Work Session
January 11, 2010
Present were: Mayor Bertrand, Councilors Evans, Goudreau, Cayer, Poulin, Lafleur, Remillard, Landry and McCue. Others present included, Al Hartheimer, Bill Gabler, Paul Grenier, Andre Caron, Blandine Shallow, Pamela Laflamme, Jon Edwards, Patrick MacQueen, Civics Class students, media and public
Taxation Report
Mr. Albert Hartheimer traveled 250 miles to Berlin from MA to present a report on land value taxation which was put together by the Center for the Study of Economics with data provided by the City. He reported that he works pro-bono which means for the good of the public and the mission for the center is to convince cities to adopt land value taxation. The assessing method is used in Australia, New Zealand and several other countries and in some communities in states such as PA.
The goal of the study is to see if Berlin’s decline can be reversed by shifting value from buildings to land to help people keep what they earn. Mr. Hartheimer gave an overview of Berlin’s budgets and its population, reporting that fewer and fewer people are paying more taxes.
Land value taxation is a shift of tax burden off buildings onto land and it is a common sense idea. There are cities that operate with land value taxation and it is introduced gradually by reducing the tax on buildings and increasing tax on land. Taxes on buildings discourage property improvements and new construction.
Mr. Hartheimer noted that using the “two rate” method would have benefited the hydro-electric companies and therefore an assessment exemption method was created to gradually reduce the assessed value on buildings until that value is gone. The value would be added to land. With this method those who are paying most of the taxes at the onset of the change are still paying the taxes once the change is complete. The goal would be to be able to improve property and have no tax increase. Conclusions of the study are valid; however the data is not updated.
Next steps would be for the Mayor and Council to study the report and hold a public meeting to inform the public of the proposed change. Support from the entire community is needed for a legislative change. Councilor Evans confirmed that timber tax would continue.
Mayor Bertrand stated that if the City we were to pursue this, it would be difficult to pass because of the PSNH lobby at the State House. Mr. Hartheimer voiced that PSNH pays but don’t vote. He added that it makes sense not to penalize people with taxes for developing their properties. Councilor McCue made the point that there is no home rule in NH and the Department of Revenue Administration would want to weigh in on any changes. Mayor Bertrand noted the change to a new Mayor next week and indicated that he will defer to the new council on this issue. Mr. Hartheimer noted that he gave Mr. MacQueen a bill for his expenses.
Request to Purchase Desk
Mr. MacQueen explained that Judge Michalik has offered different scenarios to acquire a desk from the courthouse that he is fond of. Typically surplus property would be auctioned off; however the Council can authorize an alternative way of relieving itself of property. Councilor McCue stated that the swap of this desk for a larger desk as mentioned in the letter is reasonable. Councilor Cayer confirmed that we do not know the value of the desk; however Mr. MacQueen described it as a small, oak desk that would fit in a home office.
Councilor Goudreau moved to swap the desks with Judge Michalik as indicated in the Judge’s letter; Councilor Evans seconded and he motion carried.
EFSEC Public Hearing
Mayor Bertrand noted that a petition was circulated by citizens of Berlin and Gorham to have the EFSEC Committee review the application by Clean Power though they have already gone through the City process. Councilor McCue commented that Clean Power could have opted into the EFSEC proceedings but chose to go through the city’s Planning and Zoning. EFSEC is a group of department heads at the state and this group of petitioners is putting more confidence in them than the city process. It is disrespectful of the city process.
Mayor Bertrand acknowledged that Clean Power has worked well with the City and it seems that it would be counterproductive to open this and question the validity of the city process. Various state departments have issued permits based on the city’s process. He advocated that the city take a position and write a letter to EFSEC explaining what has been done by the City and letting them know that an economic development initiative that the city needs so badly could be delayed unnecessarily. The City should send representatives to Concord to be at the hearing as well.
Councilor Goudreau moved to draft a letter for review by the Council to EFSEC, asking them not to subject Clean Power to the EFSEC process and explaining what they have already gone through; Councilor Landry seconded and the motion carried with all in favor.
Other
Bank Reconciliations. Mr. MacQueen distributed a memo from the Finance Director regarding hiring Al Morrissette to do bank reconciliations. It explains what occurred, who was involved and what steps were taken to insure that it won’t happen in future. Mayor Bertrand confirmed that the auditor did not find the problem; however the Finance Director did.
Councilor Goudreau stated that balancing accounts to the general ledger is part of basic accounting principles and it not being done is unacceptable. Ms. Shallow explained that it was not caught at year end likely because of the busyness of year end, change of software and employee leave time that occurred during the time of the audit. Councilor Goudreau encouraged the new council to take into consideration that it is good to have different auditors review the books from year to year.
Mayor Bertrand asked if the Council would want to ask for the auditor’s comments on the issue. Councilor McCue questioned the step taken to manually input the school’s vendor checks indicating that it is more work on our end. He asked if there was another way and Ms. Shallow explained that there seems to be no interface for the school system to come into the City system.
Public Access Channel. Councilor Poulin informed the group that he has been working on getting council meetings on the local access channel and it has turned out to be quite an endeavor. The meetings could be on television during work hours because the channel needs to be managed during business hours. Warner Cable would like to give the city the access channel to run; however the channel would cover the North Country, not just Berlin. Councilor Poulin wanted to be sure that the Council was not against any of these ideas. Mayor Bertrand stated that anything that can be done to increase the public’s participation in government’s proceedings would be appreciated. Councilor Poulin indicated that there would be a need for volunteers for the visual end of things.
Councilor Poulin reported that Seventh Street Graphics donated letterhead, labels and envelopes with the new City seal. They also gave estimates to the City Clerk. Councilor Poulin asked if the City would send a thank you card to Seventh St. Graphics for their effort.
Paul Grenier stated that he will attend the EFSEC meeting in Concord on January 29.
Councilor Evans moved to go into a non-meeting per RSA 91-A:2 (b) Strategy or negotiations with respect to collective bargaining; Councilor Lafleur seconded and the motion carried unanimously by roll call.
The meeting ended at 8:50 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
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