Wellfleet Finance Committee
Minutes of Meeting of May 23, 2012
Senior Center Conference Room, 7:00 p.m.
Present: Sam Bradford, Janet Loewenstein, Stephen Oliver, Stephen Polowczyk, Thomas Reinhart, Sylvia Smith, Liz Sorrell, Robert Wallace
Regrets: Ira Wood
Also Attending: Town Administrator Paul Sieloff
Acting Chair Sylvia Smith called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
New Members
Finance Committee welcomed new member Tom Reinhart. Ira Wood will be coming to the next meeting.
Reorganization
Oliver moved to nominate Sylvia Smith as chair and Steve Polowczyk as vice-chair. Sorrell seconded. The motion carried 8-0, and Smith became chair and Steve Polowczyk vice-chair
Report on Truro Recreation
Janet Loewenstein had gathered information on Truro’s Recreation Department and said that she wanted to look further at Wellfleet Recreation procedures, job descriptions and other information. Smith had also compared the Recreation budgets of the two towns. Loewenstein commented favorably on the Truro Recreation website. FinCom discussed making recommendations addressing the Auditor’s suggestions for the Recreation Department – better tracking of money and participants in Recreation programs. FinCom recommended that Recreation should submit their receipts and rosters to Administration on a weekly basis. Paul Sieloff and Assistant Town Administrator Tim King will work with the Recreation Director to ensure that this is done. Paul Sieloff recommended having FinCom speak to the Recreation
Director directly, but the Committee said that basically accounting and record keeping are the only areas within their scope.
IT Proposal
Paul Sieloff said there would be a special Board of Selectmen’s meeting to arrange for IT coverage by Barnstable County services. FinCom asked about management of Comcast billing. Paul Sieloff will check with the Town Treasurer about setting up a direct pay account for Comcast. Bradford recommended putting IT services out to bid in a future Fiscal Year.
Sorrell moved to support the pilot program for one year. Bradford seconded, and the motion carried 7-0. FinCom will send a memo to the Board of Selectmen noting their support.
Fire Department Overtime – Consultant’s Report
Paul Sieloff said that the consultant’s Fire Department Overtime report did not provide sufficient information. The draft report was inadequate, he said, because it did not offer solutions to eliminate excess Overtime. Sieloff said the report has not yet been paid for this reason. Finance Committee noted that members had not been consulted as promised in the agreement with the consultant.
BOS Goals
Chair Smith said that Paul Pilcher, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, was pleased that Finance Committee had expressed interest in being involved with the Selectmen’s goals that are related to finances. Paul Sieloff reviewed some of the BOS goals that had been accomplished. Finance Committee considered the BOS 2011 Goals list1 as Paul Pilcher had requested and discussed coordinating efforts of beach, recreation and the Marina was one suggestion; more concern for tourism; and revenue ideas. Paul Sieloff answered questions about replacing Fire Chief Daniel Silverman when he retires and reviewed suggestions Silverman had made. Sieloff discussed other Fire Department staffing options and regionalization ideas. FinCom also was interested in studying revenue streams as carefully as the budget
requests each year. This will begin with the completion of Fiscal Year 2012. Paul Sieloff and the Committee suggested building up Free Cash and the Stabilization Fund. FinCom will list items that they think are important BOS goals and submit them to the committee secretary for compilation.
Minutes
Bradford moved to approve the minutes of May 9, 2012. Wallace seconded, and the motion carried 4-0-1.
Mail
There were three items in the mail: the Indoor Air Quality Assessment Report2 for Town Hall; an email from May 17, 2012 regarding Municipal Leasing3 and the May 4, 2012 Police Department Report.4
Agenda for Next Meeting
Agenda for the next meeting to be held June 27, 2012 was set.
Adjournment
Sorrell moved to adjourn. Bradford seconded, and the motion carried 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
____________________________ _________________________
Mary Rogers, Committee Secretary Sylvia Smith, Chair
Finance Committee approved these minutes at the meeting held 6/27/12.
Public Records for Finance Committee Meeting of 5/23/12
1.) BOS Prioritized Goals of 8/23/11
2.) Indoor Air Quality Assessment Report for Town Hall
3.) E-mail from May 17, 2012 regarding Municipal Leasing
4.) May 4, 2012 Police Department Report
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