TranscriptSelect Board Meeting ~ January 24, 2023

Durham uh Board of selectments order on January 24th 2023 please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance liberty and justice for all um I have a couple of amendments to the agenda after the energy manager's report 7A will have a couple of Oaths uh to

vote on and sign um and then 7B I'm pulling the warrants out of the consent agenda because we have some additional warrants that weren't available to us when we got our packet so we'll need to make that a separate agenda item and actually take a few minutes to actually look through them before we sign them so but they're we don't meet again for three weeks so we we don't really don't want to let it wait another three weeks before those bills get paid so we'll just have to take some time in the meeting to review the warrants so any other amendments to the agenda okay uh is anybody here for public comment all right Phyllis come on up just have a seat and state your name and let us know what you think all right all right Phil Phil is Brandon at Brookside Drive um as I've been attending the budget meetings a couple things have um have come up that that I'm remembering um so I'd like to to visit two two

things well this is not q a no no no no no no it's statements yeah okay great that's fine savings um so one of the things that I heard in our budget meetings is about um grants and I think it would be beneficial um preparing for town meeting that I think Heather may have brought this up already that a list of the grants that the department leaders have put together and have received and um how much we've gotten and what we're spending and I think that would be good to have an overview for the town as we go into town meeting so maybe a PDF or something that we can hand out and then the other thing about arpa funds we talked about um early on about Arbor funds I think the same thing would apply that there could be an overview of what we um have received for Opera funds what we've spent it on I just think it's beneficial for townspeople to to see that how these monies are helpful

um for things that we're using it for that's beneficial to the town and it's not impacting their taxes so that's what I wanted to talk about great thank you very much of the 2023 holiday schedule so in our packets we have a list of 2023 holiday closings in Jerry is this the town policy has always been that we just mirror whatever the official state holidays are that's what we do and so is that what this list is okay and one thing that has come up okay if if the office is already closed on a particular day like for instance I'm looking at Friday November 10th we don't schedule this makeup holiday for that that's just oh okay right we've been asked to and in fact have done that in the past you know in a softer moment but

I think the consensus was we shouldn't be doing that right they would just get that Friday off right which if we're closed anyway so yeah okay um all right I would and I guess and I guess why do we need to vote on this it was told it was brought up to me that in the past that you folks have to approve uh the holiday well one year yeah the the

our short timer Town manager one year thought that would be a good thing to do good thing to do and so but we we had never done it prior to that because we have because the policy is right after the state holidays are that's what we do yeah I think one of those reasons was we added a new holiday oh Juneteenth yeah

so um this and actually vote on it so we have we're gonna have a preliminary kind of an um introduction I guess number five is about financial services yeah you know so what go ahead so in your packet I got a proposal from uh Barry Talbot Royer for outsourcing our payroll and accounts

payable and I just want you folks to consider this Mark Roy who was the president of this company will be here at the next elections meeting to answer any questions that you have might have with that and I've also put in your packet that advantages and disadvantages about sourcing it versus keeping your house so take a look at that when we can talk about some of those things if you want before we break but I I figured this would you know be a really good time to consider this uh their proposal um to take over the AP and the payroll was 70 000 a year um if we were to hire in-house and get someone pretty well qualified that could do that accounting with salary and benefits you're looking at pretty close to that cost anyway and this would give

the the town a really good opportunity to get their Charter accounts in order by a group of professionals uh fixing any issues that might be there getting our reserves into a financial system and that's I mean I think we're at a really good time I think Durham's in a good time to maybe take a look at that and consider it yeah and I will know more information Mark couldn't be available tonight um he had a prior commitment but he's going to be here next uh selected me I think it's February 14th to answer any questions in regard to that the only question I had I thought this was a really good idea that his last statement there caught my attention of still needing to have a Treasurer on and Kenya here at the Town Office you know it doesn't take the place of that so I got a little nervous that it doesn't quite offset the entire uh payroll portion of no of this but I I

think this is a good idea it gives a lot more accountability to what's going on yeah the person that would be sitting in that chair would be doing the tax basically the tax collector so prior to this that person the payroll accounts payable and the taxes so that would relieve her or him whoever if you don't go this way fills that role uh would still have to do uh the taxes or everything by doing this we have that body if if

the budget gets approved to take care of the um taxes that sort of thing and do other things and work that window so where you've done yeah no I'm good yeah no I'm fine you know I I get it I get it I think amazing so one thing that will be important is that um we need to we need to have a full like

option a option b like full context all in what does the cost look like so for instance you know you you say that you know the cost of having somebody um do the payroll and accounts payable you're saying well it's about the same as we would pay you know somebody to fill you know with more Advanced Financial Acumen in that position anyway and it kind of makes it sound like a wash but it's not really a wash because we're also saying that that there would still be the tax collector role and that there might be other duties that would still need to be done by somebody in-house so it's not like a one for one replacement right so and there's also counter coverage so I think um I think like option A or current state is okay what am I getting what do I think it's gonna cost and that's probably what this year's budget is based on what is it going to cost me to hire somebody to do all that stuff in-house like what

skill level what's it going to cost in um what if any and I think you've already accounted for this too with uh taking a part-time or a full-time additional counter coverage is needed right option b is if you take part of that um treasurer's roles and responsibilities away and pay somebody else to do it you know um

what's getting done for that money and then what's kind of left behind and what's How would how would that be covered you know what I mean like you you need the because it's not a one-to-one replacement right well no no it's not um window coverage can be taken care of with our I.T and that's what I mean you

got to spell all that out like in a right and I'll get there yeah I'm still learning I'm not asking if you have it tonight I'm just I'm trying to give you the heads-ups like this this is what you're going to have to demonstrate and it might be okay that that the um that farming it out is is par is going to be a net increase in cost but if the benefit is worth it in terms of some of the you know um in addressing some of the issues we've had in that area there might might be worth it right so and it's and it's certainly nothing that has to be permanent once once once we do this and get our child of accounts and everything in order and I mean we want to bring it back in house we always have that yeah opportunity but to find somebody qualified to do that when there's a team out there that can do that for us and probably in pretty short order might might be worth it sometimes Outsourcing that kind of

talent it's actually cheaper in the long run and that that may be that's why you have to go through that exercise right and then then we need to make sure as we're going into budget season or going into a budget approval process is that are you if if for the sake of argument

if we did go down that road sometime in 2023 are you comfortable that there's enough funds in the administration budget that you're requesting to cover that potential additional expense and the expense of whatever some level of person in that position do you have the budget to do that well I have in my budget over 70 000 for that position plus the part-time are going to fall time right but if that 70 000 for that position what you said here like that entire 70 could go to the contractor right so that still leaves you with a US

duties that were going to be covered by that seventy thousand [Music] but who become the artificial Treasurer I'm the I'm the treasurer yeah and that's a state legal thing like the state has a list of of goals like by by law even if a town doesn't have a fire department they still have to appoint a fire chief so there's there's all kinds of stuff like that yeah right um right or in the like treasure it's the same thing with animal control yeah you yeah it doesn't matter if it's not a dog or cat in your town you still have to appoint an animal control officer right so so all right so this so it

would in essence it would actually free up the person if they go to full time by not doing this to concentrate more on tax collection helping to fill the reports I mean we have that body yeah I understand that and then then I would say you still need to make sure that you can cover what you want to cover at the window because a large part of your justification for taking that person to full time was to cover the window right so I mean we've got that figured out with I.T people who are on 20 hours a week and it doesn't really I mean and again as the new manager coming in trying to figure out all of what's going on I've been here been here five months and I believe that the people at the work in the I.T and the meetings can can do that plus work the window it's not either or it's it's both so I would because they're here yeah they're here four hours a a day for for four days so I would recommend that you do

what would a what would a sample weekly schedule and window coverage look like under both scenarios yeah and if if you want the town of Monmouth which is our sister organization really they are identical to Durham they're rural got the same population did this exact same thing hired these guys because they were sort of facing the same thing the manager was asking well why is this here why is this there and couldn't really come to it so they hired them and they haven't looked back right and and I'm not questioning the value of a contractor for those duties it's the it's the everything else within the context it's the the um because everything's connected right it's it's the um we want to make sure we avoid unintended consequences because my concern is and what I what I want before I would vote for this I want to be comfortable is that okay if we take those funds and we use it for this uh con if we contract

out some of these things I want to see something that makes us comfortable that the duties that remain here will there's adequate coverage to do that and cover the window you know based upon how you want to do it I think you may absolutely like have it all there like in your head but it's got to get down you know on paper you got to be able to see it you got to see the plan I agree I want to because my biggest concerns to see this is the counter help which has been an issue right and so your explanation helps but I agree with Kevin seeing it in writing seeing the schedule I think for me would be extremely helpful just

to make sure there is I was on the same kind of the same boat I mean my second thing was an action plan but my first time after reading this was first and foremost I I don't this is a pretty good idea um I agree I think it's anytime you can Outsource certain activities and it's beneficial then she'll be it but um one of the statements in this contract is that um once if you no longer need it or the service becomes too expensive you can get rid of them right um so my question is while we are on and um while we do not currently have one is this a company that we can hire in the interim like right that breaks down to like let's call it 14 1400 bucks a week is this a company we can hire in the interim until that position is filled if we were elected to go that route to keep us on track and maybe reorganize and get a chart of accounts going that would probably be a question from Mark okay that'd be a good question when he comes

to see us yeah yeah absolutely because I I don't I can't speak for him and what he's got and how he does something you guys are talking no I just saw that line and that's what triggered it so I you know towns do you know get on and then they get off you know so he's always looking well I'd love the reorganization and re you know of chart of accounts and things of that nature and and essentially working with the staff to to revamp those and correct any deficiencies maybe we may have so and that you know either way I'd like to see almost a third party kind of reincarnate our our bookkeeping system yeah no I think I think there's a lot of value there I just want to make sure that we that we are that the full impact and potential uh not only on financially but on towns you know the remaining Town staff time and how they're going to be allocated and what their roles are yeah um is and I guess and on top of that so

we're not going to even talk to this guy for three weeks and then even if we loved his idea you got to figure it's at least a month or two before it's so okay so what's the what's the plan for covering all that stuff over the next two or three months we're going to limp along just like we have been um right from there's nobody you can bring in like on us because you had a couple of people that you you've reached out to in the past and you that said they might be interested in some you know like a temporary part-time gig kind of thing I don't believe so no I sent you a name of somebody who um well right now with Devin and Kimberly taking the window and we're leaving lunchtime but doing what we're doing okay you know I'm not in other words I'm not getting any complaints from people coming in and saying they're not getting the service you know you know I guess I'm talking more about you know payroll accounts payable you know

yeah we're still going to look along you know that's getting done right now as it is I just want a picture uh Jessica was doing that for a while well you are actually the one you're actually doing it right now so maybe you know maybe in the three weeks I mean because obviously you know I don't know it doesn't sound like it's too much of a burden to do this right now because you have some extra temporary contemporary basis but maybe you could see if he has somewhat of a um temporary labor force that we could hire in the intern until we figure this because like you said it could be May well how I found out about them was I hired them to do the bank reconciliations that haven't been done since April of 2020. so there is a chance so okay and I apologize Jessica has been doing it I just got confused because she was trying to print the payroll warrant so that's why I was yeah so where okay so yeah I I like rich said

just to kind of wrap this up um I think I think we're all intrigued by the idea and see a lot of value in it we just got to make sure we've got all of our other bases covered too yeah so yeah okay thank you all right reports uh fire chief is up first tonight prefer if it's okay with you to Calvin I I think he's had a couple of long nights yeah the roads have been a fantastic soldiers

it's trying to be news um I actually printed for you all to review uh you asked for our com star ambulance billing main rates so I I've printed those out you don't have them in front of you but there's one for all of you it's highlighted they don't have Town names on them that's their policy but I'll pass those out just to add to your collection to that packet for later

and you can take those and study those these are rates for what those are all the main fire department rates for ambulance billing so you can see we're highlighted and you can see at the bottom what averages what we do again you ask for more information that's just for you to take home a little light reading for you later

that's all okay um mentioned before we did get a Wildland gear Grant so that's a five thousand dollar Grant and for us that's a matching Grant so we upfront five thousand dollars that's gonna outfit in Wildland gear 10 members jackets pants gloves so we up front the 5 000. and then when that all the paper works in the bills are in the state gives us 2500 back to the top which eventually will reappropriate back to the fire department budget so that's all those matching grants on and that's about the third matching Grant for 2022 but it'll be spent now in 2023.

so yeah it would it would be allocated back to the fire department budget if the expense was shown on the fire department budget yes yeah yep yep so that's what that is um 2023 vision for us I've shared this with the whole fire department I want to share it with you it's about the members and now it'll be about station and Equipment upkeep those are the two high dollar uh currently bills that are coming the stations turned more than 20 years old so we're looking at you know hot water heaters that type of stuff getting requests for proposals um and then equipment our average age is turn 14 and a half years old for the six trucks that we have so some are outliers like the Quint but some are new like the ambulance the rescue and that's getting worked on right now so um the end of year call volume so we're up seven and a half percent for our call volume for last year that was 521 responses um not in front of you you know 225

Medicals that was 156 transports um 52 motor vehicle crashes so that's both the Fireside and the rescue side responded to that I had had a big one today um Mutual Aid rescue so we provided 43 times that our rescue whether that's a paramedic or the rescue transported and we provided 22 fire Mutual Aid you've seen pictures recently of going to Freeport and other places we're now on the first alarm assignment for uh lowest for station coverage they have that's new so so that's an increase they have faith in Durham the training and the response and the time uh and I know milt's been over there several times that will provide an engine company to their station right into their City again so that's new and then if it's upgraded to a second alarm conceivably to the scene um so when we when we do that does the city of Lewiston pay them or pay us no no charge correct so fire

department Mutual Aid is reciprocity we can call on them at any time they can call on us we have agreements with all the surrounding communities but are we paying but we're paying our people when they respond though right yes

weeks ago at any point we can call on them and and we have um to the tune of 18 times but that's just a that's how the fire department Mutual Aid policies go contraction is it Mutual aid though to cover the station while the people in the station go it is it is frequently station coverage so that would be the first alarm station coverage while they handle it and then we're already in their town so if there's other calls we would respond to their calls then if they upgrade a fire to a second alarm we'll go to the scene or are you there we're already 15 minutes ahead um so how did how did we I can't remember the exact term you used but how did we get to be like what was the term first first one uh station coverage yeah how did how did we get so lucky

training um our membership being to turn out four or five members in a quick response and I think other surrounding communities maybe as far as sabatus cannot do that so when you have strong membership and strong training I agree I I get what you're saying but you know that to me is something different than Mutual Aid that's not like hey we've got a fire and we need more help to put it out or we've got a big accident we need more help because otherwise they're using they're using other communities to

um provide an overall General increase in their labor force at another Town's expense you can see it that way but we use them in the same way so we've had as an example a bad motor vehicle accident I have Lisbon in my station covering the whole town Lisbon fire I just call on them they're here they're covering the whole time because we'll run out of resources so it's the same for Lewiston regardless of union or how they staff they have used all their resources at a fire and now they need another department and we're not the only ones I'm sorry don't let me when we went a couple Sundays ago we were sitting next to a Lisbon ladder truck a green fire

truck and a whales fire truck so it's not just us bearing a bird and if at any time we cannot staff that we can just say no we can't staff it or we have multiple calls going on in our own town so that's the discretion of the fire chief their model works and it's the same as us we only had four structure fires last year but we called on all our mutual partners and we had station cover words same example and it's not just structure fires so if we get busy or again a motor vehicle accident or we're taxed um Staffing and Equipment wise we just call them Mutual Aid and they talk all right thank you for that

you know by agency mostly Lisbon Pownal Freeport Brunswick that type of stuff but we received 19 times yeah I get the whole concept and I get the station covered sure I was just a little quite frankly I was baffled by Lewiston being like where it is compared to Durham and so forth I get areas that are somewhat sure and that was everyone I mean Auburn was at their fire scene as an example and they had three other mutually towns next to us so we're not bearing the burden we're part of the solution so Lewiston it's probably a pretty big problem if we're going over there yes they're all committed

they're all committed and Lewiston has watched our Camp how many they have they have sent numerous apparatus over the years at any time um no I get the I get the mutual age I was just I just never heard such like that language per se as far as yeah it almost sounded like a person we were now the primary for Lewiston backup is the way I initially took it sorry yeah that's on me um it appears were at the top of the list for for Geographic for station coverage yeah and I I can't one of Four Tops sure and I can't speak for Kevin my initial reaction was that was like are we that because of their surrounding or their touching communities for lack of better words don't respond because they don't have the staff I saw them staff on a Sunday [Music] I think it's when you play well when you're a good neighbor they appreciate you right maybe in times past that hasn't been I don't want to speak of history but we have the Staffing and the

commitment and the training and the equipment to do so and at any time we can call on them and here's an example and we're talking the fire side of things today our rescue was down for service okay it's being fixed right now we've run several calls today I've had a Auburn ambulance transport a Freeport ambulance transport and a Lisbon ambulance transport all today with no questions um and again they're all sort of Fire based also so they come over at a moment's notice without hesitation without asking and when they transport they don't bill us sure so um that's the reciprocity yeah I think if you said for me anyways again I don't want to speak for God but if you would have said hey we're not freeport's primary or we're not Lisbon's primary it'd be like yeah no kidding they're our primary two they're always here yes so when someone when you hear the word Lewis and it's like well are are we

because of the because of the the economic Times and so forth that we're living in correct I just thought like no Durham's the only cat in town that's going to respond but you know we like to be a good neighbor but just like State Farm yeah I I think I probably what's good for the goose yeah what's good for the goose you know I think it's fair you know I probably misunderstood a little bit because I did you know based upon now you said I thought you know it's like we are now lewiston's Number One Prime and I'm thinking well when did we apply for that you know like and why would we have before

first it is it and they go by Geographic and they go by what's called run cards they've already had predetermined up to 10 alarms really run cards so when they need two engines and a ladder we just happen to be one and yeah yeah okay thank you uh and then finishing up um just for December because of the two storms but the department responded to 65 calls for December two structure fires four mvas and the two storms produced 27 trees wires or hazardous conditions um we have a medical Control director I've told you about contracted and he did a training for us last Thursday he was in our station for a couple hours doing training for our EMS providers so well worth it um and last again one of those on the radar we're starting to try to figure out EMS per diem night coverage so for our

November December January and almost February we've had EMS coverage during the day those 12-hour periods every day without fail holidays Thanksgiving Christmas without missing a Beat we're starting to think about night coverage members have moved out of town they've been hired elsewhere there's only about two or three including myself EMTs that live in town so I'm compiling for this next year how many I've already responded twice and transported once the other night which is difficult on a 56 Hour Week

um you know three hours after midnight so we're just trying to compile those statistics how many times the chief has to transport how many times uh Mutual Aid if need be or that we don't have a provider at night yeah I mean that and that's really a Statewide issue now right and isn't there some new EMS task force or something being formed to look at the issue almost on a Statewide basis there are and I can actually forward that to you the latest uh Blue Ribbon panel on that for for some reading Durham's doing well we would have the coverage at night um like this okay if if we paid or had overnight accommodations again uh more drawn out discussion for later yeah but on the radar yep um other than that that's it unless you have questions for for updates I will I will yield the floor thank you thank you thank you I warmed them up gallon yeah

well this time of year not much news same old same old freezing rain I went and sleeping I wasn't sleeping multiple hours and sleeping but uh yeah I wrote this last week it was the prior Saturday we get caught on morning we woke up and looked out the door and it was raining and nothing was ever forecasted I mean I was in truck one came down overclaking meeting a Quaker Meeting House sideways I was trying to keep it out of the ditch that way and then they caught a piece of air Pavement in the yard of the truck that way and I thought I was going in that ditch and that ditch that's the worst I'd seen on the ice every time I was in the same boat we were the first one to open I just happened to be that one of my plow drivers looked up the door and come he goes um it's pouring here in Freeport so I ran out to my door and opened the door and it was hitting me in the face as well it was raining here and in Freeport

guess what's in between so there are we all got here scrambled and that was uh that was a and that lasted nine hours we were here doing that for something that wasn't forecasted that was uh so uh we've been doing that repeatedly um that's what happens when these warmer Winters as you think that would be better but it's actually worse because you get the freezing rain and the freezing rain we have to treat non-stop we can't ever stop because if we do and it freezes then our trucks are immobilized so we have to stay on it where it's snow we can just plow a few times treat and then just plow the next several rounds and so the freezing rain is very costly uh we 've been having having issues getting the salt because the um everybody's in the same boat everybody's calling for uh salt at once we're supposed to get it within 24-48 hours that turn around has not been happening everybody's been kind of

rationed so finally we got it's all today and we're getting more salt tomorrow to replenish our stockpiles so we won't be uh having to lay awake at night wondering if we're going to make it so [Music] over 2023 tandem actual truckers and Viking surveys the plow headgear for the truck didn't fit um he said their excuse was that Freightliner widened the frame and didn't tell them and I don't care who did what but you should have known it wasn't going to fit they said well they're doing what they can so they were willing to modify it to make it fit but we would have had stuff sticking way out here we would have had wings that must not happen I'm not buying a new truck I want the truck to be what it's supposed to be not not some mongrels so so it's a

adding a few weeks to the delivery so we're looking at uh probably another three four weeks before we get that drop they hadn't done any other freightliner trucks before now and real to realize that well it's quite a story [Music] well one of my drivers how come they don't have to change the body then because that's uh

um messed up ordered their own Parts but so think I put 2022 on closing out to 2022 budget working on the 2023 budget [Music] I've heard this salt thing with other towns too you're not dealing with my only question on that would be my two questions one how much salt can we hold in capacity as far as our salt ship goes like for example how many storms I was that's not even as long as I've been sitting here I guess I never really asked I I assumed we filled that thing up at the beginning of the winter and we're ready to rock for the most part for the rest of the winter is that is that a delivery on a weekly or a bi-weekly basis that typically that happens well the this has been evolving uh when we first started the shed was 90 sand and a very

little corner for salt and that has been over the past couple of years we've modified it and moved barriers back and and got more room for salt uh last year we made a big change but we could probably I haven't actually done the measurements yet to see what that new area will hold I've been actually going to get that done but

or ten eight or ten loads out there we're you know 240 to 300 yards yards of salt in there we're doing good but uh I know this year right at the end of the season we were over budget and I know in uh last year we had bought some the year before and said well a bill won't be due until 2022 and so we'll we'll get it now so we don't run up have this problem and the auditor didn't like that and said well if you bought it in 201 then you have to pay for it in 2021 so he said well I don't want to get that I want to get in that position I'm not getting into that either right but no I thought for the last I don't know since I've been sitting here we we kind of made that switch over to Salt because of filling the ditches with the sand and so forth so I just assumed the wrong idea to do but we were stockpiling the sand and buy it in bulk like we had a bid from GP Cog or whatever at the beginning of the year and that sand was

allocated and there on premise so that's not the case so yeah normally we have quite a charge ahead but just happened to be that we had storms every other day and every other Town's in the same boat and so by that rational I I guess my follow-up was I was going to say uh I noticed at least on some roads there's some sand we didn't have a choice yesterday I'm not going to be mad at me on this one it makes all the difference in the world in terms of traction um I'm not a big I get the reason why we don't use sand anymore I know we don't have drains but you know in those key areas like coming up Route 9 Hill or coming down 125 to the route 9 intersection or coming around Dead Man's Curve I mean A little dab will do you I'm not saying make it Pebble Beach but yeah it does make a massive difference on those roads yeah I know like today I got a call I said there was uh snow on Route 9 headed to Lisbon so I took one of the trucks

down with the plowing all the guys had gone home so I and what they were seeing is saying they thought it was snow they thought they thought it was Slash but I dude it's just amazing the difference though like yeah yeah but when I came in came back this morning where I was I felt like I was uh driving in Aristo County somewhere I was rumbling on snowpack and that's just I was horrified that's something I shouldn't see but is that something we'd ever entertain is putting it in those High traffic areas like not necessarily high traffic but but service is dangerous dangerous areas where like I can't tell you how many times I come through Lisbon and somebody can't make it up to Route 9 Hill coming around the corner up to Route 9 or somebody sliding off cirrhosis Corner Dead Man's crying or whatever we want to call it this way and same thing with 125 coming down 125 towards Lisbon that bend right there

those are the bigger ones that I see but I mean it's just amazing the impact of what a little sand is yeah as far as attraction I think I think we'll start using a little bit more on some of those areas that seem to work well thanks appreciate it sure other people have too but it doesn't make much great all right thanks [Music] okay uh Town manager report all right

we've got a few things here for you the gis tax maps are are done um we got them last week and uh the actual link is on our website oh really we want to go on the website and click on the link you'll be able to kind of play around in there and look up your property and click on it and information it was quick so that's all that's also it's pretty cool I looked at it it's pretty neat really so good thing to do so that that's that's complete um so I found out a application for a grant

through GP Cog and we were awarded eight thousand dollars to kind of look it's a planning Grant to kind of look at Town Hall Eureka fire station and this kind of this kind of area to see if there's anything we can do as far as uh past walking feasibility study maybe well more of a facilities kind of a municipal center you know I mean this could be anything from you know maybe a basketball court for the kids or or whatever or I I just I just got the notice on Friday so I'm talking with Matt who's in GP Cog about what this really is going to mean we're going to try to come up with a scope of work just to kind of look at so is this work that they do or is it money we get to go higher so no it's that they're they're going to help us with that money and George will will help okay and it's a non-matching grant too so we don't have to to match so I'll find out more information about what what they plan on

doing and you know that's going to involve Community input on what they want to see how this takes shape you know rather there's a nice path that connects the town hall to the Eureka Center over to the fire station and the schools involved too you know we got the school right there so it's really looking at in the ball field I mean I look out my office window every day and I see a Field of Dreams there is there anything we can do with that as part of this study to do it so it's just uh I'll keep your updated as it it's going but we did they did award I say thousand dollars to kind of look at this this piece of property and see what does it mean that they awarded us eight thousand dollars worth of their time is that essentially what it is or yeah it's a grant it's a planning Grant okay like I said I'll find out more all right more information um okay as it comes and uh that's that's a pretty good

little thing um so just moving forward so we we have about 225 tax stabilization applications in there I'll have to get with Donna to figure out how all that's going to work because my understanding is when they stabilize those taxes the municipality pays for the difference and we get reimbursement back from the state so somehow we have to figure out how we pay for that if that's the case I just want to put that on your radar you know well basically what happens is like um for those people if who are success whose applications are successful like if if there's uh once they're frozen whatever they're going to be Frozen at if there's a town if there's an increase in the mill rate or whatever they don't get the increase right you know they and then some of that just basically gets spread amongst everybody else that doesn't have uh that oh sorry and then and then it reimburses them yeah then the state reimburses it

although I there there are people that are very skeptical right because we've seen over the years the state they hold back you know depending on the government or the and the environment or whatever they hold back on Revenue sharing they hold back on school funding that you know they don't you know just want to keep everybody up to and I think there's I think there's it's widely expected that that the state is going to have to make some changes to that law yeah so yeah but all we can work with right now is what the law is right now Don just taking care of some of that I'll work with her um then you've got some and I don't know if John might be able to speak to some of this you got some um affordable housing article warrants and last meetings yeah but we're not going there yet we're down on the agenda for next next week next okay well next meeting or next meeting okay because at that point now do we have

uh and it might be worth resetting so we should have um probably proposed draft language on on or at least maybe it doesn't have to be the actual ordinance language but in the case of ordinance it probably does um you know what the proposal is if I made uh George has written that up and I think that was there's some of the information I provided that one of our information meetings and if you've got any comments you know we can we'll take it happy to take a look at them so I think it proposed language is in the uh packing at 26 27 page packet yeah the

only thing I wasn't sure of is is um and we could talk about this in three weeks I wasn't quite following the um the contingency like asking more than one question [Music] do you want me to take a shot at it now um through but so let's let's wait let's let's wait and maybe I'll maybe I'll I might send something to you via email or something and then share with the board or whatever questions yeah so that goes for you know anybody right if you've got questions on that so okay well I got questions

so we have this truck Commons truck coming in middle of February would the board be have any interest in looking at tax exempt leasing to pay for that truck meaning it would be paid for over a five-year period or can you because I don't think I don't think we can at this point because of the way they are I think we'd have to look at that for whatever the next Okay purchase is gotcha all right

no but when you get into it is instead of pulling the 250 out you pull like 50 or 50 50 60 out at a time to help with yeah cash flow but then well and then it becomes an operational versus Capital expense right right yeah so yeah we just took your mark money and put it into like the general basically right so yeah but it would definitely help with that cash flow [Music] you know sorry um that's pretty much all I uh that I have for tonight okay or for my report yep all right anybody have any questions or comments for Gary okay so 7A I added um to the agenda uh we have oats um to a point Kimberly garneau and Devin Garner as Deputy Treasurer and Deputy Clerk and this is dude this is required so that they can handle money and voting you know voter registration cards or whatever behind the counter and help they're going to provide um some counter help um take some hours uh behind the counter and in order to do that they need to

have these appointments so that they can legally do some of that stuff so I would entertain a motion to appoint Kimberly and Devin uh as presented so moved so moved by Josh is there a second Joe seconds any discussion just for the fact that I thought if we were going to appoint somebody we had that discussion executive session I don't have a problem with this but I thought that's how we've been doing um [Music] well I think you're correct you're right about that but they're already Town employees so it's difficult different role do you want to do an executive session nope I just want to make sure that we don't want to get that on the record I mean I just like to be consistent because we got a lot of people in the in the crowd that like to not necessarily this crowd that like to criticize us for not being consistent yeah so I just like to keep consistency because I'm a man of consistency and integrity for that

matter so uh whatever way they tend to consistently be wrong yeah so whatever way the chairman wants to roll with this I'm good with this for the record all right all in favor of the motion all right oh yeah so let's put them on a warrant pile so I pulled the warrants out at 7B and actually that's what's on here now so is that this folder all right one shot let me have those two um so we actually gonna have to take some time in the meeting for the members to review this um because uh there's some warrants in here that um Warren sent to us ahead of time so we need a chance to read them but we're not meeting for three weeks and these are some uh bills that need to be paid so payroll that is well payroll only requires one just one board member that doesn't have to happen in a meeting okay one of us can always swing in if you send us a message we've done that a million times [Music]

thank you thank you Josh thank you that's right by Town manager you're really just briefings though and Jessica's going to do a little research and on the whole oath thing and try to get clarification on what we really have to do and what we don't really have to do foreign

like like um [Music] you know which ones were included I I don't [Music] agreement with it too close to that [Music] could see that yeah very well yeah see that's what I I just depends on what the issue actually is right exactly you can't just we can't just act on it this is an appointment scholarship

goes to appealsport he never went to appeals board for that consent agreement well nowhere no for it after the fact though yeah yeah [Music] depending on what it is that's all right well that's that's additionally what I said to Jerry I said don't doesn't that go to board of appeals for uh for variance basically

but it really does like you said like how did you get into the setbacks like are you going towards on the road setbacks are you on a neighbor's property and he's comes to the meeting and says I'm good don't worry about it then it gets a little different so every time the only one I can remember is the one on Cedar Pond in Route 9 right on the corner there that's okay that one was like three feet too close to one of the roads this this this happened it was built and

the codes gave a letter of no action in other words so now the place is getting sold to see title insurance that kind of said that kind of changes the story right because I mean he already issued a letter of no action and I get it like towns can say well he's just a code officer but I mean I don't know how they got their initial like that must have been good for their closing company which should be I would think on record and filed in the registry of deed and this should be kind of squashed which really shouldn't need to be here yeah all right well let's move on that's not on the agenda tonight um there's one more uh appointment uh that I overlooked uh is to appoint Susan Hardison to the scholarship committee I don't think this one's too controversial um

thing we did last time about five minutes ago Susan Hardison to the Durham scholarship committee she's a retired teacher having been taught for over 38 years and would like to serve her community so moved which moves Todd seconds all in favor all right we get in trouble for this one I'm resigning instantly

all right okay now our consent agenda is now only um the is only eight A's only the uh to approve the minutes from the January 10th uh select board meeting so uh entertain a motion to approve the present uh consent agenda item eight a so so move by Josh second by Joe all in

favor okay 4-0 Todd wasn't here so I assume that's why he's oops [Music] budget committee is meeting on January 31st and February 2nd at 6 00 pm at the Eureka Center uh planning board meeting sorry yeah is that wrong I believe so I believe that it's supposed to be 6 30. is it 6 30. I just read the script man

so 6 30. I'm wearing it here yeah because um it says six at the Eureka side oh I just didn't change the sorry so it is 6 30 here 1st I'm assuming that's also here at the town office at 6 30. yep okay uh select board meeting that is actually the next one is three weeks from now um because January had five Tuesdays um select board meeting on the 14th and the 28th at 6 30 here in the town office um so next um the next uh well final item we're not going to give you that get a session tonight are we no are you sure are you you're good we don't need I don't know maybe I missed it but I think we passed it I think it's down the road all right so really the only remaining agenda item is Select board discussion uh on the budget this would be a workshop for board member and [Music] um Town manager participation um and uh off we go why don't we take a quick minute for a little do you want to do that that'll be bio break and then uh

we'll get back in and and Jerry will put our objective tonight is what what is to V8 basically at the end of at the end of this Workshop hopefully we'll have what our recommended amount is for each article and then also how we're funding the budget like what are we using for reserves what are we using arpa on what you know and ultimately you know so that how much if any are we going to use an undesignated funds um like that and where revenues and all that stuff so I didn't think that was tonight okay oh yeah it's on your timeline it's on my timeline yeah it was really usually we don't have like a break right into that puppy usually what we break right into that we don't have all this other stuff oh I know yeah we did this yeah that that is that wasn't stopped by earlier so I didn't get the email yeah yeah these uh [Music] my best

they're pretty good Educators I'm going to school for the fire station real quick we'll be right back okay Calvin goes ahead yeah [Music] thank you have that yeah I have it ready to go okay Jack Tucker memorial fund I've never heard that both the operating the latest operating in the tax impact they're very much um

heard of that one never heard which one was it Ruth today about it because I was trying to figure this out and uh she said Telecom yeah she said that uh we could combine those I guess she put it with Eureka yeah I'm like okay I just spent some time just yeah good good this I think it's it's pretty good I'm I'm way more like comfortable with the amounts I'm seeing here than yeah and I followed the audit this format so okay and then what about undesignated

um can tell you what those uh yeah [Music] foreign questions you know exactly damn [Music] all right so we're did you have a plan of attack on this I didn't I think we probably ought to try to if you want to look over Calvin's budget in the chief's budget that makes sense sure maybe maybe Calvin's first where he's been up yep I'm lack of sleep and foreign

would be um have there been any changes since the presentation like have anything change and it um and then if if no then I would open it up to board members for you know questions or whatever that they have in terms of trying to that they might have about um Calvin's budget

guys this is the best like this is presented his budget uh was it last week or a couple weeks ago yeah there have been no no changes okay that I know of did it one bill that came in from crooker that I asked if you could put on 2022 budget that was because the Machinery was sitting over on on Patriot's way that was supposed to have been done in 2022 the Machinery was there well uh uh it was part of the 2022 Paving line Emmett was there an expense involved what's the excess so we need to add 4 200 buyers I didn't know I presented the bill and I put a question mark 2022. so this is let's just ignore that okay okay [Music]

is is the uh the increase in the paving one is that really realistic yeah yeah um we have have uh adjusted because of the increase in liquid asphalt prices and fuel prices or uh that that uh uh adjusted price comes out to

331 thousand dollars plus in that line is Chip ceiling line striping uh crack ceiling uh that's just to keep up with the increased costs of of well it just seems low I just want to make sure I just want to make sure it's you know I don't want to come back next year with you saying we overspend because you're trying to be you're trying to keep it low if it's going to be more I'd rather know about it now and then we can no but uh that that you can if he stays within the confines of his budget right right

I know I did have one question that I thought of the other day or when you were describing what was going on with the with the pavement of the roads where you're picking up what confused me was it wasn't apparent the list of roads that needed to be paid was the same list that we were moving forward with wasn't clear to me that you know there were roads that you didn't do for whatever it was three and a half miles of pavement this year you only did two and a half miles of paper that so is that other mile the same roads that you had on the list the last year or is it a new set of Roads uh well what happened when I did this past year is I did forget inadvertently your Hunter Hill and Ada oh it's your road

okay no thank you that was that was my only question okay and I agree with Josh that you know Peyton I'm not sure it's gonna go down but I think it has level that has leveled up from where it was yeah baby again right it's like commuting to Maine in the summer exactly

so that's any other questions for Calvin I have any questions Calvin I mean overall you can always nitpick a line or two but I think overall you know keeping the budget in the percentage increase that you've done is pretty commendable considering the times that we're living in I agree yeah I don't if you're comfortable with it I'm sure

some big lines that you know I hate to say it but almost seem too low to me it's like you know we just talked about the salt those things and you know I my only concern was that you're keeping it low just to keep it low oh yeah

what he spent last year right and we've already no you spent 126. he's asking for 145. yeah I had to increase that are you looking at the column headers right there Josh um since the presentations like additional bills have come in and you know so um I was going to make a question Jerry that I need to update oh absolutely oh yeah I think coming out of this yeah tomorrow updated operating spreadsheets and then the updated tax impact worksheet with you know with how we're proposing to fund everything yeah you would be like okay this is your starting point yeah yeah yeah that one I guess you know I guess for the people at home I mean because everybody loves this TV channel so much

Grand enough 35 Grand could you just give us a brief synopsis of what that includes that increase since our last presentation uh it was the since the last presentation the last the last sheet that was given to us I guess what do you mean I went up when I was asking for one yeah I mean you had an increase in the in the previous of 35 Grand now up to 72 000 increase

bunch of stuff come in that was still outstanding that so when it said actuals those weren't actuals I mean there was still there were a lot of outstanding bills we just changed the increase amount it didn't affect the actual amount oh it affected the actual amounts once you got his bills in see this is the this is the the difficulty of the timing of our germs by you were budgeting a percent increase off the actual then when the actual increase it right well we're right you're not a true actual right I'm putting I'm trying to get this thing together and then bills are coming in at the end of December they're not getting paid until the first week or so in January I'm already working on the budget because of the timeline and things just change I mean like that today so we may want to look at adjusting the schedule next week to sort of avoid putting out a budget without if we're really truly gonna go with actuals

we need to make sure that the actuals are no Fleet and that's mid-January before we really know what they are I think I think the direction is to actually go the other way and like to be budgeting earlier without actually that would be that's what I'm used to just for you that's how the rest of the world does it right no I said no I just don't I don't typically look at your actual total and then compare it to the new action total I'm more concerned with the increased decreased proposed amount or proposed amount for the fiscal year upcoming fiscal year but I do see that you went from 1.159 to or excuse me you want 1.121 to

1.159 on the actual right sorry go ahead so I I get I guess I followed it if the numbers don't necessarily completely coincide with each other but they're close enough for me I I do think that you can probably expect someone on the budget committee to ask well when you were here before it was a this increase analysis of this increase so what's what changed what changed so when I when we met we know I'm just saying you're going to get that yeah you're going to get the questions we get it I mean I don't you're under six percent for a total entry I don't think that's astronomical I don't know but nothing has changed since I handed this out at the last meeting and asked people to replace the one in their book with this one so this is the same same number same oh so oh that's true we did get a there was another there was a paper yeah there was an update except for that 4200.

it was I could change it right here so it was Paving yeah does it matches that so this is the one that we use the 115942 yeah yeah it's still 5.83 like I said I'm so good next years but revision levels on these so you know yeah

know Jerry and I have talked about um for next year even though I won't be involved in it next year is to um he wants to go through the process um with the board in more detail before it gets to the presentation Point yeah and I think that makes a lot of sense to because then you you get rid of a lot of this you know last minute update whatever and getting the town manager and the board on the same page before you actually have a presentation so I think he's got some thoughts on well I mean truth be told I mean doing it in the process that we're doing in the timing I've been chasing this every day changing this number changing that number and it's so take it negatively no no no no no I'm not I'm just you're good it's it's a lot anything else on on public works okay I think we'll um I think we'll probably my I think the last few years would hold off on voting on any recommendations until at the end and we'll kind of do it

all once we have the context of everything like what is the tax impact look like so all right thanks Calvin thank you Rich we'll give you a new one what you have you have a new one okay out tonight for the first time but you'll get in an email tomorrow would you like your own

I know I keep thinking it's two pages I tried to cut it in half I couldn't do it I can't learn this guy okay so I I missed some of the questions I have a mechanic working on the rescue as we speak so I've been back and forth yeah it just needs to be basically what we said you know we said um you know like we said to Calvin you don't need to go through your whole presentation again um just uh talk about what's what's changed since the presentation and in your case we did there are a couple of significant things um well uh to talk about right yeah so for for the other board with encumbering the bills I had a propane

delivery on December 30th and then I had a diesel the next day delivery so that was over 2 000 and then on two separate vendors one found a bill you know from October but it's 2022 all equipment and maintenance so I am over 8 000 of my allotted budget so so that'll have to be on the warrant um explaining it electric propane and Diesel are up 32 percent from when I set the budget and equipment maintenance is up 27 percent um again we had a couple of larger expenditures on our older equipment not to Quint um but it pushed it pushed me in the building and encumbering over 8 000 for from what was appropriated so because of that uh and working with the town manager exactly of actuals in front of you

we just went with actuals which increased what we feel comfortable over the half million 522 470 at a 5.3 percent increase um some of those like the workers comp FICA and Medicare just like Calvin that's 14 and a half percent of my budget that that I don't see I can't touch her or control so there's that equipment maintenance that we use that's 27 of my budget so those two numbers are over 40 of my budget one's equipment maintenance and one's the workers comp FICA Medicare

the numbers those are just paying the bills um the fire department budget in some of that paperwork you can go back since 2019 has pretty much been level funded it's been up it's been down but it's been level funded for the last five budgets I was trying to do that um stubbornly and wouldn't let go until the town manager really legitimately pulled me in his office and said hey we need to pay these bills you know fuels up electricity's out propane's up uh call volumes up that just means payroll and Fuel and maintenance is what it is it's direct correlation

equipment maintenance which you you talked about um that's like quite different from actual is is ambulance and I know you said you took 10K from equipment we did so can you talk about that a little bit ambulance the the original 4200 that was ambulance intercepts so that was other paramedics other ambulances coming to assist us sometimes you get charged for that there was that the licensing that type of stuff so that was woefully under budgeted that line item so I've taken ambulance stock so like an oxygen mask a backboard that was always an equipment maintenance so we took 10 000 out of equipment maintenance and put it directly into the ambulance line now it's not for ambulance maintenance Insurance maintenance is still equipment maintenance yeah it is it is literally the the tangibles yeah renting oxygen

tanks oxygen Mass Band-Aids if you will make sense because that's represents better represents the cost of of the ambience itself and that's that's what we're heading for that was the town manager's suggestion and I think next year we'll button that up specifically um but with increased call volume is increased products um and you always don't get reimbursed for that and again that goes into the general fund anyways you just said something about uh the intercepts or separate they're not mutually when you correct today we had three rescues in town separate times and they all transported so that's not a bill they they build a patient regardless if it was a motor vehicle accident or a medical when we call for a paramedic intercept that's still taken that's still taking a mutual Aid ambulance right Rescue out of service because you're taking their paramedic so almost all the towns charge you for that

because in theory if it's a seven o'clock turnover and you take their medic at six they're on the hook for overtime that type of stuff um I've worked to deal with Brunswick fire that that's Mutual Aid reciprocity they understand but other towns Freeport

Auburn United Ambulance they charge Liz Lisbon is also reciprocity so they don't so I guess what I was getting at is that when that happens that get build out through us is that anything no we we to the we we eat we again when you bring up main EMS yeah you know I know it's what starts in a neighboring community that really doesn't have anything to do with us we get caught up in it so when they start charging fees for service um sometimes we get caught up in it yeah okay but I have negotiated with other fire chiefs that it is complete reciprocity hmm [Music] but that's why as you noticed that that ambulance is up otherwise it's it's it'll be up 5.3 I've

run the math um literally just the price of doing business as I said on that first budget I think we'll be up 20 20 650 just in um so if everything stays the same though 17 members get an increase of a dollar five an hour times however many hours they produce that'll be twenty six hundred dollars a thousand dollar you know mandate unfunded liability for for a contract with our medical Control director or doctor these things are just up um as you can see fuel so the more mileage more maintenance more fuel

um hoping left in that building what exactly are we using over there I know we just recently upgraded heating systems and so forth we have forced hot water in the office so that's heated by propane the bays are heated by overhead propane fired heaters really I think there's four of them and they're also of 20-year vintage I have maintenance not preventative maintenance sure but almost everything is propane air conditioning has turned to in the heating to to the two

um that's electric yes okay um and then this might be a question for Jerry and just just a refresher on the on the on the workman's comp um I know we um maybe the numbers aren't um sent over appropriately or whatever are in time for the audit maybe we just didn't do the audit I can't remember exactly but is that is that number at that 50 000 still still hold water or yeah if we look up here here's the workman's comp breakdown right here that you do um so down here this this this is the actual bill from MMA and when you break down um fire Public Works in the front office this is the percentages of that bill that we pay so let me let me bring this over here so Public Works pays 42 percent of our workman's comp Bill fire department pays 52 and then we pay six in the front office and here's a here's how it all sort of breaks down and um the MMA guy came in and shared this information with us this is

our experience mod this is what drives it this is your average is one so we're 113 above average for our workman's comp Bill we're working to work we're working on getting that down so you'll we'll hopefully see a better number here and uh how many years but this is how the breakdown is um it's brutal yeah and you know there's a lot of there's a lot of information in here um here's our rates based on you know you take office employees we're at point three three eight but firefighters they're 10.57

related but you know I have 38 members so as Public Works has right 689 I'm looking at 38 exposures if you will there's one right there and each employee has codes and there's a lot that kind of goes into it to to drive this number a year yeah I know I get I get it I I get I just wanted to make sure that number was still because it was yeah I know you would put some work in and getting that figured out I just wanted to make sure that that was carried over that work that you did and we get charged quarterly on that so every quarter we when we get the bill we go in whatever that bottom line is we apply 42 42 to each to each line in the department um so that should be pretty close and well the one thing about workman's comp too at the end of the day the end of the year they're going to figure out if we overpaid then they'll write us a check if we're on the paid we'll write them once so everything would work with comps

estimated for the most part the other line uh 5011 down the bottom sort of personal safety uh budgeted 16 000 I spent 27. so we're mandated every 10 years to make sure everyone gets brand new gear uh and we had to order four sets of gear this year at three thousand a piece you know that's twelve thousand that's just off off the bat that's without helmets gloves you know masks were mandated for through NFPA uh on time requirements for that gear also and it does get inspected every year the Safety Committee does that uh documented but um and again the gear was up 33 what used to be 2 000 is literally more than three thousand a set and it's specific to the individual so it's measured specific right it's not like you can buy five and keep them on hand right large medium large extra large they're very specific to the individual now a lot of times we can get away with you know this jacket fits you know the next member

type of stuff luckily or we just have to keep hiring husky guys once you have same thing with radios and dispatch we're contracted with Androscoggin County and then some of the licensing [Music] the building yeah maintenance and repairs so the building thank you John yeah um the building again a 20 year old was the last you know um Edition I had to put in a 3 500 door on the side it rusted out uh and I'm looking at a hot water heater and some other things right now so maintenance and repairs and then I think last year I put in a 2200 garage door opener that had failed and on the equipment maintenance yeah so uh in case the question comes up you you have uh preventative maintenance and you've got extra uh and you know unexpected maintenance yes going on tonight yes so that just I get I take it somebody would probably asked the question of you know what's the breakdown of that each of course each with the six units

that we have uh the rescue has the highest amount of mileage has just turned 29 000 to 2019. we're doing okay a lot of them have low mileage it's just when you have a 2014 pumper and tanker anything goes wrong it gets expensive quick you know they're 19 years old right now

maintenance it's tough to foresee I had a six thousand dollar bill on on Springs and Shackles on the older pumper [Music] um it's tough for me to foreshadow that I mean there's money in the budget but it's tough to see that color that's all

[Music] and I appreciate the due diligence because again the budget committee does their due diligence and it just helps me with the townspeople to prepare for it and again with Jerry's help it really convinced me to try to do actuals and pay the bills it's yeah it's tough you well I told Calvin I'll tell you the same thing okay I think I think I think he did a great job same with Calvin I mean maintaining a five percent lift in this economy is pretty impressive thank you yeah it's been 13 it was seven last year six according to Federal I looked it up today charts level funded sort of

that's commendable I mean that's a good job that's that's really good well thank you thank you okay all right thanks Steve thank you thank you the far left and start clicking through them yeah um so this this should be unchanged for the moment okay

as as the biggest increase versus ly here [Music] if we were going to bullet point out the you know kind of the the reasons why I think one is taking a part time a part-timer to full time yeah that's yeah um we're budgeting more money whether it ends up being a contractor or a direct hire or we're budgeting more money for the treasurer position correct that's right so these two right here yeah these two items um there's you know um and it yeah go ahead and it looks like the code enforcement salary has gone way up but I'm not sure what the the other code officer I mean that's what they had in the budget and this is what he negotiated is that 55 a that's when he came in and

I think he came on in May of last year so this is this is he's actually making fifty four thousand 808 but um he gets a thousand dollar uh stipend oh he's they're not taking Insurance yeah that's the budget usually yeah well

we have for eight months I don't know why the budget for 22 was that number but the actual being low makes sense because we were without a code enforcement yeah so so you're lucky if I pull the budget out of Trio that's he's been making that since almost

we can't even begin to guess what people were thinking when they loaded towards yeah I mean fortunately I mean this is not how we discuss it at Town floor it's a article total thing so yeah well just that the yeah the deputy tax collector Treasurer uh

trying to fill that position I have it in at 50 000 that that's still might be a little low I I'm I am doing I did look up you know a three I look what I looked up in MMA was uh Finance director Treasurer and Deputy treasurer for towns that were very similar in population to us and if I take the average of those three positions it's right around 54 000 is what they give the finance director kind of skews out a little high the deputy Treasurer kind of skews it a little bit low so the average is rate around 54. I I put 50 in there um with the family plan because we don't really know if we hire this person if they're going to take the family plan or the single plan yeah the single plan is 11 000 and 300 or something um eleven thousand three twenty and the family plan is twenty four five uh so that if they take the family plan and I can get someone in and pay them that you're only looking at seventy four thousand in that position

salary and benefits so oh what's the CEO stipend for um yeah he gets about roughly about a thousand dollars and then the other big one is we have this part-time Deputy clerk right now that's uh that was higher prior to me coming in to work about 10 to 15 hours a week uh I'd like to

bring her on full time and that's what her uh what that position salary would pay uh at 36 hours um and then uh that person were to take that position um she's indicated that she would need that single uh health care plan so it's really those two positions really that are jacking up the cost of and then of course mine puts a um compared to it adds a little bit to it too so between my position the halftime going to full time and filling the deputy treasurers that's that's the increase in the administration budget that year that we're looking at

because that that's a new line right yeah um where did I put that it's down towards the bottom yeah I I did because the where I come from there's there was always a contingency line because you have unforeseen things that you just don't know that you might you might need to to have now mine was more of a Professional Services line um in my municipality and if I needed it it was there if I didn't it just went untouched yeah um I agree I mean I think you know when in other budget meetings before you know I was you know pretty pretty adamant that you fund the position and not the person um and having discussions with Kevin about that I can see the point of um actually putting in the axles of what they're taking but have that contingency because you know the clerk could come in tomorrow and all of a sudden say she didn't have to leave she could say I need insurance because of something happened in her life I don't and if we

don't have it in the line somewhere to to pay for it I don't know what we would do in that situation so so I guess in a contingency line it would be better because it doesn't mean we need to use it if that if that's right well that was true anyway it keeps the

it makes the year to year like what did your budget what did you actually spend what are you budgeting next year if you constantly like if somebody was always taking single but you always budgeted family your actual is to budget is going

to be way off every year whereas if what so when you don't know like in the case of Deputy Clerk absolutely the right thing to do to budget for family because you don't know but what we talked about was you know keep the contingency dollars available in the article but pull it out into a separate line so that if you do run into that scenario if you have funds to fund the Family Insurance whatever if it needs to

um but or if something else happens within the administration article you you have it you have a small amount of money there you know what is that like percent less than a percent of the budget or yeah or two or two percent I don't know whatever whatever that computes to yeah which is just

it's responsible budgeting and I think it's been very sh you know I'll just I think it's been very short-sighted of the town to not be more supportive of contingency type amounts um in the budget so I thought you label those just contingency fund Professional Services to me I would I always think of like legal which we have or I I see Professional Services you're more in line with like Calvin I need an engineer for an unexpected project and it's going to cost us 12 Grand to get this engineered I think it's more in my opinion just a a contingency fund more so because if you don't use a professional service and you use it for something of the example that you gave with like somebody leaving and having well that that poses questions so yeah so here's an example I I had to hire someone or I felt like I had to hire someone because our reconciliations weren't getting done didn't really have a line for it so I

took it out of the legal line and then I think that passes the straight face test so that's why I kind of had a slash contingency in case I do get in a situation where we do have to hire someone well I did but I would increase the audit line something like that that was you or or make the legal illegal legal slash Professional Services sure and then but I agree contingency should just be generic yeah

was the technical term never mind the FCC at Durham I was concerned with the feds one thing I'm around for some reason I'm confused and we are all of the positions up here in the aggregate aggregate funding the position [Music] forget the people yes so all these numbers represent a whole family plan well I'm asking on purpose because we'll keep on going back okay and so I I think that you're either gonna put it down I agree with the contingency either put it on the contingency or put it all up here don't do both because I think that's what he's done I don't believe so though I think the only thing up there is with the exception of Deputy tax collector which I think which is a new position but then then we might want to spike that out that that could be you know I mean you have a position that's unfilled the explanation that's been confusing to me I keep on saying that we're going to fund the position fund the position and

then we don't and then we talk about the continues that's confusing so I I mean I I got another form that's on it it's either oh am I am I missing something you're using the original book that you got then yeah that's here uh where where did the other one

Jerry sent out updates and there's been there's been updates um yeah unfortunately it's confusing usually every year the original book is shot after the first night I mean I mean to me yeah right um I do I do I agree with you there is some yeah so can I can I summarize to get confused right so later originally when you presented the budget he was put in

full family budgeting full family at the top section there yeah whether they were taking it or not that's correct yeah there was some discussion about that during the presentation and then Jerry and I have some follow-up discussion and we thought that you know the so the reason that you're doing that is because was really because you don't know something could change right so it's kind of like you're kind of building in your contingency right at like row by row so but now I think after we've talked it through it's coming now if if um for if it's a new one-filled position that we're budgeting for we're put we're budgeting for family and otherwise the only place where family rate shows up in the budget is if they're actually that person is actually taking it right okay and then there's some money in that contingency line where um if something changes then there's money there for it now that amount of

contingency probably doesn't equal the total of all the extra dollars that were budgeted up top well it won't equal the dollars that you could possibly expend if somebody if everybody had a change of status exactly and it doesn't need to and that was one of the points earlier that you don't need to contingency no right I guess oh no I get that but I guess that's the way it needs to be explained and that's the way I haven't heard it so when you get to explaining it to like say other folks you say one thing but it actually comes out it's the paper is something different yeah and that's what's confusing about it it can confuse the

it's really just about making sure the budget committee understands that right because yeah um I I get that so if we could just go right down the 23 manager proposed and you look at the benefits you like like the town clerk you know 1007 the act the proposed is actually what she gets is the twelve hundred dollars because she doesn't take insurance the the 1010 is the 2405 because that

position is unfilled and we're just assuming that they'll if they take the family plan yeah that's the meeting could take the family practice Yeah so then you come down to the CEO 1019 he does not take insurance so he's 1200 that's his benefit for insurance

um if you go down to the I gotta I gotta hang on a second sorry I got a stupid question are we actually allowed to publish that publicly that what people take for benefits I think so um I didn't think you could we're not we're assigning it we're not assigning no but when we talk about it we say you know he and a or whatever yeah

everything about what everything it's all public record I believe it is it is so okay but from a budgeting standpoint though I think really that this should be a wages line in a benefits line and not have it single I I think that's the direction we need need to go in right I think I think yeah just just call it what it is that you know that's what's currently you know somebody can put the math together later right there can be a separate sheet if people want to know what people are making we can keep it separate but for budgeting purposes it really for accounting and everything it just should be Administration wages and there's really three types of wages regular overtime and part-time and that's how they should be categorized benefits you know Health Insurance Dental whatever it is yeah you know we and I think we need to move into that for budgetary purposes only yeah I think your budget overall I

I get it um the only question I would have and it's not please don't take this as I'm not for it but in regards to the um going to full-time 36 hours don't know what the municipalities cut off is for quote unquote full-time I'm sure it's 32 or something in that nature being that you were having now two people that are working part-time for us also mandate that to just make that also a part-time maybe a 25 30 hour position so the benefit package is somewhat reduced not available for that which position are you talking about I'm talking about the part-time Deputy clerk salary Deputy tax collector or Deputy knowledge he's he's talking oh oh the one he's highlighted oh the one highlighted in regards to the it's kind of a quasi-new position I guess who was the one going from part-time to full-time right so we should probably change the label on that right yeah yeah my only thing like we talked about

earlier this evening I know it's two conversations but it just was fresh in my head like we have um our I.T people for lack of other words working to counter now for lunch time and stuff like that which would mitigate some of those hours I would think and that would alleviate that being a full-time position um no I don't think so rich because there's other things that that full-time Position will need to do as far as

helping Jessica see when I gave you votes the um who was working in these towns and it was the employees for counter help that's just the counter Health that's not the clerk and the treasurer working the counter so our Clerk and Treasurer are working that counter they don't have that help we don't have that luxury of having additional counter help like these other towns that have populations of 4 000 so a lot of the reporting and stuff that Jessica's trying to do and the treasurer is trying to do isn't getting done really well so this would help them her stay at that window so they can do that their vitals report their Inland Fisheries report their BMB reports and yeah no I would I get it I get what you're saying and I and I I completely understand I was I was just trying to you know I get that approach and that rationale if like for example we did Outsource that position per se I could understand 100 percent

but we're talking about four hours we're already substituting some other folks or you know essentially five hours a week um making somebody full-time Western part-time if we Outsource it or either or is going to get that it's an assistant position right because you if you don't you only have two people working that yeah I guess I know this is I don't want to go down this drum tonight but I I think eventually I it at least and it's not going to happen this year but we need to somehow figure out productivity for this town like how many man hours does it actually take because I don't think anybody knows how many man hours does it take to run this desk and how many because we've you know we were open for Wednesday for a little bit now we're closed back on Wednesday but we're still working Wednesday so that that should increase productivity tremendously from a from an office hour standpoint without interaction with the

people and then we also now close earlier on Fridays this is one of the questions that's been posed me a couple times since this has been presented so I don't really have a clear answer for that when people ask me that but you may want to develop one because that question is coming yeah and I you know and I'm still monitoring the whole structure in here and what what folks are doing and because that was one of my questions is we're here on Wednesday but we're not open what what are exactly are we doing and when you're not open on Wednesday then you get that big rush on Thursday and that would if you open Wednesday that would kind of level out the the the increase on Thursday I think that's what the thing is like you you've decreased the public service time like at the time available to the public yeah we're open to want to increase the amount of hours used but there's really not a plan of hey by the way

we're also now going to be open Wednesday yeah we're also going to be open a full day Friday I mean I think if those were encumbered in the in the conversation then maybe people would understand a little better because it is a pretty big increase on this budget right 20. we're we have counter hours of 27 and a half counter hours open um I get it yeah right you know there's no other town that has that little bit of hours they're all open like I mean you guys take counter hours and multiply by hours of work the people working right well counter hours and and staff hours is like it's two separate things right right so to run that counter we need at least a two two additional hours on to that just to run the counter because you come in if they're open four days a week like they are now they come in 15 minutes early take their coat off go to the bathroom get ready get set up and go right so there's 15 minutes on the back

side is another 50 minutes to cash out there draw while the door is locked and sometimes cashing out that draw takes longer than 15 minutes because if the cache doesn't check out right then they got to figure it out I mean they were in here the other day for 45 minutes trying to figure out why their cash wasn't matching what was in the system so you just said four days a week times how many hours is everybody here about uh well the deputy Treasurer is here 36.00 27 and a half on the counter 27 and a half so that was one that's like eight and a half hours per person of just their regular job duties per week is that what you're saying so that's that's you know a little over two million years of people that's 5 700 hours you divided by 2 000 and they get you know about two two and a quarter man years so you need two and a quarter million people here for the year to go around the counter is what it comes down just for the

counter right and then what you got to do is take the same calculation for your Treasurer and your Clerk and your other positions and then that comes out with your Manning plan for the year and the right hours that you need then the positions can fit into 5 700 hours for the counter 2 000 hours

for the CEO so many thousand hours for uh the deputy Treasurer and then you end up with the number of bodies you actually need behind the counter and in the office but doing this respect of jobs it's just how we we do it for you know planning out how many Engineers I need our project yeah and and it's just a simple calculation just split it out that way just a preacher yeah

need this person but 36 hours a week is because I really need them for 36 hours times 52 weeks is that's a great example of what I'm when I talk about like you know put it down on paper and show like show the work basically because well anecdotally saying well we need somebody for lunches and it gets busy this time so we need more people this time that's not gonna well it's the lunches is just so they can take their lunch because they need to it's just an example sorry it's just everybody needs to learn right yeah we just need to accept for me I always call we just need to establish a productivity level to see what we actually need yeah that's the same thing yeah and I don't you know like some people have suggested the you know man hour counts at the counter I think that's I think that's ridiculous I thought it was ridiculous when a selected first proposed it because to mandate it I mean yeah oh yeah because

oh they wanted to like have somebody stay in their account people came to the counter on a date yeah exactly so that's so what Joe's talking about though mate is is you have to make some assumptions you know like you know since when you say no we need we need two people two point whatever people uh for the hours and the counters are well are you assuming that you need

to cover those hours with two people at all times the counter is open and they don't do anything else right you know or what percentage of their time do you think they do other stuff I agree with that I think I think long story short just like I think we need to figure out the actual before we try to decipher the variables right that we don't know the actual what the town clerk how many hours is requested for just town clerk doesn't get off her seat doesn't touch the counter how many hours does so and so need in chair number two and how much you know we need to know those and then we can work on the variables and they don't know the actual and that that that that too though is also on any given week at any given time can fluctuate things of course but you get you you got to start you got to start somewhere right it's not like right well right it's it you just kind of average it and you and it can be like like you could

ask like you asked a town clerk say okay if in a perfect world how many hours of of undisturbed like death time like not going to the counter how many hours of death time in your week do you think you need to get the job done right so like she might so if she's working 32 hours a week she might come back and say you know I really need like 18 or 20 hours a week just to do my town clerk stuff and that leaves 10 or so hours that available for the counter okay do the same thing with the other at the main area project yeah with the other person um whoever else is in there you know so maybe they say Okay I I actually I could do 20 hours a week on counter Duty and then it's like like Joe had said okay my total need is like two full-time people work on the counter well I can get a half from her and a half from her so I still need one point something right right you know exactly so yeah exactly the calculation yeah yeah so if you want

to help me with that calculation you're the man for the job job right but but another Microsoft projects all that work that's going to help with your um that's all part of the what I was talking about earlier like documenting the need and and what it's going to look like with or without Contracting yeah because the Contracting out changes all those hour equations because it changes like how many hours need to be done for a certain task if the task is not here anymore yeah but it also gives you a good litmus test of if a guy outside is taking double the amount of hours that you could do it inside like all right what's going on you know why is this taking you so long right right right right you can use it you can actually spin it on somebody which they hate me for sometimes I only have five guys and you want me to do eight guys on the actual and then you can vary on the variables because you

don't really know the variables until you figure out and some are you know and keep in mind that the most experience we have here right now is a year and a half so a lot of things they don't even know it's just about the hours at this point though you can put a factor on that like efficiency and stuff but um you know but it's really it's about it's about a raw hours calculation and then once you get that then you can make some adjustments you can say we have it the staff is so inexperienced I mean I need a little bit more overlap than we might normally need so we need to kind of up our estimate here yeah you know and and again too you know another another good set of data is looking at other towns in the same situation and yeah what are they employing so obviously this is not about what other towns are doing that this piece it's about what do you need in these four walls to get the job done it doesn't matter what anybody

else is doing it's like what do you need what what what needs to be here in terms of hours to be open however many hours you want to open be open and to get the tasks that need to be completed done in yeah it doesn't for that piece it doesn't matter what anybody else that way you you back into the number of people you need right against the hours that you know it takes to do it I know you're still things are still in a little bit of flux and you're still learning this what's going on here at the windows and stuff but I think you probably have enough almost back into it at this point with a little bit of help yeah and then and then it makes it more palpable to go and talk about these positions and say I really do need 36 hours of this type of person that type of person or whatever then you'll have it download Paper you can just bang it out right and it makes it more sellable right so like the reconciliations a word

with the with the current staff that we had the reconciliations weren't getting done yeah yeah no I get that I know so there's a law and and again one of the employees back there is six months old they're still learning yeah I mean you know what I mean yeah

says to say all right well I need a few more hours here because this person is new yeah it doesn't know it as well as somebody who might have 10 years experience right so so yeah so I want to bring it back to the budget right sorry because it's all relevant because so we can we can look at this and and like you know we could make it out of Jesus well I don't know if that line for this position makes sense or if another one I think here more than anywhere else we I think we need to focus on kind of like the total pool of funds that he has available and because we don't know if it might be contracted we don't know we might if we can't if we don't contract what we might find for uh you know Finance person so in some ways I mean I think this is this is one scenario right but we don't know what the stereo is actually going to end up being so I think the question before us is do we think you know the that the

request is a is a reasonable request given the um objectives of uh more hours available in the office for counter Service uh and some other tasks and also the you know uh upping the skill level whether it's contracted or brought in-house in that Finance treasury position or function I should say not necessarily might not be a position I just have a question are you advertising for the open position in the office right now no I have a job description that's 80 ready to go if we do decide to so I guess how are you advertising that position with this conversation we're having about having Outsourcing some of that work is is I guess so what's the question then so how are we advertising for this position that's and then at the same time talking about Outsourcing some of that work I will advertise that position as a deputy Treasurer tax collector why why would you what with more Finance

I thought hoping to get somebody with more Finance I don't what what casting a net with that I I mean I can I can I can go the finance officer type I thought that's what you were budgeting for no no this is for a more qualified Deputy tax collector Treasurer that's all that I'm hoping that's out there Okay so instead of Outsourcing instead of Outsourcing so I put a 50 000 because I'm you know in 50 maybe low um I I actually think it may be low yeah but I also think that that there's maybe enough money in other lines that in total you'd probably be okay um especially if this if they if whoever comes and takes a single yeah yeah right um but it's it really is that fine line between you know how to how should we advertise it I mean I think Finance offices are gonna you should I think you have to determine what do I need I need enough right and advertise for what's in budget for what you need

well if that's the case then this is going to go up even more because a finance officer to find one for 50 Grand is going to be very the the hiring pool out there is tough right now um it's hard to get uh so by that this is exactly why Greenville and the town of Monmouth went the direction they went in I get about so by that rationale what do you think that would like I said do you think you're you're talking another ten thousand yeah you're gonna be you're gonna pay you're gonna pay up around 60 grand for someone that really knows the the accounting side of the house so I guess I'm I guess I'm confused on why you would if you don't think it a deputy tax collector Treasurer is going to meet the needs why would why is which budget but I don't know that until I cast the net I might get you might get someone that's very good with it I I don't know and I'm trying to keep the budget somewhat in check yeah well you

know I don't I mean we can we can throw more money at it no no I I think well I think you could personally I think you should actually um I don't think we should be waiting to advertise to the position okay um I'm just putting this out to the board I think because you never you might you might have somebody awesome come in I mean you never know right I mean you don't it's unlikely and you can be honest with the person say look you know we're if it gets to the point where you interview somebody you know you could say you know um you know you can be honest with we're looking at you know Contracting it or if we can find the right person we'll bring it in-house you could just be very honest about that um but I think if you and I I think um maybe there's a way to word the job posting so that it's you know then a castle wide net you know you really you're looking for you know Financial expertise you know

right so uh in a municipal setting you know um well MMA has some good um yeah so job descriptions out there but I mean don't like for instance if you somebody who there might be a finance very financially Savvy person out there that would be interested in this type of position but if the title is out there as Deputy tax collector Treasurer that might not be that might be limiting yeah yeah I can change this too this is just something this is just the way it was it's really this is what we really I can I can call it whatever we want and advertise it for whatever we want it's it's this is where the Robin meets the road is that number right there yeah so we I can call it whatever we want I can I can put another 10 000 in there to a to attract uh and

we have all kind of like the sake of argument you know if we um foreign let's say we let's say we approve this budget the way it is and let's say for the sake of argument the budget committee recommends that too we still have enough time whereas if you

um if something happened in the next month or six weeks Maybe um the recommendation could be amended before you know before we get to town meeting um either by you know you know the budget committee may choose not to but what I'm saying is that I found this awesome person but it's gonna cost us another you know ten thousand dollars more than we thought what do we think you know we can change our budget recommendation if we were in line with that but we're not going to just we found the awesome person we would hire them prior to the budget before we went to town meeting

um so then we still have to make an amendment don't get me wrong but I mean that's why I think it's it's best to get that number as close as like whatever you think is realistic as possible um do you think that number needs to be higher than 50 000. I do if you want to get someone with some expertise in accounting and that knows where money should go and uh getting that the accounts straightened out I do yeah I

incremental ten thousand dollars or is there somewhere else you think you could pull it from I mean we could always well it depends if what they take this is where really where the money I think yeah I don't think you can take that I think because I think you you need the budget for that um we can go down here there isn't really a whole lot there really isn't it no no I tried other than the other than that part of the budget I tried to keep it is so tight as I could I mean I'm only up 9 10 on on the expenses

all right this is actually 100 gram of rock over actual which is budget for 2022 they they base their their percentage at least 10 percent of what was spent versus what you're asking for um that's just going to be a big without a really good explanation on the floor that that's why I mean we can't go back and forth with we're hiring this one or maybe doing this one or maybe doing that one because that 100 Grand I mean I get it in today's world 100 Grand was it what isn't what it was 10 years ago but to a lot of folks that's still us and it is it's still a very significant amount it's a lot of money uh and it's a big increase on that budget 27 is the biggest [Music]

section yeah it says the bottom line total is 23 but this is probably the same point yeah it's the same one it's a pretty big especially when all your other I mean you made all your other products come in with a five six percent so can I ask another question sure about this [Music] part of the GIS mapping was to take some

work off of the counter home right I don't know that well because because no that's true I don't know yeah and so I mean obviously you're not the right person to ask but what percentage of the work at the counter or answering the phones was that uh you know yeah yes yeah the gis type questions you know who are my neighbors what does this look like and so I don't know if anybody can ever answer that only and I'll only stand with this is because it takes time for the people like the Realtors and stuff to realize that we actually have CIS yeah right so you want to get that phone call for the first two years until everybody gets to figure out like oh you have that already up online because we've never had it well well except they're all going to look at our website for the phone number right and that notice is up there at the gym I just asked Siri I never look at her website

nobody yeah I mean that's why I never understand these people on the internet you know hey does anybody know I mean this that's your phone man yeah I think the richest richest point about the about the increase is is a good one right um so I tend to think that we should probably not add another 10 000 in I don't know on that particular line and

yeah see what happens I mean and then if we need to react to something maybe we react to it but in reality you we're only five thousand dollars more in salary than the last than the person who left I get that component it's the bottom line I don't care about what those line items like I really care about the time right I get it so make it and I guess the I guess the message is like dude make it work with a hundred thousand more dollars than you had last year

along like we have been and you're saying a hundred thousand dollar increase you'd still be limping along well it's it's all has to do with the uh oh no I thought you said get rid of it and go back to what we no no no no oh I'm sorry I misunderstood no no sorry and the other thing is I mean we I think but we haven't really been limping around we just had a quick like a lot of companies or businesses quick turnaround and staff so we're not as efficient as we once were that efficiency will come with time as long as we're able to retain their employees exactly so you're not gonna get the accommodation that rich gave everybody else tonight but when you look through this there really is I mean I saying this with a 23 increase there really is no place to cut this when when I look at it um and so you know you're not going to get the hey you kept it under six percent from Rich but I mean I got to

admit with the way you sold it I think you've done a good job keeping it at what you have well thanks it was I don't I don't necessarily like it but no I don't and neither do I I mean but these are the numbers salaries are going up I mean it's an employee's Market if you don't if you don't treat them good dip you know how it is they'll they'll bail okay everything's going up I I'll take the Pepsi challenge all right so and so and again too though

we have to I don't really know as if these percentages are actually correct because if you I mean if you look at the CEO's pay you know that that's bumping that percentage up yeah increasing the opposite so it's not about the line items it's about the total at the bottom yeah and at the end of the day what we're saying here is that you know yet in order for you to make some changes increase the skill level in our accounting Finance area whether that be via hiring a more qualified individual or farming it out uh and to uh make some adjustments in your Staffing and counter coverage in other ways we're we're looking at a uh 103 000 increase over

last year which about which is like a 23 increase in them so whether the at the line we could argue about line item level stuff all day and I'll leave that to other committees to spend their time doing that um but I think we're focus on the bottom here it's like how do we feel about the bottom line number I mean I hate it but yeah I do but what do you I mean if I'm going to tell you to cut something I'm going to try to give you an idea of where I think it should come from and and you know the only place I could tell you to cut it from would be the benefits but then what happens right I mean and then you know I I can't good faith tell you that I think that's a great idea to cover cover our butts to make sure it's there you know we leave the contingency line at 15 I can bring that we can bring the 24 5 down to the 11 320.

um well one approach Sherry I mean I I think you know there's a couple things in here that are are different that are already we're predetermined prior to your budget you need to spell that out for example the code enforcement salary boom that's an additional one that's your salary your salary that's another right so those are those are those are fixed costs that are already built into a Budget prior to the budget being developed so I think if you can articulate that some way and break it down from that standpoint so really all you're increasing is maybe at the end of the day sixty thousand or fifty thousand dollars yeah the other the other thing that's kind of hidden is the is the on

the part-time Deputy clerk salary that position was hired in 22 so we don't have an l y for that position as a part-time position that's another good example you know so if if if first if you were if you were funding that as a like how how many hours was that position part-time now how many she does anywhere between 10 and 15. okay so not quite half right um so now with the with the vacant position she's so that line go into going from so going from full time to part-time is not an increase of 39 500 over what

it would have been right more like an increase of [Music] 21 22 000 over what it would have been yeah but you filled the 21 on top of that and you fill the 21 on top of or not the 21 but the code enforcement salary increase of you know fifteen thousand that those numbers that's what I say it's the budget yes when you don't have a past number but there were pretty they're already in there they're just not showing act they're showing accurately they're just not represented correctly because we didn't spend the money even though the position was there it can present at this because really it might be worth you know just for communication purposes breaking this out like what is truly the new spending right and really the new spending is um budgeting a little bit higher and that uh Deputy tax collector position

um a little more than half of the uh Deputy Clerk's salary position right and then some of the other like line by line miscellaneous stuff um but there's it in reality there's there's not a ton of discretionary new spending I guess is how I would put it there is new spending because those two things just mentioned they're real but it's not discretionary right you just look at your 5K increase on The Collector and Treasurer you know that's 5 000 and then you gotta almost a thirteen thousand dollar increase so that's 18 000 just in one position right when in all actuality it might have been that last year you know what I mean if somebody was hired with a family or something right you're you're doing what you said I think you just need to be very clear how you explain it because I don't think it's overly padded it's just the Optics of it look that way it's kind of it's It's kind of the bottom numbers

it's not very clear it's it's a kind of a muddy description of what's trans what's transpiring because of the fact that not everything was funded some of these jobs are going to be higher some people we don't know whether or not what type of insurance they're going to take and those are big ticket items that add up yeah

before like that's not an option for the town right they need to recognize that like that's not we're just not throwing that on top because we like Jerry so much that was what was negotiating right I mean you have like forty two thousand dollars just in that you know right there that's almost half of that increase right and the rest of it comes from most of it comes from increasing the part-time to full-time and those sorts of things I mean it makes sense so yeah because you break it down that way yeah because of all the other articles have very low if any increases you'll see when we get to the tax impact depending on what we can do with undesignated um that it's a pretty minimal County tax impact um in fact depending on how much we can use undesignated we could conceivably reduce the rate this year because primarily because of using arpa funds to fund the capital stuff so so all right so is there anybody that um

is thinking that we need to reduce this total article or increase it for that matter down all the way to the bottom sure I just want to make sure I'm on the same but if you if you could find a way to reduce it yeah it'd be great but

I didn't like it either I knew it was going to be a kind of I know but it's been great conversation I think you have to explain it the way I mean you you get the 12 000 increase in your salary the 16 in the code enforcement salary I mean I think you explained it 15 seconds that's easy enough and that's easy enough to look at it that way and it's it's a completely different picture yeah I also came in as worst case scenario we you know I mean you don't ever really want to give people a high hopes like because once you say it it's you're bound to it but you know we're planning that we don't know what that position is going to take to fill right and it's it's a and it's a it's a hypothesis at this point yeah right like if if you're fortunate enough if you don't have to touch a contingency right and the if we did hire somebody and they that qualified for insurance and um and we uh and they took single I mean

that's thirty thousand dollars right there right just like that too yeah so that's that's the confusion so again like the other employees where they're on their House's insurance or don't take any insurance at all to that's being speaks to how this is a how budgets are about you know being prepared for what could reasonably happen it's not a list of known expenditures right right exactly yes all right so I'm gonna it's we're pushing nine o'clock here so unless there's something else on this one I'm suggesting we don't know everything the only thing you want to roll into any explanation is how you're gonna use the other resources like Devin and

yeah how that offsets these numbers here can look at that so um let's just go right across that's that Services debt Services um I actually that just I like this one better I have it here uh the payment schedule so that service is the 958 394 that we're gonna be paying foreign

control here um that's essentially a contracted amount yeah both of them are sort of assessing so is assessing assessing is pretty much flat for the most part cemeteries now uh Public Works to they're going to absorb uh mowing uh the cemetery so I was able to remove that yeah just just I mean that number is so low and

with Manpower being that is that really I mean I can even if Public Works spends by the time you fuel a truck bring the mower over there unhook it do you really think we're saving money by not self-contracting that out no I mean I just think where it was such a low number I mean if that had been like a 15 or a twenty thousand dollar item then I'd say let Public Works absorb it that's my point really then they might not have the time to do that because it's so large but where it's so small I was thinking they could just I know public works sometimes struggles mowing a ball field in this town yeah I've seen it over the years so I mean because they get busy and sometimes a guy gets hurt and I mean those for five thousand dollars and I don't know if we already put it up a bit if that was actually going to be the first bid um and historically it's been they've been pretty consistent with that number

um I just I don't see the benefit of passing that over other words personally I mean it might want you know try it out but again back to the hours it takes keep track of it and then see if it's worth it and tying up the equipment we're always short a truck Calvin wants to buy a truck I want a nap

it's worth a shot try it yeah it's but keep track of it and we might next year you might go and say yeah John I'm sorry obviously you guys talk about it but you you know exactly you don't see the concern though but I mean you can't just keep track of man hours the gas and the truck and the trailer and the tires and all that stuff it adds up pretty quick it's not just man hours yeah okay this is my chair and I can't leave until we get to the castle right um no you don't you don't need to be here right for the trucks

ranked and all right our only discussion is how far down the list do we go right you know [Laughter] that's my proposal I think then and there seems to be and then the question is how we really it's about how we fund it like um uh taking stuff from reserves versus raising now obviously reserves contributions that's a race you don't take money out of reserves to pay for put money in reserves um but you know for What's um for what's been proposed between arpa and capital funds we should be able to fund everything with Reserves

through it and it's close but oh you can't do it all with arpa no you can't no but but the ones that you could do are for you I've got I've got it I've Got a New York I've got it within less than a thousand bucks really okay good yeah that's good that's cool see the mix yeah tell them you can get that Napa truck Opera actually do you want to go over Capital Road can you bring up the tax impact sheet yeah [Music] um I mean I'll stay Calvin if you want to go but I mean that's up to you so

um you yeah ignore the yellow there so we'll just do this in the town manager thing so uh let me bring up my head what I do with my spreadsheet oh it's this one I want so um okay you're you're driving so put um put the so get in that column H there

50 000 in here yep [Music] assessing [Music] um uh you know I'm sorry uh no nothing there because that's a that's actually assessing reserves right we're saving for that's a reserve right um Chief truck and uh Public Works Reserve same thing and then town office generator 23 000 put 23 000 in there

yeah now I want you to uh on whoop nope don't gonna on the uh starting with the fire department exhaust removal um yeah go into that fifth don't where you just entered it column H we're all in column H yeah change the change the highlighting of that color to like orange or something like that the whole the whole row the whole just that cell just uh actually that cell and the two below it oh okay hold on

is orange too okay those all the capital stuff so this is under this scenario a place to start the discussion is I would say that the orange stuff is what we would fund with arpa money and that if you add those up they total 303 000 and are available Arbor funds

right now are three hundred and three thousand four hundred and eighty three dollars and eighty seven cents so um and then I would propose the things that are not orange be funded out of the appropriate reserves account so the stream Crossing 50 000 would come out of Public Works Capital Reserves and then the chief's truck and the fire department generator would come out of fire department Reserves yeah

that would fund everything with reserves or arpa um so without having to raise any money well the money we'd be raising would be the Public Works reserves and the assessing reserves that would be money raised um one potential thing to think about is with the town office generator um I went back and forth on this one and I still don't know what makes sense I wanted to have discussion about it part of me says to hold off on funding that and hold that 23 000 of arpa funds and use it for the technology upgrades we need at the Eureka Center to do our meetings at hybrid meetings over there and do that in 24.

because we um don't don't do the generator don't do the generation right don't do the generator and not spend that 23 000 of arpa funds hold that and use it in 24 to do technology upgrades for Eureka or this or this room to enable um you know to take care of some of the issues we have technology wise that keeps us from doing like hybrid meetings like this mainly audio stuff and it's everything over there um that's just a thought because the generator was the lowest priority I wasn't in this I don't know how even there uh maybe you could speak to a Joe like how big of a deal that was um you know in the discussions with the CIP committee is it is it last because like was it last because something had to be last or was it last because um yeah you know we didn't really we weren't that high on it and you know and it but we were asked to rank it it ranked last you know what I mean like yeah it just it just um

because it you know yeah it wasn't a warming Center that's what I came back to too the Emergency Management stuff happens across the street right and you know it of course it's important for talent operations but you know for the short amount of time to impact it usually probably not um certainly that was the two impacts um so then so then I kind of hit like what what would be the better use of that money would it be a generator or would it be some of the technology upgrades we've talked about for um for Eureka and or this building for yeah is probably yeah important more important than the generator right away but I mean you gotta have to do this generator at some point it's it's not a huge cost either so do you just I don't get why it's 23 Grand yeah it seems a little but but I know and the fire department one is 32-8 yeah the quotes were pretty comparable um

this place [Music] that the technology operates are important because the hope is to use this space as offices touch base and that with the increasing staff lack of room I think that has to take a priority um and and so I think I I would be in support of that as important as I think it is to get a generator here and that is a better use of the output funds at this point or the other option that you could you do with Opera and then you you just you do a capital request that you raise the money to do that right you really know you're going to be raising the money by the way the other right right you're really not saying you're not gonna do the generator you just got to put it on the warrant we're gonna race well I'm saying well and as we say this out loud you know I'm wondering if I've kind of if it's kind of a six or one half as in the other situation because if you've got the technology the technology

upgrades and the office generator which one's good if if you're both if you're gonna eventually do them both yeah one of them will have actually one of them will have the funds will either have to be raised or come out of like the municipal Capital account or something like that but we're not really putting money into the municipal Capital account so what is that like 90 000 in that or something like that but there might be some money in there

why I'm saying 24 because we don't we don't know I don't know if that I don't know if that would be enough yeah or if it would be way too much I think Eureka Center has a higher sense of urgency to get that equipment done for example the town generator What's worst case scenario if the town if we lose power if we close like it's not a warning center well we're not storing baby formula here for the town or anything like that and now

I mean what's okay that lost it the other day by the way because I get no services from the public because of you know whatever so there's only no complaints there's only 30 000 in the municipal capital account so because we spent um we spent some of it this year I think yeah um

far more important and and I that's something I think we could look at in you know maybe not wait till 24 but get that started so yeah so I think what we probably what we need to do then is but we're not ready to go we're not ready to go to voters with um the technology the technology right because there's like some work homework that needs to be done on that so if we wanted to if we wanted to in 23

used arpa funds for technology upgrades at Eureka Center um that's going to require a special town meeting to ask that question much like we had to do last time with with those because we're not ready to ask that question April 1st and um so if that's the scenario if that's if that's where the the board is thinking they might want to go then that would mean that we would not use arpa funds for the generator it doesn't mean we couldn't do the generator we could just raise the 23 000 right and and and do the generator you know because because that was what I meant by the six and one half dozen or the other you're gonna end up doing it anyway and you can't use off you know if you use you know if you choose not to use Opera funds for it you had to use something else so I thought though that we couldn't mix the raising of the money with the Opera funds it wouldn't it wouldn't be mixed well it might be if we

were to upgrade the Eureka Center it was born 23 Grand oh well then you would you would you you could break that up you could say what 23 000 for this part of it supplement it for other stuff yeah right yeah it wouldn't be like buying we couldn't do that like say with a truck we can't say well with Opera funds we're gonna buy the engine and with other funds we're gonna buy the chassis although with a plow truck you might do that because that's almost two separate deals right twice

generator I mean I've been around a while now generation really works it's not like it's something that's in demand that's even needed right away I mean but I said if the lights go out this place closes but if it's out then the Heat's out and we don't want to freeze explodes how many days it takes a lot well I mean how many days is that thing all back worked well I was up for three or four days I'm just asking the since we've been here but if yeah I mean if you had a scenario like that yes

come over and hook one up General yeah I think that's a lot of money that seems a little crazy so there's nobody blinking an eye if that if the at the 32-8 for the fire department generator what's what's different about the fire department here yeah larger generation okay

okay okay that makes sense I will say you know uh 20 23 000 is not that out of whack for what you're going to pay for a residential these days I've had you know because I looked into this recently and there were quotes like in the 15 18 000 range part of it is it's a seller's market on that stuff right now um but but all the infrastructure for it is here well that's true that's a good point that's a very good point like your outfit in the hole yeah no that's a great Point yeah everything

than a residential generator that's my point yeah no if all you're going to run do we have an actual bid on that no just a quote just a quote from who what's this what was they from Chief that Electric Systems I mean the other ones who put the one in the public works and I think ours was like 14 Grand I was like

building running some serious stuff I mean you guys here we're like Todd's talking about we're trying to run a refrigerator in the E and just run the heat just keeps in the refrigerator something like and now to start with right so the first request for a proposal through them were those two numbers um and that's taken away the old one disposing of it uh upgrade whatever it's per code so nfpa70 electrical um which I don't think because it's commercial Allen could expect you had to do it from the state there were certain fees and permits involved I'm not trying to sell it but that's no but there's a legit to me now that doesn't mean highest or the cheapest just just get a budget so I mean we can hang our hat on that I mean I think oh yeah I think it'd be more than plenty safe

the um arpa versus raising the money um like if we like we could use we could use Opera for the generator now and then when it um and then when we get ready to um to do Eureka technology we can just do it just do it on a regular because that actually actually because we could you could um because that would be a municipal Capital expense we could just use Municipal Capital funds without having to go to a town meeting and get at least get it going um you know get infrastructure in start working on it you know in 23 with funds that are already in that and that's something there's more likely to be a grant for that you might be able to find perhaps generator I agree oh well so

on a grant yeah it's a safety item you yeah I agree so well that's another scenario like do we do we not do we I know but I disagree with you I think it's the generator I was offered a grant through EMA for generators but that's a 50 50. so Everyone likes to throw grants around other people in town but that was 50 50. so you know you

still talking 25 000 in some type of capital outlay for matching that you can't use Opera for yeah right if we do that we can't use Opera funds you're right so that was just the latest Grant this was I think September 11th to you know 2000 2001 type of stuff so a lot of

municipalities were getting free upgrades for infrastructure for that type of stuff the latest Grant again through EMA Androscoggin County was a 50 50 match uh economy said that with that variable thrown in there um I would almost I would almost not fund the generator on this budget and pursue the Grant and if

we got it the match we could take the match out of our own Capital fund for the generator um pull hold the 23 um for technology and then if we need if we need to have a special time we need to ask a question then we do right if it's that much easier to get does a grant for the generator that I do I I think that's a better idea well that's how we got that one somebody dropped that off man somebody's dropping a big army truck yeah

wasn't it around that time frame when everybody was like yeah the sky is falling because I think yeah time so does that feel for as far as capital if if we so we take out out the 23. yeah hold on take it out of there and column F do you want me to just delete the money right out yep and same thing

he was there these just the orange line is gonna go away 92 8. yeah so that leaves about 26 000 uh yeah 23 000 on arpa funds yeah so the 50 because there wasn't um yeah and actually that works out better too because you've got a couple of expenses in Opera that could go up or down a little bit so you'll end up with a little bit of balance there well we can't go over we can't go yeah no but the line items yeah it's going to go up or down you know the rehab or the Quint could you know adjust the tiny bit the 422 isn't right what's that oh

um why are you saying it's not right that's 200 yeah let me do it it's 280. how does that happen that was uh so right here we want to sum that up oh that's right huh oh he's missing a row scroll up yeah scroll up you're not seeing all the rows oh we're missing them yeah

it was it was just scrolled up and you couldn't see it it was hidden behind the scroll yeah that's it what I can do if you want to see it I can [Music] so that's just the offer that's total Reserve that's total all in arba and our own reserves Ark is an orange and the green is Public Works the screen is our own yeah so fire and Public Works depending on which items there you go yeah

yep yeah it's a so if we're doing that with the town office generator where are we having a similar discussion about the fire department generally well for my for me it's it's a warming station it's a met it's a it's a it's a it's a public service and the need is much greater it's not even on the same scope yeah that's a legitimate question though yeah oh absolutely our radios are tied to that garage doors need to go out into the Rock yeah

[Music] is anybody because I want to let the chief and Calvin go is there anybody that wants to do is thinking to do something with capital other than what we've kind of got right here and we're not putting the assessing in there we are it's just those are not Reserve funds so basically the way the spreadsheet is working is that's right they're right okay now I got it the reserves so we because the ex because of the the it's still in the expenditure the reserves line is just how we pay for it right and then and then on when we get to the tax impact tab what happens is that the money Reserve money used gets subtracted from the um amount that you need to raise right so what was the brief like uh two second answer on the flatbread truck what was the usage of that again Calvin

a hundred and five thousand dollars the one-time flatbread yeah but then I said no he doesn't realize he's saying that one ton flat back truck for a five what is the um now we need for just calling stuff medium it's a medium duty it's not an addition to the fleet right it's a replacement for a current vehicle correct yes

the Escape added so what truck is it in wrong quote taking service over for the 2008 uh what do we do with that truck right now what is that for that's a truck we use for uh we had when we split the crews or we use a plowing why wouldn't we trade the old truck because we need an additional charge now you've been trying for an additional truck and we keep saying no I I do not want to support a backdoor effort to get an additional truck not to mention the the last Edition

it was Seven Grand or something so the idea is is when we send the crews out you have a crew you have two crews out two two opposite ends of town and the the truck has to go back and get more stuff the crew has to stay there our job sites uh unlike traditional construction they go to a site they stay there all day hours on mobile they're moving all the time so um we're ditching where it's a linear project if the truck has to leave to go get something the crew was just standing beside the road they have no trucks all right so and it's really a problem we are sitting there with a crew that doesn't have transportation right that's what moves the cones the barrels the everything is cheaper

last x amount of years we've been that inefficient well it's it's certainly frustrating when we have to oh it's just just I don't mean to be a dank but it's just a yes or no we've been very inefficient for the last few years even though we've been kind of how efficient we are and so forth now we're saying more than that [Music]

one off to come all the cemeteries well the crew would go with it crew's got to go open [Music] we have just one guy give that short we're adding a truck to the fleet correct for a hundred and five thousand dollars yes 2008 we wouldn't put on the replacement but we're not adding any personnel

it the CIP committee ranked at the fourth priority so you know in honor of that process I think you know I'm not sure they have vetted it more fully than the rest of us um I don't know I mean I wasn't there for the CMP but I'm not I'm not doubting them I'm just from my standpoint we're replacing the truck we're not replacing it we're replacing it we're adding a truck what's the trade-in value of the truck that you want to trade in 2008 Rusty frame we just had to have it welded twice to get sticker 10 12 Grand Maybe yeah

build those as much light left in that truck and as long as he didn't come back and put it on the schedule but it would be run to exhaust yeah okay just to run it run it down and so back to where it is a replacement truck yeah it's a delay it's a it's a anticipatory replace the late entry program it's a proactive replacement

I might trust you do that all right we're at 9 30. let's see if we can wrap this up but we got to wrap this up by 10. minute all right all right so you want to leave the summer you want to leave the mulling contract you want me to add the 49th no I leave that I would well yeah uh because that's unless the census I heard was to leave it and try it for a year see how it goes he's going to need that truck we gotta drop it [Laughter]

we already need that truck never mind taking out more work so now we're gonna need another organization okay so Solid Waste um this is this is anybody's guess on what uh This is Gonna this is gonna be I I don't know Kevin was at the meeting that I was at with Casella this this 350 might be low but

um for what we do now it's as good a number as any we're gonna have so it that this one as we get more information from Casella this number might get adjusted before town meeting um but for the information we have right now this is the best we have to go on so

yeah [Music] his Parks now um the same uh um yeah traditional funding the sanitation has always been around 80 in the park maintenance that that really like if I unhide this I don't wanna but you can see where it's been um in previous years and I think through the covered years they we didn't do much for whatever I mean in 2022 there was a budget no budget for it so I what I did was I brought it up to like the the 2020 actual when they did that and I don't know what they actually spent there I don't know uh maybe you folks have better history than than I do um is that for the runaround Pond running around Pond sanitation yeah I got a feeling there was a there was an accident we had to send Ponto and the boys over there to clean that up oh yeah that was a couple years ago yeah I'm serious it was like 20 broadest Brunswick whatever um that was before before we um handed that task off to our own

public works department but I think I suspect the sanitation in there I suspect that's for um and get posted right uh in 2022 or or we didn't pump it at all I don't think it's fine hard to believe I don't think it did really what did it no that's fine big knockdown stick in that thing

Park let me let me um hide these ones that go way back just for a second yeah so the River Park I put a 1500 because it needs a new sign but then we we have uh foreign restricted fund balance and there's this like River Park project at seven thousand seventy nine hundred in it and I don't I don't know what that was for

um but this this was in the this was in the audit report that we just got learned Trust involved somehow there's a lot of money there that's all right I know a country dangers it was I know I know the Anderson River Land Trust was involved in that are they still yeah I think they are I mean that's why the final reason why maybe they should buy the sign or maybe we should just use a seven Grand again yeah I mean why would we add more money right and I just met Grant ear Mark for something we shouldn't be raising more if we haven't even I I agree and I just kind of put this together so we could take that out yeah I agree and just get a son um you do need something it's just right now yeah but we got seven Grand in there and the stone wall is all falling down everybody we got trucks coming we'll fix that

rocks on yeah loads I get it I get it understandable um everything else is you know a concrete pumper yeah let's do it um everything else here is pretty good except I want to talk about uh Recreation now I don't know if we're gonna have I don't know about the Memorial Day park right now okay so this 5 000 was uh was up because the uh

normal but the thing is and I another again restricted fund balances um or is it no the reserve fund balances and if you look in Recreation there's 20 grand in there so I I don't know much about so this is so this is a this is the prime example of like in the past when we were using funds assigned to specific articles Recreation oftentimes in fact I would even say usually was completely funded by funds in the recreation account which came from snowmobile and boat excise taxes primarily

word it on the warrant because you know there's going to be an article that talks that's going to need to ask to you know uh like use revenues you know the following revenues and assigned fund balances you know towards the budget to offset taxes so even though so the in the so the number for recreation that goes the of the fund we should use the amount should equal the the recreation budget so we shouldn't we shouldn't pull out more than the recreation budget because then you're using those funds for something other than Recreation right but it shouldn't be if there's money there it shouldn't be sure less than the recreation budget right um right you know what I'm getting next so but we don't need to add it do we here if we have it in the it needs to be added to um where will it where it will come in on the tax impact is is on the um Revenue tap so if you basically on that Revenue tab

um telecommunications and Animal Control this is what I was talking about in that email right right where we we have to we're going to have to show that we're using the funds for from those uh some of those cases the revenue would be applied directly against the budget okay and one of those like for instance town clerk fees right but in other cases things like um snowmobile XIs and um well actually down Conservation Park and Recreation okay it shows revenues of

85.57 right yeah but the budget is for nine something yeah so and there's 20 something in the account yes so that 8557 number should really be um it should be the the full amount of the recreation budget with those funds coming from the recreation account [Music] so that so the say that one more time so

somehow when we list when we list the funds that we're going to use we're not going to list 85 57 for conservation Parks and Rec that was the revenue this year yeah but because that's Revenue going into I'm going to restricted or whatever account we the amount we want to use from that account is whatever the budget is for recreation for this year the 90s right so we got to figure out and raise the rest if we don't know there's nothing else to raise it pays for the whole place yeah 57.50

going to change though let me go back five thousand Memorial Day Parade was 7 30. for the for recreation yeah so there's enough to pay no I well no well typically we paid for the whole right because you combine these yeah into a conservation Recreation this one was a little uh yeah around

so you're talking about the 9380 that should take out of eight eighty is that the total yes yeah well yeah 93.80 well it was but didn't we just take out 1500 oh right right right right yeah I just took off oh and we're ready so did we take that all the way to zero or did we leave some money in there I I just got for the 15 as the actual last year was 490. at River Park

for the sign but this this was this looks like there was other maintenance stuff last year that's what that 490 number is right and like in the restricted funds which is what this is that seems to be 79.35 and uh restrictions are on that fund I don't know if it can be used for regular maintenance or it has to be something oh

paper something was posted against it right because we've got an actual update yeah but I'm just wondering if that wasn't supposed to go to run around Park I didn't really get put in there because I'd have to run that I'd have to run the the account to see what actually got paid I don't have a toilet River Park

some of those bills maybe didn't maintain this versus get put on that part but I know we didn't submitting the bills together I kind of had 500 in just to just well there is a light bill there is uh it's on there that's he's got that separate though yeah well you know um you know I'd actually leave it zero and then if we can contribute something and buy something for when they did a Boy Scout project over there

really yeah well prior to that was there and then prior to that was I think Nathan Abbott or somebody did the guardrail going on Adam Chamberlain did run around Pond who did River Park some Eagle Scopes project [Music] s wow I don't remember that at all came out very nice it's a hunter that goes back a ways 100 day memorial uh he did the flag that's right did anybody work on the rock wall no hope not

just makes it more authentic so leave it zero restricted to spend on but well you know um that wouldn't make sense well or if it's restricted to Capital versus operating stuff yeah okay this gets a little long um okay so we get I think tonight I think we're gonna have to

estimate but we're gonna have to work through the fun thing okay and apply that we might need to do that Friday or something like that all right would it just buzzed through the others there we still have yeah yeah okay Telecom

[Music] so the the difference here is the meeting secretary and uh public information officer proposing 25 there if you look at the history I unhide it it was always right up around 20 000 anyway yeah [Music] um coming off of other lines right [Music] um [Music] yeah so if they help with the window it's coming off this line but it's coming out of other well that's their budget but there was me there was lines of someone like planning and some others ad meetings right right exactly 3500 right that's exactly right so so it looks like an increase here but it's really it's really a decrease yeah absolutely Break Even yeah foreign

decrease [Laughter] but they tell us every day right up there buddy that's like the one that the government was designed to be inefficient channel access I mean I guess we're considering stopping this I don't uh that we considered well we have some homework to do on that right I mean yeah I don't yeah I don't wow how are we gonna find out like who's watching it or we don't know I mean we need to talk to um we need to talk to Comcast or whoever we need to find out if we're legally obligated to keep it I don't think we are because I think Freeport got rid of their Channel we just need to um because it's it's it's tied up in the franchise agreement and so we just there's some due diligence to be done with Comcast to see look if we um if we wanted to stop the access Channel you know what one can we what's involved you know yada yada [Music]

for now right did we have an obligation to leave it up there as well we don't know yet that's first you mean like who uses it I mean like a legal obligation or do you think yeah whether or not we have an obligation right well we'll get you another contract okay good people uh the uh everything else is pretty pretty the same what I did though was there was an email expense and then there's a service expense uh our data defined or be care the people that does our high level I.T stuff same

company so I just combined them rather than having I mean it's on the same bill so what I did was I just zeroed out the emails and added it down here to the service and emails so that's why when you see that 46 percent it's not really yeah it's not really there and everything else is pretty much flat all the way right down okay all right so most of the upper is the is that top one item it is this one it

is but yes this was scattered out throughout oh I get that part but this in the explanation of why it's 13.7 percent it's well it's because we hold the money in from the other areas to put it in this line that one went up that drove this up so it's really not that much of it right when you look at it yeah when because of the way this is set up in the budgets the percentages really get skewed it's they really do

this is telecom yeah so planning um [Music] planning is uh for the most part see I took the meeting secretary right oh this was a this was one place where I did take it out um pretty much everything if you look right down it's pretty much flat there's really not a lot of increases now what I did do down here you know it was brought to my attention you know that the historic preservation commission would cost money um they actually have some money they have thirteen hundred dollars thirteen hundred and thirty they requested thirty two hundred so I put in two thousand to give them the 3200 they requested this year they they use the money that's already in that fund balance for

what's it for historic pres it's for outreach training and some clerical mailings and Postage and that sort of thing like history lessons yeah historical presentation I mean I'm just trying to Bringing bringing people in to talk about the the importance of history education right education education and Outreach yeah

um today because I've got that ink cartridge that goes in that new skin is 400 bucks for the game buddy it's always yeah I just added it was 300 but I added another 400 to it so that might went up to 700. everything else is pretty much the same it's still approached we're still a negative negative in the bottom line

it is what it is there's not a lot it's mostly FICA Medicare electric bills all pretty flat maintenance repairs I put a 2500 I know there's some work to be done over there supplies I kept the same [Music] figure if it's getting used more it's probably going to need to be cleaned more I don't know how much I don't have that Crystal Ball but I did add you know essentially another uh I don't know why the budget was 200 in the way it was but they actually spent a thousand so I bumped it up to 1500. I don't want to get in the long drawn out but I mean a couple years ago we replaced the heating system in there went to electricity and that just seems extremely cheap to heat and include lights for that place for the year

200 bucks a month to heat that place is not the most insulated very efficient place I've ever seen well enough but hey if it's working it's working I mean I think it gets used a whole lot though the heat does we did it I mean that works out because I think we were spending that yeah and that really concludes um

made here did you also update the article totals on the tax impact document before I got here but the the adjustments that I made tonight I haven't adjusted an attacks okay so let's go let's go through um because really what we if I think we are we've already done the capital where everybody was yeah there so I think we need to go through like so where does this put us make sure that we're all on the same page with what the article totals are yeah um

what we'll have to do is I'll have to minimize this [Music] foreign all right bear with me for a second while I get this set up it's just going to take a a little bit because I need to be able to see everything else do you know how to snap the windows

um I can still get to this and uh get to what yes yeah so now you've got a split screen yeah so you can [Music] foreign [Music] Recreation we lowered that one right we go down so the 550 if you look up here the 559 15 is correct yeah we didn't touch Animal Control we didn't touch assessing we didn't touch

cemeteries conservation Parks and Rec I think we touched did not pay their bill one of the only ones 780 . yeah yeah so this is going to be here on the seven eight eighty [Music] we I don't believe so no no we didn't touch General fire it should be five two two four seven oh that's just uh planning we um that should be 46 420 . Public Works we didn't touch Solid Waste we didn't touch bulky waste day is a separate line it's not on here but it's 12 000. telecommunications what is that at I have to do 52 even that's what I have okay all right and then we budget 52 000. yeah they have the debt in there so Eureka

okay so make uh maximize the right yeah yeah and go to the tax impact oh okay um undesignated fonts what do you so the so there's two ways we can kind of carve this out so the government auditing standard says that you should be somewhere around 16 of your budget or two months worth of expenditures one of those two I kind of like the 16 17 I think that's probably a good one a good number and um we're like 19 now I think somewhere in that ballpark [Music] so at least in 2021 right so I did a little we had um

of funds unexpended funds that lapsed into undesignated um this year um had told me before Jerry the number I put in on the tax impact um to use from undesignated was 200 000. one more time just let me was used I'm asking like so if

what is like so you said the undesignated fund balance right now right here basically 2.4 million yeah yeah so if we used 200 000 to offset raising taxes so that leaves you at 2.2 million yep is that still within the comfort zone of uh I would think that would be fine what's the is that where does that fall percentage-wise without budget what do you mean percentage of what of the of our budget like the 4 million

because if the because the of your budget should be set aside for undesignated well that's what I'm asking you um but I'm not but still being the total Municipal um right now um if we used 200 000 in um oh the of the budget not the assessment right okay so the budget total budget is like

for 4.4 just under 4.5 million so [Music] um I'm on calculator 2.2 million is almost 50 percent right um she I can go get the the uh what she um handout that she uh she gave us number does that's all under that doesn't include like Reserves

operating budget but the whole budget right we need to know that is there is there anything in in this undesignated number you're giving me well this is what's in Trio yeah this is what it is but is there is that truly undesignated that there's not like um reserves in there that just haven't that are um now the reserves are in other lines right right [Music]

you're right I mean you're right because that's like right now [Music] the undesignated fund balance yeah but well I guess the and if it's if his number's right that it's two million yeah then it's over 2 million No One's Gonna Let the junior resign Ed for an updated list of you know what each year and we were up to we'd gotten up to it maybe 17 once and then when it was back down to like 14 so you're right I mean this is representing 50 yeah it doesn't make sense

it's um yeah it just minimizes for us everybody what's that whatever's on the screen oh there's not much there really yeah yeah we're still we're still in a meeting message so let me get rid of that one this was sure saying

says let me blow this out um for you I can't recommends approximately two months of expenditures total budget yeah including School County everything brain performance yeah I'm not the total budget is like nine that's eight it's around eight million and if you were 16 if you were well I would say if yeah 2.2 means a little over 20 something percent of that and it would it would fall in line with the progression there it's even a bigger increase in 22. I mean 19 it was 19 in 21 and if we're

going off total budget which probably makes more sense then we're at then it's in you know two point two point two was um let's go we have a pretty healthy undesignated yeah but I don't I would not want to feel yeah and Mill I think while you were out of the room I think what we I think I was using the wrong base I think looking at those numbers she must be calculating off the total budget so including School County everything and that makes a bit more sense because the total budget um is around eight million dollars all in um

what he's got what he's in an unassigned about a little over 25 percent still that's still pretty high I would so I would be hesitant to get too aggressive with unassigned funds though because especially since we really need another year to like watch yourself get in order

take out that loan well that's it's a cash flow it's a timing issue alone but I think no that's a good point I think you have to go to a special meeting to go get it right no not for no no the board has to approve it okay um but it doesn't require a special meaning um so we could so anyway we can more than comfortably use the 200 000 that absolutely that I'm suggesting and that I'm that's you know in the worksheet it works out to you know uh like a three um estimated total all in including a if school goes up three percent and County goes up three percent you know basically a little over three percent um tax increase but we know that that's just an estimate because we don't have the updated valuation number and all that other stuff right if anything you the estimate on this thing is usually the reality usually ends up coming a little bit under the estimate because of an increase in valuations

um and this CH that changes the equation um but we don't know school yet do we know county yet no no I haven't gotten that I'll give him a shout so so my suggestion of the numbers I worked would be to use 200 000 and undesignated funds to offset taxes and I think I think that's going to get us an essentially a flat maybe even who knows maybe even down a little bit depending on what happens with valuation

before then Todd's doing his but it's good to know though because I learned this we're talking about the 16 and the two months of expenditures that you should have talked yeah that's good to knowing yo well well above it I mean and you know what given given the structure of our fiscal year and the timing of our tax revenues being having a higher percentage on hand is probably not a bad thing like to milt's point about it reduces the need for Tan either how soon you have to take it or how much you need to take right do we know exactly how much money went back but yeah that was the number I had earlier Mill I did it and I um I think it was I I went through the Articles and basically just off the operating sheets and um I think I got it was like 137 287 dollars um went from uh various budgets unspent funds that rolled back in so basically what I what I was thinking was that and then another 8 000 rolled back into dedicated

accounts like conservation Telecom and Eureka um my thought process was that we should use at least the amount of undesignated funds that rolled back in and then I think we obviously have and then some more you know so that's where I came up with the 200 000 um figure um the um I mean the idea of having that healthy undesignated balance and not having to get a tan it's the cash you have in the bank that kind of dictates right exactly right it's a difference I don't want people to think oh because with that we don't have to do that no this is all has to do with what we have to put cash on hand right and and like I said you know I mean

being too aggressive with those funds because we're gonna I I mean this town went through a period of time where it definitely tapped into undesignated too deeply and then for years um we were not tap we we didn't have undesignated funds to help offset taxes at the same time we were adding a significant amount of debt like bonds and stuff and that had a pretty sharp upward pressure on taxes that um you know the people still have nightmares about and then throw in a revaluation in there too in 2010 and you know some people saw like big time increases but so does the number you're using though doesn't include any money for the assessing or Public Works Reserve account correct yeah it does because those are both zero those would be raised that money gets raised they're zero not funded from Capital reserves right but they would be but they're on the expenditure line so that they go into the they get counted added into

what needs to be raised was there a number in there I I which which one would you want to look at uh go to the yeah go to that one you can look for all of the budget articles was there a number in there because I just missing something when you're going a number in there for what for how it's funded for the for the reserve amount yeah yeah scroll down to Capital [Music] so you can see um row yeah that row okay okay I was looking in the wrong column yes in the expenditure column yeah the finisher column is where it says uh that's where basically what anything in the expenditure column you say okay this is how much we're going to raise then we start subtracting stuff okay what are you using from reserves that lowers the amount you need to raise what are you using for arpa what are you using from undesignated what are you using for revenues you know and then what's left that's not covered by any of

that stuff is what you raise so that's that's how the spreadsheet is built and then when you so when you click over to the tax impact tab okay if you put in that green cell nope uh we're in row F yeah right there put 200 000 in there

hit enter and then so scroll down so you can see see that um 20.62 estimated um it's showing that as a 3.6 increase over last year even though the current mill rate is not 19.88 it's 20.70 right it's it's it's a funkiness in the calculation because of the change of base of the valuation as you're estimating the future year um but basically so what this saying is that you know um given that valuation number you know the budget last year what we spent and how we funded it and the difference this year what we're going to spend and how we fund it is an all-in um three-point estimated 3.6 increase if

you scroll up a little bit uh let's see and then it's 1.3 percent that that first up yeah keep going down that column that in the first gray so that's that's the operating budget so that's you know not everything that's not Capital that's a 1.9 percent Capital expenditures actually show a decrease but that's because of the arpa funds um and which increases the reserves being used and then the all-in operating in capital together is on the municipal side you're looking at a 1.3 percent um tax increase and the total is 3.6 that's all the reason that says that right now is because you know schools you know 70-ish percent of the budget

and that we just are they don't even present their budget until next week so we're estimating three percent increase so that's the same thing for County so that's what's kind of driving that you know um so that that number could change a lot if if it's not three percent right so useless so over overall you know we're oh and then the other thing I would add you look see the levy limit thing there we also calculate okay for the amount um towards the bottom in red Yeah so basically we calc We compare what the total Municipal assessment uh would need to be compared to the levy limit for the municipal assessment and right now we're over three hundred thousand dollars under the levy limit which is a key word in Wisconsin yeah yeah it'll come so overall the bottom number we're looking pretty good we're looking freaking awesome right and and the reason there's a I mean um aside from your astute budget well

the the reason is in aqua funds Harper funds and using 200 Grand and undesignated I mean those offices works and for assessing yes there was there's no requests this year and what was why are we playing for Public Works 100 yeah

already [Music] so I will tell you what it is 221 well we're going to spend some of it we're going to spend about increase 90 90 of it yeah yeah very much more to go over it yeah yeah no you're right good call so basically as we as we scroll can you go back to the budget

um so we were okay on Capital scroll up are you guys okay with all the um where we landed on all the individual articles as far as our recommendation and how they're shown on this okay that's really what we need tonight to turn over to the budget committee but I think Jerry and I have some work to do to clarify revenues and assigned funds and how they're being applied to the budget it's not going to materially change anything it's more about having it be clear right

um and probably I got some work to do just to show the actual increase in the administration versus what the spreadsheets actually show because those percentages yeah like what's the new what's the new spending foreign good [Music] these meetings project that's it on the agenda yeah you don't typically do full schedule

thing okay yeah for some food and snacks from local vendors yeah yeah do we have anymore thanks for sticking it out with us I hope that'll prove helpful in your own meetings yep all right oh we gotta officially joined is there a motion yep Rich moves in German all right we're adjourned thank you Devin here I'll send you the