NOTTINGHAM BUDGET COMMITTEE MINUTES
JANUARY 24, 2008
PUBLIC SESSION
APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE 4/24/2008
PRESENT: ABSENT:
Mr. John Decker, Chair Mr. Scott Curry (Excused)
Mr. Michael Koester Mr. Philip Fernald (Excused)
Mr. Kyle Barry Mr. Kurt Duprey (Excused)
Mr. Chet Batchelder
Ms. Charlene Andersen
Ms. Gail Powell
Ms. Mary Bonser, BOS Representative
Mr. Terry Bonser, School Board Representative
OTHERS PRESENT:
Mr. Bill Netishen, Board of Selectmen
Mr. Peter Bock, Board of Selectmen
Mr. Charles Brown, Town Administrator
Ms. Kelly Tivnan, Budget Committee Secretary
The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.
The Budget Committee members introduced themselves for the benefit of the television audience.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Mr. Batchelder made a motion to approve the Budget Committee minutes of January 10, 2008 as amended. Ms. Andersen seconded the motion. Mr. Koester, Mr. Barry, Mr. Batchelder, Ms. Andersen, Ms. Powell and Ms. Bonser voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Decker and Mr. Bonser abstained from the motion. The motion passed 6-0 with two abstentions.
TOWN BUDGET PRESENTATION:
Mr. Brown said that the Board of Selectmen had a workshop on Tuesday morning January 22, 2008 and they had spent five hours making cuts to the budget. Mr. Bock said that the Board of Selectmen had not taken lightly the significance of the fundamentals of the economy. Mr. Brown said that the executive portion of the proposed budget had decreased 4% from the past year. Ms. Bonser said that the Board of Selectmen had gone through and looked at all the items in their proposed budget which were not salary or salary related items. She said that all those non salary items had been either level funded or kept within a 2% increase. Mr. Bock said that the Board of Selectmen had reduced certain equipment lines to $100 because they were not going to do things like replace office chairs this year due to the economic
uncertainty.
Mr. Decker noted that the enforcement line had been decreased. Mr. Brown said that the line for the Pawtuckaway Lake Advisory Committee had also been decreased. Ms. Bonser said that the town had wanted to have money for matching grants but she said that there were not any grants pending. She said that in tough economic times the Board of Selectmen had decided that they didn't need to hold money for grants that might or might not exist, especially since none were pending. Mr. Decker noted that the lines for conferences, training, enforcement, internet and the Pawtuckaway Lake Advisory Committee had all seen changes.
Mr. Brown said that there had been a slight increase to the Town Clerk salary line. He said that the line for fees had also increased but the line for dues and conferences had decreased. He said that the line for postage in the Town Clerk's office had increased. He said that they had been hearing lots of good things about the new program for renewing licenses by mail. He said that the line for publications was $0 because the Town Clerk could get most of the publications she needed online now. Mr. Decker asked about expenses. He said that his notes indicated that line had been cut to $0 but the budget worksheet had $50 in that line. Mr. Brown said that he would look into the discrepancy. He said that the proposed Town Clerk budget was the same as it had been when it was presented to the Budget
Committee by the Town Clerk.
Mr. Brown said that the expenses for elections had increased because of the larger than normal number of elections scheduled for 2008. He also said that some money had been added to that section to help set up the room before elections and break down the room after elections.
Mr. Decker asked why there were not 2007 actuals listed for equipment, mileage and training/support. Mr. Bock said that the Board of Selectmen would get an answer to that question.
Mr. Bonser noted that there were new rules for elections. He said that they were required to have one booth per every 100 voters on the checklist. Mr. Decker asked if all of the voting booths were ever full at the same time. Mr. Bonser noted that during some elections where there were questions on the ballot, people spent longer inside the voting booths. He noted that the length of time people spent in the booth had an effect on whether and how long people needed to wait to get into a voting booth. He noted that Nottingham had approximately 2,050 people vote in the Presidential primary.
Mr. Brown said that the Town Treasurer did a fantastic job. He said that the budget included a new computer for the bookkeeper. He said that the tax bills needed to be folded and put into envelopes. He noted that was a lot of work. He said that the Town Assessing Clerk was getting a cost of living adjustment plus a merit raise which would equal a total raise of 4%. Mr. Decker asked how many property owners there were in Nottingham. Mr. Brown said that he was not sure of the answer to that question but he said that there were 3500 parcels of land in Nottingham. He noted that did not answer the question because there were people who owned more than one parcel. He said that he expected there to be elevated costs with the new company that they would be using as contract assessors. He said
that he hoped to get some more information on RFP's before the public hearing. He said that he hoped to have a better idea of the costs to report at the public hearing. He also said that the town had their maps redone each year and the cost of that would increase slightly.
Mr. Brown said that the cost of legal would increase by $45,000. He said that there were two ongoing cases of open litigation or legal challenges that the town was involved with and he said that he expected there to be more as the year progressed. He said that the numbers in the budget for legal were simply his best estimate and he noted that the actual numbers could end up being very different. He said that the Zoning Board of Adjustment was being sued by two different residents and he expected that there would be a third lawsuit against them as well. Mr. Bock also noted that the Board of Selectmen had concerns about legal challenges being brought against the upcoming warrant article which would affect businesses in Nottingham. Mr. Decker said that he was glad that had been taken into consideration in their
estimate for legal expenses.
Mr. Brown pointed out the lines for Employee Blue Cross Blue Shield. He said that the town would get reimbursed for some of that so there would be offsetting revenue. He said that the reason for the offsetting revenue was that employees now had to pay more towards their health insurance benefits. He said that line also included money for the retired Chief of Police who was still on the town health plan. He said that the state would reimburse the town for the money spent on the health insurance for the retiree. He said that was part of the state police pension benefit system. He said that the town had not had anyone retire before so they were in new territory with this. He said that the premiums for health insurance were increasing by 10.7%. He also said that the town was currently advertising
for a new police officer. He said that they had budgeted for the family plan for the new officer just in case.
Mr. Brown also said that the cost of unemployment would be approximately $206. He noted that was larger than in previous years but it was based on a bill they had received.
Mr. Brown said that in the proposed budget the pay rate for the Planning Board Secretary had increased by the cost of living adjustment. He said that the reason it looked like a larger increase was because they had increased the number of hours that the Planning Board Secretary would be working. He said that they were planning to cut their Planner after March because they wanted to do more of that work in house.
Mr. Brown said that the cost of postage in the Planning Office had decreased. Ms. Powell noted that the cost of equipment had decreased. Mr. Brown said that there was no large equipment needed this year in the Planning Office.
Mr. Brown said that the salaries for cleaning and maintenance employees had increased by the cost of living adjustment. He said that the maintenance costs for the new fire house would be higher than the costs at the old building. He said that the amounts budgeted for water better reflected the usage. Mr. Koester asked what the Grange building was used for. Mr. Brown said that it was used as the Historical Society Museum. Ms. Bonser said that the town needed a comprehensive plan regarding the Grange Building. She said that the Board of Selectmen did not want to further burden the taxpayers since there was anticipation of an economic downturn. Mr. Brown said that the maintenance costs for the new fire station included their HVAC and alarm systems. He said that for a fee the alarm system called in
several times a day to assure the building was safe. Mr. Bock said that the Board of Selectmen had been working with the Fire Department regarding how much heat would be used in the bays of the new fire station. He said that they wanted to keep their ambulance and their machinery running in a decent temperature.
Mr. Brown said that the money for the cemeteries would decrease. Ms. Andersen asked whether the town would do the fence repairs at the cemetery which had been discussed. Mr. Brown said that it was likely they would not. He said that the $5,000 in the proposed budget for the cemetery would probably just cover mowing.
Mr. Brown said that the Police Department budget included just over a 1% increase in the salary lines. He said that they had estimated a salary level for the new officer that they had not hired. He said that the actual level could be different. He said that the budget included sick days and other benefits accrued by the retired Chief. He also said that the Police Department had been having trouble getting ammunition. He said that the price had increased and the ammunition was on back order. Mr. Decker asked about office equipment. Mr. Brown said that he thought the number in the proposed budget was sufficient. Ms. Bonser said that the new chief was very enthusiastic about CALEA and the prospect of getting their department nationally certified. Mr. Brown said that the proposed police
budget included money for a cage in the new car. He said that the current cage they were using was bought in 1989. He said that the cost of telephone for the Police Department had decreased. Mr. Decker asked if the police telephone budget included additional lines. Mr. Brown said yes.
Mr. Brown said that the Board of Selectmen had not supported the proposed Fire Department stipend increases at this time. Ms. Bonser said that this was the last year of the lease payment. Mr. Brown said that the price of the Fire Department gear washer had been cut from the budget. He said that they would purchase that item out of the warrant article surplus since it would only be used in the new Fire Department building. He said that the money had already been encumbered. Mr. Decker asked about the Hazardous Materials costs. Mr. Brown said that the cost for hazardous materials removal was an annual fee. Mr. Bock said that any accidents regarding hazardous materials would be cost prohibitive to the town.
Mr. Brown said that the Highway Department clerical support line had been cut to $0. He said that line had not worked out as planned. He also said that the Highway Department lines for workshops and miscellaneous had been decreased. He said that he did not think the Deerfield Road Bridge would be replaced this year.
Mr. Brown said that the town would need to replace their baler for cardboard, paper and newspaper. He said that he would like to schedule someone part time to do random checks on the recycling station. He said that he was looking to add a little more enforcement to that. He said that the citizens could do better when it came to recycling.
Mr. Brown said that the Board of Selectmen had cut almost all the vendor payments by 20%. Mr. Bock said that the Board of Selectmen had looked also closely at how the work of each of the vendors affected Nottingham.
Mr. Brown said that the Board of Selectmen had no control over the library budget and he noted that budget had increased by 10.5%.
Mr. Brown said that the Board of Selectmen had cut the items requested by the Conservation Commission.
Mr. Brown said that the lines for Economic Development had been zeroed out. Ms. Bonser said that Nottingham businesses would be able to advertise online. She said that there was going to be a list of local businesses on the town website that would link to Nottingham business websites. She said that she was very excited about that.
WARRANT ARTICLES:
Mr. Brown said that some of the warrant articles had been cut. He said that the generator warrant article had been taken off the warrant. He said that they were looking into a more cost effective way to handle that issue.
Mr. Brown said that the capital reserve fund articles had been cut to $5,000. He also said that they figured finishing Deerfield Road was going to be a three year effort. Mr. Decker asked if the town wanted to dry up the capital reserve fund. Mr. Brown said no. He said that they should keep a little money in that fund just in case they needed it. He said that Article #10 involved making the ambulance self supporting. He said that he had asked the Department of Revenue Administration if articles 10 and 12 could be combined since they were related and he was told that keeping them separate was recommended. He noted that the order of the warrant articles might change.
Mr. Bock said that the Board of Selectmen had been unsure about warrant article #15 regarding courtesy inspections of boats to look for invasive exotic plant species that might harm the ecosystem of the lake but he said that the Board of Selectmen wanted the people in town to get the opportunity to give their opinion on this issue. Mr. Decker asked if this could be tied to community service. Mr. Brown noted that sometimes it was difficult to get volunteers who wanted to do things on weekends and that was often when the most boats were on the lake.
Mr. Batchelder asked about the other roads mentioned in warrant article #8 regarding highway construction and reconstruction. Mr. Brown said that the Highway Department no longer planned to do Merry Hill and Kennard Roads. Mr. Batchelder asked if the Budget Committee could receive a new narrative reflecting that change.
Mr. Netishen said that this was the most frugal budget he had been exposed to. He said that the Board of Selectmen had spent a lot of time on it and he said that they might cut more from it.
Mr. Koester asked if the number in warrant article #7 for the operating budget was the correct number. Mr. Brown said yes.
Mr. Decker noted that the Budget Committee would not meet on January 31, 2008. He said that the Deliberative Session for the Nottingham School District was on Wednesday February 6, 2008 and the public hearing for the Nottingham Town Budget was on Thursday February 7, 2008.
Ms. Bonser said that she was concerned about cutting the generator warrant article and she wanted to poll the Budget Committee on what they thought of it. Mr. Decker noted that generators were very expensive. He said that he would be comfortable leaving it out of the warrant. Mr. Koester noted that the building had been ok without a generator for many years.
Mr. Decker reminded everyone that there was one 1 year term and three 3 year terms up for election on the Budget Committee. He said that if anyone was interesting in running for those terms, including the incumbents, they needed to sign up with the Town Clerk to be on the ballot.
Ms. Bonser made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:30pm. Mr. Koester seconded that motion. The present members of the Budget Committee voted unanimously in favor of that motion. The motion passed 8-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Kelly Tivnan
Budget Committee Secretary
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