board Meeting Minutes
Friday, February 8, 2019
10:00 am Town Hall
Present: Robert L. Edwards, Chair; Michael Genest, Selectman; John Robertson, Selectman
Staff Absent: Donna Hanson, Town Administrator
Agenda Items:
Budget
- Mr. Edwards said there are a lot of things that will impact our income in the coming years including Eversource abatement, Eversource error they made in reporting to the town, House Bill 700 which looks at the apportionment that is appropriate for assessing Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulated utilities. When the house bill gets decided it could impact our revenue. Mr. Edwards is concerned that there are no reserves for the abatements and the error that Eversource made if they prevail. He feels we should reserve fund balance for cash flow and to offset the tax rate and not use fund balance to fund purchases. Mr. Genest said we use the majority of fund balance to offset the tax rate and if there is excess we use it to fund warrant articles. Mr. Edwards feels the fund balance has increased over the last 4 years.
Mr. Genest said the goal was to get to 15 to 17 % and now that we are at that goal it is best to use fund balance to offset the warrant articles instead of taxing the residents. Mr. Edwards doesn’t agree with funding warrant articles with fund balance. Ms. Hanson stated that there are two philosophies regarding fund balance. One is to use fund balance to offset the tax rate in the fall and the other is to use fund balance to fund warrant articles so the tax rate is not artificially deflated. There are two schools of thought on this. The Town of Antrim, as a rule, has used fund balance to offset the tax rate and if there are excess funds available, to fund warrant articles. Mr. Robertson said if we have enough fund balance we should fund the warrant articles which are needs and not wants, which is what we are doing. Mr. Edwards suggested funding Pleasant Street culvert through capital reserves instead of fund balance and reserving fund balance for unexpected expenses
like Eversource reimbursement, if needed. Mr. Edwards said we voted last year to cut the tax rate by a dollar to offset the school rate increase and wondered why we thought we didn’t need that revenue for the town. Mr. Genest said we are keeping the tax rate stable by offsetting the rate with fund balance. Mr. Edwards feels the fund balance should be around $750,000 which represents 9% gross not retained. He feels some of the fund balance should be earmarked for uncertainties. Mr. Genest said we are already doing that because the fund balance is there. Mr. Edwards questioned whether Pleasant Street culvert was necessary for this year. Mr. Genest said Pleasant Street culvert has been on the radar for at least five years. Ms. Hanson said that Mr. Plourde said this culvert is a priority and since we have excess fund balance that it is a good year to get it done. Mr. Edwards stated that if this was really a safety issue then we need to do it if not then wait a year to give us the
summer to plan for next year’s budget. Mr. Edwards said he would like to structure the fund balance to have the same amount but to restrict its use at the discretion of the Select Board. Mr. Genest said we are basically doing that but have the option to spend it if necessary. Mr. Robertson stated that this type of discussion should have happened in the fall and not four days before budget hearing. Mr. Genest agreed. Mr. Robertson suggested we focus on the budget and warrant articles for the budget hearing and talk about the fund balance policy at a later date. Mr. Edwards would like to do a two year plan on revenues to anticipate what is coming down the road. He doesn’t feel that we should have used fund balance to offset the school tax increase, even though he voted for it he doesn’t think he understood it at the time. Mr. Genest feels that if we have the fund balance we shouldn’t burden the tax payer if we can offset it. Mr. Robertson asked to stick to the agenda and work
on preparing for the budget hearing and discuss the fund balance policy after town meeting. Discussion ensued on who would speak to the warrant articles for the budget hearing.
- There was discussion regarding the Land Use Change Tax for the properties at Mulhall Farm Road. Mr. Edwards would like to talk to Mr. Green at Department of Revenue to discuss the process if the Select Board does not agree with Mr. Hatfield’s, from Commerford Nieder and Perkins, assessment of the lots.
- There was talk about the Land Use Change Tax for the Wind Farm. George Sancousey’s office is currently assessing the properties.
- The Limrik article was discussed. The article is due February 10th.
- The Select board discussed the Eversource 2015-2017 abatement request court date in May. The town joined the other 21 impacted towns to save cost on legal fees. They also discussed the mistake that Eversource made in their reporting to the town that increased their assessment in 2017. We and the town attorney are still discussing the ramifications of the mistake to the town and how best to deal with that.
- Ms. Hanson said that due to the difficulty in hiring for the highway department the Road Agent would like to eliminate the requirement that an applicant have a CDL. If the right person was found and they did not have a CDL, we would stipulate that a CDL would be required within a certain period.
- Mr. Edwards asked if there was any progress on the swap shop policies at the transfer station. Ms. Hanson said that will be tackled after the budget hearing.
- Mr. Genest asked if there was any feedback from Chief Marshall of the Fire Department regarding what is charged for ambulance service for Bennington. Ms. Hanson said she hasn’t received anything yet.
- Mr. Roberson moved to go into non-public RSA 91 a 3 (a) Dismissal, promotion or compensation of any public employee. Mr. Genest seconded. All in favor Mr. Genest, yes, Mr. Robertson, Yes, Mr Edwards yes. Passed 3/0
Mr. Genest moved to seal the non-public minutes. Mr. Robertson seconded. Passed 3/0
- Mr. Robertson moved to adjourn at 11:45 am. Mr. Genest seconded. Passed 3/0.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Hanson, Town Administrator
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