Town of Lyme
Budget Committee
January 24th, 2007
7:00PM
Fire Station Training Room
Approved: January 31st, 2007
Public Hearing
Present at this meeting: Selectmen: Richard Jones. Budget Committee Members: Chairman Barney Brannen, Josh Kilham, Mike Smith, Elizabeth Glenshaw, Jeff Lehman, Gibb Cornwell, Freda Swan & Dave Caffry. School Board Representative: Kathy McGowan. Community Members: Earl Strout, Barbara Roby, David Roby, Julia Elder, Daniel Bailey, James Jenks, & Lee Larson. Staff: Administrative Assistant Carole Bont & Bookkeeper/Scribe Dina Cutting.
The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by Chair Brannen.
1) Mrs. Swan moved to approve the minutes of the January 17th, 2007 meeting. Seconded by Mr. Smith. Corrections were offered. The minutes were approved unanimously in favor.
2) Mr. Brannen reviewed the schedule for this evening’s Public Hearing.
· Review of warrant articles from the School Board
· School budget
· Town budget
School:
3) The School Board has not voted on the warrant articles as of this date. They will be reviewing and voting on them at the January 25th, 2007 School Board meeting. Mrs. McGowan reviewed the articles with the Budget Committee. The operating budget number is $4,380,899.00. Article # 6 is included in this figure. Article # 5: up to $50,000.00 to be placed in the High School Tuition Fund. The final figure will be funded from the year-end undesignated fund balance available on July 1, 2007. Followed was a discussion concerning the amount and concerns over the wording of this article. Mrs. McGowan reviewed the same article in last year’s town
report and the wording is the same. The $50,000.00 figure is a guess as to what Mr. Schnare feels the school could expect to have as a surplus and they do not expect to have more than this amount. There are no phantom students built into this budget request. The Administration does not expect a larger surplus from this budget.
4) Community members questions:
Followed were questions concerning the Library/media position and where the school found the money for this year’s cost. Mrs. McGowan responded that the money had come from various places with in the school’s budget. Comments were made regarding spending this extra money instead of putting it into one of the Trust Funds. It was noted that departments have the authority to shift money from line to line within the budget. Followed was a brief discussion concerning the Library/media position starting as a temporary position and now after a lot of debate about this position, it seems like this position is being treated as a permanent one. Concerns were expressed that the community really needs to have the opportunity to debate this program change. It was suggested that the School and
Library hold a public forum on these program changes. The timing of this change has been hard for all; this was something that the Library brought to the School and Budget Committee at the last minute. Again, it was noted that with the Town Offices building project coming up, this is not the year for added expenses. People are struggling to pay their taxes already. Mr. Stout commented that this kind of program change is different than changing money from one line to another. It could be opening Pandora’s Box which could result in big changes in personnel and benefits down the road. This change in program will be very expensive and we really do not know how much more the kids will get out of this program change.
· Mr. Brannen explained that the Budget Committee has really grappled with this issue. The Budget Committee is very frustrated and asking the question “how did we get here?”. The Budget Committee is frustrated with what they feel was a lack of communication from the School & Library concerning this issue. The School and the Library have come forward with a unified plan and the Budget Committee still has concerns. How are we going to make it clear to the town what the implications of this plan are down the road? The Budget Committee discussed the various options of having the Library Budget as a separate warrant article. Coming up with a
town-wide mailing on this subject was discussed. It was noted that we need to make sure that someone from the Library Trustees is present at Town Meeting to explain this issue in depth to the community members.
Mr. Larson stated his taxes went up 12% in the past year. This increase is in the school and town taxes, not the state or county. He suggested the Budget Committee have a narrative explaining the increases for this year. With the School taxes up 8%, the town up 4-4.5% and not even including the Bond, this is a large increase. Community members will not be able to afford these kinds of increases.
· Mr. Smith commented that the Budget Committee’s job is to keep the taxes level. 2 years ago the tax increase was 0% and then the next year it was a 12% increase. He feels this was a mistake and the Budget Committee should not have allowed this to happen.
· Mr. Lehman stated he felt the Budget Committee was blindsided by the Library program changes. This situation has not been handled well by the Library Trustees and the way the Budget Committee can handle this issue is to vote down the budget.
· Mrs. McGowan noted the School does explain their requested budget changes in the School Board’s report within the Town Report. Mrs. McGowan commented they had received a lot of ideas from the last discussion concerning the Library/school program changes. The Library said they would not supply services with their librarian; the school had no choice. The school has to follow state and federal regulations regarding library programs for the school children.
Followed was a discussion concerning the Librarian’s unwillingness to supply Library services to the school. A community member asked if anyone had suggested to the Library Trustees that it may be time to find a Librarian who will supply the services the town and school require? Mrs. McGowan commented the Library Trustees feel changing the program is the best way to handle this issue. It was noted at this time that the Budget Committee does not have the authority to make decisions on personnel issues. Followed was a brief discussion concerning making the Library budget a separate warrant article so the issue can be discussed. If it is left in the regular budget, it is more likely to get passed without community members being aware of this change. The Library funding of the new program will not come
into play for the budgeting purpose until the 2008 budget. Again, the discussion of the certification of the media specialist was brought up. The present librarian will serve as the school media specialist until 2009, and then she will not be getting re-certified. The discussion followed the same lines of the previous meeting: money issues, certification issues, who will be certified from the school, the costs involved in this certification, and the long range costs of this program change. How to get this information out to the public was discussed. The budget was discussed and it was noted that the bottom line for the library budget is what is important to the Budget Committee. The bottom line is binding for the Library. It was noted and discussed that in order to vote the Library in a separate warrant article the school would need to have a separate warrant article also. The fact that this is not an increase this year is deceiving to the public. There will be a significant
increase in the coming years. It was noted that the town may not realize this at Town Meeting unless the Budget Committee brings it to everyone’s attention.
The formula the Budget Committee used in the past was discussed. Mr. Strout stated he felt this should be done again. When the Budget Committee used it in the past, they were usually very close to the expected % increase in taxes.
Mr. McIntyre stated he had deep concerns with the school acting as the Library. He feels Library programs need to be run by librarians.
· Again, the Budget Committee discussed the option of having separate warrant articles for the school and the Library and the logistics in trying to do this. It was decided that the Budget Committee would need a legal and DRA decision as to whether this kind of procedure is okay to proceed with. The Budget Committee discussed the option of doing this and if it is not legal the State will kill the warrant article.
Community members noted it was appropriate for the town to know what and why this change took place in the Library programming. Concerns were expressed by some of the community members present that the Librarian is deciding what her responsibilities are
· Again, the Budget Committee discussed different options that could happen if the Budget Committee decided to go with separate warrant articles for the School/ Library program.
· Mr. Brannen noted this discussion should be based on services and not on the individual. The Budget Committee does not have the authority to direct the School Board to create a separate warrant article. The Budget Committee could vote to take the money out of the school budget
· Ms. Bont stated that Ms. Eaton has been working 1 and ½ jobs for years now. She stressed that the Town could not keep asking her to continue doing this.
Concerns were expressed from the community about not many people coming to the School District meeting. This is not the place to discuss the School/Library program change. The Budget Committee discussed the option of waiting to have a final vote on the Town budget and school budget until the next Public Hearing. If there are significant changes it will require another Public Hearing.
· Mr. Lehman moved account 4550 Library to change from $122,739.00 to $110,000.00. Seconded by Mrs. Swan. Mr. Lehman explained that he arrived at this figure by taking last year’s budget, ($131,552.00) and subtracting the Blisters for Books money, ($5,000.00) then subtracting $20,800.00 from that figure. He then added 3.5 % for inflation and rounded to $110,000.00.
Mr. Lehman stated the Budget Committee needed to show the Library Trustees the consequences of the situation they created. The Library Trustees and their budget will have to live with these consequences. The media specialist is not included in this budget amount.
Blisters for Books funds were clarified. It will be a separate Trust Fund from now on. Comments and concerns were expressed that this program change will eventually lead to having a library in the school. It was noted that Mr. Valence had made it clear that the school was still going to use the Library and have programs at the Library. A lengthy discussion on the message this budget change will be sending to the Library Trustees was discussed. The Budget Committee does not want to philosophically support this change in programs. The Budget Committee is voting the amount of money the Library will receive from this year’s town budget. Mr. Cornwell was concerned with how the Budget Committee is changing their position and the Library’s budget has been decreased by the amount moved. Mr. Lehman
explained his motion and reasons why he feels this is a fair budget proposal for the Library. This needs to be a statement from the Budget Committee. This motion is the simplest way and it will start a discussion at Town Meeting.
· The motion was voted 4 in favor (Mr. Lehman, Mr. Kilham, Mrs. Swan, and Mr. Cornwell) 3 opposed (Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, and Mrs. Glenshaw) 2 abstentions (Mr. Caffry and Mrs. McGowan).
Selectmen notes:
Mr. Jones noted the following requests from the Selectmen.
A) Need to move the Selectmen’s recommended budget
B) Some revenues need to be adjusted
C) Transfer station increase by $10,000.00. It was noted the Budget Committee voted on this change at the last meeting.
D) Selectmen have recommended Library budget numbers to match the revised Library total of $122,739.00.
E) Add in account 4903: Town Building Major Maintenance & Repair Fund for $15,000.00. The Town is looking at some possible expenses for air quality issues in the Town Offices and Fire/Police Station buildings. There will be $15,000.00+ in the Fund.
F) Would the Budget Committee support the Selectmen’s new recommended changes to be reflected in the spreadsheet? The sense of the Budget Committee was this is fine. At one point years ago, the Selectmen’s budget always changed to be the same as the Budget Committees. This would not allow the public to see the different recommendations from the Budget Committee and the Selectmen. Mrs. Cutting will change the spreadsheets to reflect the changes noted at tonight’s meeting Budget Committee.
Mr. Jones noted the Budget Committee will need to vote a few other money warrant articles. There are various petitioned articles this year.
Mrs. Glenshaw again expressed that she feels a narrative would be beneficial for the community explaining budget items that the Budget Committee grappled with.
· Mrs. Glenshaw moved the Budget Committee provide a narrative with the proposed Budget Committee budget that provides an explanation on the School/Library issue. Seconded by Mrs. Swan. Followed was a discussion concerning a 3-person committee to be selected by the Chairman write the report. Various Budget Committee members expressed concern with the Budget Committee highlighting just one issue. There were plenty of other important issues worthy of discussion in this proposed budget. Mrs. Glenshaw withdrew her motion. Seconded by Mrs. Swan.
· Mrs. Glenshaw moved the Budget Committee provide a summary highlighting the areas that are changing. There was no second to this motion.
Mr. Larson stated it was irresponsible for the Budget Committee not to do what Mrs. Glenshaw is requesting. It is as simple as highlighting the different areas the Budget Committee spent time discussing. Followed was a brief discussion on the past practices of the Budget Committee and that they have never done this before. Who will write this report and how will it be approved by the whole Budget Committee? It was the sense of the Committee that Chairman Brannen would be the lucky one to write this.
· Mrs. Swan moved to have the Budget Committee depart from past practice and include a report of the highlights of this year’s proposed budget. Seconded by Mr. Jones. Motion voted 7 in favor (Mr. Caffry, Mrs. McGowan, Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, Mr. Cornwell, Mrs. Swan, Mrs. Glenshaw) 2 opposed (Mr. Lehmenn & Mr. Kilham).
5) Public Comments on the Town budget:
a. In the spreadsheet, it states that the Police Department has a vehicle and an SUV. The Police vehicle line was reviewed. Mr. Strout noted he remembered that the Police Department would only have 1 vehicle. Mr. Jenks agreed with Mr. Strout’s statement. The Budget Committee requested Mrs. Cutting take out the SUV line so that there is a general vehicle line.
b. Mr. Jenks spoke against the CRF Vehicle fund expense for a 10-wheeler truck for the Highway Department. Mr. Jones noted that the Selectmen are supporting the department head’s recommendation of the 10-wheeler. He did not have the specs with him so he could not answer specific questions regarding this vehicle. He did note that this truck has a 14-foot plow compared to a 12-foot plow on the 6-wheeler and no wing plow. The idea behind this is to have this truck go on the long routes. This will cut down on the number of trips the highway employees need to make. Followed was a discussion concerning the need for such a large truck in a town with roads like Lyme’s. Mr. Bailey and Mr. Jenks noted that they felt the town would not be gaining anything
with this 10-wheeler truck. The Town will not be able to use this truck on roads like Grafton Turnpike and Reservoir Road, which are the long routes. Capacity-wise, the Town will not save enough on hauling sand to pay for the increase in expense of the truck. Mr. Bailey stated Lyme is comparing equipment with the Town of Hanover. The 10-wheeler will plow River Road and then the Highway Department will still have to use a 6-wheeler to wing back what the 10-wheeler plows. Mr. Jenks and Mr. Bailey both feel the 10-wheeler truck is not a good option for the Town of Lyme.
· The Budget Committee asked Mrs. Cutting to talk to Mr. Stearns and ask him to come to the next meeting to answer any questions the Budget Committee may have before they vote on the budget.
c. Mr. Roby asked the Budget Committee to consider having the Transfer Station budget a separate warrant article. This would give the Town the opportunity to discuss the issue and not have it buried in the budget. Mr. Brannen reminded Mr. Roby that he has the option of making an amendment from the floor at town meeting.
d. Clarification on line 40 was requested. Mr. Brannen reviewed line 40 of the requested budget. These funds are for a laptop and training for the Supervisors of the Checklist. This is another unfunded mandate from the State……..
6) Mr. Brannen reviewed next week’s meeting schedule.
· The 2nd Public Hearing is posted for next week after the Selectmen’s Public Hearing on the Bond.
· The Selectmen’s Public Hearing on the Bond - 7:00PM Wednesday January 31st, 2007 in the school cafeteria.
It was decided that the Budget Committee decided will meet at 6:30PM on Wednesday January 31st, 2007 at the school to discuss the CRF vehicle issue and get information from Fred Stearns, Road Agent. The Budget Committee will need to vote on the Town Budget after the Public Hearing on the Bond.
7) At this time, the Budget Committee decided to vote on the school’s requested budget.
· Mrs. McGowan moved to approve the school budget at $4,380,899.00. Seconded by Mrs. Glenshaw. This is no change from the last total voted. The motion was voted unanimously in favor.
The school warrant articles will be voted by the School Board at Thursday night’s School Board meeting and the Budget Committee will address these at the February 13th, 2007 meeting along with the Town money warrant articles.
· At 9:50, Mr. Jones moved to recess and reconvene on Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 at 6:30PM. Seconded by Mrs. Swan. Voted unanimously in favor.
REMINDERS:
Wednesday 6:30PM at the Lyme School.
Wednesday 7:00PM Selectmen’s Public Hearing on the Town Office Building Committee Bond.
Left to do: Vote on the Town Budget
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