Town of Lyme
Budget Committee
Lyme Center Academy Building
November 9TH, 2005
7:00pm
APPROVED: DECEMBER 7TH, 2005
Present at this meeting; Selectman Judith Shelnutt Lee Brotman. Budget Committee Members: Chairman Barney Brannen, Mike Smith, Jeff Lehmann, Josh Kilham, Freda Swan, Wayne Tullar, Dave Caffry, Manning Rountree. School Board representative: Laszlo Bardos. Planning & Zoning Administrator: Victoria Davis. Police Chief: Pauline Field. Fast Squad President: Kevin Peterson. Fire Chief: Michael Hinsley. Energy Committee member: Claudia Kern. Transfer Station Committee members: Stephen Maddock, Marya Klee, & Simon Carr. Librarian: Betsy Eaton. Library Trustee: Margot Maddock. Administrative Assistant: Carole Bont, Bookkeeper / Selectmen’s Secretary & Scribe: Dina Cutting.
The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm by Chair Brannen.
1) Mr. Caffry moved to approve the minutes of the November 9th, 2005 meeting. Seconded by Mr. Lehmann. Corrections were offered. The minutes were voted unanimously with corrections noted.
2) Mr. Brannen informed all that this meeting was for the Budget Committee to listen to the Department Heads and their requests. The Selectmen will be coming to the Budget Committee with their recommendations at the following meeting. The Department Heads will have the opportunity to come back to the Budget Committee to discuss their requests further if necessary. Tonight the Budget Committee is here to listen. Do not assume that the Budget Committee is approving anything at this meeting. They will be asking questions and listening to the Department Heads.
3) Mrs. Brotman explained that Mr. Jones put together the spread sheets. He put in what he thought people were asking for. If there is a mistake please let Dina, Carole, Judy, or Dick know right away.
4) FIRE DEPARTMENT: Chief Hinsley feels the Fire Department and Fast Squad are in good shape. Mr. Hinsley reported on the status of Lyme’s present ISO rating as well as the federal and private moneys the Fire Department has received this past year. Chief Hinsley reviewed the Fire Department increases in the 2006 budget request. Chief Hinsley commented that 2005 was the year of the Fire Station. The training room and the fire Station as a whole look great. Chief Hinsley referred to the handout for the replacement schedule of the fire trucks. The Fire Department will be submitting an application for another grant for a new fire truck this year. The Fast Squad
equipment truck is in need of replacement. It has been towed twice, the brakes have failed and it is completely overloaded. The Fire Department & Fast Squad have been working on this issue for three years. A new truck to serve this purpose will cost $133,000.00 fully out-fitted. Mr. Hinsley reviewed the capital reserve funds and the replacement schedule.
5) POLICE DEPARTMENT: Chief Field reviewed various lines within the Police Department’s budget. Wages & benefits are still being negotiated between the Chief and the Selectmen. Chief Field noted that most of the accounts within the police budget went up in line with the increase in inflation. The changes in technology for the lap top computer have not happed yet. They are still testing this technology in Hanover and have been unable to get it to work. Chief Field will be requesting the carryover of these funds. Chief Field believes the Ford Explorer can be utilized for another year. It is in good shape and can wait to be replaced until 2007.
6) CEMETERY: Mr. Hinsley reviewed the Perpetual Care amounts. The Town has received a gift of $30,000.00 from Mrs. Wise. The Cemetery Commission would like to use this to create a cremation garden in one of the cemeteries.
7) PLANNING & ZONING: Ms. Davis reviewed the Planning & Zoning budget requests. The attitude survey needs to be done in the coming year. This is connected to the Master Plan, which has not been up-dated since 1985. The cost of mapping and writing the master plan was discussed. Ms. Davis reviewed the fee schedule for building permits and noted this has been increased in the 2005 budget year.
8) ENERGY COMMITTEE: Mrs. Kern reviewed what the Energy Committee has been doing for the past year. If the Town grants this budget request the money will enable this Committee to perform an energy study on various town buildings and make recommendations to the Selectmen about how to improve use and conserve energy in various town buildings.
9) TRANSFER STATION: Mr. Maddock reviewed the requested budget for the Transfer Station. The Committee is requesting that the Transfer Station be open twice per week and that a compactor be purchased with monies in the capital expense fund. Mr. Maddock reviewed the following items: insurance requirements for safety issues, the permitting process, the old garage being torn down, and electrical expenses for the compactor. The revenues were reviewed by Mr. Maddock. The Committee will have spread sheets to present at town meeting to show the expense and revenues of this new adventure.
10) LIBRARY: Mrs. Eaton reported the Library Trustees are requesting $124,952.00 for the budget year 2006. Mrs. Eaton noted that the big ticket items include salaries & benefits, and maintenance of the building. The outside lighting has been a problem in the past year. The Library is looking at a costly expense in the next year. They need to fix a leak in the front entrance foundation. The water is leaking down into the art room in the basement of the library. The Budget Committee asked how much money the Trustees had in the various trust accounts. Mrs. Eaton will find this information and get back to the Budget Committee at a later date.
11) ADMINISATRATIVE ASSISTANT: Ms. Bont informed the Budget Committee that the Selectmen had voted to change her benefits package significantly. The Selectmen are encouraging employees to take over time in the form of comp-time and not over time pay. Ms. Bont informed the Budget Committee that the most noticeable increase within the budget is her pay line. Ms. Bont reviewed various changes in the requirements of the State of New Hampshire and the ramifications of those changes. These requirements have made it impossible to get the work done in the allotted amount of time. Overtime requests have been included in this budget request. The following issues were reviewed by
Ms. Bont: Planning board changes, assessing clerk changes, increase in hourly wages (COLA +1%), increase in meetings and seminars budget line, legal fees increase, and the need for air quality testing in the town offices. There is a mold problem in the town offices and it needs to be addressed further. The Library-school cross walk, curb cut and handicapped accessibility was also reported on.
12) PUBLIC LAND ACQUISITION: Ms. Bont and Mrs. Swan gave a brief review of what the Town Offices Building Committee had been doing. The Committee did not want to put in an amount as of this date. They did not want the land owners they are dealing with to think this was the amount they would be offering for the land. This account has $107,000.00 in it right now and this would be a drop in the bucket for what is needed. Mr. Brannen asked if the Town Offices Committee would consider giving the Budget Committee a report on its needs. Ms. Bont will check into this request.
13) Mr. Brannen thanked all Committees and Department Heads for coming. The next Budget Committee meeting will be Wednesday December 7, 2005 at 7:00 pm at the FIRE DEPARTMENT TRAINING ROOM.
At 9:20 Mr. Bardos moved to adjourn. Seconded by Mr. Smith. Motion voted unanimously in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Dina Cutting
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