Town Meeting Public Hearing 2020

2020-06-09 · Town Meeting · 55:18 · watch on YouTube →

A Zoom public hearing on the warrant for Durham's July 14, 2020 town meeting, which the chair described as the town's first virtual town meeting hearing, followed immediately by a regular select board meeting on the same link. Town administrator Ruth (?) presented the 22-question secret ballot article by article, explaining why the ballot differs from the draft warrant printed in the annual report, what was stripped out of it, and which budgets rose and fell. Residents asked about trash bag tags, the halving of the maintenance paving budget, the undesignated fund balance, the interest rate on delinquent taxes and how the polling place would be run under COVID-19 precautions. The board voted to close the public hearing, then held a short regular meeting with reports from the fire chief, the road commissioner and the town administrator. The fire chief reported that the state police were withdrawing from a law enforcement coverage agreement as of July 1 and that the sheriff would attend the next meeting.

No written minutes could be matched to this meeting. The transcript records that the speaker changed but never who was speaking, so any name attached to a statement below is inferred from context and is marked (?).

What was discussed

1. 0:04
   Opening and how the hearing would run

   The chair welcomed attendees to what he called the first virtual public hearing for a town meeting in Durham, and explained that Ruth would present the warrant and that questions could be asked by raising a hand on Zoom or typing in the chat.

2. 0:04
   Why this was a hard budget year

   The chair said that even before COVID-19 the year was going to be difficult because the final road bond and the ambulance bond both came onto the budget, adding almost $300,000 before any other change. The board's goal was to hold the tax rate at least flat to last year, and he credited the board and budget committee with getting there through some tough decisions.

3. 0:04
   Why the ballot differs from the printed warrant

   Ruth (?) explained that the warrant printed in the annual report was a draft because the land use ordinance wording was not finished, and that COVID-19 then made a traditional town meeting impossible.

4. 0:04
   Why a secret ballot

   Ruth cited the pandemic limit of no more than 50 people at a gathering, the wish to include residents uncomfortable attending in person, and the need to commit taxes when the town is on a calendar year and already halfway through its budget season with no significant cash coming in. The state allowed towns to run on last year's budget, but Durham's last year budget was higher in many places than what is proposed.

5. 5:17
   What was taken off the ballot

   To keep the ballot short and because there would be little chance for discussion, the board removed the land use changes, the marijuana opt-in questions, the question of changing to a manager, select board and town meeting form of government, questions reorganizing certain funds, all capital account funding, part of the market value adjustment and the donations. What remained was 22 questions, set out with explanations in a four-page mailer sent to residents and to be sent with absentee state ballots.

6. 5:17
   Question 1: authority to spend at last year's level

   The first question asks the town to authorize spending up to last year's amount on any budget that fails. Ruth (?) described it as a failsafe so that a rejected budget line does not leave the town without one, though the board would still have to come back for a new vote on a full budget if the budget were voted down.

7. 5:17
   Question 2: public works plow truck

   A capital purchase planned for the year and debated for removal, but the RFP came in lower than last year so the board left it on the warrant. The money would come from a capital fund, so it would not raise taxes this year, and it would replace a truck more than 20 years old.

8. 5:17
   Question 3: solid waste contract with Pine Tree Waste

   The existing contract expires June 30. Two bids came back, both significantly higher than the past three years, partly because of the collapse in the recycling market; Pine Tree Waste was the low bidder at 32 percent below the other bid.

9. 5:17
   Budgets that decreased

   Ruth listed the fire and rescue, public works, assessing, general assistance, cemeteries, planning, and conservation and recreation budgets as lower than last year. The largest single piece was the board's decision to cut maintenance paving in half in the public works budget, which offset much of the increase in debt and solid waste.

10. 10:18
    Budgets that increased

    Administration rose 3 percent, mostly from a heavy election year and costs around the town clerk's retirement; animal control rose on the contracts with the Coastal Humane Society and with Lisbon; debt rose 39 percent on the first payment of the 2019 combined road and ambulance bonds; the Eureka Center rose 2 percent after the propane furnace died in December and was replaced with heat pumps. Solid waste rose 21 percent, and Ruth (?) warned the full effect of the new contract will not be felt until next year because only five payments fall in this one. Telecommunications rose 1 percent on website hosting and is funded mostly from the Comcast franchise agreement.

11. 10:18
    Question 11 combines several budgets

    Animal control, assessing, cemeteries, conservation, recreation and parks, the Eureka Community Center, general assistance, the planning board, the appeals board, the historic district commission and telecommunications are set out separately in the question but voted on together, to keep the ballot short.

12. 10:18
    Question 5: $10,000 to the emergency fund

    The addition would come out of undesignated funds and so would not affect the tax rate. The existing fund can be drawn on only with the approval of both the select board and the budget committee.

13. 10:18
    Question 6: using the RSU 5 overpayment

    RSU 5 assessed Durham incorrectly last year, an error its auditors found, and the town's December payment was $77,410 less than anticipated. That money lapsed into undesignated funds at year end and the board proposes using it to offset this year's tax commitment.

14. 10:18
    Standard business articles and the bottom line

    The recurring articles set the overlay, give the board authority to conduct business, allow operations to continue past the end of the year, and allow short-term borrowing in anticipation of taxes; Ruth (?) said the town is taking out a tax anticipation note this year and may need one next year. The municipal share of the tax commitment is down about $21,000 from last year despite the increases in debt service and solid waste.

15. 15:45
    How and when to vote

    Voting is by yes or no questions, with absentee ballots available by mail, by phone or online through the state's website, and in person at the town office during its shortened hours. Voters will receive several ballots, including state ballots, the budget referendum and a ballot for town officials covering the select board, budget committee and school board.

16. 15:45
    Question from a resident on trash bag tags

    A submitted question asked whether the board had considered raising the tag price to cover costs and make people accountable for what they throw away. The chair said he did not recall discussing an increase, that the subject comes up whenever a new solid waste contract is negotiated, that the board had discussed whether to keep tags at all and chose to leave the program as is, and that a price rise would not be unreasonable in future years as costs climb.

17. 15:45
    Lee's comments on the budget and solid waste

    Lee, speaking as a member of the budget committee, credited both boards for hard decisions, particularly halving maintenance paving to keep the municipal side flat while solid waste rose 21 percent. Lee (?) noted the plow truck vote was not unanimous on either board, cautioned that a tax anticipation note is borrowing and not free, and urged the select board to reconvene the solid waste committee to look at other options.

18. 21:04
    Whether halving road maintenance is shortsighted

    Answering a chat question from John on the public works budget, the chair said only half the maintenance was cut and the public works director was asked to prioritise, and that the roads serviced over the last few years put the town in a position to take a reduced year. He called it a one-year measure, said next year's budget is expected to be the more painful one because of risks to state revenue sharing, school aid and excise tax collections, and said the board is committed to returning road maintenance to somewhere between $350,000 and $400,000 a year.

19. 26:21
    The undesignated fund balance

    Asked by Jeff Wakeman (?) what the balance was, Ruth (?) said the 2019 unassigned balance was $1.2 million and that with other funds, net of bond proceeds, unrestricted balances run over $3 million. The chair said the town is drawing more from undesignated than in a normal year because of the circumstances but would not do so year after year, and Ruth (?) said the bigger hit will come next year if revenues fall.

20. 26:21
    Cash flow and a possible move to a fiscal year

    Ruth (?) described going six months with little cash coming in because taxes are not collected until the end of June, against a seven or eight million dollar budget. The chair said the board would begin discussing a change from a calendar year to a fiscal year so that budget approval and tax collection line up and the town does not need tax anticipation notes.

21. 26:21
    Interest rate on delinquent taxes

    Answering Phyllis Brandon, Ruth (?) said the rate is set by the state finance department, which gives a maximum the town generally adopts. The mailer said 9 percent, but a correction came through setting the maximum at 8 percent, caught before the ballots were printed, so the ballots will read 8 percent.

22. 31:47
    COVID-19 precautions at the polling place

    A resident asked what was planned for sanitation and whether ballots could be brought out to cars. Ruth (?) described distanced lines six feet apart outside, hand sanitizer and wipes, and poll workers in masks with masks asked of voters, and said the state has extended absentee balloting to 8:00 p.m. on election day rather than the Thursday before. On curbside voting and wiping down booths, the chair and Ruth (?) said they would need to check what is allowed and would follow CDC guidance; the resident offered to send Ruth the CDC recommendations for polling locations.

23. 37:23
    Regular select board meeting called to order

    With the hearing closed, the chair opened the regular meeting on the same Zoom link with a quorum established. The agenda was amended to add the May 5 minutes to the consent agenda alongside those of May 26, and no one came forward for public comment.

24. 37:23
    State sending protective equipment for the election

    The chair read an email from Becky reporting that the state is sending guidelines and personal protective equipment along with sneeze guards, like the ones the town had considered for the office.

25. 37:23
    Fire chief's report: well and septic projects

    Drilling had reached 700 feet without a sufficient water supply, so a crew was coming the next day to frack the well, which the chief said was not what was wanted but was the only way to finish the project. The septic work was due to start later that week, and station cleanup had been done as staff time allowed.

26. 37:23
    Surplus remote SCBA filling station

    The chief told the board he is looking into the value of a remote filling station bought with the department's air compressor, intended for a truck that was never specified to carry it. He believes it was bought with grant money and is checking with a state fire service representative before any sale.

27. 42:34
    Online burn permits suspended for Durham

    The chief explained the two systems: the forestry website portal, which charges $7 a permit, and the free warden's report site, which has tighter limits. Because the paid portal lets someone pull a permit at six in the morning, before the predictive weather comes out at nine, and even for two days ahead, he asked the Forest Service to suspend that option for Durham residents after someone burned on a high class day and it became an issue.

28. 42:34
    Law enforcement coverage after July 1

    On a call the previous week the department had difficulty getting law enforcement coverage, and the chief learned that the state police were pulling out of the prior coverage agreement as of July 1, news the sheriff had received only hours earlier. Responsibility for coverage off state roads falls to the sheriff's office, which is adding a position after its budget was set, and the chief said the board should discuss expectations and future costs with the sheriff, who Ruth (?) said would be available on the 23rd.

29. 42:34
    Road commissioner's report

    Calvin (?) reported last year's culvert replacement list finished, with a new one already added on Stackpole Road, the crosswalk painted at Runaround Pond, stop ahead bars on Quaker, Meeting and Rabbit, and striping done at the fire station, public works and town office.

30. 47:51
    Paving and road work in progress

    The Meadow and Swamp Road four corners had been paved that day with line work to follow, and Meadow Road was completed out to Route 125. Work continued with the paving contractor on Day Road, where the centre line was realigned, ditches pulled back and embankments riprapped ahead of grinding, and in the Deerville neighbourhood, Cottage Woods and Deervale, where tree trimming was finished and a 24-inch cross culvert was replaced on Cottage Woods.

31. 47:51
    Speed radar and speed study

    Calvin (?) said the speed radar unit would be moved to the other end of the road facing back toward Brunswick to compare readings, then moved elsewhere after a week or two. He was still assembling the application for a speed study and expected to finish it that week.

32. 47:51
    Town administrator's report

    Ruth had no written report but said the office had been busy with lines most of the time and all morning appointments booked, and that more than 300 absentee ballot requests had already come in before the ballots themselves had arrived. She asked to keep office hours at status quo for now so staff could process the ballots, and reported that the tax anticipation note had closed that day, giving access to the money needed for this month's and next month's school payments.

33. 52:57
    Upcoming meetings

    The next regular meeting was set for Tuesday, June 23 at 6:30 p.m., expected to remain on Zoom, with a further meeting on Tuesday, July 14, which is voting day. Ruth (?) said absentee ballots would be in the office from June 15 and that requests could be put in at any time.

What was decided

• 37:23
  Close the public hearing on the July 14 ballot referendum, seconded by Mark Farren. Roll call: Rob Panto yes, Mark Farren yes, Rich George yes, Todd Buller yes, chair yes.passed
• 52:57
  Accept the consent agenda as presented, with the addition of the May 5 minutes. Roll call: Rob Panto yes, Rich George yes, Todd Buller yes, Mark Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 52:57
  Adjourn, seconded by Todd Buller. Roll call: Rob Panto yes, Rich George yes, Todd Buller yes, Mark Farren yes, chair yes.passed

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Worth knowing

• 0:04
  The final road bond payment and the ambulance bond added almost $300,000 to the budget before any other change, and debt service is up 39 percent. Even so, the municipal share of the tax commitment is about $21,000 lower than last year.
• 5:17
  The new solid waste contract raises that budget 21 percent, and only five payments fall in this budget year, so Ruth (?) warned the full cost will not show until next year. Pine Tree Waste was the low bidder of two, 32 percent below the other.
• 21:04
  Maintenance paving was cut in half to hold the tax rate down, described as a one-year measure with a commitment to return it to between $350,000 and $400,000 a year. Both the chair and Ruth (?) said next year's budget is expected to be the harder one.
• 26:21
  The interest rate on delinquent taxes will be 8 percent, not the 9 percent printed in the mailer sent to residents. The state's correction arrived in time to change the ballots.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 1 passage of motion language, against 3 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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