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Town of Lyme
Budget Committee
November 8th, 2006
7:00PM
Fire Station Training Room
Approved: December 6th, 2006
Present at this meeting: Selectmen: Judith Shelnutt Brotman & Richard Jones. Budget Committee Members: Barney Brannen, Mike Smith, Jeff Lehmann, Dave Caffry, Josh Kilham, Elizabeth Glenshaw & Wayne Tuller. School Board Representative Kathy McGowan. Department Representatives: Road Agent Fred Stearns III, Town Office Committee members Tish Smith, Michael Woodard and Frank Bowles. Staff: Administrative Assistant Carole Bont & Bookkeeper/Scribe Dina Cutting.
The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by Chair Brannen.
1) Minutes of the November 1st, 2006 Budget Committee: Mr. Caffry moved to approve the minutes of the November 1st, 2006 Budget Committee meeting. Seconded by Mr. Kilham. Voted unanimously in favor. Mr. Brannen abstained.
2) Mr. Brannen reviewed the agenda for this meeting. The Department heads present will speak to their budget requests. The Town Offices Committee will present a review of where the Committee is as of today.
3) Highway: Mr. Stearns reviewed various lines of the proposed Highway budget. Payroll and benefits: A full-time highway worker has recently been hired. The highway department has gone from 4 full-time employees, 1 part-time position to 5 full-time, 1 part-time position. The department request for employees is 5 ½ workers. The Selectmen have not made any decision as of this date on the part-time worker funds. The wage increase requested is 4%. Insurance costs have increased 13.3% this year. Mr. Stearns answered questions pertaining to where sand and salt was purchased and the rising costs for these products. The Selectmen will be reporting on Shoe Strap Road
at a later meeting.
4) Town Offices Committee: Mr. Woodard reviewed where the Committee is as of today. Tuckaway Timber is the sight of choice for the Town Offices and Police Station. Mr. Woodard went through the various details of the Tuckaway Timber sight. Mr. Woodard reviewed all the other options and sights the Committee had investigated throughout the last year. These sights include the Upper Valley Land Trust; on Route 10 north, the Nichols building on the Common, and the Lyme Timber building on the Common. There were pros and cons to all sights. The Committee decided that Tuckaway Timber meets the needs of the Town the best. The Committee is in the process of negotiating with
the owners of this property. Followed was a discussion concerning a completed feasibility study, the size of this land & proposed building. The Committee is not at a point where they can give any concrete information on the purchase of this property. There has been enough work done to know that where ever this new building ends up, the project will cost $1.7-$1.9 million dollars. Any agreement reached with the landowners will be contingent on the approval of the Select Board, Budget Committee and Town Meeting. A discussion concerning funding for this project took place. It was the sense of all at this meeting that this will need to be supported publicly by all in order for this to pass at Town Meeting. The plans were reviewed by Mr. Woodward and Mr. Bowles. Followed was a lengthy discussion concerning having enough space to store state-mandated town documents forever, having heated space for the police cruisers because they have equipment stored in them that will not work
if it is below a specific temperature, and having a professional filing company come in to reorganize the Town’s files and create a new filing system that will save space. This filing system can be purchased in sections so the Town can purchase more as needed. Mr. Lehmann suggested using the Lyme Center Academy Building for Town Office storage space. The need for big public meeting space for Committees to meet was discussed. The Library space that will be available when the Town Offices move out is an option. It was noted that the Town has the Fire Station training room, the Lyme Center Academy Building, the cafeteria, and the gymnasium for town meeting spaces. The discussion turned to how easy the Tuckaway Timber building would be to retrofit for this project. The building is well-built and the Committee is evaluating energy efficient windows, insulation, heating systems, etc. The time frame for this project was discussed next. Mr. Woodard said the Committee is
planning on having a proposal ready for Town Meeting in March. Mr. Woodard feels that the Selectmen, Budget Committee, Town employees will all need to go out in the community and create support this project. The Committee will be going to talk to the Lyme Foundation concerning possible help with the funding of this project. Mr. Woodard felt the Committee could come back to the Budget Committee with a firm plan in 3-4 weeks. The Budget Committee would like the Town Offices Committee to have contingent plans ready in case money needs to be cut from the project. The Town Offices Committee will come to the December 13th, 2006 Budget Committee meeting with a plan and numbers for this project. The Budget Committee thanked the Town Offices Committee for all their hard work.
5) Administrative Assistant Carole Bont: Ms. Bont reviewed the increase in the Bookkeeper’s wages. The Treasurer discussed this position at the last meeting. Along with her recommendation, this position has a 4% wage increase and a request for overtime pay. Comp-time is earned but because of the demands of this job, it is difficult to use the time earned. Ms. Bont reviewed the Assessing Assistant’s wage increase. This job has mushroomed. The Town Office is moving in the direction of improved technology. This position is responsible for many different aspects of outreach in the community. The web page, assessing, voter check list are just a few of the
requirements of this position. The wage for this position is low compared to other assessing assistants in the State. This position has a 4% wage increase and 100 over-time hours requested. We are hoping to get all the property cards on the web site in the coming year. Because of the technology used, continuing education is needed to keep these programs running correctly. The Budget Committee requested Ms. Bont have a written informational description of how this job has changed over the past few years. Ms. Bont noted there are jobs that volunteers used to perform for the Town but they no longer do. The request for increased tax assessment information from community members was discussed. Elections & Registrations is requesting a lap top computer, postage for certified letters and other supplies required for the State’s new program for voter checklist requirements. This is an unfunded mandate. The State is offering free training for this new program. Ms. Bont
reviewed the present legal issues the Town is looking at over the next year. The Town is involved in a suit with New Hampshire Electric Utilities. This is a continuing issue between the town and the electric company.
6) An updated handout for the Lyme Center Academy Building Committee was passed out. Mrs. Cutting noted that the budget lines on the spread sheet from tonight’s meeting need to be corrected. The Selectmen voted to have the request for the Parking lot, $11,040.00 be voted by warrant article instead of in the regular budget.
7) No other Departments were present to review their budget requests. Mr. Brannen reminded all that the Budget Committee’s next meeting will be on
December 6th, 2006.
8) At 8:45pm, Mrs. Shelnutt Brotman moved to adjourn. Seconded by Mr. Kilham. Voted unanimously in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dina Cutting
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