Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 4/27/15
Meeting Opened at: 4:15pm
Select Board Members Present: Wayne Burkhart, Chairperson, Scott Jenssen and Kenn Basler
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: David Irland for the Monterey News and Barbara Gauthier
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. Mail was reviewed which included:
a. Response from the Department of the Army informing us that our dam repair project does not qualify under the Section 14 program.
2. Administrative Assistant’s weekly report was reviewed.
3. Police Chief’s report was reviewed.
4. Warrants were signed.
5. A contract with Foresight Engineering was signed which covers the additional engineering services needed for the RT 23 project..
6. Shawn has informed the Board that he will be using some or all of the pothole money we are getting to purchase a pavement roller.
7. It was discussed that a temporary title should be given to Barbara Gauthier with regards to the assistance she is providing to the financial offices as well as the Board. A motion was made that she be appointed as the Municipal Financial Consultant to the Select Board. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
The Board reviewed the following with regards to the warrant articles for the upcoming meetings on Saturday:
1. A hold will need to be placed on line 114 Moderator, line 296 Tree Warden and line 610 Library Wages. These will all need to have a 2% increase added to them as has been given to all the other employees.
2. The Board made sure they understood that the reason that the truck needs to be voted on again because the vote done in February was not done by secret ballot nor was it 2/3 which are both required.
3. The purpose of a reserve fund was reviewed.
4. Articles 7, 13 & 15 – these need to be a 2/3 vote because money is either going into or coming out of a stabilization fund.
5. Line 147 should read Tax Collector Software instead of computer as this pays the licensing fees for the tax collector software.
6. Line 153 – Monica or Larry should help explain this recurring fee.
7. Line 175 Planning Board expenses; they requested this increase to cover further education and consultant fees
8. Line 197 Computer Software and Supplies covers the replacement of software and computers every year for 1/3 of the offices in town hall.
9. Line 301 – is not a salaried position, it is a reimbursement for expenses and that is why a 2% increase is not included
10. Line 310 has increased due to a larger enrollment this coming year
11. Line 422 Highway Maintenance is for the upkeep and maintenance of our roads.
12. Line 422 Director of Operations – This position did get a 2% increase; the previous salary of $71,629 was for Maynard.
13. Line 422 Hwy 3 was level funded because this person has resigned and a new person will be hire.
14. Line 427 Machinery and Tools covers repair of machines, blades, etc.
15. Line 429 Highway Capital covers anything we build or improve with regards to the roads.
16. Line 430 Dam Inspection has gone up because an inspection was made by DEP who has issued the town an enforcement order which requires hiring an outside contractor to clear all of the overgrown brush.
17. Line 543 covers heating assistance and direct payments to veterans and their widows.
18. Line 911 Berkshire County Retirement, this covers our share of administrative and benefits
19. Line 914 Health Insurance – We still have the same number of employees on the plan (7) however the demographics of the employees on the plan have changed from couples to families. Currently there are 5 employees at a 90/10 split and 2 employees at 80/20. Our rate only increased by 3.6% whereas the surrounding towns saw increases to their premiums of 14%.
20. Kenn will take responsibility for explaining and answering any questions with regards to Article 4 at town meeting. It was agreed that if this is approved the loan would be for 10 years.
21. Article 8 – this audit is for one fiscal year and it is not mandated.
22. Article 9 – this money will cover repair of the floors.
23. Overlay surplus: Overlay is created by the Assessors when the recap is done to cover abatements and exemptions. Any leftover funds become surplus and we put it into the reserve fund.
24. There was discussion about the $1,000 requested by the Veteran’s Committee, Barbara and the DOR have both stated that you can not “build” funds, if the $1,000 isn’t used this year it will go back to free cash, you cannot add additional monies to the special article after the fact.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 6:14pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
Town Clerk
Documents received at this meeting:
1. DeptofArmyletter
These are attached to the hard copy of the minutes located at town hall.
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