BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING/PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES
April 3, 2012
Call to Order: 6:34 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Present: Martha Sumner, Chair
Kristin Lewis-Savage, Vice-Chair
Tricia Holt
Gayle Hamel
Neal Morin
Anthony Riccio
Daniel Bush
David Gerns
John Sherman, Selectmen Ex-Officio
Absent: Barry Weymouth
Also Present: Sean Fitzgerald, Town Manager
Janet Gallant, Finance Director
M. Sumner welcomed all the new members and returning members of the Committee. She noted that a sheet was going around for everyone to list and/or update their email information.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS FOR 2012-2013 BUDGET COMMITTEE YEAR
Tricia Holt nominated M. Sumner for Budget Committee chair, second by K. Lewis-Savage.
There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 9-0-0 U/A.
Tricia Holt nominated K. Lewis-Savage for Budget Committee vice chair, second by M. Sumner.
There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 8-0-1 (Lewis-Savage abstaining).
RESULTS OF TOWN MEETING VOTING
M. Sumner noted that the Budget passed at the recent Town Meeting. She added that only monetary warrant article that did not pass was for a new permanent pavilion at PARC. M. Sumner offered that she had expected that turnout for voting would have been better.
There was discussion on the turnout for voting. It was noted that of approximately 4,570 registered voters the turnout was about 1,205.
J. Sherman noted that the budget passed by the highest majority of all warrant articles.
There was discussion regarding the budget review process. It was offered that it was a pretty smooth process for this past review and that was due to the cooperation of all departments and staff facilitation of the process. Each budget was seen three times for thorough review and J. Gallant did a great job getting answers from departments of the Committee’s questions.
There was discussion as to whether or not it would be better to start next year’s review in September, but it was ultimately decided to start October 2, 2012.
There was a discussion regarding the grouping of budgets so that all the larger department budgets were not scheduled for review on the same night.
M. Sumner noted that a schedule of when each department budget would be reviewed would be distributed by email as soon as it was available in the early fall.
J. Gallant suggested that the longest meeting should be no longer than two (2) hours to be the most efficient. She added that the Board of Selectmen (BOS) reviews each budget approximately two (2) weeks ahead of the Budget Committee. J. Gallant noted that she would like to get the Committee a complete package for their review.
There was discussion of the best way to put together all the information to facilitate the review process. Holidays were noted for how that effected scheduling and review of the individual budgets for both the BOS and the Budget Committee.
M. Sumner suggested that if J. Gallant was at every meeting it might not be necessary for S. Fitzgerald to attend all meetings.
S. Fitzgerald replied that he would probably attend the meetings in case any Town policy questions should arise.
There was further discussion about scheduling for the fall. It was noted that the Budget Committee needed to set their schedule first and the BOS would set their review schedule based on that. It was noted that any vacation requests would need to be worked around as well.
J. Sherman noted that the later in the year would expedite the review process as more accurate information would be available for the current year, especially for year-to-date actual figures for revenues and expenditures.
DISCUSSION REGARDING WARRANT ARTICLE P-12-18 – CITIZEN’S PETITION
M. Sumner read Warrant Article P-12-18, which was posted as a Citizen’s Petition Warrant Article:
“Do you agree with this petition that you do not want a layover station anywhere in Plaistow.”
The choices for voting are “yes,” “no,” or “need for information.”
It was noted that this article was passed by nearly a 2:1 margin. There was discussion whether or not this vote impacted the Town’s ability to move forward on the possibility of a MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority) train station in Plaistow. It was noted that the wording of the warrant article did not preclude any information gathering. Assurances where given that there would be no voting without public hearings for public input.
It was further noted that newspaper articles and rumors about the project have scared some residents regarding layover station and that more public outreach would be necessary once all the information was obtained.
It was noted that existing conditions at the Bradford (MA) layover station have brought out fears regarding noise and air quality should it be relocated to Plaistow.
J. Sherman noted that information is being gathered regarding whether or not layover stations can be designed that do not pollute or generate neighborhood noise. He added that any plans to simply relocate what is in Bradford to Plaistow would be rejected.
M. Sumner offered that more public education is needed once all the information has been gathered.
J. Sherman cautioned about rely on newspaper articles for information as he had experience some accuracy issued with reporters.
K. Lewis-Savage noted there was information available on the Town’s website and that people should look there for updates.
S. Fitzgerald added there was already a great deal of information posted to the website.
K. Lewis-Savage asked if this topic could be added to the list of topics that residents can sign-up to receive automatic updating.
There was discussion about some of the grant funding that has already been obtained by the Town as well as what other funding was being sought. It was emphasized that no tax money has been spent on this project.
There was additional discussion about what newspaper articles had said about the potential railway project. It was noted that there were comments from Dan Poliquin in a recent article. It was noted that Mr. Poliquin was speaking as a private citizen, not as chairman of the BOS.
The discussion returned to the Citizen’s Petition Warrant Article. It was offered that it could have been written a little clearer. It was noted that Citizen’s could only have been changed at Deliberative Session.
MEMBER COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
M. Sumner asked members for their interest in serving on other committees. She noted that two members were needed to sit on each of the following committees:
- Capital Improvement Plan
- Recycling Committee
- Public Safety Complex Committee
- Highway Garage
After brief discussion of what each committee does and the time involved the following members volunteered:
- Capital Improvement Plan: David Gerns, Gayle Hamel
- Recycling Committee: Dan Bush, Gayle Hamel
- Public Safety Complex Committee: Darrell Britton, Neal Morin
- Highway Garage: Neal Morin, Martha Sumner
TOWN REPORT
J. Sherman noted there had been a question as to whether or not the State required the full audit report be included in the Town’s Annual Town Report, which took up 44 pages in the 2011 Report. He noted that it was included for the point value.
S. Fitzgerald added that there was important information included in the audit that it felt it was important to be included.
J. Sherman offered that no one wanted to give the message that anything was being hidden. He added that the report was produced under the 290 pages they had budgeted for.
M. Sumner noted there were 264 pages.
J. Sherman added that the competition between towns was making for better Town Reports.
S. Fitzgerald offered that they were spending less on the Town Report than four years ago. He added there was a lot of important information in the report including storm water management and other environmental recommendations. S. Fitzgerald offered that there may be the ability to move more towards an online report going forward.
MISCELLANOUS BUSINESS
M. Sumner noted there were still a few vacancies on the Committee and new members were welcome.
The following upcoming events were noted:
J. Sherman noted that on April 23, 2012, there would be a presentation of the results of the PlanNH Charette.
M. Sumner added that LGC (Local Government Center) was being contacted regarding a Budget Committee training event towards the end of September. It was noted that other towns may be contacted to participate in the training.
K. Lewis-Savage noted the dated for the Easter Egg Hunts, sponsored by the Recreation Department and noted that pre-registration was required.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:29 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted:
Dee Voss
Recording Secretary
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