Town of Princeton, MA
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Regular Meeting
November 9, 2009
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM. Present were Chairman Alan Sentkowski, Raymond Dennehy, Joe O’Brien and Town Administrator John Lebeaux.
FY10 Warrant #10
The Board reviewed and signed the payroll and vendor warrants from the Treasurer and Accountant.
Minutes
October 26, 2009 Regular Meeting – Raymond moved to accept the minutes as amended. Joe seconded. All in favor (3-0).
Portrait of Dennis Rindone
Alan will present the portrait to Sandra Rindone on Friday.
Appointments
Joe moved to appoint Carolyn Nelson, 89 Hobbs Rd. as Election Officer for a term to expire on July 13, 2010. Raymond seconded. All in favor (3-0).
Joe moved to appoint Michael Trafecante, 6 Town Hall Dr. as Constable for a term to expire on June 30, 2010. Raymond seconded. All in favor (3-0).
Joe moved to appoint John Lebeaux, 6 Town Hall Dr. as the Liaison to the State Ethics Commission. Raymond seconded. All in favor (3-0).
State Ethics Commission
Town Clerk Lynne Grettum received an update on changes to the program with regard to some of the impracticalities of the new law. Lynne will begin distributing material and follow up information to employees during the next two weeks.
Police Officer John Chase–Review and Sign Contract
Town Counsel prepared a contract for Officer Chase for his attendance at the Police Academy.
Joe moved to sign the contract for Officer John Chase relative to police training and employment. Raymond seconded. All in favor (3-0).
FY10 Tax Rate
John noted the tax rate was set on October 29 at $15.38 per thousand with the average tax bill at $5,109 based on an average value of $332,162. This represents a 4% increase over last year.
John commended the Board of Assessors, and their staff, the Accountant, Clerk Tax Collector and Treasurer for an outstanding team effort. The Board asked John to extend their thanks to the group.
FY10 Budget Cuts
John noted that the DOR sent an official notice of FY10 budget cuts. The new cherry sheet reflects a reduction of $139.00 to the library grant for the town.
Additional cuts being proposed by the Governor is a 39.5% reduction in PILOT and an additional 50% cut to the Quinn Bill. WRSD received a 44% cut in regional transportation resulting in a reduction of just over $1 million, which will have a direct impact on the schools. This is inequitable as it’s only directed at towns with regional schools. John wrote a letter to the Governor on behalf of the Board requesting he reconsider proposed legislation to reduce state owned land distributions and 9c cuts to regional school transportation.
Joe moved to send the letter to the Governor. Raymond seconded. All in favor (3-0).
National Incident Management System - NIMS
Captain Ken Whitney was present for the discussion. The town is progressing on NIMS training and requirements. The board is concerned about the time necessary for training. Four hours are required for the BOS. John will research how other communities have handled.
All Boards Meeting
The meeting will take place on December 1. A discussion will take place to seek ideas for a different format for future meetings.
December 7 BOS Meeting Location
The Town Clerk will occupy the Annex for election preparation on December 7. An alternate meeting location is needed. Brenda will check on availability of Bagg Hall.
Treasurer Certification
John noted that the MA Collectors and Treasurers Association renewed Treasurer Wendy Graves’ certification as a result of her successful completion of education and training courses.
Public Comment
There were no comments from the public.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 pm. All were in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
__________________
Brenda Savoie
Administrative Secretary
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