Highway & Fire Budget Work Session
January 15, 2014
Present: John Allen, Chairman; Bob Thompson and Bill Lockard, Selectmen
Visitors: Town Office Administrator Julie Atwell, Fire Chief/Road Agent Jay Henry
Chairman John Allen called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.
Road Agent/Fire Chief Jay Henry noted he’s not all that confident with his figures; the format this year is different than last year’s; he’s worked with three different sets of Office staff, each with their own way of putting the budget together. The Board appreciates Road Agent/Fire Chief Henry’s concerns and the work he’s put into generating these budgets.
The budgets were reviewed; items with discussion are listed.
- Highway Department Budget Wages: The figures represent a four percent increase; Road Agent Henry has also requested an increase in the stipend for OT in the winter up to the State of NH DOT rate. Jackson’s stipend is one-hundred dollars for December through March; the DOT stipend is one-hundred-thirty-five dollars for six winter months. Selectman Lockard would like to know where the four percent wage increase comes from; nationally the cost of living adjustment (COLA) is one-and-a-half percent. Selectman Thompson noted last year the Board looked at four percent; the COL Index was three percent. The Board looked at Highway Department wages in New Hampshire and decided to try to bump Jackson’s employees to four percent for a couple of years in an effort to move them to the
middle of the range. Road Agent Henry noted four percent means anywhere from seventy-five cents to a dollar an hour; every year the health insurance goes up; with a seven percent increase there, everyone is getting a pay cut anyway. Selectman Lockard noted he isn’t questioning Jackson’s employees’ worth; he’s just looking for savings. Road Agent Henry noted if Jackson wants to maintain quality employees, those employees are going to expect three to four percent increased annually. Chairman Allen noted the Board is just looking at figures tonight; Selectman Lockard feels there is value in competition.
Road Agent Henry asked if Health Insurance is now equal among all employees. Chairman Allen noted at this time Chief Meyers and Officer Cowland are grandfathered with no contribution towards their premium. Road Agent Henry pointed out this is a lot of money; he wondered if that means these two will never need to pay towards their health insurance. Chairman Allen noted the town provided one-hundred percent premium coverage; when it went to a plan that required employees to pay towards their insurance these employees were thought to be grandfathered with new hires taking the lower plan. Office Administrator Atwell noted there is nothing in writing to support that. Selectman Lockard thinks this is a fair question; if there are questions about this disparity during the Work
Session there are sure to be questions at the town meeting.
Sand is kept at $24,000; gravel and salt are not going to be increased either.
Culverts will be increased as he would like to replace three or four culverts on the Jackson end of Dundee.
Regarding Highway Road Maintenance, Road Agent Henry noted he can spend all of it; whether the Board leaves it at one-hundred thousand dollars or gives him five-hundred thousand dollars. There is the State Highway Block Grant for thirty-eight thousand and last year two-hundred thousand dollars was taken out of the Unreserved Fund balance. Last year Jackson spent three-hundred-seventy-five dollars. Normally this line is between one-hundred-fifty thousand and two-hundred-fifty thousand dollars. Road Agent Henry’s wish list includes shimming the Bartlett end of Dundee for seventy-eight thousand dollars; reclaiming and replacing the culverts that have heaved on the Jackson end of Dundee for thirteen thousand dollars and paving for sixty-five thousand dollars as
well as paving the side roads on Tyrol for sixty thousand dollars. Two-hundred-sixteen thousand will take care of Dundee and Tyrol; he’d like to shim Jackson Ridge for one-hundred-thirty thousand dollars. He’s not saying all this needs to be done in one year but at some point Jackson needs to get these roads into good shape and keep them that way. The proposed figure is one-hundred-fifty-three thousand for Highway Road Maintenance plus the thirty-eight in the Grant. Road Agent Henry reminded the Board there is no longer a backhoe lease; this has reduced the budget by twenty-three thousand dollars.
Selectman Lockard feels this is a lot of money; he’d like to know what Road Agent Henry has to do. Selectman Thompson noted Jackson hasn’t done what has been needed for a number of years. The Board is looking for the biggest bang for the buck. Road Agent Henry noted he doesn’t have to do the Jackson end of Dundee; a few years ago he put together a Capital Improvement Plan to get and keep the road repairs on track. If the Board approves two-hundred-sixteen thousand dollars he could do all of Dundee and Tyrol and then he’d move Jackson Ridge to 2015. Chairman Allen noted the voters could approve taking one-hundred thousand dollars out of the Unreserved Fund which would allow Road Agent Henry to do all he’d like to do for 2014 plus start on
some of the work planned for 2015. Road Agent Henry is okay with leaving the figure at one-hundred-thirty thousand dollars and asking the voters for the extra. The Board would like to stay ahead of the game by generating a warrant article for one-hundred thousand dollars from the Unreserved Fund.
Gas & Diesel is in at a three percent increase and Phones will decrease if the town approves the new phone system.
Road Agent Henry would like to mention that many of the things he uses everyday are increasing regularly; tires, cutting edges, fuel – all are increasing. Special Equipment is the line that tires and cutting edges comes out of; he’s leaving that line at sixteen thousand dollars; last year he spent a lot of money on tires so he shouldn’t have to spend that much this year. Supplies was over last year; he’d like a COL increase of three percent. The Board agreed to an increase of one-thousand dollars for both items.
Contract Hire was way down because a lot of the mowing was able to be done in-house; he’d like to keep a cushion in case there’s a truck issue or if they need to rent an excavator.
The Backhoe Lease is done; that’s twenty-three thousand saved.
Propane will be left at ten-thousand-two-hundred dollars unless Office Administrator Atwell finds out different information from WMOP on the pricing.
Street Lights are down due to the change to LED lights.
Road Agent Henry is adding a line for Maintenance of Town Grounds; this used to be in the Maintenance of Town Buildings but after meeting with Office Administrator Atwell they determined there was no advantage to the way it was being done. It makes sense to split this out and he’d like five-thousand dollars put in this line for care of the grass and pavement at the Library and Town Office building, the Skating Rink and the Memorial areas. Each building will also have its own line for maintenance rather than being in the Maintenance of Town Buildings line so there will be a line for Highway Building Maintenance.
Selectman Thompson asked what the advantage is to this change; Office Administrator Atwell noted the advantage would be that there will be a true number as to what it costs to run each Department. Road Agent Henry noted the disadvantage is he’s got to decide on a cushion for all the “just in case” things that could happen for the Highway Department and the Fire Department. The Police Department has to think about their building and the Selectmen have to think about their building so now instead of having one “just in case” cushion there needs to be padding in every budget. The Board thinks it makes more sense to do a Capital Reserve Fund for the “what-ifs”. The Highway Building Maintenance line doesn’t need to be a lot; the
Board suggests three thousand dollars.
Road Agent Henry is increasing the State Aid – Road Reconstruction line from twenty to thirty thousand dollars. He believe if the State comes up with more money the taxpayers would invest in the state roads. Selectman Lockard noted sixty thousand won’t do much; Road Agent Henry noted currently the town is only doing forty thousand. Selectman Thompson supports the increase; the taxpayers can still agree to kick in the extra ten thousand even if the state doesn’t. The state won’t let Jackson know what it is going to contribute until the middle of the summer because their budget runs July to June.
Highway Truck Capital Reserve Fund – Road Agent Henry noted he plans to purchase a new truck in 2014; the plan is to trade the oldest truck and rotate the GMC into the “spare” position. The new truck would be a small truck so the town would have two large plow trucks and two small ones, rather than the three large and one small it currently has. The grader is used for a lot of work and when there are small storms the town will save money by having the small trucks go out. A new truck with an electric system would be seventy-five thousand dollars while the one with the hydraulic system would be ninety-three thousand. Road Agent Henry thinks the less expensive one would be okay; if they decide the electric system isn’t working they’ll know to go
to the hydraulic system for the next truck. The advantage of the electric one is that it is twenty thousand dollars less; there are some advantages to the hydraulic system. Selectman Lockard wanted to know how much flak there would be if the truck was just purchased rather than going through a warrant article; the other Board members don’t think that would be a good plan; it’s always best to be open and transparent; the fact is that the town made a large purchase twenty-eight out of the last thirty six years. Road Agent Henry noted the 1965 Town Report states that every year and a half the town buys a truck or a piece of equipment. The plan would be to not purchase any equipment next year; there would be a small truck in 2014; another small truck in 2016 and the backhoe replacement in 2020. Jackson used to trade every seven years; he hopes to get ten to twelve years out of the Paystar. Road Agent Henry noted putting twenty-five
to fifty thousand dollars away per year for trucks isn’t going to cut it; the town needs to be putting seventy-five to one-hundred thousand away per year. The truck purchase in 2014 will wipe out the fund and between 2015 and 2020 the town will need to have four-hundred thousand dollars for the purchase of a new truck and maybe a backhoe. Road Agent Henry is asking for fifty-thousand dollars plus the anticipated twenty-five thousand from the sale of the 2005. The Board thinks folks will go along with this as the Department is actually downsizing.
Heavy Highway Equipment Capital Reserve Fund – this Fund was depleted with the grader purchase. The purchase of the backhoe could come out of this fund; the cost is estimated at one-hundred-fifty dollars. Selectman Lockard suggests thirty thousand for this line; that would raise the total in five years. Last year this was fifty thousand dollars with another one-hundred-twenty-five thousand coming from the Unreserved Fund.
The Board agrees to set Line Item 13 at thirty thousand dollars and Line Item 14 at fifty thousand dollars.
Sidewalk Repair wasn’t on the budget last year; Road Agent Henry is asking for eighteen thousand dollars to do the sidewalk on Route 16 from the Wildcat Service Station to the bridge. This will be a repair with two inches of top coat; reconstruction would be four times this amount.
Bridge Repair Fund – this Fund has thirty-one thousand dollars in it; no matter how much the town puts in this, there won’t ever be enough to replace a bridge; that would cost a quarter million dollars. The Wilson Road Bridge repair cost twenty thousand; there are no red-tagged bridges. Selectman Thompson would like to see five thousand for this.
Dry Hydrant Fund – This is for maintenance of the fire ponds, dredging and replacement of dry hydrants; Road Agent Henry anticipates a request to spend money on Whitney’s Pond; some years the town has spent nothing on dry hydrants while others it has spent five or six thousand dollars in one year. Road Agent Henry would like to see ten thousand dollars in this line; that would give him five thousand to spend on Whitney’s Pond and another five thousand to put in a water source up on Tyrol. Right now the Fire Department has to haul water when there is a fire up there. Selectman Thompson would like to know how long it has been since the town has put money towards Whitney’s Pond. Road Agent Henry noted the town spent two thousand dollars on it a couple
of years ago; some years the town has spent five thousand on it. Chairman Allen hopes, after all the recent discussion and issues with Whitney’s Pond, the two property owners will take care of it and not ask the town to contribute. Selectman Lockard thinks the water source for Tyrol would be the thing to do. There is a small piece of town-owned property there that might be used for a tank. The Board would like to put five thousand dollars in this line and have Road Agent Henry conduct a feasibility study for next year.
- Fire Department Budget Fire Chief Henry noted this budget is easy but the Board isn’t going to like the discussion around the Capital Reserve Fund. The document that he has isn’t the same as the one he developed with Office Administrator Atwell; she may have merged a couple different documents; she’ll rework them. The Fire Department went seven thousand dollars over budget; even with the wage increase the figures were below budget until the Nestlenook fire.
Operating expenses have been increased for COLA along with most other lines.
Equipment Repairs is set at ten thousand dollars; the trucks are getting older.
The Fire Department budget will also have a new line for Fire Department Building Maintenance; he’s asking for five thousand in this line; there are five furnaces in the building; the lights are failing and painting needs to be done; the building has some age on it.
Emergency Communications is set for one thousand dollars; last year he didn’t spend any but in 2014 the plan is to purchase a back-up radio, batteries and to leave a bit of a cushion to cover break downs.
Fire Truck Capital Reserve Fund – The town put away fifty thousand dollars last year; if the town plans to buy a truck in 2020 it won’t have the estimated four-hundred-seventy-five thousand dollars needed. The town needs to put a hundred thousand dollars away every year. The Board asked to have an article put together with that amount. The town doesn’t have the luxury of purchasing just any truck; they must be able to get up the hills.
There being no further business, the work session was adjourned at 4:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Martha D. Tobin
Recording Secretary
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