Chilmark Board of Selectman / Finance Committee Minutes January 24, 2007
Members present:
Board of Selectmen: Riggs Parker and PersonNameWarren Doty (late arrival)
PersonNameChuck Hodgkinson – CAS (Coordinator of Administrative Services)
Members absent: Frank Fenner
Finance Committee: Marshall Carroll (Chair), Sarah Shipway, Doug Sederholm, William Randol, PersonNameRichard Williams, and PersonNameFrank Yeomans
Town Hall: Melanie Becker, PersonNameTom Wilson, PersonNameAnnette Anthony,
Lisa Specht – Admin. Asst. Housing and Planning
PersonNameRusty Walton – Conservation Commissioner
PersonNameChuck Hodgkinson – CAS (Coordinator of Administrative Services)
Public: PersonNameAndy Goldman, Park & Rec. Chairman
Marshall C. called the meeting to order at 7:31 pm. He said the Committee would discuss last weeks meeting minutes. Richard W. said there was a wording issue in the first paragraph page 1 beginning with “ of compensation”. He suggested the word “was” be replaced with “bore”. Frank Y. said on page 5, last paragraph the percentage was incorrect. He said the figure was 82.5% not 8.2 %.
Sarah S. made a motion to accept the minutes after the corrections we made.
Bill R. seconded, all were in favor.
The meeting began with a discussion led by Riggs P. regarding the administration department of the Town Hall. He passed out a memo that listed the Admin. Assistants and Temp. help for fiscal 2008. He said he felt that all of those positions could be put together in an administrative support line, which he felt made sense. He said then it could be viewed by salary. He used PersonNameChuck Hodgkinson's current position as an example, stating that he worked for 4 different boards and that those could all be combined in one line item.
Richard W. asked if this budget presented was approved line by line and asked if all administrative services were combined, would it then be only one line. Riggs P said that it would probably not be one line but would be administrative costs and then a number of salary lines.
From this conversation another subject arose which was whether or not the budget was approved on a line by line basis therefore (according to Town Counsel) locking those lines in and making them un-transferable or whether it was approved as a salary total or expense total so that expenses could be moved from line to line if needed.
Tim C. said several years ago, using the advice of the Auditors, the Town changed the budget from a line item budget to a summary budget. He said that ultimately when the DOR reviewed the budget they determined that it was not a summary budget, but a line item budget. Tom W. noted that at the end of the budget the word “ as printed” appears. He said if did not say “ as printed” the Town would be able to set their own policies as far as what transfers would or would not be allowed.
Marshall C. asked if there were any questions, or comments. There were none.
He said the next item was to review the Planning Board.
PLANNING BOARD:
Tim C. introduced Rusty W. as the elected member of the Planning Board and Lisa Specht, Administrative Assistant.
Marshall C. noted that there was a drop in the salary line and Rusty said yes, due to the current Administrative Assistant, whose salary was less than last years Assistant.
Riggs P. said he had a question on the Consultant line. Rusty W. said on occasion the Board might have a question not specifically for an applicant, but a matter of what the Board may need in their specifications. Possibly for road materials, culverts or items of similar nature. He said they usually consult with PersonNameKent Healy (Engineer).
Tim C. asked Rusty W. if the Board had adopted the regulations to assess applicants. He said that back in October he gave the Planning Board all the information needed for them to proceed with a public hearing. Rusty W. said no they had not held the public hearing.
There was a brief discussion regarding the public hearing that was needed in order for the Board to be able to charge applicants fees for consultants. Riggs P. noted that the Finance Committee last year had asked the Board to comply. Riggs P. made a motion for the Board to recommend that the Executive Secretary speak to all of the Boards that have the power to charge consultant’s fees to applicants and request that Board to do so and to conduct the necessary public hearing by June 1, 2007. Doug S. seconded and all Members were in favor. Frank Y. asked why a public hearing was needed in order to charge applicants fees and Tim C. said that was the legal process.
Rusty W. reiterated that the $ 400.00 in the budget was for the Planning Board in the event they need to talk with a consultant, such as PersonNameKent Healy, regarding the Boards own specifications. He noted that it was not often that they consulted, but needed the money in the event that a question arose that needed to be answered. He continued to explain other items in the budget such as the water testing, which he said was for Menemsha and Squibnocket ponds. Riggs P. asked about the line for printing and Rusty W. explained that the Planning Board was responsible for the printing costs of the Zoning By-laws and that the Board was beginning to update the master Plan. Riggs P. suggested that the $1,000.00 item be reduced to $ 500.00 and Marshall C. agreed that the printing line in the Planning Board budget would be cut
by $ 500.00. Rusty W. finished his explanations of the last few items in the budget and noted that professional development was up due to 2 new members. Riggs P. asked if $ 500.00 was enough and Rusty said yes.
HOUSING:
PersonNameAndy Goldman was present to answer any question about the budget and said that the Chairman, Steve Schwab, was unable to attend this evening. Marshall C. noted that the Admin. Asst. line was decreased and Andy said that was due to the new Assistant this year, whose salary was less than the previous Assistant. Riggs P. made a point of discussing the office supply line. Tim C. explained why each department held their own supply line and said that in the past when there was only 1 general supply line for the whole town hall that many departments were not cost conscious. He felt by having each department responsible for certain supplies they had become more conscientious of their spending. There was a general conversation regarding supplies for the town and what benefit there might be for having just one line in the
budget for all of the town hall supplies. Tom W. agreed with Riggs P. that having one supply line for everybody might save him time and energy in entering inputting all the deductions for each office’s supplies.
Andy G. continued to explain the budget and noted that Housing was currently working on the Middle Line Rd. project which meant that they may have to spend some money on printing, possibly guidelines for applicants for Middle Line.
Marshall C. asked about the Chapter 77 transfer. Tim C. explained that at the front of the budget book there was a list of all the Chapter 77 transfers.
PARK & RECREATION:
PersonNameAndy Goldman said the very small budget for them was to maintain Peaked Hill Pastures. He said it was mostly for mowing the field and this year there were a few extra supplies needed such as lime
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE: (CPC)
Chuck H. passed out a CPC budget recap sheet that gave a break down of each budget item and why. He explained the salary line and gave a breakdown of the staff salary hours. He said he worked 5 hours a week for CPC and that included 1 meeting a month plus projects. He noted that all CPC administrative expenses are funded from PersonNameCPA revenue, half of which are collected by the Comm. of Mass.
Chuck H. explained the huge decrease in the legal line, going for $ 6,000.00 to 0 (zero). He said last year the Board had appropriated $ 6,000.00 to cover an anticipated administrative legal expense for a project. He said the Committee decided to abandon the project and therefore no longer needed the money. He said that the unused administrative money is automatically retuned to the PersonNameCPA reserve fund. Chuck H. continued to review items in the budget and gave explanations for each item. There were little or no questions.
Tim C. noted that the Board of Selectmen had asked for a zero based budget every 3 years.
PERSONNEL BOARD:
Chuck H. passed out a budget recap sheet that gave a break down of each budget item and why. He reviewed most all items without question. There was a brief, general conversation about the money budgeted for Consultants. Tim C. explained that the legal line was so low because each department is not supposed to have a legal line. The Selectmen had set up a system so that all legal questions would go through the Selectmen’s office (Tim C.). Riggs P. said each board had been encouraged to e-mail their question(s) to Town Counsel. He said that way the cost is much lower and there would be a paper record of the questions asked and answered. He said by having one office control the legal line, they had greatly reduced legal costs over the year.
Frank Y. asked what the procedure was when a department needed more hours. Chuck H. explained the procedure stating that the department first went to the Personnel Board to request a change and then once approved went to the Selectmen for the approval. Chuck H. said it was the Personnel Board who was responsible for job descriptions and pay grades for each department. Tim C. noted that in the payroll section of the budget book there was information that showed increases in budget and the personnel who were maxed out at Step 8.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS: (ZBA)
Chuck H. explained the budget line-by-line noting that Site Review was part of the ZBA budget. He said he worked 17 hours a week for ZBA/Site Review, which included four meetings a month. Chuck H. explained that the professional development of $ 200.00 was for training they offered to all ZBA alternate members. He said, unlike some other committees, the ZBA alternates attended all meetings and were used in the event that there were not enough members for a quorum to vote. He said they currently have 7 ZBA members and need 5 for a quorum.
Tim C. reminded the Board that he encouraged members to attend trainings and seminars because it helped reduce insurance costs. He said that MIIA offered rebates and reductions for the Town once employees had completed certain trainings.
Chuck H. explained the advertising and postage lines and noted that each application must run 2 legal notices, and that most of the mail sent was by certified – mail so that the ZBA received conformation of receipt. He said that each application had 2 mailings to each abutter.
CONSERVATION COMMISSION:
Chuck H. said he worked 15 hours a week for Conservation Commission, which included 2 plus meetings a month. He said that there were 43 applications in 2006 and noted that each application required a site visit. He said that the stipend for the Conservation Officer PersonNameRusty Walton of $ 4,500.00 was fairly low. He said in addition to the stipend, Rusty W. received $50.00 per each Notice of Intent filed. Tim C. explained briefly that in the past Rusty’s stipend was taken from the Wetland Fund, which was no longer an available source.
There was a brief conversation regarding the fact that at some point Rusty W. will retire and the Town should begin to think about a succession plan. There was a general discussion regarding Rusty’s expertise and knowledge as the Conservation Officer. Part of the discussion revolved around Rusty’s salary. Most Committee Members felt that
$ 4,500.00 was not enough. Bill R. made a motion to raise the Conservation Officer’s salary (stipend) to $ 6,000.00 per year and Doug S. seconded the motion, all Members were in favor.
Chuck H. continued his recap of the budget, line by line. He noted that Professional Development had increased a bit so that the new member were able to take classes at the MACC (Mass Assoc. Conservation Comm.). He noted the Conn. Comm. still needed another alternate member. Chuck H. said the postage line was under budgeted last year and noted that each Conservation Commission decision is sent by certified mail at the cost of approximately $ 4.50 – $ 5.50 each as well as a 5% increase in first class postage.
Chuck H. continued his explanations and noted that Consultants were at $ 0. He said that the Board had adopted a regulation that enabled the Commission to have applicants
pay for any consultant fees it feels are needed to evaluate an application.
Chuck H. finished explaining the last few items of the budget. Marshall C. asked if there were any questions, there were none.
Tim C. noted at the bottom of the current agenda there was a list of what departments would appear at the next meeting 1/31/07.
Marshall C. made a motion to adjourn and Doug S. seconded. All were in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 9:05 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
PersonNameAnnette Anthony
Assistant to Executive Secretary
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