March 31, 2008
Work Session
Present were: Mayor Bertrand, Councilors Remillard, Goudreau, Cayer, Lafleur, Evans, Poulin, Donovan and McCue. Others present were staff members: Pamela Laflamme, Randall Trull, Barney Valliere, Joe Martin, Brian Valerino, Andre Caron, Debbie Patrick, Ernie Allain, Mike Perreault, and Patrick MacQueen. Media and public were also present.
Proposed Creation of New Position - Assessing Coordinator/Deputy City Clerk
Mr. MacQueen explained that the City Clerk’s Office has a half time position that has had a lot of turnover. It takes a lot of time to fill the position and to train to do the clerk functions. There would be no choice but to close the office when the clerk is away on vacation or has other time off, if the current situation is not rectified. The proposal is to reclassify the assessor supervisor into a new position to include some of the duties of the city clerk. In the current year, the position’s increase in pay can be funded from the vacancy that occurred in the clerk’s office.
Ms. Patrick indicated that the deputy clerk is a difficult job to learn because there are several facets. The part time person tends to leave when a full time position comes up. Councilor Goudreau confirmed that the part time position would still be in place and Councilor Remillard acknowledged that the increase in pay would be provided due to an increase in responsibility.
Mr. MacQueen stated that he would be creating a new position and if the union wanted to make a move to get that position into the bargaining unit, he would not be opposed. Councilor Donovan questioned putting a temporary fix on the problem and suggested that adding hours to the deputy clerk position through the budget cycle, may be a more effective way to handle the issue. He was not in favor of changing the job description.
Councilor Poulin stated that this Council is being presented with needs from every department and it will be in the budget process that the greater needs are determined.
Councilor Goudreau moved to go ahead with the new position description and salary increase until June 30, 2008; Councilor Donovan seconded and the motion carried. Councilors McCue and Evans voted against. Mayor Bertrand stated that the problem has been identified and when it comes up in the budget, the future of the position will be determined.
Landlord Tenant Ordinance Proposal
Andre Caron and Brian Valerino spoke to changes made in the proposed landlord/tenant ordinance. The ordinance would allow the police to track disruptive conduct incidents by tenants. After three of these incidents in any 12 month period by an occupant, the owner of the building would have to evict the tenant.
The ordinance originally called for a tenant list but that was found to be in violation of HUD privacy rules and the list was omitted from the ordinance. This ordinance will give landlords the ability to evict problem tenants.
Councilor Donovan questioned whether the landlord’s certificate of compliance would be at risk if this ordinance is not complied with. Failure to act on the eviction process would threaten the building’s certificate of compliance; however Barney Valliere reported the landlord would not lose the certificate as long as there is an ongoing court process.
Councilor McCue warned that the violation of a local ordinance may not be valid grounds for eviction. Mr. Caron admitted that the ordinance is based in accordance with RSA 47:17 though it has not been tested. Councilor McCue noted that there is an entire statute dealing with landlord/tenant issues and we don’t know how the court will react. He suggested tightening the definition of disruptive conduct. If there are 3 reports, someone’s rights will be affected. If they are written up then the landlord is required to take steps. With this, we are making landlords and tenants responsible for each other’s conduct.
Asst. Chief Valerino clarified that they are trying to make the landlords responsible for who they allow in the apartments. He went on to say that the Police Department has responded to some buildings 160 times. If the landlord has three disruptive conduct reports and the police can testify in court, there will be a stronger case to evict.
Councilor Remillard made the point that the owner of the building needs to be notified because sometimes they assume the property is being handled and it is not. She added that she did not see the need for posting of the certificate of compliance since compliance is between the landlord and city, not the tenant.
Councilor Goudreau stated that the correct reference for the mailing in Sec. 10.5 – 19 should be Certified mail as opposed to registered mail. Councilor Poulin supports the ordinance indicating that landlords have to take responsibility for their buildings. He questioned whether a data base of people who have been kicked out could be created to prevent tenants from simply moving the problem from one part of the city to another.
Councilor Donovan voiced that we have been dealing with housing for a long time and this ordinance needs to pass to change an ongoing trend. With regard to having a data base, he noted that the information is available at the courthouse. Councilor Goudreau agreed that the ordinance should be acted on. Mr. MacQueen stated that if problems come up, the ordinance could be strengthened. Mayor Bertrand set the schedule to get questions and suggestions to staff by April 14th so that a revised draft can be presented to the Council by April 28th; first reading of the ordinance would be May 5th .
Public Works Current Year Budget Update
Mr. MacQueen reported that at the end of January the Public Works overtime and sand line items were over budget. They are here again for an update. Ernie Allain indicated that it snowed 125 inches this winter. Overtime is over budget by $52,000 and sand is over by $10,000. With these items over spent, the department will work to hold down spending until the end of the year. Council members agreed that holding down spending is the right thing to do
Proposal from Small Pond re: Conservation Easements
Ms. Laflamme explained that Small Pond Holding is proposing to donate 20 acres of land to the AVRRDD because the land abuts an existing easement already held by the city for the District. DES does not allow an entity to hold the easement and do the monitoring of such easement. Small Pond felt this donation would settle the subject of ownership and that their donation of land covers the monetary issue.
Councilor McCue expressed concern that the lack of a steward fee will leave the City at risk with these easements. Mayor Bertrand commented that a certain amount of money per acre be set aside in an account that could pay for monitoring. He added that it is important to set some standard and to figure out what it will cost year to year as there are two more requests in the works.
Ms. Laflamme suggested that the City require Small Pond to remain the owner of the property and the City would hold the easement. Councilor Cayer questioned what would happen if the city declined to hold the easement and Ms. Laflamme indicated that Small Pond would have to find a land trust or to ask the county to hold the easement.
Questions from the Council included, what do other communities do in such a situation; can we put a figure on the cost; and what kind of issues can arise? Mayor Bertrand noted that the Council should weigh the probability of encroachment into the equation. Councilor McCue voiced that each easement would be treated individually. Some may entail more risk than others and chances of encroachment are less on some than others.
Councilor Poulin warned that inaction and uncertainty can lead to failure. Councilor Lafleur suggested moving forward with the Small Pond proposal; however there was concern that the AVRRDD would not be meeting until the last week of April and time is of the essence on this project. Councilor Donovan suggested that the Berlin Housing Authority be the entity to hold the easement.
Councilor Donovan moved to have a stewardship fee based on acreage, to have the easement held by Berlin Housing Authority, or any other entity, and that the city would act as the monitoring agent; Councilor Poulin seconded and the motion carried. Councilor Cayer voted against.
Councilor Poulin wanted there to be a minimum amount should an easement be requested for a very small amount of land and it was determined that such language could be considered when it occurs.
Other
SB468. Mr. MacQueen reported that he received an Action Bulletin from the Local Government Center regarding SB468 which is a health insurance bill that is full of problems and will increase the cost of health insurance. Mayor Bertrand proposed contacting the City representatives to vote against the bill. Councilor Poulin moved to send a letter opposing the bill; Councilor McCue seconded and the motion carried. Councilor Evans voted against.
NCC Transportation Committee. Mayor Bertrand reported that the North Country Council has two representatives from Berlin on the Transportation Committee. In the past, these were David Morin and Norm Charest. Mr. Morin has indicated that he would prefer to bow out and Mr. Charest is willing to continue but he could also be there on behalf of Dummer leaving two positions, if anyone is interested. Councilor Lafleur expressed interest.
Non-Meeting. Councilor Donovan moved to adjourn to non-meeting per RSA 91-A:2 b) Strategy or negotiations with respect to collective bargaining; Councilor McCue seconded and the motion carried unanimously by roll call. The meeting ended at 9:05 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
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