Select Board Budget Workshop ~ January 17, 2017

2017-01-17 · Select Board · 53:01 · watch on YouTube →

A select board budget workshop on January 17, 2017, with Sarah Hall in the chair and Mark Blake and Michael Stewart attending; the chairman and one selectman were absent. Town administrator Ruth Glaeser took the board through the draft budget line by line, covering administration, the town office capital plan, animal control, assessing, cemeteries, conservation, the Eureka Center, parks and recreation, the planning and appeals boards and telecommunications. The recurring theme was holding the tax rate down while not cutting lines so close that a failure would leave the town short; the one line changed during the workshop was generator maintenance, raised from $300 to $500. Rising health insurance costs were raised at the start, with Glaeser suggesting the board consider grandfathering benefits for current staff so that costs fall through attrition. Public works was left for the following Tuesday because the road commissioner's figures were not ready, and the board agreed it needed to finish in time to start with the budget committee in the first week of February.

What was discussed

1. 0:02
   Health insurance costs and how to share them

   Glaeser described a plan to distribute the extra cost across all employees so that those with families and spouses do not take as large a hit, with single employees also absorbing some. She said she had emailed the board an estimate of what the increase would add to a taxpayer's bill, noted the effect on staff amounts to a pay decrease, and suggested that if the board wants to change benefits it could grandfather current employees and let attrition bring the cost down over time.

2. 0:02
   Payroll taxes and retirement

   Maine PERS goes to 7 percent for the employer as of July 1, with the employee share around 8 to 8.5 percent.

3. 0:02
   Property and casualty insurance

   The first half bill is known and 5 percent was added for the second half. The line was underspent last year only because of a dividend that does not come every year.

4. 0:02
   Computer hardware, software and office equipment

   $1,000 is kept in hardware in case a computer fails, plus $500 for a dedicated laser printer now that motor vehicle registrations are moving off carbon paper. Nothing was put in software; the TRIO licence is at the actual billed price, and the equipment lease covers the large copier.

5. 0:02
   Publications and furnishings

   $1,800 was budgeted again for code books the office is required to hold by ordinance, which Paul had wanted to buy last year but which only came out in print recently. Furnishings and equipment stands at $150, which board members joked would not buy much of a bench.

6. 5:10
   Office supplies and copier overage

   The supplies line is up largely because of copy charges: the lease allots a set number of copies and the town regularly goes over, running around $500 a month at budget time when the budget books are being made.

7. 5:10
   General services and generator maintenance

   Cleaning supplies account for $400, security is flat, and the generator maintenance line was overspent last year after problems with the unit. Glaeser had budgeted $300, the cost of one service call, and a board member argued that was cutting too close given the generator's age; it was raised to $500.

8. 5:10
   Propane, telephone, janitorial and building repairs

   Propane runs to about two shipments of 500 gallons a year and Glaeser was confident of staying within $1,500 at the contracted price. Telephone costs fell substantially after the switch to FairPoint, and little was put in maintenance and repairs because building work sits in the capital budget instead.

9. 5:10
   Electricity and street lights

   Glaeser took last year's spending and added 5 percent, noting the fire chief expected electricity to fall while she had heard it would rise. The town building line went down because less was spent than budgeted, while the street light line went up because it was overspent.

10. 5:10
    Union Church and election expenses

    The Union Church telephone also came down with the change to FairPoint. Election payroll was cut to $1,500 on the basis that no voting booths are being bought this year.

11. 5:10
    Legal expenses

    Glaeser cut the line to $8,000, saying last year's spending included the legal work on the dispute with the county and $1,200 for the tax anticipation note.

12. 10:12
    Legal exposure, insurance and deductibles

    Board members asked whether $8,000 would cover another tax anticipation note; Glaeser said it would, leaving about $6,800 for legal issues, with MMA available as a backup resource. Some claims are covered by insurance above a $2,500 deductible, and a human rights complaint not long ago cost the town $2,500; she had not seen a premium increase from those claims but offered to check.

13. 10:12
    Audit, dues, tax billing and postage

    The audit is essentially finished, MMA dues rose slightly and GPCOG dues are unchanged. Dues, training and mileage were trimmed, and Glaeser noted liens and discharges and the volume of certified mail make the legal paperwork and postage lines expensive.

14. 10:12
    Administration bottom line

    The administration budget rose by less than half a percent, and Glaeser said more revenue had come in from building and electrical permits, so less would need to be raised.

15. 10:12
    Capital budget for the town office building

    Glaeser said the building has been ignored for a while: she keeps putting $800 in for painting and it keeps being spent on maintenance, and $800 would buy paint but no painter. She proposed $5,000 to paint the town hall, $20,000 for a possible renovation from among the smaller of Paul's ideas, and a roof replacement for which the town has an actual bid, the building not having been roofed since it was built in 1985.

16. 10:12
    Where the capital money comes from

    Glaeser stressed that the capital budget money is not raised through taxation: it comes from specific existing funds and goes back into them if it is not spent, and any work would go out to bid.

17. 15:31
    Volunteer labour and liability

    A board member floated organising volunteers to paint the hall, and the discussion turned to the liability objections that such suggestions draw, set against the fact that the town already carries the risk of anyone tripping in the office.

18. 15:31
    Heating and air conditioning

    The air conditioning side of the heating system failed last year and the technician who looked at it thought the unit might not last more than another year. The town is looking at heat pumps at about $4,000 apiece, possibly two or three with the existing electric heat as backup, which board members confirmed is still connected.

19. 15:31
    Consolidating the building reserves

    About $39,000 sits in a municipal building account built up from interest, alongside a separate town office reserve. A board member asked whether these could be consolidated into a single capital account for the town hall; Glaeser said she did not believe that needed a town meeting vote because the figures come from assigned fund balance, unlike the public works and fire department capital accounts.

20. 15:31
    Room double-booked with the ordinance committee

    An ordinance committee meeting had been scheduled in the same room at 6:30. The workshop offered them the Eureka Center or another room, and someone said the schedule should be checked so it does not happen again.

21. 21:01
    Animal control budget

    The stipend was raised $500, not as a raise but as a trade for dropping the $702 mileage line. Supplies were set at $300 after money was left over last year from rabies shots that were either not given or never invoiced, and $100 was left for the eight hours of training the officer is required to complete each year; the Coastal Humane Society contract came down slightly.

22. 21:01
    Dog registration late fees credited to animal control

    At Michael Stewart's request the $25 late fees for dog registrations were moved into the animal control budget, amounting to $1,559. Board members also noted that no invoice or certificate had been received for the animal control officer's required continuing education, and that it should show up in the reports the town is expecting.

23. 21:01
    Assessing

    Assessing is a contracted amount, with tax mapping at $1,600, transfers at $400 and postage and office supplies at $150. It rose $100 from last year and is raised entirely through taxation, with no fund behind it.

24. 21:01
    Cemeteries

    Mowing stands at $3,500 under a year-to-year contract with Yankee Yard Works that board members said has not changed since 2012. Equipment and materials rose from $100 to $500 for repairs at Bradbury Cemetery intended to control erosion, with $200 for flags, bringing the budget to $4,200, an increase of $350.

25. 26:06
    Conservation and a committee that no longer meets

    The conservation budget is unchanged, with $100 in dues that Glaeser explained are really $50 donations each to the Androscoggin Land Trust and a Royal River group, and $50 in supplies that is never spent. Board members established that the committee is down to about two members and does not meet, and discussed contacting them to try to rebuild interest, noting Paul's work at Runaround Pond, the comprehensive plan committee and trail clearing at the river park as things that might draw people back.

26. 26:06
    Donations

    Only four solicitations for donations had come in so far, which Glaeser did not think was the complete list, so she planned to wait another week.

27. 26:06
    Eureka Center

    Nothing major is planned; the committee is working to build its capital fund and to get the building rented and used. The budget is down $533, most of it propane under the new contract, with $540 of rental income to offset it, and the repairs line was raised from $750 to $1,200 for general rather than specified work.

28. 26:06
    General assistance and park sanitation

    General assistance was held at $3,000 although only about $450 was spent this year. Sanitation came down to $600, being $250 twice for pumping plus $100 for toilet paper, and Glaeser noted she had still not had an actual request from the snowmobile club although she had budgeted for one.

29. 31:23
    Park maintenance lines and vandalism

    River Park carries $100 for maintenance, which is rarely spent and returns to the fund. The Runaround Pond line was set at $400, an increase of $200, which Glaeser acknowledged was in anticipation of having to repair the new facility, and members hoped users would police the site themselves.

30. 31:23
    War Memorial Park, the gazebo and the flag pole

    The $5,000 put in last year to work on the gazebo was not spent because nobody could be found to do the work, so it was put back in for this year, along with money for new flags. Glaeser said the pole holding the American flag is listing and Paul does not consider it safe to fly the flag until it is fixed; members discussed the footing, thought to have been set about three feet deep when four or five would have been needed.

31. 31:23
    Parade flags and donation requests

    Joe How (?) asked for $1,000 to keep replacing flags along the parade route, partly because last year's allocation ran out of time to be spent. The Tri-Town Penguins usually receive $1,100, the boosters requested $3,750 as the second half of a $7,000 request, and youth baseball requested $1,500 and will come before the board the following Tuesday about the property it leases from the town on Swamp Road.

32. 31:23
    Parks and recreation bottom line

    The total came to $13,970, a slight decrease driven by the reductions in sanitation and the Runaround Pond park, and all of it comes out of appropriated funds.

33. 36:40
    Money returned to the recreation fund

    Glaeser put $5,500 back into the recreation fund rather than letting it lapse elsewhere, earmarking it for the War Memorial Park gazebo, and said this was within her authority if the board wanted it. A board member noted the line generally spends more than it takes in fees and wanted to be sure it was not being run down.

34. 36:40
    Planning board and appeals board

    The budget fell $300 because there was no planning board meeting in January, and it assumes a monthly planning board meeting plus four ordinance meetings with nobody hired to write the ordinance work. Advertising is mostly reimbursed because appeals applicants are required by ordinance to repay the town, though the historic district commission does some of its own.

35. 36:40
    Historic district commission training request

    The commission asked for $1,000, made up of $500 for continued ordinance training to bring new members up to speed, $150 to bring a Maine preservation body into a meeting to discuss the historic district, and $350 to start an outreach programme of public events and communication, plus $150 for postage and document fees. Last year it requested $850 and spent $550.

36. 36:40
    Comprehensive plan committee and ordinance review

    The committee is requesting $7,700, including hiring someone to facilitate a visioning process and support from GPCOG for writing parts of the plan. A visioning meeting was already scheduled for January 31 and Glaeser had contacted newspapers hoping for free coverage. Ordinance review dropped from $4,000 or $5,000 to $500, enough for the public meeting advertising required before warrant changes, because nobody is being hired.

37. 36:40
    Solid waste bid sheets

    Glaeser had included sheets for Pine Tree Waste and for a second vendor, together with the percentage and dollar difference between the two.

38. 42:05
    Correction to the planning board bottom line

    A board member spotted that the planning board and appeals figure showed an increase of $2,660 against the 2016 budget when the real increase was $1,223. Glaeser said the figure was wrong and she would fix it.

39. 42:05
    Telecommunications budget

    The line covers a secretary for six meetings of a committee that has become more active, the public information technician Shannon, who will be working on getting the website running, and Alden, who records meetings. Workers compensation was moved into the line, and $3,000 covers streaming meetings on the internet and on the channel. Glaeser said her own budget looked good partly because Jeffrey Leighton agreed to take on some expenses in his.

40. 42:05
    Email costs moved out of website expense

    The $69.90 paid to Comcast every month for committee email had always sat under website expense; Glaeser moved it to the email line, which is why that line appears to have risen sharply.

41. 42:05
    IT support contract and equipment

    The town is looking at a support contract giving a set number of hours covering the town including fire and public works. A board member said the figure was about $1,000 more than Josh had described, and Glaeser noted it did not include the server. The hardware line covers a server and a SonicWall network security appliance.

42. 42:05
    Town report printing and training

    $2,500 was set for printing the town report, the highest quote received and higher than usual because colour is planned for the photo contest, with the money coming back out of the franchise. $500 was left for training Shannon on the new equipment.

43. 47:13
    Website expense and telecommunications total

    The website line carries $3,000 for the second half of the contract, $1,850 for posting and $1,500 held in case incorporating the fire department into the town website costs that much, which Glaeser said it should not. The telecommunications total came to $53,221, all from franchise fees, against about $92,000 sitting in the franchise account.

44. 47:13
    The 2016 equipment grant was not lost

    A $10,000 equipment grant from 2016 had not been fully used. Glaeser said she had recorded it incorrectly at first and had worked with the auditors to move it into the grant fund line, so it does not need appropriating, is earmarked for technology and carries no deadline.

45. 47:13
    Quotes and purchasing process for IT

    Board members said they would be more comfortable with a couple of other options alongside the quotes Josh had assembled, and asked whether the equipment purchase should be a quote process or a formal RFP. Glaeser had already emailed around asking who other towns use, and noted that once a company knows the town's system it is cheaper to keep them; members said an RFP would need the specific requirements spelled out.

46. 47:13
    Public works budget still outstanding

    Calvin's budget was not ready and he was told to be ready the following Tuesday. Glaeser had worked out his payroll and said the town is looking at hiring a fifth person, which the underspend on payroll might absorb without raising the budget. A board member cautioned against treating last year's mild winter as the baseline, noting the road commissioner usually splits payroll between summer and winter.

47. 47:13
    Scheduling the rest of the budget work

    Members wanted the chairman present when the fire department items are revisited, and noted the budget committee process needs to start in the first week of February, ahead of the February school vacation week. They agreed to decide after the following Tuesday's meeting whether to add another session later that week.

48. 52:24
    Print deadline and town meeting dates

    Glaeser wanted the town report at the printers by March 1. Town meeting falls on Saturday, April 1, with the election the day before on March 31, and it was noted the chairman has a work commitment that day. The workshop broke up without a formal adjournment.

What was decided

• 5:10
  Raise the generator maintenance line from $300 to $500, on the argument that the line was overspent last year and the generator is getting older. Agreed in discussion, without a recorded vote.passed
• 26:06
  Contact the two remaining members of the conservation committee to try to rebuild membership and interest. Agreed in discussion, without a recorded vote.passed
• 47:13
  Seek additional quotes, and consider a formal RFP with specific requirements, before committing to an IT support contract and the associated equipment purchase. Agreed in discussion, without a recorded vote.passed
• 47:13
  Take up the public works budget at the following Tuesday's meeting and decide then whether a further workshop is needed later that week, so the budget can go to the budget committee in the first week of February.passed

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

Worth knowing

• 0:02
  Health insurance is the pressure point in this budget. Glaeser told the board the increase amounts to a pay decrease for employees, and suggested that if the board wants to change benefits it should grandfather current staff and let the saving come through attrition.
• 10:12
  The town office has not been re-roofed since it was built in 1985. The capital budget carries $5,000 to paint the hall, $20,000 for a possible renovation and a roof bid, and Glaeser stressed this money comes from existing reserves rather than taxation and returns to those reserves if unspent.
• 31:23
  The $5,000 set aside last year for the War Memorial Park gazebo went unspent because no contractor could be found, so it was budgeted again. The pole holding the American flag is listing and the flag is not to be flown until the footing is fixed.
• 26:06
  The conservation committee is down to roughly two members and does not meet, yet the town still budgets for it and pays dues that are really donations to two area land trusts. Board members discussed contacting the remaining members to revive it.

Elsewhere

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