Chichester Board of Selectmen
Minutes of Meeting
Tuesday December 6, 2017
Members Present: Jeff Jordan Tom Jameson, Ed Millette, Jodi Pinard Town Administrator and Kristy Barnouski Administrative Assistant
Budget Committee Members: Stephen MacCleery, Don Peterman, Norm Larochelle, Marlene Hammond, Doug Hall, and Richard Bouchard.
Attendees: Chief Quimby, Alan Mayville, Tom Houle, Donna Chagnon, and Ewen McKinnon.
Call to Order Mr. Jordan called the meeting to order at 6:00pm
Administration-
Mrs. Pinard started off with the revenues which are expected to be $26,000 higher. She also expects the Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) to be higher in 2018. Timber cuts have been slow so she was unsure of what to expect in 2018 as well. Revenue looks to be down right now but only because of the grant not being reimbursed yet.
Mrs. Pinard stated that she add additional funds to the Selectmen’s pay due to it being reduced in the past several times and being below average. She also stated that the Selectmen are called upon more than previously and are a part of a lot more committees. Mrs. Pinard stated that a 2% raise was also added for all employees across the board.
Mrs. Pinard reviewed the Town Clerk/Tax Collector’s budget. The only real increase was in the election lines due to the amount of elections in 2018.
Under financial reporting the audit amount has increased due to rates rising.
Mrs. Pinard spoke about ECity Permitting, the software that she has added to the budget for the office. She explained that every department will benefit from the online permitting and it will make it easier for residents to access permits and communicate after office hours. There was some discussion on whether or not this budget item should be a warrant article.
Health insurance is down 10.8%, and Retirement was over due to a legal settlement.
Town Buildings-
Mrs. Pinard stated that ground maintenance is up due to a change in staffing, repairs at the Historical Society and electric down at the safety building.
Cemeteries are down due to change in staffing.
The Boards discussed why there is no line for Parks and Rec and decided to move the electrical to town buildings.
Mr. Boyijian stated the Parks and Rec capital reserve is down to approximately $2,000 and they will be working to build that back up to replace the current playground which is deteriorating and falling apart.
The Bear Hill Trust line will be closed out and added as a warrant article.
Buildings education line is being reduced by $9,000 due to Mr. Cole finishing his classes.
Another increase in the budget is for the BCEP which is looking to increase 5%.
Planning Board-
Mr. Brehm stated that he and Mr. Moore met with Town council to discuss the current zoning. It is Mr. Mayor’s strong opinion that Chichester zoning based on the 1965 soil survey is needs to be updated. Chichester is one of two Towns in NH that still use soil based zoning which is very archaic.
Mr. Brehm received quotes from Central NH Regional Planning Commission and Mr. Mayor for a combined total of approximately $11,000 to survey and update the zoning.
The Board has taken this request under advisement.
Fire/Ambulance/Forestry-
Chief Quimby explained that he had a meeting with Loudon who gave Chichester notice that they are no longer able to cover the day shifts after June 2018 due to Loudon’s call volume and coverage. No other surrounding towns are interested due to their own town’s call volume. Chief Quimby stated that there are two options, adding full time fire positions or going per diem during the day. Chief Quimby felt that the best option was to utilize per diem shifts as opposed to Full time due to the astronomical cost to hire 4 full time firefighters to cover shifts. Chief Quimby also added five hours of clerical work to schedule shifts and do necessary paperwork.
Mrs. Pinard reviewed the draft warrant with the Board and budget committee. The warrant article regarding the Shaw Pony Pasture was requested to be moved before the warrant article requesting parking areas for conservation.
Mrs. Pinard stated that if everything on the budget and draft warrant article passed it would be an impact of .37.
Adjournment
Being no further discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Millette made a motion and Mr. Jameson seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:01pm. Motion passes.
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