TOWN OF FARMINGTON
BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING
Friday - February 9, 2007
Committee Members Present: Chairman, Arthur Capello, Joe Pitre, Ann Titus, Debra Cantwell, Gail Ellis and Selectman's Rep. Paula Proulx.
Committee Members Excused: Mike Morin, Walter Mills and School Board Rep. Rich Cilley.
Public Present: Kathy Seaver (Town Clerk), Deb Christie (Goodwin Library), Dale Sprague (Water/Wastewater Dept. Head),
Meeting called to order at 7:32pm, the meeting started late because the committee was waiting on one member to give them a quorum.
Budget Reviews
Overall Comments:
1. Arthur Capello concerned that the $6000 needed to get rid of the tires from the Henry Wilson School Playground should go to the town as a warrant article so the taxpayers can make the choice to expend the money or not. It was discussed that
if this was done and the taxpayers voted the article down then the town or the
SAU would still have to find the money within the budget to dispose of the 2007
tires.
2. This committee is also concerned that the town is purchasing Poland Springs
water for some departments.
3. Arthur stated that it would be nice to have the tax impact each Warrant Article would have so that voters could see what the cost is.
4. Gail Ellis questioned if this committee could get a breakdown of the payroll for
each departments payroll.
Election/Vital Statistics: Kathy Seaver, Town Clerk, came forward to present her
proposed budget.
1. Kathy reported that one employee is moving down to 1/4 time from 1/2 time
in this budget and once the budget is voted in she will hire a new position and then
start MAP training so the town can offer more services to its residents.
2. Kathy also stated that she won two grants. One is for the repairing and
rebinding of town records and the other was to purchase shelving to keep the
records on once they have been restored in the Municipal Office building.
3. Kathy stated that she just applied for another grant to help with the replacement
of windows, painting and maintenance that needs to be done in the Municipal
Office building .
4. Line 20 (maintenance agreements) reads $3924 X 2 because in 2006 the Town Administrator forgot to put the fee in the budget so the town needs to pay the fee
for 2006 and 2007 this year. The $5286 is for vadar support which will allow
residents to use their credit cards online to pay tax bills and such.
Goodwin Library:
1. Line 5150 is for the scraping and removal of lead paint and then repainting of
the exterior trim of the Goodwin Library, with the cost being $10,000. The
Selectman asked this to be put out as a warrant article and the trustees agreed.
It was discussed to add the "purpose of painting the exterior trim of the Goodwin Library" to Article 17.
2. The budget committee was in consensus that they were glad the trustees took
their advice from last year and gave the staff salary increases. It was commented
that the salaries could have been even more since the library staff has no insurance.
It was also stated that the staff is very knowledgeable, attends trainings regularly
and does outstanding work for the community.
3. Deb Christie reported that the Medical line is a $950 stipend the employees get
in lieu of insurance.
4. The budget committee requested that the Board of Selectman put the $5000
they took off the bottom line of the library budget back on because the tax impact
is only a penny.
Water/Wastewater Department: Dale Sprague, Dept. Head for the Water and Wastewater departments presented his proposed budget.
1. Line 248 (pump repair) is to clean and repair scheduled maintenance on well 4.
2. Line 262 (main line renewal) is to start looping in dead end lines.
3. Line 237 has $7500 to the Water Enterprise Fund for storage tank repairs. The plan is to create a plan in 2007 and then begin the work in 2008.
4. Line 253 (testing/supplies) is for state mandated testing.
5. Dale explained that his plan is to replace a hydrant each year. There are 135
public hydrants and 25 private hydrants.
6. Line 216 (cleaning sewer mains) Dale stated they will be working to clean the
sewer mains so that they can find any crack pipes that are leaking.
7. Chemical line is up because the company shipped to much of a polymer a few
years ago (and didn't charge the town) so he hasn't had to order the polymer over
the past several years. This year he needs to order the polymer.
8. Dale stated that 2004 was the last sewer rate increase and 2001 was the last
water rate increase.
Arthur Capello moved to adjourn, Ann Titus seconded. Motion passed with all in favor. Meeting adjourned at 10:02pm.
The next meeting will be a continuation of reviewing the budgets and a joint meeting with the Board of Selectman on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 at 7pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brandy Sanger
Recording Secretary
_____________________________ ___________________
Ann Titus, Secretary Date
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