Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Tuesday, May 03, 2016 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Margaret A. Charig Bliss, Selectman Stephen Atherton Jr., Selectman Robert Marshall
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator; Katherine Heck, Treasurer; Catherine Shaw, Office Manager
Public:
5:30 p.m. The meeting was opened by Chairwoman Charig Bliss.
Documents for Review/Approval
- A/P Checks & Invoices – Incl. NH Retirement Payment
- Payroll
- Wastewater Checks
- Selectboard Minutes
- Tax Deed List
- Employee Vacation BoS Memo
- New Hire Worksheet – Police P/T
- NH Council on the Arts – Grant
- Gravel Tax Levy
- Fire Dept. Quotes – Lettering for Fire Truck
- 2016 First-half Property Tax Warrant
5:30 PM: Public Forum
There were no members of the public present for comments.
The Board began signing documents at 5:30pm. The Board then reviewed Payroll, A/P Invoices, A/P Checks, and signed the A/P Check manifest.
5:45 PM: Katherine Heck, Treasurer; Catherine Shaw, Office Manager
Chairwoman Charig Bliss welcomed the Treasurer and Office Manager to the meeting. The Chair outlined her interest in streamlining the workflow of the Selectboard. She noted the Auditor’s recommendation had already alleviated considerable overlap in the Selectboard’s workflow by combining certain accounts payable steps. This change has saved the Board an appreciable amount of time. There followed an in-depth discussion on the purchasing policy. The Selectboard and the financial officers agreed that there is a good team in place today. Office Manager Shaw said that policies should be written for the best outcome from each position, as opposed to what makes it easiest on the people holding the position. In this way good controls can be maintained into the future if the current team is no longer here. The Treasurer said
that the Selectboard is the fiduciary of the town government and that the workflow is a management issue; if the selectboard wants to delegate certain controls they can do so. She went on to describe the current situation as a very different time compared to the past. A conversation followed in which the Board reviewed financial figures and several bar graphs provided by the Treasurer and were joined by the Town Administrator in a discussion about the current financial picture. Today the financial condition of the town is very good, explained the Treasurer, but in the past the Selectboard was faced with much more difficult financial conditions. Selectman Marshall agreed with both assessments but then explained that the current workflow requires up to two hours per meeting to complete. He said that this significantly impacts the Board’s ability to work on critical projects and issues in town. It was agreed that a new policy should be written to capture the Selectboard’s
recommendations. Selectman Marshall asked, “What’s the best way for us to craft a draft of a policy” that will address this issue. The Treasurer said that they should start with the current policy and rework it to incorporate the changes the Board is looking to implement. She said that the plan should also include those exceptions which are part of the normal course of business, such as utility payments, payments to ConVal, and payments to the County. Office Manager Shaw noted that there is no mention of purchase orders in the current policies so any revisions should include adding an outline for purchase order requirements. She also suggested adding a section on ‘approving expenditures’. Treasurer Heck volunteered to update the policy in a new draft for the Board to review and revise as they see the need.
7:00 PM: Selectboard Work Session – Non-Public Session
The Board voted on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectman Atherton to enter into non-public session on a roll-call vote of 3-0 for the purpose outlined in RSA 91-A:3II a the hiring of any person as a public employee. At 7:36 pm the Board voted to exit non-public session. It was noted that the Board held an interview with a candidate for the DPW Buildings & Grounds Manager position but that no decisions were made and no votes taken during the meeting.
7:35 PM: Mary Ann Grant
At 7:35 pm the Board met with Mary Ann Grant to discuss the flower beds around town. Mary Ann tends the flower beds around the municipal buildings and at the town line signs, and has done so for several years. The Board discussed the upcoming year, including the 225th Anniversary celebration, with Mary Ann and she said that she could use some help watering this year. After some additional discussion the Board asked for a proposal on what planting activities would be happening in the different flower beds around town.
8:00 PM: Selectboard Work Session – Non-Public Session
The Board voted on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectman Atherton to enter into non-public session on a roll-call vote of 3-0 for the purpose outlined in RSA 91-A:3II a, the hiring of any person as a public employee. At 8:52 pm the Board voted to exit non-public session. It was noted that the Board held an interview with a candidate for the DPW Buildings & Grounds Manager position but that no decisions were made and no votes taken during the meeting.
9:00 PM: Selectboard Work Session – Tax Deed List
The Board reviewed the properties forwarded by the Tax Collector for tax deeding. The list consists of seven properties. The Board agreed that all of the homes were severely delinquent, the properties were viable, and that the Board should oversee the process of returning the properties to productivity within the parameters outlined in the RSAs. The Board discussed a request by the Tax Collector regarding one of the property owners who has made considerable effort to stay current, makes frequent monthly and weekly payments, and owes the least on the list. The Board agreed to meet with the Tax Collector to discuss this property tax bill with the Tax Collector, and to notify her of their acceptance of the other properties on the list. The Parcel IDs for the remaining properties are as follows: R3-05-06, V5-8, S5-17, R7-04,
S3-3, R6-23-5.
The Board reviewed their schedules and it was noted that both the Chair and Selectman Marshall will be out the week of May 30th and part of the following week. The Board decided to post a meeting for Thursday June 9th at 5:30PM as there would not be a quorum available on the 7th.
Adjournment
The time being 9:40pm the Chair Charig Bliss moved to adjourn. Selectman Marshall seconded. All were in favor, and the motion carried 3-0.
The meeting adjourned at 9:40 PM.
The minutes are final when approved and signed by the Selectboard. A signed copy is on file in the Selectboard’s office.
_________________ _______________________ _________________________
Chair, Margaret Charig Bliss, Stephen Atherton Jr., Selectman Robert Marshall, Selectman
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