Town Office Building January 23, 2012
Selectmen’s Conference Room 5:00 P.M.
First Selectman Mailhos called the meeting to order at 5:04 P.M. with the following in attendance: Selectman Littell & Blessington, Public Works Director, Lynn Nicholls, Business Manager Donna Latincsics, Public Works drivers and a resident.
Donna Latincsics presented draft #3 of the budget. This budget reflects an increase by $285,893 (7.81%) including draft CIP recommendations, if adopted by the BOS; ($188,000) an addition of $50,000 for outsourcing sweeping, an increase to the Public Work’s Secretary salary of $1 per hour and 6 hours per week (as per Lynn Nicholls’s request). Region 19 is still not official; K-8 is preliminary and Public Safety, the Library as well as other departments still have not submitted their budgets. Chief Millix, of Willington Fire Department added that Dispatch fees will remain flat ($2.90 per capita).
The two Public Works crew members, Lucien Bessette, Foreman and Brian French were present. Mr. Bessette asked the Board to consider adding one more truck back into the budget for the plowing season. He said although the storms we have had so far have been small, the increase is stressful on the drivers and we might see an impact. He warned that with the increase in the routes; 90 minute school delays might not even happen. Mr. French added that his route is now 38 miles round trip and it takes much longer. Mr. Bessette said he has been plowing since 1984; we always had 7 plow trucks/routes. Mr. French added that we have a 5 to 6 hour clean up time now (versus a 4 hour clean up time) and that is just based on the smaller storms we have had. Lynn Nicholls added that since
she started with the Town, we have also added 5 new roads.
Selectman Blessington said right now we are talking about a 7.81% increase and he doesn’t think that we will be able to sell that. Last year when we tried to cut and we found the only places where we could; now you are asking to put it back in; it is not going to fly. Lynn added that the only thing she originally asked was not to cut safety; and that was one of the biggest cuts. First Selectman Mailhos clarified that the Board was seriously considering reducing staff; there were many meetings; and we came close to making that decision but Lynn said she thought she could make this option work. Mr. Bessette added that last year, when discussions were held about cutting back on the contractors, the Public Works Director and employees were under the impression that only one driver was going to be cut. Selectman Blessington said last year, the feeling was the people would have to get used to not getting the roads done as fast and yes, we are going to get complaints no matter how
much snow or how many trucks are on the road; but we are working on a budget and if we are going to reinstate the trucks, he asked Lynn where we are going to take the money from. Selectman Littell suggested adding a provision with a per diem (to add on a contractor) only when needed; if a big storm is predicted, calling in extra help under the First Selectman’s jurisdiction. Mr. Bessette said cutting two trucks is a lot of an added impact on the drivers.
Donna made additional edits to the budget; using the “zero based” budgeting philosophy requested by the Board of Finance. First Selectman Mailhos clarified “zero based” budgeting means the budget is based on what has been spent on particular line items with realistic numbers. An example is that the Town Office Building computer purchases were only $7,000 last year, but were budgeted for $10,000; Donna has only budgeted $7,000 this year. Donna added that it is also setting priorities; taking things out that have not been used in years. For example; the “commissions” line for $100 was allotted for the Solid Waste Advisory Commission; and has not been used for years; it has been removed. First Selectman Mailhos added that if the Commission decides that they need additional
funding, they would come before the Board of Selectmen anyway. She also added that the VFW has requested that their line item be brought back up to $600, as it was cut to $500 last year. They pay for flags for the Veteran’s graves, the decorations for Memorial Day as well as ice cream on Memorial Day. First Selectman Mailhos stated that this is a classic example of zero based budgeting; as they have not added any additional items in their budget; we should not be nickel and diming them.
Donna then brought the Town Engineer line item up. She has run a 10 year average on the expenditure; and increased the line item to reflect his usage - $8,500. It looks like a large increase; however we have many projects going on, and we have been utilizing him for many things. The Land Use Consulting Engineer is an additional other line item under the Selectmen’s budget. The Land Use Department uses their consultant to sign off on our Engineer projects, to avoid a conflict of interest. First Selectman Mailhos added that the Town Engineer does more than just submit plans; he is more like a staff member in an administrative capacity. He creates bid documents, and also works with Public Works on projects as well as checking in on projects as they are in progress. First Selectman Mailhos
added if we are in a situation where the BOS Engineering line item is over budget and the PZC line item is under budget; the BOF would be able to make a simple transfer, which benefits this line item. In this case, however the Land Use line item has increased, due to the public hearings that have been held. She added that Planning and Zoning needs to know that they are going over budget and take that into consideration when planning for next year’s budget. Donna said that her department issues a monthly budget report to all departments, so they know if they are within budget.
Additions to the budget include water usage on the new system; $300 which is a charge per gallon as well as our share of the fixed cost. A reduction in that amount will be taken from the TOB maintenance and misc. line item for water testing and maintenance costs related to the old system.
The CIP plan was discussed. The current draft plan includes Turnpike Road repairs for $185,000 and $70,000 for Center School parking lot. The parking lot project would be adding an additional parking lot to the side of the building for drop offs and pick ups, rather than using the front of the building, which is actually for emergency vehicle parking. The outsourcing of sweeping was then discussed; however it is an addition of $50,000. Selectman Littell asked if we can reduce anywhere to supplement that – like under sweeper maintenance. First Selectman Mailhos stated that there was a CIP request submitted for a new sweeper. The one we have needs major repairs; however Lynn stated that we cannot find parts for it. Lynn would like to go out to bid for the sweeping and add an addendum
for catch basin cleaning as well. First Selectman Mailhos added that we would either have to spend money on a new sweeper in the next couple of years, or spend more money on refurbishing the current one, which is really is not feasible. Selectman Blessington added that part of the reason he would be willing to go along with the outsourcing would give our crews relief to get other things done that they fall behind on; although it is very expensive.
Selectman Blessington also added that he was not aware that the increase to the Public Works Secretarial position was approved. Lynn said it was not approved; she asked Donna to add it to the budget and let the BOS decide. Selectman Blessington stated that it looks like a total increase of $4,800 with the additional hours and salary increase. Lynn defended the position, as her secretary does a lot more than any other secretary; she is only there for 12 hours a week, and does not get any benefits.
Fist Selectman Mailhos stated that the BOS budget is unique from all the other budgets; and have a lot of things that affect the bottom line; things we have no control over. She compared our budget to the Board of Education’s, which is coming in at .66% – that is great. Our core things are not adding up to that much, but the sweeping increase of $50,000 will show as a big increase; along with the CIP requests. Selectman Blessington stated last year we tried to cut as much as possible with the idea in mind that we did not want to lay anyone off. This year we haven’t even thought about that this year; maybe we should. Lynn added that her budgets have remained the same – going back to 1988; it is the materials that have increased. First Selectman Mailhos stated the other option
is raising taxes, and we don’t want to do that. Selectman Blessington added last year we had strong pressure to cut; this year the pressure has eased but what if the economy tanks again? It is easier to not put things back in rather than taking them out.
First Selectman Mailhos stated that our Youth Family and Social Services Director may be requesting additional staff help. She has not seen any other budgets come in yet; there are a lot of unknowns. Land Use might have a request to fill the vacant position as there has been some dissatisfaction, however residents have not complained about filling the position. We don’t know what the Board of Finance is going to do, but they did ask to submit what we need to run our departments. First Selectman Mailhos stated at the next meeting, we will need to take time to process what we are looking at right now and consider what can be cut.
Selectman Littell asked if we can pass the $70,000 expense for the parking lot to the Board of Education with the money they may return at the end of the year. First Selectman Mailhos said one of the things we should be getting away from (in the spirit of zero based budgeting) is unplanned expenses; if the budget comes in favorable, it is given back to the Town, rather than saving up for bigger projects.
Lynn added that she has been able to recoup a lot of money through insurance companies, but still does not feel as if we are getting ahead because there are other instances where damages have occurred from accidents; where the driver left the scene; leaving us with replacements or repairs out of our budget. First Selectman Mailhos added that Lynn’s secretary has been proactive with following up on the insurance companies to recoup money; enough to cover her salary.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Campbell
Robin Campbell
Administrative Assistant
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