MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL AND WPC AUTHORITY
APRIL 12, 2011
A SPECIAL MEETING of the City Council & WPC Authority was held in the Auditorium on Tuesday, April 12, 2011.
Present were Mayor Ryan Bingham, Corporation Counsel Ernestine Yuille Weaver, City Councilors Gregg Cogswell,
Elinor Carbone, Marie Soliani, Drake Waldron, and Gerry Zordan, Deputy Fire Chief Gary Brunoli, Comptroller
Alice Proulx, and City Clerk Joseph Quartiero. Councilor Paul Samele was absent.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 6:24 p.m.
DISPATCH BUDGET
Mayor Bingham explained this budget line item will be zeroed out.
On a motion by Councilor Zordan, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the dispatch budget of $0.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT BUDGET
Mayor Bingham said changes were made to the Equipment Maintenance line, resulting in a budget of $28,846.
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Emergency Management budget of $28,846.
FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGET
Mayor Bingham said he received feedback from our Actuaries regarding potential pension changes if staffing was reduced by two. At this point, he is waiting to hear from the Budget Subcommittee.
Councilor Cogswell asked Chief Field if budget cuts could only be achieved through cutting personnel. Chief Field said that is correct.
Councilor Carbone asked why these positions were never filled after being budgeted for last year. Chief Field said all were filled except two. Mayor Bingham said he held off, waiting to see the State’s financial picture.
Councilor Cogswell asked about the City becoming responsible for firefighters’ training. Chief Field explained that half the cost of recruits’ training was reimbursed by the State, and he is investigating the possibility of doing it in-house to save money.
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Fire Department budget of $4,991,823, which includes two firefighters added back in.
ANIMAL CONTROL BUDGET
Mayor Bingham updated the Council with the new budget figure and said they are still discussing changes to facility maintenance. Chief Maniago said they are getting quotes for some work, including power-washing the building, sealing the cement floors, lawn maintenance, preparing extra flaps for the dog runs, installation of kennel area lights with dimmer switches, redoing the floors in the office area and bathroom, removing office area paneling, and installing shelves and cabinets, a new toilet, sink and office chairs. He noted that there is currently no room for an adopting family to interact with a dog and to view its temperament. Chief Maniago said his current budget has $9,000 to put towards this work which will be done in stages. He explained to Councilor Soliani that they will try to get as
much done with current funds to alleviate the next budget.
On a motion by Councilor Cogswell, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Animal Control budget of $105,731.
POLICE BUDGET
Mayor Bingham noted that $4,000 of the Communications Cell Phones budget is being moved to Communications Other budget to avoid confusion that occurs.
Councilor Carbone asked about the Education & Schools line item noting that the trend indicates it isn’t fully expended. Chief Maniago listed upcoming schools, saying they have plans to utilize this money.
Councilor Carbone noted that $28,000 was spent last year with $43,000 budgeted at that time. Chief Maniago said his training coordinator determines what is need to maintain State Certification for Police Officers, specialization training to maintain Detectives, SERT training and AIT training.
Mayor Bingham asked that details be provided on what is planned for this $62,080 line item.
Councilor Carbone said the same thing occurs on the Service Agreements line item and asked what made this figure jump so much. Chief Maniago said changes include new GPS and phone system service agreements. He went back to the Education & Schools line item, noting that all ammunition is bought on that line item, which is $23,000 this year. He listed other items that bring this budget up, including weapons maintenance for $4000, TASERs and replacement TASER cartridges, OC spray for $600, two full days of legal updates next year for $7700, other in-house schools for $2000, a new patrol rifle for $1000, and 90 new Glock firearms for $11,610. He said weapons are included in training costs because they have to qualify with them.
Councilor Carbone noted that the AIT line item was budgeted for $19,900 in 2010 with only $10,000 expended, and in 2011, the adopted budget was $18,700 with a little over $4,000 expended to date. Chief Maniago said two people are going to school, one person going out of state to Special Problems school, and a couple of people are going to basic. He said they are in the process of putting new people on the team and upgrading the education.
Mayor Bingham asked if a savings will be attained using the new VoIP phone services. Deputy Chief Brunoli said there will be a reduction because the number of phone lines coming into the building will decrease over time.
Chief Maniago added that crime mapping is an additional cost under Service Agreements, and $6,500 was added for their computer software company for the computer-aided dispatch.
Councilor Carbone asked why the AIT budget includes overtime for $11,130. Chief Maniago explained their overtime is specifically germane to their line of work.
Councilor Carbone asked why outside overtime isn’t included with revenue offset. Comptroller Proulx said it is included in Public Safety Miscellaneous. Councilor Carbone noted there is $98,000 in Detective overtime costs with only seven Detectives. Chief Maniago said they have a lot of off-hour work and get called in quite a bit. Councilor Carbone asked if that equals 25 to 30 hours per week per detective. Chief Maniago said there is also a Lieutenant and 3 Sergeants included, as well as a Narcotics Investigator so the hours are less.
Councilor Cogswell asked Chief Maniago if he were to be required to cut more from his budget, would the cuts come from the personnel side. Chief Maniago said yes, depending on how much needed to be cut.
On a motion by Councilor Zordan, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Police budget of $8,018,125.
TRAFFIC BUDGET
Mayor Bingham updated the Council on the electricity cost reduction considerations that are still being discussed.
He said an additional $500 was cut from the Education and School line item, and Electric was increased by $8,000.
Councilor Cogswell asked how many employees worked out of that garage, what the heat level needs to be, and if there is another place those employees could work out of. Officer Shopey explained the City Hall office is a clean room for the microprocessors that can’t be used to oil meters, for example. Traffic sign and meter repair has to be done in a workshop area, and paint is stored in the garage. He said they have several options to conserve energy such as ceiling fans, insulation, and moving the thermostats.
a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Traffic budget of $262,073.
PUBLIC SAFETY MISCELLANEOUS BUDGET
Mayor Bingham said there were no additional changes at this point.
Councilor Zordan asked what the rest of the State pays for hydrant rental. Chief Field says it’s regulated through DPUC. Mayor Bingham said he will meet with the Water Company to address items such as the marking of hydrants and will get a better idea of net costs.
Councilor Carbone said she sincerely wants to look at how we deliver fire service, and how the Volunteer Fire Departments are utilized. She said she feels there’s something there that should or could be addressed. Chief Field said this is all part of the Strategic Plan, and he’s looking at some future improvements.
Councilor Soliani pointed out that because these are tentative approvals, all budgets will be looked at very closely if we don’t get funds from the State. She said we need some big budget cuts this year, and thinks we’re all reluctant to talk about it.
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Public Safety Miscellaneous budget of $1,836,938.
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to adjourn at 7:05 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC
CITY CLERK
Respectfully Submitted
Carol L. Anderson, CCTC, Asst. City Clerk
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