TOWN OF FARMINGTON
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
Monday, January 19, 2009
356 Main Street, Farmington, NH
Selectmen Present: Chairman Gerry McCarthy, Martin Gilman, Paula Proulx, Joan Funk and Gail Ellis.
Town Staff Present: Town Administrator Anthony Mincu
Public Present: Charlie King
Chairman Gerry McCarthy opened the meeting at 6:02pm.
1. Outstanding Budget Discussions:
a. Paula reminded the Board that the encumbrances still need to be approved. Joan asked Tony if Pam has said that all the afore mentioned encumbrances are legal and Tony said yes.
b. Gerry asked Tony to get a list of all the funds the Board is the agents for.
c. Gail asked if the Board still needs to address the RSA that was discussed a few months ago for a warrant. Tony said the warrant was for the purchase and sale of town property and the process to do so. The Board discussed that the process should probably be left as is.
d. Marty stated that after the Board approved $20,000 on the cutting edges line last week he did some further research and found that carbide edges are about $65/ft and according to state are not recommended for gravel roads. Steel is $225 for 12feet. Marty Gilman motioned to change line 90 (cutting edges) to $15,000, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with Paula Proulx opposed.
e. Joan commented that the Fire Chief said before he could wait for a new vehicle and because the town just installed a transmission in the car and with the economy the way it is she would suggest putting off the purchase for a year. Gail agreed. Marty disagreed because he feels the Chief needs a 4WD vehicle and the budget is not going to get better over the next several years with the upcoming wastewater plant and landfill issues.
Paula stated there is $92,170 in the capital reserve and asked Tony how much the matching grant for the fire truck was. Tony replied about $30-$40,000. Paula then stated that she would be in favor of purchasing a new or decent used 4WD vehicle for the Chief and giving his car to the animal control officer. Gerry agreed with Paula. Marty Gilman motioned to create a warrant for a 4WD vehicle for the Fire Chief with the cost not to exceed $23,260 with the expectation that a quality used vehicle with be purchased if possible, 2nd Paula Proulx. Roll Call – Marty Gilman (yes), Gerry McCarthy (yes), Paula Proulx (yes), Gail Ellis (no) and Joan Funk (no).
f. The Board discussed that the police cruiser purchase. Gerry stated that a Chevy Impala cruiser package would be $23,700 (which is cheaper than the Ford) and he would like to suggest purchasing a Chevy to see if it is better. Joan stated she thinks the town should stay with the Ford because the Police Chief expressed that Ford is a more dependable and proven vehicle. Marty commented that he didn’t care anyway, but noted that the old cruiser the fire department has is a Chevy. Gerry McCarthy motioned to create a warrant to purchase one Chevy police package sedan at $23,700 with the appropriate outside detail balance being applied first and the balance of the cost to be raised and appropriated through taxation, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion
carried with Joan Funk opposed.
g. Paula noted that there was $20,000 in line 197 (life pac. Defibulator) and she thought the Board agreed to put $9000 in a newly established capital reserve fund this year and then another $9000 next year so it could be purchased in 2010. Gerry stated that he remembered the Board agreeing to purchase one defibulator in 2009 and establishing the reserve fund for another one to be purchased in 2010. After reviewing the minutes it appeared Paula recalled the conversation correctly, noting the Fire Chief stated the association was going to try to fundraise to purchase the second defibulator. The Board agreed to reduce the line to $9000 and have Tony double check with the Chief on the timeline of the need for the purchase.
h. Marty recommended that the Board look into installing a generator in the Town Hall. Joan said she thought there was one and Marty informed her that it is not legal to use it because of the type of wiring it has. Paula asked if there are any grants available for the purchase. Tony said he sent Dan and Kevin to the state meeting on the ice storm because it was on how to apply for FEMA monies related to the recent ice storm, so he is not sure if a generator could be purchased with those funds. Gail then asked if having the elevator makes a generator a requirement because of the ADA requirements, the Board was not sure. Gerry asked Tony to get a figure for a generator with automatic transfer.
i. Marty asked if Tony heard anything from the Trustees regarding the transfer of funds for the Town Hall Renovation Fund. Tony will check with the Trustees.
j. Paula asked for an update on the Rec. roof leak. Tony explained that the Hall Brothers found the leak and will repair it as soon as they can get to a bare roof. Paula stated that he roof work should be paid for through the building maintenance line and questioned if there is enough in the line.
k. Paula asked what the actual expense was for the boiler repairs. Tony said the total cost was $14,500, but the repairs are not complete because they found three leaks in the piping in the concrete. He recommended replacing the pipe and running above the concrete which would cost approximately $5000. Tony then added that only the parts have been paid for out of the $14,500. Marty suggested putting $8500 in the public buildings maintenance fund to cover the roof repairs and such. Paula suggested adding a public facilities capital reserve line and the Board agreed such a line should be created with $8500 on it.
l. Gail asked what the Board is going to do with the public safety building capital reserve fund. Gerry stated he would like to keep putting money in the fund into have enough to build it.
m. Paula asked when the town expects to purchase the next ambulance. Charlie King stated that at the CIP meeting they discussed replacing the ambulances on a six year rotation so that each ambulance last 12 years. Gerry replied that the next replacement would be in 2011 or 2012 with an estimated cost of $110,000. Charlie added that the committee discussed putting $10,000 on this line. The Board agreed to put $10,000 on the emergency motorized vehicle line.
n. The Board discussed that some road improvement needs to be paid for through the capital reserves but a lot of the road maintenance should be put in the yearly budget. The CIP committee will meet this weekend to finalize the CIP plan so the Board can make educated decisions on the budget.
o. Paula stated that someone should ask Kathy to submit a grant again for window and door replacement at the Town Hall.
p. The Board agreed to put $10,000 on the emergency motorized equipment line, $11,000 on the Technology line (because Tony said it wouldn’t need to be done for several years), $3,000 in the Recreation equipment line, $8500 in the public facilities line and $0 in the fire truck/equipment line (this line might need to be revisited after the CIP information comes through). Joan suggested keeping the $40,000 on the public safety building line and the Board decided to wait until they get the figures set for all the other lines.
q. Gail requested an updated account balance sheet for the reserves for both the Board and the CIP committee. She also requested a new encumbrance report as well.
r. Gail pointed out that it appears there is an $11,000 increase in the administration budget under the health/medical line. Tony replied that is sounds like the addition of a family plan but that he would check with Pam.
s. Paula noted that she did not think the Board’s recommendation for the personnel line in both Joel and Dale’s budgets were updated. Tony replied that he believed Pam changed the numbers but maybe the wording didn’t get changed but he would check with her. Paula stated she would like the wording updated either way so she can compare the lines.
2. Salary Discussion:
a. Gerry asked what the CPI was and Tony replied 0.1%. Paula stated that she put a lot of thought into this over the past few weeks and though she values all the town employees a 3% increase would cost about $109,000. Her thought was to offer a one time stipend of $1250 to each employee in lieu of a change to their base pay which would save on the overtime, workman’s comp, medical and FICA lines. Joan stated she would not be in favor of this because it would take away from the employee’s retirement. Gail commented that the stipend might cause an issue in the future when trying to establish historical increases and base pay. Tony stated that the committee does have all the numbers for the salary scale and to implement today would cost about $85-$90,000.
Gail commented that she thinks the raises should be performance based and not on a COLA. Gerry stated that the town used to have a set 2% COLA with an extra 2% available for merit. Marty added that he thinks the Board should apply 3% across the Board until the salary/wage scale is approved but is also in favor of performance based raises. Gail then suggested a maximum of 3% being available for merit raises with the department heads completing evaluations based on performance and making recommendations there of.
Gail Ellis motioned to allow up to a 3% increase with the department heads using their discretion to give 0-3% based on performance in an evaluation, 2nd Paula Proulx. Discussion followed in which Joan said the department heads need to complete “just” evaluations for their employees. The Board will complete the department head evaluations. Motion carried with Gerry McCarthy opposed.
3. Other:
a. The Board requested a list of encumbrances and warrants for the next meeting.
b. Gerry asked if there were any responses to the prosecutor ads and Tony said no.
c. Marty stated there is a pick-up in the Opera House parking lot that needs to be moved because the plows have to go around it. Tony said it belongs to the maintenance guys and Paula said they need to move it to the highway garage.
d. Gerry asked Tony if he scheduled a meeting with the Sheriff yet and Tony replied he has been playing phone tag with him. Gerry stated that he would like a copy of the Police Chiefs’ meeting postings sent to the town.
e. Paula asked where the report is on the Police Chief’s car damage. Tony said the Chief did not fill out a police report because it happened in his dooryard. Paula stated a report still needs to be filled out and the car needs to be repaired. Tony said he would let the Chief know.
Marty Gilman motioned to adjourn, 2nd Paula Proulx. Motion carried with all in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 8:59pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brandy Sanger
Recording Secretary
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Chairman, Gerald McCarthy Vice-Chairman, Martin Gilman
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Paula Proulx Gail Ellis
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Joan A. Funk
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