Minutes
Selectmen / Department Head Workshop
December 19, 2006
8:05 AM Ms. Bonser opened the meeting.
Board Members: Mary Bonser, Peter Bock, William Netishen and Town Administrator Charles A. Brown.
Department Heads: Heidi Carlson, Phil English, John Fernald, Paul Colby, and Janet Horvath.
Others: Heidi Seaverns
Ms. Bonser informed the department heads that the Board had decided to use the 3.3% COLA salary increase, which is the rate for September that the Board used last year rather than the 4% that they had used originally. Ms. Bonser recognized Deputy Fire Chief Heidi Carlson. The narrative reflects the change in salary but there were no other changes made to the budget that the department had submitted. Mr. Bock stated the Board was appreciative of the budget submitted since the article for the new station was a significant expense. Mr. Netishen asked for clarification about the radio maintenance line. Ms. Carlson stated that this line contains money for batteries for the digital radios. The batteries cost $100 each and the department will need 40-50 batteries. The radios came from a grant however the batteries that came with
them do not perform well, typically only 1-2 hours per charge. Mr. Brown stated that the Capital Reserve fund amounts for the fire vehicles and for the highway department had been reduced to $ 25,000 each.
Ms. Bonser recognized Police Chief Phil English. She again stated the COLA rate is now 3.3%. She then informed the Chief that the Board had removed the new officer position from the 2007 budget given the increased legal costs facing the Town, the increase in health costs and the prospect of financing a new fire station. Chief English informed the Board he had removed $ 3600 from the budget for the radio for the SUV and had put it into the warrant article for a total of $ 28,023. Project 54 will pay for the lights and siren for the new vehicle. The uniform line will be reduced by $ 1500(new officer) as well as the salary line. Chief English told the Board that Officer Gates would be attending the Police Academy in April, May & June of 2007. There was some discussion about replacing the department firearms. The
weapons are 10-11 years old and are starting to show signs of wear. The company will take the old weapons in trade as well as any weapons that have been seized yet are still unclaimed.
John Fernald was next to address the Board. He gave an overview of the projects completed this year-the Deerfield Road Bridge, rebuilding 5800 feet of road, replacing culverts after the floods. He stated it was a very productive year. A number of culverts were replaced earlier than scheduled because of the May floods but there are many left that are 40-50 years old that will need to be monitored. The overlay projects scheduled for this year were not all completed due to the expense attributed to the floods.
Ms. Bonser recognized Paul Colby. There was a brief discussion about number of permits issued this year as compared to last year. Mr. Colby stated that permits for new houses were down about 20 from last year. He stated that the next POD meeting was scheduled for January 18, 2007 at 1:00PM in Raymond. He reported to the Board that the School Board had not returned the MOU for school use as yet. Discussion followed. Mr. Brown will follow up with the School Board in writing to find out what the holdup is.
Janet Horvath next addressed the Board. There was a brief discussion about the Recreation Revolving Fund. Funding the Swim program had been brought up at one of the Budget Committee meetings. Ms. Horvath explained that the Town has always subsidized the swim program and went on to say most Towns in the area do the same. If the Town charged participants the actual cost for the program, there would be nobody in the program because it would be cost prohibitive. She feels that is a benefit to the Town to offer this service to residents. Ms. Horvath informed the Board that the Ski program for 2007 has been cancelled due to lack of participants. There was a discussion about the high transportation costs for the programs.
Chief English handed out new budget sheets to the Board reflecting the changes made.
Mr. Brown then reviewed the changes made to the budget:
-All salary lines to reflect 3.3% COLA
-Town Clerk Salary line to reflect the request for increase in per hour wage for Clerk.
-Registry of Deeds decrease & Mileage line increase in Executive budget to more closely reflect actual expenditures.
-decrease in the Mapping line
-decrease in Blue Cross/Blue Shield Line to reflect removal of additional officer
-an adjustment will be made to Planning/Zoning secretarial line to reflect increase in hours
Mr. Brown will review the contract the Planning Board has with SRPC to get a definite idea of the Planner’s responsibilities. Mr. Brown will get these changes into the budget and have new budget worksheets for the Budget Committee meeting on Thursday.
9:55 AM, Having no further business before the Board,
Motion: Bonser, second Bock to adjourn.
Vote: 3-0 in favor
Respectfully Submitted,
Heidi Seaverns
Approved as printed
1/08/07
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