AMENDED MINUTES VOL. 26 PAGE 106A
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING CITY COUNCIL & WPC AUTHORITY AND THE BOARD OF FINANCE
JUNE 19, 2012
A SPECIAL JOINT MEETING of the City Council & WPC Authority and the Board of Finance was held in the City Hall Auditorium on Tuesday, June 19, 2012.
Present were Mayor Ryan Bingham, Corporation Counsel Ernestine Yuille-Weaver, City Councilors Gregg Cogswell, Paul Samele, Elinor Carbone, Gerald Zordan, Marie Soliani and Drake Waldron, Board of Finance members Mark Bushka, Thomas Scoville, Laurene Pesce, Brian Paganini and Bill Lamoin, Comptroller Alice Proulx, Police Chief Michael Maniago, Fire Chief John Field, Deputy Fire Chief Gary Brunoli, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Brett Simmons, Recreation Director Donna Winn, Board of Public Safety Commissioner James Potter and Personnel Director Thomas Gritt.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 5:12 p.m. to review, discuss and vote on additional budget cuts.
He said he had to find $316,353 in additional cuts. Because the revaluation contractor bid is budgeted for this year, when it should be next year, there is a savings of $40,000. Because the revaluation is budgeted to be completed in 2013, when it is not required until 2014, there is a savings of $40,000. He said the Senior Center has received contributions of $10,000 from their thrift shop and an anticipated savings of $94,421 was realized in the City's health insurance line pending City Council's approval of the tentative agreement with the Fire Union. Mayor Bingham said there is a $75,000 cut by percentage to Departments across the board and an $11,000 savings offered up for the refuse and recycling line. He said there were some savings within the Registrar's budget, and
that he fully endorses this first level of cuts totaling $230,421.
Mayor Bingham said a second level of cuts could include an across-the-board capital cut. This is not a recommendation but merely an idea of where money can come from, he said, and there are a lot of options. He invited both boards to offer ideas. For illustrative purposes, Mayor Bingham listed the following attrition figures that could be considered: $43,000 from City Hall, $49,600 from Public Works, $54,181 from Police and $52,584 from Fire. He said the Boards can do a mixture of all these cuts, request sustainable cuts, recommend additional across-the-board cuts by percentage, or postpone backfilling some retirements. He said there was some discussion of additional cuts to the Vehicle Replacement line with a caveat that long-term savings and fleet reductions be found. He
asked for other ideas, suggestions and thoughts.
Councilor Zordan questioned the Public Works openings, and asked if filling vacant positions could be delayed across the board by 6 weeks or 2 months to quickly make up a year's worth of wages. Mayor Bingham said they could be delayed and a monthly report could be generated if desired. He said there are two unfilled vacancies in Public Works that could save $49,600 by January and there are potential retirements in both the Fire and Police Departments.
Councilor Carbone asked what the impact would be over time. Mayor Bingham said there are minimum manpower calculations for the Fire Department and more Public Works overtime needed during winter. Councilor Soliani asked if it's more cost effective for the City to pay overtime, than to hire an employee.
Mayor Bingham said that was the argument for the reduction in force at the Fire Department, as seen by our Actuary. He said that practice can't be continued long-term, some employees might work 60 hours a week in some cases, increasing the opportunity for injuries. He said he's anticipating vacancies in Equipment Maintenance and WPCA, and one in the IT Dept. that would cost more in consulting fees if left unfilled.
Mr. Bushka asked the Police and Fire Chiefs what impact deferring retiree replacement would have on Public Safety. Chief Maniago said we've already eliminated two positions, and have more retirements coming in the near future. He said there are two officers out on administrative leave, two out on injury status, and three on light duty, all of which will impact his overtime line item. What we don't pay in salary, we'll pay in overtime, he said. Chief Field said the impact at the Fire Department will be pretty much the same as the Police Department but there's more of a safety issue on his personnel. Because we have a minimum staffing requirement in the contract, he said, we can only go down to a certain number, placing more burden on overtime. Chief Maniago agreed that the safety
factor is key, but they have to worry about the burnout factor as well. Burnout causes increases sick time and starts a vicious cycle, he said. As peak vacation time hits, employees will be ordered to work overtime, rather than volunteer for it. He said overtime ends up costing more than hiring an additional employee.
Mayor Bingham said he will recommend an additional level one adjustment of $10,000 from the Registrar's line 0010.0015.5101.0000.
Mr. Lamoin said he agreed with Councilor Zordan's idea of delaying new hires across the board which would offer flexibility and the opportunity to make modifications.
Mrs. Pesce said the Board would be in the same position a year from now because there are no decisions made to change the bottom line of the budget. Mr. Lamoin agreed that is a key point because our grand list will be the same and our expenses will increase. Mayor Bingham also agreed and noted that if the Vehicle
Replacement Advisory Board can't find long-term sustainable cuts, that number is going to go back up because these purchases need to be funded. He said in his first three years in office he was able to effectively reduce staff but after massive cuts, we're at the point where every employee is needed. He said this will give the Boards some time to analyze the budget cuts, and he can report back on how it looks. It’s a viable option, he said.
Councilor Carbone asked about the $22,500 cuts in level two. Mayor Bingham said the Parks Capital budget was considered because it included a $65,000 increase over last year. Councilor Carbone asked if this was set aside to accomplish some long term goals. Mayor Bingham replied that it was, and although it isn't enough, they are taking small steps in the right direction. Councilor Carbone said her concern is that the Boards really need to fully understand what the impact is on services. Mayor Bingham asked if the Boards want to consider holding off replacing or backfilling across the board, and then look at it in a month to see what the impacts are. Councilor Carbone noted that Chief Maniago said the Police Department has already sustained cuts, and that the Chief has been before both
Boards a number of times appealing for them to reconsider those cuts.
Mayor Bingham said the open Public Works positions are from the Street Dept. and Equipment Maintenance. He added that there is a retirement in our custodian line that was not filled, and there is a clerical position shared between the Police Dept. and Comptroller's Office that he doesn't recommend cutting right now. Mayor Bingham said the Fire Chief is retiring and there will be some delay in the process as well as some costs for posting, etc.
Councilor Soliani asked if is there is any money set aside for City projects that could be held off. Mayor Bingham said there might be potential capital cuts, which would include projects probably getting pushed off.
Councilor Carbone questioned the Teen Center, with its high price tag for the number of people that it serves. She asked if cutting that program could be considered until we can find a way to either improve attendance at that facility or make that program somewhat sustainable. Mayor Bingham replied that he asked the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation to report on this, but there are no reductions they are prepared to recommend at this time. Councilor Carbone said the program is in excess of $20,000, serves a very small population and doesn't fulfill all the expectations we would have for that.
Councilor Soliani asked if the DARE and PAL program, at $45,000, could survive for one year without the City's stipend? Mayor Bingham said they have a huge and growing program. Councilor Carbone agreed with the Mayor saying that those programs serve hundreds of children in our community vs. a teen center that might serve a dozen. Councilor Soliani said they fundraise, and cutting that stipend is better than eliminating someone's position.
Mrs. Pesce said she's surprised the Mayor didn't come back with any reductions to the Vehicle Replacement fund. Mayor Bingham said there is already a $100,000 cut in it and noted that the investment in that fund is long-term. Mrs. Pesce said it feels like we bought a lot this year.
Mayor Bingham said the cuts could be created from a mix of everything such as a 25% reduction from holding off positions, 25% from Vehicle Replacement, 25% from the Teen Center, 25% from Capital. It could be any number of those, he said, and he just needs some direction.
Mr. Paganini asked if the $53,432 adjustment has to be locked down tonight. He said he shares Councilor Carbone's concern about sacrificing services and would like to get a clearer picture on the overtime as well.
Mayor Bingham said there is no legal requirement, but he'd like to have this cleaned up or least a direction given to the administration and department heads to know what they're dealing with when the new budget is started. He said that last year, reductions were made all the way up to September.
Mr. Scoville asked how long the Public Works positions have remained open. Mayor Bingham replied that it has been since May 24th and May 7th. Mr. Scoville said he feels the most logical choice is to hold off filling the Public Works and Equipment Maintenance positions for 6 months and revisit it every 3 months. Mayor Bingham said the three position-holdoffs will decrease the $53,432 balance to be adjusted. He asked the Boards if they wanted to consider the potential $22,500 cut to Capital expense, if it was to be across the board, and where they want to take it from.
AMyor Bingham summarized the reductions in level one equating to $240,421, leaving $75,932. This will include a percentage from each Department of the Capital cut for $22,500, and possibly holding off those three positions. He suggested the Boards plan to meet together again in July.
Mrs. Pesce cautioned the Mayor to be careful with the Capital budgets as some are already small. If the accounts were unable to do what they were intended, she said, the Boards would not be acting as good stewards of the City's money either. She said to make sure that no one account gets decimated. Mayor Bingham said he would look at the trends from the last three years and parcel it out accordingly. Councilor Carbone said she rather the IT Capital be left alone, and Mrs. Pesce agreed, saying the budget transfer request format looks like it could use the technology.
Councilor Zordan asked to revisit the Teen Center discussion, saying it doesn't seem to be practical to spend $25,000 on a dozen youth. Councilor Carbone said she understands that the Parks & Recreation Department is trying to improve that program, but this may give them more impetuous to be more dogged about looking for other options. Mayor Bingham said he will talk to Mr. Simmons about it.
Mr. Bushka said he wouldn't object to increasing the $75,000 being taken from all departments to $100,000 if they can't find $25,000 from somewhere else. Mayor Bingham said his additional recommendations for level two are to make additional cuts across the board, postpone filling positions, and vehicle replacement. He said he does not recommend gambling on union negotiations, and that the Teen Center expense is also being reviewed.
BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council voted unanimously to approve the total additional budget adjustments of $240,421.
On a motion by Mr. Scoville, seconded by Mr. Paganini, the Board of Finance voted unanimously to approve the total additional budget adjustments of $240,421.
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Mr. Bushka, both Boards voted unanimously to adjourn at 5:51 pm.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC
CITY CLERK
Respectfully Submitted,
Carol L. Anderson, CCTC
Asst. City Clerk
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