BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

JANUARY 22, 2007

Present:          Arnold Wilson, Chairman

Hal White

Ted Goodwin

William Emrich

Steven Halterman

James Malloy, Town Administrator

The Chairman called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. following the Pledge of Allegiance.

Scott Gerrish – Logging Permit for 704 Main Street

Scott Gerrish appeared before the Board to request a logging permit for land owned by Clifford Curboy at 704 Main Street.  His application was complete.

Marc Renaud, abutter, asked about the proposed use of the property.  S. Gerrish said that the property was not going to be clear cut; selective cutting would be done at the site, and he has marked the trees to be cut.  M. Renaud asked whether the intent would be forest management or clearing.  S. Gerrish said that it would not be clearing, and noted that there are vernal pools at the site.  He said that there has been significant regeneration in the forest.  M. Renaud asked how close the cutting activity would be to the property boundary.  S. Gerrish said that cutting would be about 200’ – 300’ from the stone wall at the property boundary.  J. Malloy added that there is no setback from property bounds for forest harvesting.

MOTION:       To approve the forest cutting plan submitted by Scott Gerrish for land located at 704 Main Street, subject to the conditions contained in the January 9, 2007 memorandum from Kelly Kippenberger, Conservation Agent, and that any damage to the boat ramp or Route 20 be repaired as directed by the Army Corps of Engineers or Mass. Highway (as appropriate), by W. Emrich.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

Robert Wright Retirement

MOTION:       To accept the retirement letter of Robert Wright with regret, by S. Halterman.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

H. White suggested sending R. Wright a letter thanking him for his years of service to the Town.

Woodside Circle Sewer Project

J. Malloy informed the Board that the USDA had sent a letter announcing that funds have been made available for the Water & Waste Loan and Grant Program, and the Woodside Circle Sewer Project will be funded with $637,000 low-interest Loan; $213,000 Grant.

Budget

A.Wilson suggested that the Board review the Five-Year Forecast before going over the budget, to see where money is being spent and the impact that the budget will have on taxes.  J. Malloy read the Forecast to the Board (copy on file).  He said that in FY08 he is projecting that the tax rate will increase 5.2% overall from $15,559,618 to $16,379,626.  If there is a continuation of the split tax rate, using the same breakdown as previous years, residential properties will see an increase of approximately 5.9% in the tax rate and commercial/industrial property owners will see an increase of approximately 5.8% in the tax rate.  These estimates will be greatly affected by the revaluation that was funded in FY07 as values in the different sectors will likely increase/decrease at different rates.  He also recommended that $275,000 be appropriated from free cash to balance the budget.  As with the final FY07 budget that was approved by Town Meeting, the budget as presented is not balanced.  For FY07, the General Fund Operating Budget required $15,559,618 to be raised by Property Taxes.  The FY07 Proposition 2 ½ levy limit was $15,159,451 combined with the debt exclusion for the high school brought the total the Town could raise under Proposition 2 ½ to $15,730,323.  The amount raised by property taxes was $170,705 under the limit, but this was with the use of $275,000 from free cash “to reduce the tax rate” which in reality partially reduced the tax rate and partially funded an operating deficit of $104,295.  Added to this operating deficit is $143,921 in ongoing General Fund expenditures approved at the December 2006 Special Town Meeting (mostly fuel and fire department labor costs) bringing the FY07 operating deficit to $248,216.  The FY08 budget as presented contains a $271,572 operating deficit utilizing the maximum estimated tax capacity under Proposition 2 1/2 and assuming that there will be only one “raise and appropriate” article (for the Ambulance Stabilization Fund) on the Annual Town Meeting and that the fair weather experienced so far during the 2006-07 winter will continue, resulting in an estimated snow/ice removal deficit of $25,000.

As J. Malloy had noted last year, the trend which showed that the Town was becoming more dependent on free cash to fill the gap in revenues and expenditures in the General Fund as opposed to the tradition of using free cash to reduce the tax rate.  Assuming that FY08 is the final year of the “phased-in disparity reduction” on required spending between Burgess and Tantasqua, this trend should be stopped in FY09, and by FY10 there should be a more stabilized budget situation.  The “Budget Analysis of Revenue vs. Expenditure” (copy on file) shows that as proposed, the Town is within the Proposition 2 ½ limit and there is a “surplus” of approximately $3,428.  This is not really a surplus, but the difference between the $275,000 proposed free cash use and the $3,428 “surplus” is the actual amount being used to close the gap between total revenues and total expenditures.  An amount of $114,000 is being carried for outstanding labor contracts.

J. Malloy reviewed the spreadsheets on the Five-Year Revenue Projections, the Five-Year Expenditure Forecast, and the Budget Analysis of Revenue vs. Expenditures (copies on file).

H. White suggested that J. Malloy find out what the Town of Sturbridge has gotten out of the Central Mass. Mosquito Control Program, and commented that there should be some accountability.  J. Malloy said that they issue an annual report, which he will make available to the Board.

Regarding the Board’s review of the Budget, it was the consensus to review it by each line item.

MOTION:       To not change stipends for the elected and appointed positions, with one or two exceptions, by H. White.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers on Page #1, by H. White.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers on Page #2, by H. White.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

On page 3, H. White noted that the FY07 figure under Town Clerk Salaries/Wages should be $14,571.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers of Page #3, by H. White.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers on Page #4, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers on Page #5, by S. Halterman.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers on Page #6, by S. Halterman.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers for the Police Department on Page #7, by H. White.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the figures for the Fire Department on Page #7, by S. Halterman.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the figures on Page #8, by H. White.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the figures on Page #9, by S. Halterman.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

It was the consensus of the Board to hold action on the Education line items for Burgess Elementary School and Tantasqua, since they are still in the process of working out their budgets.

Mary Blanchard said that the public hearing on the Burgess budget will be held on March 1, 2007.  J. Malloy said that the public hearing on the Tantasqua budget will be held sometime before March 15, 2007.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers on Page #10 for DPW only, by H. White.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers on Page #11, by H. White.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers on Page #12, by H. White.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers on Page #13, by H. White.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers on Page #14, by H. White.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers under Unclassified on Page #15, by H. White.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the numbers under Central Purchasing on Page #15, by H. White.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

H. White asked about the status of putting in $500 for the Old Burial Ground for ongoing maintenance.  J. Malloy said that he will look into it, and said that it could possibly be funded by the Betterment Committee.

J. Malloy said that the Town Meeting Warrant should be finished by the end of next week.  He noted that there are only one or two appropriation articles; there are a number of zoning articles and general bylaw articles from different committees.

It was the consensus of the Board to cancel the Saturday, January 27th retreat at the Publick House.

It was the consensus of the Board to cancel the January 29th Board of Selectmen meeting.

H. White suggested scheduling a Board of Selectmen meeting on the fourth Monday in February to review the warrant.

MOTION:       To adjourn, by H. White.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Knowles

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BOS Clerk                             Date