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Finance Committee Meeting Minutes
December 12, 2012
9 – 9:50am
Present: Dan Moriarity, Michael Storch, Stanley Ross, Chief Backhaus and Maynard Forbes
The Finance Committee requested a meeting with the Police Chief to discuss his budget, equipment replacement needs and the following:
- Replacing the 4WD cruiser which is a 2002 and has over 190k miles on it. An engine and a transmission have been replaced in this SUV (3 years ago). The vehicle no longer has any active warranties and it needs some considerable work such as brakes, brake lines, etc. The vehicle is used a lot but not as much as it could be as the department is trying to extend the use of it. This year Ford has come out with a utility cruiser which is designed specifically for police use and allows for less gas usage when idling. The estimated cost for the cruiser is $42,000 which includes all the necessary equipment (radar, lights, cage, etc.) which cannot be transferred from the current SUV as they are too old.
- The sedan (2011) has 47k miles on it and past experience has dictated that you will get around 100k miles out of it. It’s currently on the capital expense sheet to be replaced in FY15 but could potentially be pushed to FY16 if the SUV is replaced in FY14 and the driving time is split but this would have to be addressed closer to FY15 budget preparations.
- The Chief plans to survey surrounding towns that have full time Sergeants to compare salaries and will report his findings to the Employee Compensation Advisory Committee which will be making their recommendations to the Finance Committee and Select Board.
- The Finance Committee did not have any issues with these requests.
The Finance Committee then met with Maynard Forbes to discuss the following:
- Maynard has reviewed the Select Board and Finance Committee minutes and stated that there has been some misinformation with regards to upgrading the transfer station. It has been stated recently that there isn’t a mandate when in fact there is a mandate by the EPA (federal). They EPA may never show up to enforce the mandate but if they do Maynard stated that the fine is around $66,000/day. Monterey is registered with the federal government as a polluter.
- Replacement of the grader: Maynard provided actual quotes and the highest was $282,000 down from the estimated $375,000 with an estimated $20,000 trade in value for the old grader. In reading the Select Board minutes it was stated there that based on a recommendation from Ray Tryon that a smaller grader should be looked at for various reasons. Maynard stated that a smaller machine could not plow snow and would be capable of grading driveways not the roads which it is needed for. The machine being requested is what fits the needs of the Highway Department and the proper research has been done in recommending this model. The Committee should take into consideration that $11k was spent on repairs last year and that the machine is 23 years old and isn’t going to get any better. The Finance Committee
suggested paying for a portion of it with stabilization funds and financing the rest for a period of 5 years.
- Maynard would like to increase the highway capital to $75,000 and there will be an increase in the budget for rising fuel costs.
The minutes from November 8th were approved as written.
Submitted by,
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary
Via audio recording
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