NOTTINGHAM BUDGET COMMITTEE MINUTES
JANUARY 5, 2006
PUBLIC SESSION
NOT FINAL UNTIL APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE
PRESENT: ABSENT:
Mr. Michael Koester, Chair Ms. Gail Powell (Excused)
Ms. Noreen White-Roy, Vice-Chair Mr. Kurt Duprey (Excused)
Ms. Judy Doughty, School Board Representative Mr. Philip Fernald (Excused)
Mr. Peter Bock, Selectman's Representative
Mr. John Decker
Mr. Chet Batchelder
Ms. Denise Blaha
Mr. Jack Caldon
OTHERS PRESENT:
Mr. Charles Brown, Town Administrator
Mr. Bill Netishen, Board of Selectmen
Ms. Mary Bonser, Board of Selectmen
Ms. Kelly Tivnan, Budget Committee Secretary
The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:00pm and said that the Budget Committee would be meeting with the town Department Heads.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. John Fernald, Highway Department Head
Mr. Brown said that the estimated cost for mosquito control was between $31,000 and $34,000. He said that the Board of Selectmen had not yet decided whether they wanted that question to be added to the warrant articles. He said that the line in the Highway Department budget for uniforms had increased by 5% and he said that coveralls for the mechanic had been added to the line. He said that the line for engineering consulting had been decreased. He said that the line had started at $10,000 and had been cut to $4,900. He said that they needed to do some engineering before they did any construction. Mr. Fernald said that he had increased the salaries by 3.1%. He said that he had 3 full time staff members. He said that he had increased the full time overtime line by 3.1% for a total of $16,207.27. He said that he had given extra time to his full time staff and had not used the part time staff except for in the winter. Mr. Koester asked if the salary included benefits. Mr.
Fernald said no. Mr. Koester asked why the salary line was $2,300 above budget the previous year. Mr. Fernald said that he did not know. He said that the budget for part time help was $25,018 and he said that was up by 3.1%. He said that instead of part time guys he was having his full time guys do things like mowing and vegetation control. He said that they rented a mower. He said that for 1 day of tree work it cost $1,000. He said that he had asked for $2,000 in case they needed outside help. He said that he had not increased the amounts in the Highway Department budget lines but he said that the prices of everything they bought had increased because of the higher fuel prices. He said that the line for equipment and parts had stayed the same. He said that his line for hired equipment and construction had been used to offset other costs. He said that in the future they would need to hire a tree company to do more
removal of trees. Ms. Blaha asked how many trees the Highway Department took down annually. Mr. Fernald said that they took down approximately 40. Mr. Blaha asked what happened to the trees. Mr. Fernald said that they either gave it to the landowner or they disposed of it. Mr. Decker asked if the town could leverage the utilities to take down trees. Mr. Fernald said that would take a long time. He said that utilities would only come and take down trees in an emergency. He said that his line for equipment maintenance was close to what it had been the previous year. He said that they had spent $9,632.34 on supplies the previous year and they had $7,000 in the budget for supplies. He said that the loader was all paid for. He said that there was $2,000 in the budget for signs. He said that he was asking for $20,000 in the sand and gravel budget. He said that he had held back spending in that line the previous
year in order to attempt to balance the budget. He said that the amount he had budgeted for salt would cover an increase in costs for 1,000 tons. He said that he had put in for a bigger increase the previous year. Mr. Batchelder asked if liquid melting would be feasible for use in Nottingham. Mr. Fernald said that he thought that would be expensive. He said that his budget for workshops was the same and his budget for uniforms was up. He noted that Mr. Brown had already explained that increase. He said that diesel fuel had taken a big jump. Mr. Brown said that to calculate the amount he had estimated 19,000 gallons of fuel at $2.35 per gallon. He said that the town paid $.15 over rack for fuel. He said that Mr. Fernald had worked hard to keep his fuel budget down but it was impossible. Mr. Fernald talked about the phone bill and the consulting fees. He said that they were having a piece of land that the town
owned surveyed. He said that they were trying to get rid of water in the road. He said that water and drainage problems would become more and more serious in the future. He said that they had spent $566 on drug testing and they had budgeted $550. Mr. Brown said that they needed to add $60-$90 for a test they had not been billed for yet. He said that they did not close their books until the end of January because they still had outstanding invoices. Mr. Caldon noted that the Highway Department had spent more money than they had budgeted for 2 years in a row. He also noted that the Highway Department did good quality work. Mr. Brown said that the town had been nailed the previous year on culverts. He said that those were a moving target. Mr. Koester asked if they were consistently under budgeting the department. Mr. Fernald said that the budgets for maintenance were probably off. Mr. Caldon asked if they were not
replacing things when they should and acquiring extra expenses. Mr. Fernald said that his department really used their equipment. Mr. Caldon asked if their schedule of planned replacement worked to save them money. Mr. Fernald said that he thought their time frames for replacement were pretty good. He said that they would have repairs no matter what because their equipment was exposed to all weather and lots of wear and tear. Mr. Caldon said that it sounded like the Highway Department was at the mercy of their equipment, fuel costs, the cost of salt and other factors. Ms. Roy asked if the mechanic took a health insurance buyout. Mr. Brown said that the town did not have any buy outs. He said that the state wanted them to close 2 bridges. He said that the town would get an 80% reimbursement for the bridge on Freeman Hall Road but he said that the funding would not be available until 2009. He said that the bridge on
Deerfield Road was not in the state revolving fund system and they would need to apply to get some funding help with that bridge. Ms. Roy asked if the town could apply for emergency relief. Mr. Brown said that he was in the process of looking into that. He said that he was waiting for information. He said that he was looking into requesting that they be able to get the money for the Freeman Hall Road bridge sooner. Ms. Roy asked if they should be looking at an additional warrant article. Mr. Brown said that it was possible. Ms. Roy asked if doing work on the bridges would require the town to spend more in their line for engineering costs. Mr. Brown said maybe. He said that he was still looking into this. Mr. Bock asked if it were possible that the town would get stuck with all the costs of repairing the bridge on Deerfield Road. Mr. Brown said that it was possible. Mr. Fernald said that the line for shim and
seal coating had been increased by 15%. He said that the cost of the hot top was up by $5. He said that he wanted to use the same amount of coating as the previous year, approximately 5,000 tons. He said that he wanted to do work on Freeman Hall Road, Garland Road and the Community Center parking lot. He said that he wanted to do surfacing on Gile Road, South Summer Street, Church Street and Case Road. He said that the money would be used for hot top to patch holes. Mr, Decker asked how many miles. Mr. Fernald said that he used about 700 tons per mile. Mr. Brown noted that Swan Lane had problems and he said that the town would need an engineer to look at it.
POLICE DEPARTMENT:
OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Phil English, Nottingham Police Chief
The Budget Committee started discussing the police budget at 8:05pm.
Mr. English said that in the overtime line he had budgeted $15,000 and he had spent $21,000. He said that the court date schedule had been changed for 2006. He said that would cost his department more money. He said that there had been a reduction in the number of days per month that the court was open. He said that the number of juvenile cases was up but the new place where his officers needed to go for juvenile cases was closer. Mr. Brown explained the salary line. He said that it included the accrued vacation and sick leave benefits of the police chief in case he should decide to retire. Mr. Batchelder said that those benefits should be included consistently with each department budget. Mr. English said that there was an issue with fuel. He said that he was budgeting $12,500 because he
expected to use 5000 gallons of fuel and he was estimating an average price of $2.50 a gallon. He noted that the town did not have to pay taxes on fuel. He said that conferences and training were now in different lines and he said that the lines for uniforms and equipment had decreased. He said that the department had gotten two portable radios from the state at no cost. He said that they paid for their prosecution services and that worked out well. He said that the cost might go up. Mr. Brown said that Mr. English had requested an SUV in the cruiser line. He said that the Board of Selectmen had not supported putting the SUV in the cruiser line but they had agreed to put it on the warrant. He said that they had created a capital reserve fund the previous year and they would use that money to maintain their regular cruiser replacement schedule. Mr. English said that he had researched the vehicle and the cost was $23,100. He
said that was the least expensive 4 wheel drive vehicle and it was a 6 cylinder. He said that the vehicle would be a tool that would help the community. He said that this would be an 8 year vehicle and it would help the Police Department respond better to the changing face of the community. He said that it would be used to reach some places in bad weather and he said that it would not be a vehicle that was in daily use. He said that the siren and lights for the vehicle would be supplied by UNH Project 54. He said that this would be a specialized vehicle and he said that the department had not added to their fleet of vehicles since 1992. He said that this vehicle would belong to the people and he said that this was something the Police Department needed to serve the people better. Mr. Bock said that there had been several factors involved in the decision of the Board of Selectmen. He said that the Board of Selectmen had been concerned
about the expenditure and the Board of Selectmen had thought that the community should get involved with this decision and say how they felt about it. Mr. Caldon asked if this SUV would be an additional police vehicle. Mr. English said yes. Mr. Caldon asked why the department was not considering a V8 vehicle. Mr. English said that the fleet manager had recommended that they get a 6 cylinder vehicle. Mr. Caldon said that he was concerned about fuel costs. He said that the percentage increase in fuel costs for the Highway Department was higher than the percentage increase in fuel costs for the Police Department. Mr. Decker said that the percentage increase in fuel for the Highway Department was budgeted at 35% and the percentage increase in fuel for the Police Department was budgeted at 28%. Mr. Caldon said that he was not sure he liked that the Police Department wanted to build capacity. He said that he would prefer it if the
department wanted to get rid of 1 cruiser and use the SUV as a replacement for that vehicle. Mr. English said that the SUV would not be functional as a patrol vehicle. Ms. Blaha asked if the Police Department had trouble getting to some residences with their current fleet. Mr. English said yes. Mr. Koester asked if the Police Department was on schedule with their cruiser replacements. Mr. English said yes.
FIRE DEPARTMENT:
OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Jay Starr, Nottingham Fire Chief
Ms. Heidi Carlson, Nottingham Deputy Fire Chief
At 8:35pm the Budget Committee started discussion of the Fire Department budget.
Ms. Carlson said that the Fire Department had 2 full time staff members and they had budgeted for a 3.1% increase for both of them. She said that they had budgeted the same amount for the overtime line as they had the previous year. She said that the Fire Department had handled 550 calls the previous year. She said that the majority of them were medical aid calls. She said that was a big increase in calls. She said that the line for part time help covered getting someone when a member of their full time staff was going to a training course or on vacation. She said that the maintenance line was going to be used to maintain the department's new air pack system. She said that the budget line for the stipend was the same as the previous year. She said that the amount was $25,000 and the stipend was
awarded based on points that were received when firefighters went to training and calls. She said that the stipend money was paid at the end of the year. She said that the stipend helped with retention of their volunteers but she said that they were getting fewer volunteers. She said that the stipend for the Fire Chief was budgeted at the same amount as the previous year. She said that they were encouraging their volunteers to get compensated for their mileage. She said that there was a line in the budget which covered dispatch. She said that there might be a reduction in that line but she doubted it. She said that the line for postage had gone up because of the increase in the cost of stamps. She said that the line for medical supplies was up because they needed to buy equipment they could not get back after they used it to take someone to the hospital. She said that they had a line for breathing apparatus. She said that
the department had used grant money to replace all of their airpacks. She said that they would not need to replace any of their airpacks for 3-4 years so they would not need to restart their replacement cycle for a few years. She said that they were trying to have the full time guys get training to do some of their equipment maintenance so that it could be done in house. She said that the line for publications included magazines and other information helpful to the Fire Department. She said that they had 3 people who were looking into taking medical training classes and 2 people who were looking into taking firefighter training classes. She said that the department usually bought pants and jackets for their new volunteers after they decided they would stay a while. She said that the members of the department needed to get Hepatitis B shots. She said that there was a person on the force certified to do that which saved the department a lot
of money. She said that if no one had been certified to give the shots than the firefighters would all need to go to their private physician for the shots. She said that the department would purchase 5 uniforms but they would only purchase 2 sets of Class A's. She said that Class A's were dress uniforms that were usually only used for funerals. She said that the department would buy those uniforms for their full time staff. She said that the amount budgeted for the copier might need to be increased. She said that the department was looking into buying a projector. She said that they had budgeted an increased amount for gasoline. She said that their ambulance and their trucks all used diesel fuel. She said that the budgeted figure for gasoline was based on actual usage from the previous year. Mr. Caldon asked if they were budgeting enough for department fuel. Ms. Roy said that she was very concerned that they were not
budgeting enough for fuel for the Fire Department. She said that the department was getting more calls and they needed to travel more places. Ms. Carlson said that they had budgeted the same amount as the previous year for vehicle maintenance. She said that they had a lease on their tanker. She said that as far as radios they had wanted 10 but they had gotten 6. She said that they needed to keep their radios up to date. She said that the cost for the telephone had increased because the phone in the ambulance needed to be repaired. She said that they were getting Comcast Internet to the Fire Department because they had gotten a computer through a grant. Mr. Koester suggested that the town look into wireless internet. Mr. Brown said that he was concerned about security issues. Ms. Carlson said that the Fire Department needed a forest fire pump. Mr. Bock said that they could get compensation from the state. Ms.
Carlson said that sometimes the state would give a 50% grant for that purpose. She also said that they had not budgeted for the Homeland Security Grant because it didn't make sense to budget for that if they would never see revenue from it.
Mr. Tom Sweeney said that he was the Chair of the Building Committee. He said that they were looking at building a new firehouse. He said that they were looking at an 800,000 square foot building. He said that the building plan would have the building be 80 by 100 square feet with an 80 by 80 square foot bay and a 20 by 80 square foot office. He said that the number was based on contractor estimates. He said that it would be a steel building. He said that the Building Committee was trying to get a specific bid. He said that they had done a soil search on 152 and they had found a piece of school property that would work well for a new fire station. He said that the school had agreed to sell the town 3 acres that could be used for the project. He said that the town would buy them for $1. He said that the cost of the fire station would only include the building. He said that the leach field and other extras would be paid for from the capital reserve fund. Mr. Batchelder
noted that there had previously been a warrant article asking the town for the money to buy land for a new fire station. He asked if that land had been bought. Mr. Sweeney said no. Mr. Caldon said that the warrant article needed to be more specific. Mr. Brown said that it was a rough draft. Mr. Batchelder asked if the Building Committee would have an artists sketch of the proposed new fire station to show the voters. Mr. Sweeney said that he would do something but he would not have anything elaborate.
RECREATION DEPARTMENT:
OTHERS PRESENT: Ms. Janet Horvath, Recreation Director
The Budget Committee started discussing the Recreation Department budget at 9:25pm.
Ms. Horvath said that the salaries had been increased by 3.1%. She said that the salaries had also been adjusted for the number of hours and the number of weeks. She said that the number of hours for the employees had been increasing. She said that the office assistant was only a summer position and that salary had stayed the same. She said that the salary for the team coordinator came out of the Recreation Revolving Fund. She said that there were only 2 year round employees for the department. She said that they had hired a lifeguard for the first time in a few years. She said that they would like to have more lifeguards. She said that the salary for the Water Safety Instructor would be the same and the salary for the Aide would be the same. She said that for Beach Arts and Crafts they
paid $10 per hour for 40 hours a week. She said that she had budgeted the same amount for postage as the previous year. She said that she had combined the line for dues and conferences with the line for training. She said that she wanted to spend $300 on dues and conferences and $700 on training. She said that the whole summer staff had done a high ropes course. She said that the course had resulted in staff bonding and it was good money spent. She said that she had a line for supplies and maintenance and she said that she expected to spend the same for the copier as she had in the previous year. She said that the budget for toilet rentals would increase because she had used the most accurate figures when she did the budget. She said that the department had bought lifeguard and swim equipment and they needed money to test that equipment a couple of times per year. She said that she needed to replace the gate lock and the keys. She said that every summer there was a
certain amount of vandalism. She said that the shed needed to be repaired. She said that she would like to do more programs for senior citizens. She said that she would like to bring in more speakers and do more trips. She said that she had increased the budget for those programs because she hoped to add a few more of the programs. She said that she needed $500 for the Valentine Dessert Potluck. She said that the puppet show had been moved into the Recreation Revolving Fund. She said that the Fishing Derby would cost $450 and the Halloween and Christmas parties would cost $400. She said that for the summer music concerts she anticipated that 2 of the bands would be cheap or free. She said that they wanted to change the schedule of the concerts so that there would be 1 in June, 2 in July and 2 in August. She said that it was a great series and she would like it to have better attendance. She said that advertising
should cost about $300 and office supplies should cost about $650. She said that as far as office equipment the Recreation Department needed a computer and software. She said that mileage and gas costs had gotten astronomical. She said that she and her assistant were putting more and more work related miles on their personal cars. She said that they were going to start getting some mileage reimbursement. She said that she estimated the cost of the telephone at $811. She said that she had budgeted $850 for the phone. She said that the department had gotten rid of their cell phone. She said that most employees had personal cell phones they could use in emergencies and she would rather buy a phone card and have someone call her from a payphone if there were any overnight trips. Mr. Batchelder asked about the balance in Recreation Revolving Fund. Ms. Horvath said that it was approximately $65,000. She said that most of
the programs which had made some money or lots of money were a part of that fund. Mr. Batchelder said that the fund was going in the right direction. Ms. Horvath said that the department was also expanding their sports program. She said that they had a soccer and a flag football program and she was amazed how many kids had been interested. She said that the Recreation Department got a grant from DCYF of Rockingham County which was used to give scholarships to needy children who might not otherwise get to be a part of the department programs.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN COMMITTEE:
The Budget Committee began discussion of the Capital Improvement Plan document at 9:55pm.
Ms. Bonser gave the Budget Committee copies of the document and she said that pages 9 and 10 were the most significant pages. She said that those pages listed the capital requests for all the departments and the years the department heads had requested them for. She said that those pages also listed the recommendations from the Capital Improvement Plan Committee. She said that the Capital Improvement Plan Committee voted on recommending or not recommending the items for 2006. Mr. Decker said that the recommendations had been ranked and prioritized. Ms. Bonser explained that this document was about the total capital investment for the community broken down into years. She said that the amounts were estimates. She said that the Capital Improvement Plan Committee had completed their work and then the
Fernald family had come to the town with an easement opportunity. She said that the Fernald family was offering 2036 acres of their property for easement. She said that the easement would cost $1,700,000 but she said that the portion for Nottingham would only be 50% or $850,000. She said that this was a fabulous opportunity for the town and there was potential that they might lose the chance if they did not do this as soon as possible. Mr. Netishen said that the Board of Selectmen would discuss whether they wanted to recommend this article to the Budget Committee. He noted that the Budget Committee would be meeting about the town budget on January 19, 2006. Mr. Decker said that the Capital Improvement Plan Committee had left everything that was requested in their document whether their committee had recommended it or not. Mr. Netishen said that this Capital Improvement Plan was a road map that the community had not had before. He said
that the Capital Improvement Plan Committee deserved accolades. He said that it needed to be clear that the Capital Improvement Plan document was not tied to the budget. Mr. Batchelder said that the Capital Improvement Plan was an excellent document. Ms. Bonser said that the Capital Improvement Plan Committee had gone around and around in their discussion of capital reserve funds. She said that they seemed to be spending capital reserve funds as fast as they put money into them. Mr. Netishen said that was a flaw in the structure of capital reserves. Mr. Koester asked what the Capital Improvement Plan Committee envisioned for the parcel of land in the future. Ms. Bonser said that pedestrian access would be guaranteed. She said that the land could also be used for some types of recreation by residents. She said that anyone who wanted to use a motorized recreational vehicle on the land needed to ask permission from the Fernald
family.
OTHER BUDGET DISCUSSION:
Mr. Caldon asked about the total impact from the operating budget and the warrant articles. Mr. Brown said that the operating budget had increased by 4% and with the warrant articles the impact would be more than that. Ms. Bonser said that the question of mosquito control should go before the public. Mr. Brown said that the proposed budget for solid waste showed a decrease over the previous year and the proposed budget for legal expenses showed an increase over the previous year. He said that the budget for personnel administration would go down because of a decrease in insurance costs. He said that he felt the requests from the Conservation Commission were reasonable. He said that the proposed budget for buildings should be a decrease from the previous year. He said that the town was behind on their
infrastructure but they were making progress. He said that the estimated cost to tear down the Police Department building was $6,500.
Mr. Caldon made a motion to move on from this discussion. Ms. Roy seconded the motion. All present members of the Budget Committee voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed 8-0.
MINUTES:
Mr. Batchelder made a motion to approve the minutes from the Budget Committee meeting of August 4, 2005. Ms. Roy seconded the motion. Mr. Batchelder, Ms. Roy, Mr. Koester, Mr. Decker, Ms. Blaha, Mr. Bock and Ms. Doughty voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Caldon abstained from the motion. The motion passed 7-0 with 1 abstention.
Mr. Batchelder made a motion to approve the minutes from the Budget Committee meeting of December 15, 2005. Ms. Roy seconded the motion. Mr. Batchelder, Ms. Roy, Mr. Koester, Ms. Blaha, Mr. Bock, Ms. Doughty and Mr. Caldon voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Decker abstained from the motion. The motion passed 7-0 with 1 abstention.
OTHER:
Mr. Batchelder reminded the Budget Committee that they were meeting to discuss the school budget on Tuesday January 10, 2006 at 7:00pm in Conference Room #2. Mr. Koester said that he had told Mr. Rafter and Ms. McGann about the meeting and they did plan to attend.
Mr. Caldon said that he wanted to see the tax impacts.
Mr. Koester noted that the Budget Committee had two more opportunities to discuss the town budget.
Mr. Decker made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:40pm. Ms. Roy seconded the motion. The present members of the Budget Committee voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed 8-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Kelly Tivnan
Budget Committee Secretary
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