Office Budget Work Session
January 9, 2014
Present: John Allen, Chairman; Bill Lockard and Bob Thompson (joined at 4:10 p.m.), Selectmen
Visitors: Town Office Administrator Julie Atwell, Town Office Administrative Assistant Julie Hoyt, Videographer Hank Benesh, Town Clerk/Tax Collector Karen Burton, Moderator Bill Kelley, Police Officer Sean Cowland, Bea Davis, Kathleen Dougherty, Diana Cataldo, Bill Wogisch, George Howard
Chairman John Allen called the Budget Work Session to order at 3:45 p.m.
Office Administrator Julie Atwell noted Police Chief Karl Meyers is waiting for input from the Selectmen regarding the bottom line figure for his budget. Chairman Allen asked that Chief Meyers put in the figure he’s looking for and the Board will make alterations at the next budget work session. Chairman Allen feels the salary figure is appropriate but it’s too much for a one-time increase. There also needs to be an understanding that the salary figure is not the actual total as that figure doesn’t include the associated increase to benefits. The Board appreciates the information Chief Meyers provided regarding salaries for other towns but the Board would like to see information from locales in the North; specifically Littleton, Gorham and Berlin as well as
information about the size of the police departments used in the sampling.
- Office Budget Office Administrator Atwell provided a comparison of budgets from 2010 through 2014. She reviewed the current year-to-date figures; there are some accounts that were over and she’s submitted the ledger detail for review. There are figures on the final page that she’s gotten from other boards and people; those figures will be discussed at Wednesday’s budget meeting.
The budget is over but nothing jumped out as a large item to have caused it to be over. She was requested to provide a break down by vendor. There were some orders like letterhead and envelopes that won’t have to be ordered again for a long time. Chairman Allen asked if there is anything that could be taken out to reduce that line or does that line have to be increased; Office Administrator Atwell will watch how expenses progress as this moves towards finalization. The updated RSA volumes go to other boards and people in the town but the Office budget absorbs it; that is four-hundred-eighty dollars and that’s half of the overage. This may have been coded to another line last year. Advertising was higher due to the changes to staffing last
year. Five-thousand dollars was for the new office computers and support for those new computers was eight-hundred-fifty dollars; that explains almost all the overage. Maintenance of Town and Office Buildings was under-budget even though the remodeling work in the Office was not budgeted for. Wages, Pension and Health Insurance were all way under. Administration shows an increase for the new phone system; that might be able to be bumped to a different line. Chairman Allen thinks the five-thousand dollars for the phone system should be a warrant article.
This is a reevaluation year; Office Administrator Atwell had estimated sixty-thousand dollars but Assessor Jason Call suggested putting forty-thousand dollars on and take the additional twenty-thousand dollars out of the Reevaluation Capital Reserve Fund.
The line for Legal last year was set at forty-thousand dollars. To date, last year’s bills have come in at thirty-thousand dollars but not all bills are in and that total doesn’t include the five-thousand dollar settlement. Chairman Allen noted the legal line was bumped up from twenty-five to forty-thousand dollars due to a couple of lawsuits on the books; some were settled so the line was dropped to twenty-thousand dollars. With the recent lawsuits the line was moved back up to forty-thousand dollars; he would like the line to be left at forty-thousand dollars; any overage will go back into the General Fund.
The General Government line has changed in that the different locales will be broken out. Some things that were formally listed as Maintenance to Town Buildings have been deducted.
Office Administrator Atwell would like to know about the line entitled Health Insurance – Others. This used to be a place-holder to cover insurance for former town officials; those fees are no longer funneled through the Office. This line will be kept at twenty-nine-hundred dollars and Office Administrator Atwell will follow-up on whether this can be removed from the budget.
The line for septic review went over.
The Ambulance is asking for sixty-four-hundred dollars but they may bump it up. Office Administrator Atwell was asked to remind them any changes must be submitted soon.
The Emergency Management line has been reduced as the Hazard Mitigation Plan has been completed; also the EMD/HO has been combined into one position so that line was reduced. The Health Inspector is no longer an independent position.
There are a number of Social Services that have not submitted their requests. Chairman Allen suggest Office Administrator Atwell make calls to those that have not responded.
Public Welfare has been the same for the past three years; this line will remain the same.
Office Administrator Atwell has e-mailed the Recreation Department to see if they want to keep their request the same.
The Conservation Commission also needs to provide a figure for the budget.
The new figure has been added in for Channel 3.
When asked if there will be a warrant article for Knotweed it was noted Phil Davies developed the warrant article last year for Knotweed spraying; if no one submits one this year then that goes away.
Treasurer Schomaker has said there is no bond being requested for anything. There’s no bond interest for 2014; the bond was paid off last year. Chairman Allen noted the Board chose to pay off the bond instead of returning the money to the town. He’s wondering if there’s another bond outstanding; Office Administrator Atwell will check on this.
There are figures still outstanding but the total increase to the Office budget is five-hundred dollars. (Selectman Thompson joined).
- Town Clerk/Tax Collector’s Budget Town Clerk/Tax Collector Karen Burton provided the Board with the actual budget for this year. Over the last four years Jeannette has kept figures down. Salaries were down because there has been no Deputy for the last few months. A detailed report was provided; funds were allocated for furniture to replace a desk and a file cabinet; Town Clerk/Tax Collector Burton has found a desk for free.
Town Clerk/Tax Collector Burton is presenting a wage request of thirty-two-thousand, five-hundred-fifty-two dollars for 2014; this will cover trainings and there are four elections this year. Four-thousand dollars is for the Deputy and Town Clerk/Tax Collector Burton would work the rest of the hours; she’s looking to be considered a full time employee and having the office open five days a week.
The figures that have to be provided by the Supervisors of the Checklist have been removed from the budget detail as Town Clerk/Tax Collector Burton doesn’t know how much they will be asking for; this line is not zero; it is TBD. The first line item is fees that are collected for the State of New Hampshire; it’s a wash as these fees come in and go back out.
Chairman Allen would like to know about the line item for elections; there will be four this year. In 2012 fifteen-hundred was budgeted; it may be increased to seventeen-fifty. Moderator Kelley noted election expenses used to be part of the Town Office expenses. This is not the line that covers the sandwiches that are brought in.
Town Clerk/Tax Collector Burton noted she is currently working thirty-plus hours a week and if elected the Office would be open to the public for twenty-eight hours a week. Currently the office is open to the public for eighteen hours; before it was open sixteen hours. The budget represents twenty-eight hours. Town Clerk/Tax Collector Burton reviewed the math and the beefed up schedule proposed for her office. Even though this is a salaried position, she is using an hourly rate of sixteen dollars and ninety cents. As a full-time employee she would like to have the same benefits other town employees get. Town Clerk/Tax Collector Burton provided the Board with information regarding other towns where the Town Clerk/Tax Collectors get benefits. The increase to
her budget represents her desire to take health insurance as a full-time employee and if she works an average of thirty-five hours a week she would get state retirement.
Town Clerk/Tax Collector Burton noted if the office were to be open to the public for forty hours a week it would require an additional ten hours to get everything done. She has been keeping time cards since she took over in case anyone wants to review how many hours she has been putting in and when she’s working. She is open to discuss working five days and also having the office open the night of Selectmen’s meetings.
Town Clerk/Tax Collector Burton noted if she is elected and the increase in hours is approved, she would start insurance in April so that line is budgeted for only nine months; it was noted this means a twenty-five percent increase to cover twelve months, even if the policy rate remains flat. If Town Clerk/Tax Collector Burton isn’t elected, then this won’t be an issue.
The figure for computers was taken out; they are using only one computer right now; furniture was budgeted at five-hundred; that’s dropped to three-hundred for replacement of a file cabinet. One-thousand dollars was put in for digitation of old records; a number of them have been done already. It has been recommended these not be kept on-site; Town Clerk/Tax Collector Burton would like the Board to consider giving these to Conway as they have a microfiche machine. There are grants available for the books; if the office does one book per year Jackson’s history can be preserved.
There being no further discussion at this time, the Budget Work Session was closed at 4:37 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Martha D. Tobin
Recording Secretary
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