PRESENT: Chairman Friedman, Councilor Parker, Councilor Perkins, Manager W. Reed, Deputy Clerk K. Humphrey, Deputy Treasurer J. Reed, Budget Committee Members: Suzanne Hart, John Manter, Bill Hogan; Town Auditor Charemon Davis. Councilor Hathaway and Councilor King were absent and excused.
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ITEM 1. The November 10, 2008 Veazie Town Council meeting was called to order at 7:04PM.
ITEM 2. Consideration of the Minutes
Motion By: Councilor Perkins—to accept the October 27, 2008 meeting minutes as written. Seconded: Councilor Parker, Voted 3-0 in favor.
ITEM 3. Consideration of the Agenda
There were no additions to the agenda.
ITEM 4a. Budget Meeting Schedule Overview
Manager Reed outlined that member Marilynn Bishop was wondering if the meeting times could be changed to 6:30pm so she would be able to attend. The Budget Committee members present were fine with that schedule change.
Budget Committee Member John Manter noted that one of the School Budget meetings fell on a night when there was a Planning Board meeting. Manager Reed stated that those two meetings are tentative. If all goes well and the RSU is passed in January those two meetings will not be needed because the School Department will no longer be a part of the Town’s budget process.
ITEM 7. Manager’s Report (taken out of order)
a. The Town Council reviewed a copy of an enforcement letter for the unserviceable vehicles located at 1033 School Street.
b. The Town Council reviewed a copy of an updated budget and fund balance report.
c. The Town Council reviewed a copy of the Fire Department’s monthly report.
d. The Town Council reviewed a copy of an article pertaining to single stream recycling.
e. The Town Council reviewed a copy of thank you cards received from the local Brownie troop sent to the Police and Fire Departments
f. The Town Council reviewed a copy of the School Committee’s minutes and agenda.
Manager Reed stated that staff has received a number of positive comments on the flags that were hung on State Street.
Manager Reed outlined that Public Works had decided to put a fence up at the cemetery by the storage area to block it from view.
Manager Reed also stated that he followed up with Pete Dionne at Waste Management and he has asked his staff to start keeping track of time allocation and report back.
Chairman Friedman noted that he has noticed that they are picking the trash up earlier and faster and that there have been two men on the truck.
Councilor Perkins inquired on whether anyone had mentioned anything about the disposing of flags. Manager Reed outlined that one has been thrown away by someone delivering a vault. He added that Public Works leaves flags up until Veterans Day and then properly disposes of them.
ITEM 5a. Audit Discussion
Charemon Davis, the Town’s Auditor, was present to discuss the audit and the RSU consolidation plan.
Charemon inquired whether the Town had updated their collateralization agreements with all banks. Manager Reed stated they had. There was discussion on reserve accounts and what will happen to them when the RSU is formed.
Charemon asked the Council if they had any requests or concerns having to do with control procedures. Councilor Parker stated that he would like to see more detail on purchase orders. For instance when a part is purchased he would like to see what the part is and what piece of equipment it is for. He would also like to see more detail on mileage sheets than just “local” and also list why the trip was made.
Chairman Friedman inquired why the Town was still reimbursing mileage when the Public Works Department now has a work truck. He also outlined that a plow should be installed on the work truck so the Town no longer has to pay a private vendor to have the small parking lots plowed.
Charemon stated that there is a standard mileage list that every employee can go by.
Charemon outlined that she had read the RSU plan that Manager Reed had provided her and she had some questions on items that were not addressed in the plan. They are outlined below:
Disposition of real and personal property: what about vehicles? It was noted that Glenburn owned their own school buses.
Debt: is Orono and Glenburn’s debt state funded?
Contracts: who will be responsible for getting federal ID number? What will happen to contracts that expire on or before when the new entity is formed?
ADS Software: how will the cost be shared?
Central Office: who and where?
Grants: how will these be allocated per school?
Budget Committee Member Suzanne Hart recommended putting together a list of questions and submitting them to the Superintendent and RSU Committee.
Charemon outlined that people need to be educated in order to vote on this. There are a lot of unknowns but if you take that away you’ll have people who can make an educated decision.
It was decided that the Council would utilize the help of Charemon’s audit firm to look into the two other municipalities and to help address the unknowns.
ITEM 5b. RSU Discussion
This was covered under item 5a.
ITEM 6. Comments From The Public
There were no comments from the public.
ITEM 8. Requests for Information and Town Council Comments
Manager Reed passed out a memo from Public Works Superintendent Butch Free with pricing for snow plows. Councilor Parker recommended checking with Grindles in Ellsworth.
Motion By: Councilor Parker—to get three quotes to purchase a snow plow and take the lowest of the three quotes and acquire it as soon as possible. Seconded: Councilor Perkins, Voted 3-0 in favor.
ITEM 9. Warrants: Town Warrant 10 & 10A, Town Payroll Warrant 10, School Lunch Warrant 10, School Warrant 10 and School Payroll Warrant 10 were circulated and signed.
ITEM 10. Adjournment: Motion: Councilor Perkins—to adjourn the November 10, 2008 Town Council Meeting. Seconded: Councilor Parker —there was no further discussion. Voted 3-0. Meeting adjourned 8:39 pm.
A true record, Attest:
Karen Humphrey
Deputy Clerk
Town of Veazie
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