November 23, 2009
Work Session
Present were: Mayor Bertrand, Councilors Landry, Cayer, Goudreau, Remillard, Lafleur, McCue, Evans and Poulin
Margo Sullivan, Francoise Cusson, Pamela Laflamme, Norman Charest, Barbara Tetreault, Berlin Daily Sun, Erik Eisele, Berlin Reporter
AV Home Care
Margo Sullivan explained that in addition to mid-year reporting, she is asking the Council to help with a Health Needs Assessment by filling out a Key Informant Survey. Charitable trusts are mandated to file a report that outlines how they are staying true to their mission. Surveys can be dropped off at the office on upper Main Street or arrangements can be made for pick up by calling 752-7505.
The city has funded AV Home Care since 1975 and the money is used to fund Title 20 services. They have a contractual agreement with the State for in-home services for the elderly or infirmed including homemaking, meal preparation, and personal care. There are a lot of elderly who live in the area and they need support; without it, it could mean nursing home care.
Fran Cusson noted that AV Home Care has provided 10,980 hours of service for Title 20 which is 17.5% of their total service. Mileage traveled for in-home visits was 8,700 miles. There is a slight monthly co-pay for the service based on a sliding scale. The State reimburses $14.92 and it costs more than that to deliver the service. Ms. Sullivan informed the Council that AV Home Care employs 80 people, 30 full time and the remainder are part time. Mayor Bertrand stated that he would like to see a report of the statistics at budget time so that the request can be given due consideration. Ms. Sullivan thanked the Councilors for their support and she and Ms. Cusson left the meeting at this time.
NH Municipal Energy Alliance
Ms. Laflamme reported that the City has been accepted into the Municipal Energy Program who will perform building audits to help curb energy consumption. She introduced David Peel and Sarah Harpster to explain what this means for Berlin. Mr. Peel indicated that the State obtained a REGIE Grant administered through the NHPUC which makes money available to 30 to 50 towns and cities to come up with ideas to save energy. All of the communities selected will receive the building audit and there will be a competitive process for additional service. Partners in the collaboration include Cool Planet, SDES Group, Jeff Taylor, and Vital Communities.
Mr. Peel is charged with identifying the easiest opportunities to save money on the City’s energy budget. The public will be kept informed of the City’s progress in saving energy costs. The goal would be to set a path that would attract State and Federal monies for energy saving improvements to infrastructure.
Information gathered will be entered into software that will generate a report comparing the audited building to a similar building, nationally and within the State. Schools are not included in this exercise; however Ms. Harpster noted that there are other opportunities for schools.
Once audits are complete, there will be a report on the next steps which will be presented to the City Council. Ms. Harpster explained that a more comprehensive audit can be applied for where thermal imaging cameras would be used to measure energy loss. The grant is written for a decision grade audit and $50 has to come from municipal funds; however six communities will be selected for an investment grade audit which is more in depth. The cost to the City for the investment audit would be $500.
In January EECBG grant money will become available with NH having $6.5 million to distribute among successful applicants. Ms. Laflamme added that the City was selected to prepare a State grant application to get part of $6.5 million. The limit is $400,000 per application and there is no limit on the number of applications. It could be used for an energy efficient vehicle or to upgrade a building. Ms. Harpster indicated that the money has to be dedicated by March.
Mr. MacQueen reported that the City has asked Public Service of NH to do whatever they can to recommend energy savings to the City. Ms. Harpster felt that the work of PSNH and the building audits would complement each other. Mayor Bertrand confirmed that the City will be able to accommodate the tight schedule since some of the work was done as energy data for the Master Plan.
Councilor Evans repeated his understanding of the program as funding to assess wastes of energy in municipal buildings; however there is no funding for corrective action. Ms. Harpster agreed that this leg of the program does not have money for corrections; however if the City were successful in the January grant round, they could capture funds for retro-fits.
Councilor Remillard confirmed that it is realistic to get the data for the January round of funding. Mr. Peel and Ms. Harpster left the meeting at this time.
Senator Gallus Letter
Mr. MacQueen explained that the draft letter comes from several of Councilor Evans’ suggestions. In addition, the City is suggesting that the State adopt the International Existing Building Code (IEBC) which would make it easier and more cost effective to renovate existing buildings such as those in the downtown. Mr. MacQueen indicated that he added reference to the State raising the employee contribution to the NH State Retirement System for new State hires to 7% but the they did not include that same provision for municipalities whose new hire contributions’ remain at 5%. The State has also stopped paying retirement on Police special details.
Councilor Lafleur wanted the Police Commissioners to offer feedback on the issue of special details. Councilor McCue reminded the group that he had asked that the letter be copied to the County Commissioners, the Berlin Delegation, and Ray Burton.
Update on Bonding
Mr. MacQueen commented that a resolution is in the packet that would clarify that bonding is not specific to the Municipal Bond Bank but that authority is given to obtain a bond from a private bank as well. If possible, he would like the resolution to be ratified in one night so that the bonding is not delayed any further.
Budget Goals
Councilor McCue stated that he asked that budget goals be on the agenda so that staff submits budgets that are in line with the Council’s goals. What came of the discussion last week was holding the tax rate at no increase; setting 10% as a goal for capital improvements and getting the ufb to 5%. Councilor Goudreau commented that there will still be six of the same councilors and it is reasonable to set goals for staff to follow. Councilor Evans agreed saying that it is the responsible thing to do. He offered his opinion that the tax rate should remain the same; capital improvements to 11% to include paying back the bond; and 6% for ufb. Mayor Bertrand suggested further discussion on December 7; and Mr. MacQueen added that the sooner the goals are set, the better.
Councilor Poulin remarked that there will need to be concessions with regard to labor contracts. He remained committed not to vote for a tax increase. Only so much can be cut from operations and sooner or later these cuts are going to affect people. He was also offended that some departments didn’t cooperate and submit a zero budget as requested by the Council last year. He maintained that if the Council asks for something, they should see it.
Mayor Bertrand agreed that a zero increase in the budget will have to include layoffs, or concessions will have to be made. It is not likely that it can happen again without cuts to staff. Councilor Goudreau added that it’s time for furlough days and the union will have to step up and make some offers; it’s time to shrink government. Councilor Evans asked what to do to get unions to negotiate. Mr. MacQueen responded that there is nothing to do now since contracts were negotiated in good faith but if the union wanted to save jobs, and the Council is committed to a flat budget, then it is up to the unions to come up with an approach. Unions are under no obligation to participate. One group may propose something and none of the others do; then it become a question of how to deal with the
options. Mr. MacQueen commented that every department that reports to the City Manager came in with a flat budget last year.
Councilor Lafleur voiced his disappointment in the lack of a quorum at the last meeting. He noted that an elected official’s greatest responsibility is to be at the meetings.
Councilor Poulin took exception to the “scolding” and added that as a public servant he will be at the meetings when he can and there are sometimes circumstances that cannot be avoided. The meeting moved to the regular session.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
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