Jackson Selectmen’s Meeting
March 6, 2014
Present: John Allen, Chairman; Bob Thompson and Bill Lockard, Selectmen
Visitors: Town Office Administrative Assistant Julie Hoyt, Police Chief Karl Meyers, Police Officer Sean Cowland, Emergency Management Director/Health Officer Tom Greig, Bea Davis, Gino Funicella, Bill Wogisch, George Howard, Kathleen Dougherty, Frank Benesh
Chairman John Allen called the meeting to order at 4:38 p.m.
- Selectmen’s Meeting – February 20, 2014 The minutes were approved as written.
- Warrant Article Hearing – February 11, 2014 The minutes were approved as written.
- 2nd Warrant Article Hearing – February 20, 2014 The minutes were approved as written.
Chairman Allen noted Health Insurance is listed under Old Business (agenda item 7) but will be discussed during Public Comments (agenda item 3) and the Police Report (agenda item 4) so Chief Meyers doesn’t have to wait through the meeting.
- Update on 2.20.14 Action Items
- Estate administrator request The person Chairman Allen spoke about has accepted.
- Communications Protocol Selectman Thompson will have this for a future meeting.
- Health Insurance See discussion under Public Comments and Police Report.
- Building Inspector Certification The former Building Inspector’s Certifications are being compiled for review.
- George Howard’s comments regarding the Building Inspector position These are to be shared with the Building Inspector Committee.
- Voting Day & Town Meeting dates Voting is Tuesday March 11th and Town Meeting is March 13th.
- Public Comment Gino Funicella was told to give his comments regarding Health Insurance during Public Comments. Back in 1999 the Selectmen couldn’t give the town employees a raise so they gave the employees health insurance at no charge. When the town looked at insurance back in 2004/05 the question came up asking employees to contribute towards their premiums. Because these were long-term employees the decision was to keep their insurance the same while new hires would pay towards their insurance. There are now only two of those long-term employees left – Chief Meyers and Officer Cowland. This Board can change their insurance contribution but the intent was to give the town’s “word”. Bea suggests the Selectmen talk with those who were serving as
Selectmen at that time; Chairman Allen will do this. Meeting minutes have been reviewed and they say their insurance would remain at status quo they don’t say grandfathered specifically.
- Police Report Officer Cowland reviewed Department activities since the ast meeting; some items discussed included two motor vehiclce accidents, a couple of assists to the Fire Department; a couple of parking issues; one report of a wire down; a false fire alarm and one assist provided to a motorist. There was one wild animal complaint; one assist to the Conway Police Department; one domestic animal call; one missing person who was found; one assist to Bartlett with a call. There may have been one parking issue over the February vacation week.
Regarding continuing one-hundred percent premium payment the town’s attorney feels this could go either way; it is up to this Board to make this decision; there’s a possibility the discussions around moving Manager Edgerly to a Bartlett employee may have further information as well. Selectman Lockard met with Chief Meyers and he has a proposal; he has not seen anything that clearly solves this problem; anyone can sue anyone for anything. There is some exposure without any absolute witness and it’s not clear an agreement was made. Paying insurance premiums at the differing rates is in the budget this year; he thinks the town should pay it. Then there is a seven and a half percent increase next year and another seven and a half percent to bring these two employees
to paying the fifteen percent that all other employees are paying. Chairman Allen thought the Board had agreed to a five percent increase over three years; Selectman Lockard wasn’t at the last meeting; if that’s iron clad he doesn’t want to change that but this should be equalized. There is some seething from other employees about these two employees a full premium.
Chief Meyers feels one person is not happy; when that person was hired he knew what his insurance package was and he agreed to the package; now he is jealous and wants the plan Chief Meyers and Officer Cowland have and he can’t; he made his own agreement at the time he was hired just as Officer Cowland and Chief Meyers had an agreement at the time of their hire. Chairman Allen noted he’s in the same situation; his premium used to be covered with no dedcutible; now it’s down to eighty percent with a five hundred dollar deductible. It’s tough to have people at different levels in the town; it creates animosity and he’s not sure what the fair thing is. Chief Meyers noted when the person that is complaining got hired in Jackson the fifteen percent
contribution was what was offered and he accepted.
Gino noted if the Board is already going to postpone any change this year he thinks the Selectmen should put an article on the warrant next year and let the people decide.
Selectman Thompson explained the Board got involved in the salary review and upgrade; bringing up the pay level was the fair thing to do. Certainly that has been done with an eight percent pay increase proposed for this year and then adding health insurance contributions in as a three year project. For the record the Board is not hearing from one invdividual about this issue; it needs to be acknowledged there are valid arguments for both. When this became a problem the Board asked how many other police departments are paying one-hundred percent; facts need to drive the decision. They took that information and then tried to get to a fair average; the Board was swayed more by that than what was done since 1989. We have all seen health insurance premiums change and we’ve
all lived with it. When other Departments in town expressed concerns the Board had to get the facts. With the eight percent pay increase for Officers and four percent for the Chief, if they were then charged health insurance at seven-and-a-half percent Chief Meyers net pay would go down by seven dollars per week; Selectman Thompson doesn’t support that; Chief Meyers has been here working hard. For Officer Cowland, with the eight percent pay increase and health insurance at seven-and-a-half percent, his net pay would be seven dollars more per week. Selectman Thompson is open to solutions but he wants to take a fair and balanced approach; everybody is supportive of the Department; the quality of work they do is why the pay increase was approved.
Bill Wogisch asked how, morally or legally, the town can give something to someone and then take it away from them. The people that are objecting to the one-hundred percent paid health insurance need to understand that these two employees came on board a long time before the complainants did; a commitment was made by the Selectmen of the town of Jackson and this Board needs to uphold it. He suggests a raise to one-hundred dollars a week to cover the insurance increase; these fellows have been faithful to this town while many others have come and gone.
Bea noted most of those folks retired; the Highway Department is getting a four percent increase but the Police are getting eight. The Board looked at figures for both compensation and insurance contributions throughout the county; some get one-hundred percent insurance while others pay a percent. Jackson’s Police were at the low end of the spectrum. Gino pointed out that some Boards gave no raises for years. If these two Police employees get charged seven-and-a-half percent with no raise then they keep falling behind. Folks need to look at the pay increases for the Highway Department; they got dollar an hour raises every year to make up their shortfall. Gino urged the Board to wait on making a decision on this; Bea agreed noting the Board needs to talk to the
two Selectmen that were on the Board. Office Administrator Atwell was going to look at the minutes to see what she could find about this; she’s not had much success. George Howard agrees there was a commitment made either in writing or when they signed on; it is necessary to honor that; Jackson has to stay with what was offered to them. Chairman Allen noted this is a discussion to have on the floor at town meeting; let the voters decide.
Bill would like folks to understand that comparing the Police Department to the Road Department is not apples to apples; they should have no bearing on each other. The Police are “on” twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; they put their lives on the line every morning; the Highway Department doesn’t.
- Sonny Couture – Update After further review, this permit was not denied by Andy as originally stated; he had recommended the Board deny it; Goody isn’t going to issue the permit; it is recommended this be sent to the ZBA. It will be important that they have an accurate time line of what has happened to date. George asked what the issue is and was informed the lot appears to be a landlocked parcel; a logging road was the only access and that’s been classified as a driveway. That’s a dubious distinction that needs to be clarified.
- Interview Updates The one interview went well; the second one was rescheduled to next Thursday.
- Proposed Changes in the operation of Transfer Station – Jon Edgerly FYI Transfer Station Manager Edgerly and Engineer Burr Phillips met with Chairman Allen to discuss reconfiguring travel ways; he’d like to engage Engineer Phillips to develop a mater plan. Selectman Thompson would like to have Engineer Phillips attend the Transfer Station Meeting to lay the plan out.
- Road Toll Bill – FYI There will be a four cent per gallon gas tax for Roads added July 1, 2014.
- Tax Refund Request John Dunn says he sent in his check but it was lost and his bank verifies it wasn’t cashed. He feels he paid on time, it’s not his fault it wasn’t received and he’d like a refund of the three hundred fifty three dollars and twenty cents interest he paid. The bill was due in June; he didn’t send the second check until February; he should have known the first check hadn’t cleared. Selectman Thompson noted how the Dunns manage their checking account is not the Board’s business. Selectman Lockard disagreed; he would have acted on a four-thousand dollar check that didn’t cash out in a month; owners have a responsibility to pay their taxes; John properly mailed it but he still has the responsibility to pay his
taxes and he didn’t pay until February; he says no refund. Chairman Allen noted this happend to him and he just paid the interest; he also did so two months later not six months. He is not inclined to refund this.
- Tax Appeal – Cyr – FYI Mr. Cyr has appealed his tax again; it will be forwarded to Assessor Jason Call.
- Feb 6th meeting – Scrap metal update There was a misunderstanding; Roger Labbee pays the town the twelve hundred dollars, not vice versa. Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Lockard, made a motion to sign the agreement to be paid twelve-hundred-fifty dollars by Roger Labbee for the Scrap Metal Agreement. The motion passed unanimously. Bill asked why the town doesn’t sell it rather than letting Roger pay a set amount; metal is at an all time high; the town is leaving money on the table. The Board will look into it.
- Barn Tax – Do we want to submit application This is a tax exemption that would require maintenance of the barn; the town has to participate before its residents can participate. The Board agreed to table this until they can review it; Selectman Thompson would like to get some more specific information about this.
- Meloon Road – Landfill The town received notice from DES that Jackson is required to monitor this yearly. The Board understood this was done and the wells have been capped. There may be a release on file. This is a new contract; Last year the fee was twelve-fifty; this is now twenty-five hundred. Jay Pullen may have some answers; he signed off on that; maybe the Board misunderstood about monitoring and the doubling of the price needs to be explained.
- Town property in town report There is town-owned property listed on Black Mountain Road; information on this will be researched for the next meeting.
- Health Insurance This has been discussed.
- Public Comment There were none.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:38 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Martha D. Tobin
Recording Secretary
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