Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 3/23/09
Meeting Opened at: 4:00pm
Select Board Members Present: Wayne Burkhart, Chairperson, Scott Jenssen and Jon Sylbert
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Sue Protheroe for the Monterey News, Rodney Palmer (Boat Ramp Committee), Linda Thorpe (Assistant Town Clerk), Daniel Moriarity and Maryellen Brown (Finance Committee members), Janet Cathcart (Employee Compensation Committee member) and Barbara Gauthier (Town Accountant)
The board met with Inter-Departmental Secretary, Melissa Noe to review the following items:
1. Weekly report was reviewed.
The board met with Town Accountant, Barbara Gauthier to review the following items:
1. Warrants were signed.
2. Salt Shed: there is money outstanding on her balance sheet which was for the design and plans of the salt shed. Barbara wants to have a special town meeting prior to the annual town meeting to transfer $14,770.00 from free cash which was spent last year. A motion was made to hold a special town meeting at 9am on the same day as the annual town meeting to deal with any over costs or overruns incurred this year. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
3. B. Gauthier asked the Board to consider purchasing a plaque for Barbara Swann to recognize her service to the Town as Town Clerk.
Daniel Moriarity and Maryellen Brown, members of the Finance Committee met with the Board to discuss the following:
Also present: Janet Cathcart, Linda Thorpe and Barbara Gauthier
1. FY2010 budget:
a. The Board asked Linda Thorpe to come in to further discuss the proposed changes the Finance Committee and Select Board had recommended be made to the Clerk’s Office budget. L. Thorpe suggested leaving line #165 at $0.00 and let the Town discuss keeping or eliminating it at Town Meeting. Regarding the Board of Registrar’s Clerk (line #164), Linda stated that someone will need to be trained to do this job if it’s not her. She stated it’s not a once a year job, the work is being done in the registrar’s office, clerk’s office or assistant town clerk’s office all year round. L. Thorpe felt that the original requested amount of $7,867 should remain or at least $5,000 of it. It was confirmed that the way the Board of
Registrar’s Clerk is currently paid is monthly, salaried but it could be an hourly position. The Board and Finance Committee confirmed that they lowered line# 164 “expenses” to $750 because it was unknown how much is actually needed. B. Gauthier mentioned that if more money was needed for expenses (#164) that office could use line #161 “expenses” for any overages as that account usually has money leftover. Linda recommended that line #164 be changed back to “Board of Registrar’s Clerk” instead of the proposed change of “Street Listing/Census” and she will then hire one of the current Board of Registrar’s to fill this position. The Board and Finance Committee agreed to take all of the suggestions into consideration when making their decision.
b. A memo from the Employee Compensation Committee regarding the proposed change to the Health Insurance premiums was read. Janet emphasized that this proposed change would result in a substantial increase in employee co-payments (according to a proposal received from the Town Treasurer): $15 more per office visit and $50 more for an emergency room visit compared to the current co-payments. The Committee and employees are concerned that these proposed increases in co-pays would substantially offset or negate the 3% COLA they are to receive.
Janet stated that since the recommendations for the compensation packages for full time employees had already been made for the 2010 budget, such a change could not be properly evaluated against possible trade-offs in the whole compensation package an employee receives. The Employee Compensation Committee felt that it has been their goal to establish a reliable process where the whole package of cash compensation and benefits can be reviewed for Monterey employees compared with their peers in nearby towns doing the same or similar jobs with different salary and benefit packages. The Committee suggested that proposed changes to any aspect of the package should be evaluated in the context of the whole package. If each part of the package is evaluated or compared in isolation, it is
difficult to establish parity overall.
The Committee strongly recommended that further changes in any part of the compensation package be held until next year’s review process and that the Select Board consider the recommendations for employee salary and benefits as a whole package. D. Moriarity stated that he believes that no other town offers a 90/10 split to their employees and he feels that Monterey’s benefits package is very good. J. Cathcart agreed that the health insurance split is better than surrounding towns but the other benefits that make up a benefits package are not and that’s why you need to look at benefits as a whole package and not individually. J. Sylbert and D. Moriarity suggested printing off a cost of benefits per employee; in addition to salary it would include what their sick, health
insurance, taxes paid, etc amount to. W. Burkhart stated that the Board and Finance Committee need to decide what is best for the employees as well as what is best for the taxpayers.
c. Town Clerk office budget: It was agreed that a town of this size did not need an assistant town clerk and that line #165 “Assistant Town Clerk” and “Assistant Town Clerk Expenses” should be eliminated from the budget. It was agreed that the town could save another $1,000+/- by requiring the Town Clerk’s office to eliminate the additional phone line (a Centrex line that currently allows the phone to ring at the town hall or be forwarded to the current Town Clerk’s home) and additional DSL line routed directly to the Clerk’s office. It was noted that there is already a DSL account for the Town which all other Town Departments are on and a phone system that allows people to call in and get their messages. The Finance Committee noted
that if something is “state mandated” then the state has to pay for it.
d. Line #164 (was previously called “Board of Registrar’s Clerk” and is now “Street List/Census”): Everyone agreed that the duties of the Board of Registrar’s Clerk should be done by the Town Clerk and that the current Town Clerk Salary (line #161 “Town Clerk Elected”) covered handling these duties. This shouldn’t be a separate position. The Board and Committee reviewed the surrounding towns, their populations and the hours worked and salary paid to their town clerks. Based on this information it was concluded that Monterey’s town clerk is paid considerably more than the surrounding towns and is smaller population wise. Reasonable budgets for the work being done in this department need to be created. The
Finance Committee stated that the Town Clerk can be paid out of the Election line item for hours worked at the polls previously paid from the salary formerly under the Board of Registrar’s Clerk. It was questioned whether the Town Clerk duties are different based on a town’s size; the duties are not, the time required would be more for larger cities or towns. Line# 164 “Street List/Census” was left at $2,000 and #164 “Street List/Census Expenses” was left at $750.
e. B. Gauthier dropped line item #132 to $10,000 and is putting the $20,000 as a special article to be transferred from overlay surplus.
f. Town Clerk Expenses, line #161 was lowered to $3,650 since the additional phone line going to the Town Clerk’s home and extra DSL line at the town hall will not be needed. A memo will be sent to the Town Clerk’s office regarding this.
g. D. Moriarity questioned why the town doesn’t bring in a person to write grants. B. Gauthier stated that each department writes their own. D. Moriarity would like to see a committee or person that searches for grants available to towns.
h. Salt and sand; B. Gauthier spoke to M. Forbes this morning who confirmed that his department is going to be receiving federal money for the ice damage Monterey incurred. There will also be state money that we will receive. B. Gauthier thought we should only raise this line by $50,000 at the most this year instead of by $100,000. Jon felt that the $100,000 was more realistic and would encourage discussion on the town meeting floor to limit the amount of salt used in town in the future. Right now these costs are high because the Town has a “black road” policy. The other option is to use free cash for the deficit at the special town meeting at 9am and then more would need to be added to the stabilization fund. It was unanimously agreed to level fund
this line item and ask for the excess spent at the 9am special town meeting.
i. The entire highway budget was further reviewed and it was recommended to level fund line #423 “supplies and fuel”, “winter overtime”, line # 425 “tree removal” and line #429 “highway capital”. A memo will be sent to M. Forbes regarding these changes and the reason behind them.
j. The $4,000 increase in the transfer station (line #433) was questioned. The Board is going to have M. Forbes request a bid from Eco-Waste for our transfer station and the transfer station line item will be level funded.
k. The police expenses line item was reviewed. The Finance Committee felt his request was justified. M. Brown asked if the Police Department was receiving any of the alcohol and drug grant money. B. Gauthier will check with Chief Backhaus.
l. The Finance Committee and Board reviewed the Employee Compensation Committee’s recommendations further and decided that no changes will be made to the health insurance copays this year but the comprehensive benefits package will be reviewed next year. A memo will be sent to all the employees currently on the health insurance, the Employee Compensation Committee and the Treasurer advising them of this decision.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. The minutes from 3.16.09 were approved as written.
2. The Board reviewed their mail which included:
a. A denial from the state to fund the Lake Buel Watershed Assessment project. W. Burkhart will inquire with D. Moriarity about this.
b. Brian Puntin’s resignation from the Planning Board, Agricultural Commission and Boat Ramp Committee effective the day before town meeting.
3. Rodney Palmer, Boat Ramp Committee member came in to update the Board on his conversations with Smitty Pignatelli regarding grants and monies available for a public boat ramp on Lake Garfield. The Board reviewed the LAND grant FAQ’s. The Board discussed the possibility of moving the beach over to Brewer Pond and cleaning that up as a more economical option than buying a piece of land. With this option the boat ramp could then stay where it is. M. Noe was asked to email S. Aronson and P. Rodriguez to find out their availability to meet with the rest of the Public Boat Ramp Committee.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 7:30pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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