Finance Committee
Tuesday January 16, 2018
Rutland Public Library
7:00 p.m.
Present: Lyndon Nichols - Chairman, Sheryl Vernon, Iain McKinlay, Tom Ruchala, Carl Bindoo, Karen Nahrwold
Absent: Debbie Kristoff
Others Present: Margaret Nartowicz – Town Administrator, Leroy Clark – Board of Selectmen, Laura Scannell – Secretary. (Sheila Dibb – Board of Selecmen briefly joined the meeting at 7:27 p.m.)
The Chairman opened the meeting at 7:05 p.m. The meeting was recoded for Channel 191.
APPOINTMENTS
Board of Selectmen/Town Administrator
Margaret Nartowicz was in attendance to present the budget for the Town Administrator and Board of Selectmen's office. There is nothing yet in the working budget for the Finance Committee of the Reserve Fund. Ms. Nartowicz reviewed the following budget areas:
Town Moderator – salary level at $75, other charges level at $450. Saw minor reductions a few years ago.
Selectboard – salaries level at $3,000, step and COLA to be determined. Supplies level at $2,000 and Other Charges level at $3.361. Purchased Services took on Wachusett Earthday from the Board of Health last year; the number for purchased services reflects that assessment as well as the possibility of the Board taking on interns to work on special projects. Ms. Nartowicz has reached out to WPI to discuss a comprehensive road study of road histories, names, and town actions, for example.
Town Administrator – the FY 19 budget reflects the contract salary, allowing for COLA. Ms. Nartowicz has forgone COLA in the past and intends to do so again. Purchased Services has increased by $612 for cell phone service – this was moved to DPW but wasn't as efficient as planned. All cell phones will be moved back to the appropriate departments for FY19. DPW should see a reduction of approximately $2,000-$4,000 as a result. Town Administrator supplies level at $1,500; Other Charges level at $5,000 (reduced during last year's budget reductions & can be managed at the reduced level).
Town Counsel – keeping at $30,000 – they have been able to manage the costs, in many cases increasing allocations to other departments for the use of legal services. Typically, the Planning Board is reimbursed by applicants for use of town counsel.
Town Network – Ms. Nartowicz discussed the upcoming transition in IT services. The Town executed a one-year vendor contract after the previous IT director resigned last year. Previously the town had an intermunicipal agreement with Barre and dispatch, this was paused for a year. Ms. Nartowicz is working with Barre for joint procurement of IT services – does not expect the cost for the town will increase dramatically. $49,500 is proposed to pay for a new contract, software and hardware replacement and licensing, Charter, emails, and the Town website. There are a number of contractors on state bid, and the Town could look at other RFPs for the best service/best price. Network Supplies requested $1,000 to cover items needed for servers.
Ms. Nartowicz discussed the Town's need for a town-wide permitting software. There have been challenges faced by the town due to an increase in development. There is currently no ability to coordinate the permitting process across multiple departments. Many towns use the proposed software to coordinate steps that must be completed before Planning Board review. All departments would be obligated to use the software if put in place.
There was discussion about the cost benefit and economic impact such software would have on the Town. With the software, the Town would potentially see a reduction in labor hours and money previously spent on fixing/mitigating certain aspects of the process after the fact. The software includes a one-time startup cost of $12,800 (for which Ms. Nartowicz is seeking state grants to cover) and annual recurring charges of $35,100 to be split across six departments. State grants could cover the cost of system set up and in-house training.
Sheila Dibb briefly joined the meeting at 7:26 p.m. Ms. Dibb discussed how the software could prevent many things from falling through the cracks and costing the Town money in the lost run. The Board of Selectmen has not officially had an opportunity to weigh in on the software.
Town Telephones – $9,000 requested ($2,000 change from FY18) to allow for phone system conversion. Public Safety is the only department that has undergone a conversion, though recurring costs were more than anticipated. Ms. Nartowicz is working with Crocker Communications on determining cost & will not proceed with the Town conversion until the cost concerns from Public Safety are addressed.
Town Report – level funding at $1,000. Abby Benoit, administrative secretary, has been very cost efficient by making the town report available online and printing fewer paper copies.
Traffic Control – parking clerk wages level at $129
Liability Insurance – budget has increased significantly since FY17, but still scraping by. The Town has full coverage under MIIA. There has been an increase in new vehicles, and many of the insured values for Town buildings appear to be off. Per Ms. Nartowicz, MIIA has not provided an exact estimate for coverage yet, but $223,000 should be enough for FY19.
Planning Board
Norm Anderson was in attendance to present the Planning Board budget. The Planning Board is requesting funding for a full-time Town Planner/Community Development Coordinator, a position that will benefit the Town overall. The Town has very active builders and a very popular market for housing/building which will lead to a lot of business for the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, the Board of Health, and many other departments. In the Bear Hill development, for example, many things went wrong regarding the bridge; Mr. Anderson has received reports from MassDOT, Quinn Engineering, and Gill Engineering that are contradictory – a Town Planner could review the reports and determine action. There is a need for someone to be in the office more than four hours per week.
Ms. Nartowicz elaborated that a Town Planner would be central for the streamlined permitting software, as well as reacting to managed growth studies and crafting a plan for the Town to move forward more efficiently and effectively.
The position would be 37.5 hours per week, total on budget cost of $58,500 with $9,000 coming out the Planning Board Administrative Revolving Fund (total $67,000 plus benefits). The Revolving Fund is comprised of fees collected by the Planning Board. The Town Planner would also coordinate between departments and serve as a community development coordinator for businesses interested in coming to Rutland.
There was discussion of economic development. There is a need for strategic activities to identify businesses that would benefit from being in Rutland without putting a strain on housing or the schools.
There was discussion of the need for both a Planner and the permitting software to help stabilize and sustain the Town in the years to come. Ms. Nahrwold agreed with the benefit of preventing costly mistakes as the Town becomes more complex.
NEW BUSINESS
There was discussion of reviewing the Finance Committee's budget at an upcoming meeting. Mr. Ruchala asked if there is any indication of the new secretary's hours. A discussion will be added to the February 15th meeting to review hours closer to the end of budget meetings, and vote on leveling or changing the budget.
Ms. Vernon moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. McKinlay 2nd the motion. Vote unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
___________________________________ Laura Scannell, Secretary
Approved on: _____________
___________________________________ Lyndon Nichols, Chairman
Revised on January 24th, 2018 to add Karen Nahrwold as Present.
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