Town of Lyme
Budget Committee
April 5th, 2006
7:00PM
Fire Station Training Room
APPROVED: September 13th , 2006
Present at this meeting: Selectmen: Judith Shelnutt Brotman & Richard Jones. Budget Committee Members: Mike Smith, Chairman Barney Brannen, Freda Swan, Dave Caffry, Jeff Lehmann, Josh Kilham, Elizabeth Glenshaw. School Board Representative Kathy McGowan. Staff: Administrative Assistant Carole Bont & Bookkeeper/Selectmen’s Secretary & Scribe Dina Cutting.
The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm by Chair Brannen.
Mr. Brannen introduced and welcomed Elizabeth Glenshaw as the newly elected Budget Committee member. Mr. Brannen introduced and welcomed Kathy McGowan as the School Board representative to the Budget Committee.
1) Mr. Smith moved to nominate Mr. Brannen as Chair of the Budget Committee. Seconded by Mrs. Swan. Voted unanimously in favor.
2) Mrs. Swan moved to approve the minutes of the February 15th, 2006 meeting. Seconded by Mr. Lehmann. The motion was voted 6 in favor with 2 abstentions
(Mr. Lehmann & Mr. Kilham). Motion passed.
3) Review of Town Meeting: Ms. Bont reviewed the Transfer Station & Public Works Capital Reserve Fund money votes. Ms. Bont received legal advice from DRA and Mitchell & Bates (Town Council) and everything that took place at Town Meeting is fine. The total increase from Town Meeting changes is $11,200.00 ($10,000.00 for salt shed and/or Compactor and $1,200.00 for Mr. Balch’s street lights).
4) Discussions and requests for next year’s budget process:
· The Budget Committee discussed the pros and cons of Little Town Meeting. It was felt that a lot of questions were asked and answered at Little Town Meeting and this should continue.
· The Town does not necessarily look at the MS-7, they look to the worksheets. The worksheets should be available at meetings for community members to review and follow along.
· Each year the Budget Committee gets better and better presentations from the School and the Selectmen. The memos are very helpful. The Town really looks at what the Budget Committee recommends, the Town trusts the Budget Committee to be fiscally responsible.
· This year there were some scheduling conflicts that kept some staff members from attending some Budget Committee meetings. For 3 days in November, the staff goes to the Local Government Center’s annual conference in Manchester. The Law Conferences are also a conflict for 3 Wednesday evenings. The Budget Committee is willing to work around these dates for next year’s schedule.
· It is important that department heads get their budget requests in on time. The Budget Committee will try to get the schedule finalized earlier so the department heads have a longer time period to work on budget requests. At the July or August Meeting, the Budget Committee will try to adopt a schedule.
Wednesday August 16th, 2006 will be the date for the next Budget committee meeting at 7:00pm in the Fire Station training room.
5) Issues for discussion for the next Budget cycle:
· New Town Offices-
· Capital Improvement Plan-The Selectmen recommended the Budget Committee appoint a sub-committee to keep the Budget Committee and Selectmen updated on this issue. It was believed that the Budget Committee is responsible for this document and the Planning Board approves it.
· Personnel & Benefits-The Budget Committee discussed having a standing committee for this topic. Followed was a brief discussion on the wage and salary study, the increases to employee hourly wages, getting information from the Local Government Center to look at a Municipal study. It was noted that when significant changes in employee wages are made at the last minute, it is very stressful for all involved. If the Budget Committee has a sub-committee communicating with the Selectmen on this topic, it will keep the Budget Committee better informed.
6) Town Offices Up-date: The Town Offices Committee is looking at a few options. Nothing to report as of right now. The Committee is planning to have something ready for the next town Meeting. The Budget Committee should be kept informed of what is happening concerning this project. It is important for the Town Office Committee to get feedback from the Budget Committee on this project. The Budget Committee is flexible and willing to meet with the Town Office Committee with a 2 week’s notice to hear what the Committee is planning. The Town Offices Committee should check with the Budget Committee around the end of May to see if they would like to meet in June some time.
7) The Town Web page use was reviewed.
8) School:
The School is looking at a possible out-of-district placement for next year. This will be a cost of about $50,000.00. Other than this, the School budget looks to be level and everything else looks solid.
9) Sub-Committees were discussed:
· Capital Improvement Plans & vehicle replacement sub-committee was recommended-Planning, School, Recreation Commission, Budget Committee, Conservation Commission, Welfare and health areas. Volunteers for this committee: Mr. Smith, Mr. Caffry, & Mr. Kilham. Mrs. Swan will bring this up at a Planning Board meeting to get a discussion going concerning responsibility for this plan. Mr. Brannen will research who is responsible for developing this Plan and forming a Sub-Committee.
· Town Offices: No need for a sub-committee. Ms. Bont, Mrs. Swan and Mr. Jones are on this Committee.
· Salary & Compensation: The Selectmen would rather discuss these issues with the whole Budget Committee. The Selectmen will get any necessary information to the Budget Committee at the August meeting. Then the Budget Committee would have enough time to discuss it and ask questions. Mr. Lehmann noted it was difficult to discuss these issues with employees at the Budget Committee meetings and requested the Budget Committee go into non-public session for these discussions. It was explained that it is not the Budget Committee’s job to discuss or evaluate individual employee’s job performances. The Budget Committee is to look at the position only which would
be an appropriate topic.
10) The Budget Committee members all agreed it is important and helpful to meet right after Town Meeting to review Town Meeting.
At 8:10pm Mrs. Shelnutt Brotman moved to adjourn. Seconded by Mr. Lehmann. Voted unanimously in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dina Cutting
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