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Town of Lyme
Budget Committee
November 1st, 2006
7:00PM
Fire Station Training Room
Approved: November 8th, 2006
Present at this meeting: Selectmen: Judith Shelnutt Brotman & Richard Jones. Budget Committee Members: Mike Smith, Freda Swan, Jeff Lehmann, Dave Caffry, Josh Kilham, Elizabeth Glenshaw, Gibb Cornwell. School Board Representative Kathy McGowan. Department Representatives: Treasurer Andrea Colgan, Fast Squad President Kevin Peterson, Energy Committee Co-Chair Carola Lea, Transfer Station Committee Chair Peter Bleyler, Transfer Station Committee member Steve Maddock, Fire Chief Michael Hinsley, Librarian Betsy Eaton, Library Trustees Judy Russell & Tish Smith. Staff: Administrative Assistant Carole Bont & Bookkeeper/Scribe Dina Cutting.
1) Minutes of the September 13th, 2006 Budget Committee: # 3 bullet 2, change 1 to 2 out-of-district students. Mrs. Shelnutt Brotman moved to approve the minutes of the September 13th, 2006 Budget Committee meeting with correction noted. Seconded by Mrs. Swan. Voted unanimously in favor.
2) Mr. Smith will be chairing the meeting tonight in the absence of Mr. Branenn. He is out of town.
3) Tonight’s meeting is to collect information only. There will be no debating issues. Departments are to present their budgets and answer any questions the Budget Committee may have. There are no wages or benefits in many of the department requests. The insurance figures were not available from the Insurance Company. The Selectmen have not voted on a % increase for the employees wages as of tonight’s meeting. Hopefully these figures will be ready at the following Budget Committee meeting on November 8th, 2006. We will be hearing from the emergency departments first.
4) Fire Department: Chief Hinsley reviewed the Fire Department’s requested budget. The increase is roughly $3,000.00 due to the higher costs of electricity and fuel oil. The use of the training room has increased dramatically because Committees and other groups are regularly using this room. The Fire Department is in good shape for equipment right now.
5) Fast Squad: Chief Hinsley and Kevin Peterson reviewed the problems with the equipment truck. The Fast Squad was due to replace the truck this year. They are requesting a GMC chassis which is back ordered until May 2007. The cost for this chassis has increased about $10,000.00 and the body price has gone up $6,000.00-$10,000.00. Because of all these factors, the purchase of this truck will be moved to the 2007 budget year. Engine #3 will not pass inspection. This truck is due to be replaced in 2009, they do not know if it will make it that long. The town is looking at a lot of big projects this coming year and the Fire Department will be okay with 2
trucks. Questions were asked concerning this year’s budget costs and why some lines were so under spent. Chief Hinsley explained that the Fire Department has quite a few purchases left to make and he believes they will be very close to what they budgeted. The payroll has not been paid this year at all. There is a problem with the gas slips from the fuel at the Highway garage. The firemen have a hard time remembering to fill out the gas slips at the highway garage. The firemen are going to work with Mrs. Cutting to come up with a solution to this problem. Chief Hinsley assured the Budget Committee that the Fire Department would not just run out and spend money to meet the bottom line of this year’s budget.
6) Transfer Station: This year’s accruals are less than the Transfer Station Committee had anticipated. The reason is due to a couple of factors, there is a big bill owed to the town and sales of the bags and cards are lower than anticipated. In 2007, the Transfer Station Committee would like to see the Transfer Station open 1 more day per week. The 2007 budget request includes this position. The haul charges will be less with the new compactor. There will be more tonnage to haul away and fewer hauls. The new position the Transfer Station Committee has requested is a supervisor position. The Town needs someone to be responsible for tracking the
financials. If this is done diligently, there is no reason why this program can’t break even. The following list covers the duties that the Transfer Station Committee for this position:
a. Work at the transfer station. 6 hours per week. 14 hours saved for other duties
b. Attend monthly meetings with NRRA
c. Monitor employees on Sundays
d. Be available to accommodate large drop offs during closed times. It is better for the Transfer Station traffic to get large deliveries when it is closed.
e. Oversee the budget.
f. Keep up with numerous changes in the State-mandated rules and regulations.
The budget was calculated with this employee receiving $12.00 per hour. The present senior worker lives far away and in not available during week days to perform these tasks. There will be no capital expense requested this year for the Transfer Station.
7) Energy Committee: Carola Lea requested $300.00 for the Energy Committee. She is hoping that the Committee members will attend conferences in the coming year. Ms. Lea informed the Budget Committee on the Energy Committees role. The Committee has not spent all the money in this year’s budget but Ms. Lea is hoping more will take the opportunity to do so.
8) Treasurer: To the shock of the Budget Committee, Andrea Colgan requested a cut in pay. Mrs. Colgan explained that the financial department has gone through a significant change in the duty assignments. To improve efficiency and accountability, the bookkeeper has taken on more of the posting and other record keeping work that the past Treasurer performed. Mrs. Colgan tracked her hours in the past year and calculated these at $15.00 per hour and $4,000.00 was the figure she came up with. Mrs. Colgan emphasized that since the same volume of work needs to be done, the bookkeeper deserves recognition, both financially and verbally, for the extra work she has taken
on so willingly.
9) Beach: Mrs. Cutting reviewed her budget request. The significant changes are due to repairs to the fencing on the Route 10 side of the ball field. This is for material only; volunteers will do the work. The lifeguard rescue board needs to be replaced. There is $1,800.00 in this budget to put in a “beaver deceiver” if needed. This is a device that will help maintain the water level. The Conservation Commission is overseeing the installation of one of these devices this year and it may be necessary to have another. The water level, beavers, and the condition of the beach was discussed. Mrs. Cutting explained that sand could not be replenished for 3
more years according to State regulations. Mrs. Cutting has discussed the situation at Post Pond with many different people and State departments. Until the water level is controlled, there is no sense in putting sand and/or fill to level the beach area. This will only make it muddier. The ball field was briefly discussed. Mrs. Cutting has discussed the raising of the field with professionals and they feel the best solution is to get the water level under control and then discuss the options of raising the field. This project will be an expensive one.
10) Conservation Commission: The budget request for the Conservation Commission includes $500.00 to be used towards the maintenance of the water level at the pond. This will go towards a new gauge that is more reliable. Money for trail work is part of this budget request. Lower Grant Brook has an erosion problem. The Conservation Commission will be organizing a group to fix this using tree tops. This was done to Trout brook when the bank near the ball field started to erode. This has been very successful at that location.
11) Capital Improvement Program: Mr. Smith reviewed his handouts and his memo (see attachments). Followed was a lengthy discussion concerning the timeline for this project, which departments are responsible for these documents, and finding someone who is willing to follow through on this project. The Community Attitude survey has had a very successful return rate. Mr. Smith recommended the CIP Committee be formed with a vote at Town meeting. In the meantime, the Planning Board should form an ad hoc group (which Mr. Smith offered to be part of) to follow the hand out and gather information so it is ready to go. The possibility of a staff person to help coordinate all
that needs to be done was mentioned. There were concerns voiced that this was pushing things too hard. Mrs. Swan would like to discuss this with the Planning Board before the Budget Committee makes any decisions on this matter. The Budget Committee is to read the handouts, Mrs. Swan and Mr. Smith will get together and talk about this and make a recommendation to the Budget Committee at a future meeting.
12) Library: Ms. Russell reviewed the Library budget requests. The Trustees are requesting a 5% wage increase for the Library staff. The Library, in conjunction with the Energy Committee, is having an energy efficiency survey of the lights and fixtures in the Library building. Followed was a lengthy discussion concerning the new temporary position for the school to use as a Library media staff member. This is a school position. The Library is paying for half of this position and the School is paying the other half. This temporary position will not impact this year’s budget. The School Board is working with the Library Trustees to figure out how the
students can get the best library services. The School Board is planning to have a plan in place before they present their budget to the Budget Committee. The School Board and Library Trustees are looking at numerous scenarios and this is not ready to come to the Budget Committee at this time. There was a brief overview of how this happened. The demands on the Library to serve the town and the students have increased considerably. The needs of the students are not being met. School demands, new technology; these things are not being provided. As far back as 1990, this subject has been the topic of discussion. It is time to move past the discussion stage and solve this problem. Ms. Eaton was asked to describe her role and responsibilities as the Librarian. After a wonderful and thorough description of her various responsibilities, many of which are not Librarian jobs…..mostly building maintenance and repairs, Ms. Eaton noted she has an ethical problem with the fact that
she can not do her job correctly, professionally, efficiently and effectively with all the other responsibilities. The students are not getting everything they need. Ms. Eaton is willing to help with the solution but can not professionally, emotionally and physically do the job that is being asked of her. The financial history of the School and Library reimbursements were discussed briefly. Mrs. McGowan asked if the students did not use the Librarian’s services would the Town still expect some sort of financial reimbursement from the school? The Budget Committee said they would welcome and consider any new scenario the School and Library works out. This will be part of the School budget presentation at a future Budget Committee meeting.
13) Next week Ms. Bont, Police Department and Town Offices Committee will be presenting their budget requests.
With no other Departments present at 8:45pm Mrs. Shelnutt Brotman moved to adjourn. Seconded by Mr. Kilham. Motion voted unanimously in favor.
Reminder: Next meeting November 8th, 2006 @ 7:00pm Fire Station Training Room.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dina Cutting
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