Minutes
Selectmen’s Meeting
February 16, 2007
8:30 AM Chair Bonser opened the meeting and asked all those present to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Members Present: Mary Bonser, Peter Bock, Bill Netishen, and Town Administrator Charles Brown.
Also present: Heidi Seaverns.
Guests: Jaye Vilchock, John Fernald, Paul Colby, Philip English and Janet Horvath.
Ms. Bonser handed out a memo from the Board of Selectmen clarifying the chain of command within the Town of Nottingham. Mr. Bock went on to say that the Board was in the process of working on the personnel policies and manual and making sure that all policies are uniform throughout. Some areas of the personnel manual do not reflect the complexities of the organization (Town) as it is now and the Board will be working to remedy that. Mr. Bock stated that this chain of command is not new; the Board is just putting it in writing. Both Ms. Bonser & Mr. Netishen reminded the department heads that they could always contact the Board if they were having an issue even though the chain of command exists. Mr. Brown stated that Local Government Center had distributed an updated policy manual to the members in November 2006,
which reflects statute changes that went into effect in 2006. Mr. Bock went on to say that the Board of Selectmen have chosen to update the personnel manual internally rather than hire someone else to do it. Since no department heads had any questions on the memo, the Board moved on to other business.
Mr. Brown informed the department heads that the next Selectmen/Department Head has been scheduled for March 19, 2007 at 1:00PM.
There was a brief discussion about Police Department accreditation-national vs. state. Police Chief English reported to the Board that the initial fee for national accreditation was $ 5400 for a department having 1-24 members and the cost thereafter would be $ 3400 annually. Accreditation may reduce the Town’s liability costs. The state accreditation has different levels and there may be some funds available from Local Government Center to help defray the costs of that program. Chief English informed the Board that the department was now working a 5 days on/2 days off week rather than the previous 4 on/3 off. This allows for 5 days a week round the clock coverage.
Fire Chief Vilchock informed the Board that the Fire department is reviewing & updating their policies as well. There was a short discussion about physical certification of members, which will in all likelihood be phased in over a period of time.
Janet Horvath, Recreation Director, updated the Board on the department’s progress on gathering rules and regulations that govern their programs. Most activities have recommendations not rules. The process is very time-consuming as the information is not in one place.
8:50 AM Having no further business before the Board,
Motion: Bock, second Netishen to adjourn.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Heidi Seaverns
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