Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 2/17/14
Meeting Opened at: 9am
Select Board Members Present: Muriel Lazzarini, Chairperson, Wayne Burkhart and Scott Jenssen
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Donald Clawson
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. Warrants were signed.
2. Wayne reported on his conversation with BRPC regarding any assistance they may be able to offer in helping us to create a master plan. Something similar is being done in Richmond and they will see what they can come up with for Monterey.
3. Muriel spoke with Maynard and confirmed that the paper compactor is property of the Town and if the issue with it cannot be resolved this will be an expense we were not expecting.
4. The Board continued their discussions on the FY15 budget:
a. Don reported that he had a meeting scheduled with Brendan over the weekend to help finish closing out the FY13 books, but he didn’t show.
b. Don also reported that he confirmed with the state that there isn’t a conflict for someone to assist as the Treasurer and/or Accountant when needed. The Board agreed that Mari and/or Don would be excellent choices and both are willing. If this position is created it will be on an as needed, hourly basis.
c. Stan commented that he feels that if Monterey wants to continue having the efficient services that they do it requires purchasing new equipment, offering cost of living increases and continuing not cutting services. The only ways to pay for these services are by new growth (which is minimal in Monterey) or by raising the taxes. It’s a choice the taxpayers have to make, do they want to run their equipment into the ground or regularly maintain the equipment and replace it when necessary. Muriel felt it was important to provide our employees with the best items we can afford to help them do their jobs efficiently.
d. Bruce Turner and David Hastings of SBRSD will be at the 2/24 Select Board meeting to discuss the proposed budget.
e. Muriel confirmed that the septic loan program was terminated but it was not paid off as we had thought. The Board is suggesting that we pay this off in full at this year’s town meeting from the account that was set up for this program, eliminating the $5,000 payment for the next 6 years.
f. Muriel spoke with Emily regarding the Board’s suggestion to add the $2,000 to her salary and subtract it from the Assistant town Clerk line item and she was fine with that.
g. It was suggested to lower the projected operating expenses for the WMH Community Center as the projected numbers submitted were for a full year and the Board anticipates that if it does open it will most likely only be open for 6 months of FY15.
h. The Board and Fin Comm both feel that adding the BRPC payment (which is required to participate) and the assessment to the Southern Berkshire Elderly Transportation should have their own line items in the budget so that the townspeople are aware that these are recurring charges.
i. Montereyfest: Scott felt that since this is a special interest function that raises their own monies and is run by parties not affiliated with the Town that it shouldn’t get any more money than is allocated for the Memorial Day festivities. He wasn’t interested in spending the taxpayer’s money on a party; he felt that the Memorial Day festivities were different because it is honoring our service men and women.
j. The proposal for raises submitted by the ECAC was discussed. Muriel suggested that instead of the 2% COLA increase that it be 1% as the northeast COLA increase was 1.3%; no decision was made. The recommendation for an additional 2% merit raise can be discussed later.
k. Before any budget numbers can be finalized the FY13 books need to be reconciled and closed. Everyone present discussed how they can make this happen and not allow for any more excuses. The Fin Comm didn’t feel that the current number of hours set in the Accountant’s job description (6) isn’t enough. Discussion ensued on the vast differences in municipal accounting and independent accounting. The Board discussed the possibility of looking into other options for the Accounting office.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 10:40am
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Executive Secretary
via audio recording
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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