APPROVED
TOWN OF
BUDGET COMM= ITTEE /= MEETING MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER –
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PRESENT: Also Present: |
Mr. Larry Hall, Mr. Dan= iel Guimond, Mr. John Lavallee, Mr. Gregory Farris, Ms. Angèle Diack, Mr. Ken Dunne, Selectmen Representative Edmund Gleason, School Boa= rd Representative Andy Ducharme Town Administrator Tom = Gaydos, School Business Administrator Adam Steel, School Boa= rd Chairman Rob Hardy, SAU Human Resources Director Fran DeCinto |
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ABSENT: |
Mr. Dennis Viger, Mr. R= obert Sherman |
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
2011 TOWN WARRANT ARTICLE REVIEW
Fire Station – = Mr. Gaydos introduced Mr. Michael Castagna of the Castagna Group who was working with the architects.
Mr. Castagna stated that = they started in the beginning of December to try to come up with a workable econ= omic solution for the Town’s new central fire station. Partnering with Berard-Martel Arch= itects, they worked diligently with the Selectmen, Mr. Gaydos and the Fire Chief to come up with an economical, energy efficient sustainable facility that was workable and fit the needs of the Fire Department. As part of the program, the design= of the last fire station was reviewed and used as a guide to come up with the proposed design. The square f= ootage was cut down, yet the building remained workable.
Mr. Castagna reviewed the proposed station’s orientation on the lot. He stated they were very diligent = when dealing with the covenants on the property and took into account everything that was required. He provide= d an overview of the building and its design.&n= bsp;
Fire Chief James Midgley = came forward. He told the Board th= at they had started working on the project with Mr. Gaydos on Thanksgiving Day. He said the design/plan = had been through review by him, the architects and the crews; it had been revis= ed a couple times. He believed the building was workable for the Town and would carry into the future. He was pleased with the design lay= out and was pleased with how the station was rearranged and situated on the pro= perty. Chief Midgley stated that they lis= tened to what people said about the last design and made changes that had been incorporated into the new plan. He reviewed the footprint of the building and the layout of the space within.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Chief Midgley discussed the struct= ure and commented that he was always against the structure being a stick built building having wooden trusses for the second floor. He said with the proposed plan goi= ng back to concrete it would increase the efficiency and safety of the buildin= g; it could now be used as a shelter.
Mr. Guimond asked if $3.7= million was a ‘not to exceed price’ and if it was a turn-key price. Mr. Gaydos stated $3.7 million inc= luded everything. He said the bond = issue would be $3.5 million; the amount being raised would be $3.7 million.
Mr. Dunne asked if the bu=
ilding
would have a second floor to be used as a storage area. Chief Midgley said because i=
t was
an efficient building (R50 on the walls, R70 on the ceiling) the ratings wo=
uld
be drastically reduced by penetrating into other areas. He said additional changes would n=
eed to
be made to utilize the space to meet codes, this would also drastically add=
to
the cost. Mr. Dunne asked if =
the
space could be expanded into. Mr.
Castagna answered no. Chief M=
idgley
discussed the bay area and how the existing equipment would be stored
within. It was noted after the
existing equipment was brought inside, there would be one half of one bay
remaining. The vehicle traffi=
c flow
from the Village Green was reviewed.
The design showed two separate entrances; one for vehicles accessing=
the
station from Village Green, the other being the access to/from Marsh Road so
the department’s operation would not be inhibited. Traffic lights will be added on
Chief Midgley discussed t=
he
proximity of the round-abouts that were part of the (state’s)
Mr. Dunne asked if the pu= blic would have any access to using the meeting room. Chief Midgley said part of the red= esign was to add a door on the outside for use by groups.
Mr. Farris asked if the n= ew footprint impacted the buffer zone between the rear of the building and the Sawmill area. Chief Midgley s= aid by pushing out and turning the structure it moved the building farther away fr= om the buffer zone (approximately 200ft.).&nb= sp; Mr. Farris noted that last year’s warrant article showed over = $400 in impact fees. He questioned= where they went. Mr. Gaydos said th= ey went toward the new design. M= r. Farris asked how much had been spent on designs in total. Mr. Gaydos was not sure of the num= ber, but commented they had paid for three designs.
Chief Midgley discussed t= he meeting room design. He said = at a minimum the room would be used every Tuesday night and most of the time training occurred on-shift during the day.= It was also going to be used as meeting space.
Mr. Lavallee saw that $95= ,000 would be used for a generator. He questioned what size generator would be used and where it would be located. Chief Midgley showed= the proposed location for the generator as being on the south side of the building. It was sized for the specific size of the building using the electrical calculations. The previous building had a $130,0= 00 generator because the building had an elevator. Mr. Castagna indicated that the nu= mber was a place holder based on historical data. Because the building was essential= and could be used as an emergency shelter, the generator had to run the entire building. The fuel source wou= ld be propane. They had not gotten = to the design level of sizing out the generator.&= nbsp; Mr. Lavallee wanted it recognized that they were tied to the number = that was indicated; if the generator ended up costing more they would be stuck.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Castagna said they had a built= -in contingency. He also noted th= at there would be at least three more levels of estimating on the project; the number provided was a ‘not to exceed up side’ number based on historical data and the level of design that had been done. He didn’t feel they would go= over the number.
Mr. Farris asked where the propane tank would be located. Chief Midgley said they were going to tap off of the three 1000 gall= on propane tanks. He discussed t= he reasons they decided to use propane versus diesel fuel. Mr. Farris questioned what the heat= ing source would be for the building. Chief Midgley said it would be propane and showed the location of the tanks. Mr. Farris assumed the= tanks would have safety monitors. C= hief Midgley stated that the tanks would be underground. Mr. Gaydos commented that it was t= he same type of system that the Police used.&= nbsp; Mr. Lavallee questioned if the ownership of the tanks would not be Town. Mr. Gaydos said that was correct. Ms. Diack asked how = often the tanks needed replacement. Mr. Gaydos said it would be the issue of the company who owned them; they were responsible for monitoring and replacement that was generally done at their cost.
Chief Midgley ended by sa= ying he was excited about the proposed station and the type of building it was and = the design.
Mr. Guimond confirmed tha= t the proposal would have a lot of publicizing (similar to last year) since the T= own really needed it. Chief Midgley answered yes. He said= they had already been receiving great feedback.=
Mr. Gleason asked that co= mment be given regarding plantings to satisfy the covenant. Mr. Gaydos discussed the covenant,= which was specific regarding the species of trees that would need to be planted.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He said they would review the spec= ies and would choose those that would be attractive and also buffer sound the best. The plantings were incl= uded in the price.
Mr. Gaydos read aloud the proposed Warrant Article for the new Fire Station building, which was recommended by the Board of Selectmen.&nbs= p; Mr. Lavallee suggested that the bonds/notes should possibly have a t= ime limit. Mr. Gleason said the Selectmen looked at several options and were looking at a loan of less than five years. Mr. Lavallee asked if that would be included in the Warrant Art= icle. Mr. Gleason answered no; the Warra= nt Article read that it was up to the Selectmen to decide. Mr. Lavallee wanted to know if the people would be aware of the time limit involved. Mr. Gleason said they would try to= let the people aware of the time limit involved.
Support Contract (Local 1801 – American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) – Mr. Gaydos reviewed the list of changes that were made to the contract.&nb= sp; The people covered under the contract are: Clerks in the Town Clerk Office, Planning Office Manager, Zoning Secretary, Office Manager in Park &= amp; Recreation, Book Keeper, Workers at the Transfer Station, Workers at Highway Garage. Police Officers are excluded.
Mr. Gaydos read aloud the proposed Warrant Article.
Mr. Farris asked how much= (on average) employees contributed toward their health plan. Mr. Gaydos said they were currentl= y not contributing anything because they had an agreement to go from the JW to the Matthew Thornton. They instit= uted a formula for the two and as the JW goes up, the employees would be paying as= the rates separated. Mr. Farris a= sked how that would affect the health plans.&nb= sp; Mr. Gaydos said it was favorable because JW went up 4% and the HMO w= ent down 2%. He noted there was o= nly one employee left on the JW and they paid 15%. Mr. Farris questioned if anyone op= ted out. Mr. Gaydos said there we= re three people. Mr. Gleason not= ed the key element was that they were getting over the obstacle of unfunded liabil= ity for Compensated Absence in future years.&n= bsp;
Fire Contract (Local 4546 International Association of Fire Fighter=
s)
– Mr. Gaydos summarized the changes made. He reviewed the insurance costs.
Mr. Farris asked if a num= ber from New Hampshire Retirement was received.&nbs= p; Mr. Gaydos said they made a decision on the years 2011 and 2012, but= the question was if the state would ‘kick’ in their share. No decision was made regarding the= year 2013.
Mr. Hall asked how many e= mployees were included in the contract. Mr. Gaydos replied that there were seventeen.&= nbsp;
There was a brief discuss=
ion
regarding the situation with Pennichuck Water. Currently
2011 SCHOOL WARRANT ARTICLE REVIEW
School Business Administr=
ator
Adam Steel came forward to review the Warrant Articles. He began by discussing the Collect=
ive
Bargaining Agreement that was reached with the Pelham Education Association
(Teacher’s
Mr. Guimond asked if ther= e was any teacher not paying for health insurance. Under the terms of the agreement, = Mr. Steel didn’t believe there would be.=
Mr. Farris reviewed the s= tipends and questioned the amount some were receiving. Mr. Steel explained how stipends w= ere determined by taking the input of the union and the administration and find= ing out what the interest levels were for the various activities. He said some things fall out of fa= vor and some things come into favor over time.= When a new activity is added it’s possible for the School Board and the association to add that stipend to the budget without it being part= of the agreement.
Ms. Diack asked the diffe= rence between a team and a club. Mr. Farris believed at first and activity began as a club and when the participation increases to the point where they could compete against other schools it would become a team. Ms. Diack believed there was some discussion at the School Board level that a c= lub was self-supporting, and when it became a team there would be additional funding. Mr. Farris believed = it depended how it was organized from the beginning. School Board Chairman Rob Hardy st= epped forward. He believed if an ac= tivity were to go beyond a certain time period it was reclassified as a team.
Mr. Guimond said it appea=
red that
the Athletic Director stipend had increased by approximately 50%. Mr. Steel stated they combined the=
two
Athletic Director stipends (
Mr. Farris discussed the =
funding
of the responsibility pool which appeared to have a 40% increase. Mr. Steel said there were four dif=
ferent
areas as part of the Pelham Compensation Model, which was a multi-tiered
approach for professional development.&nbs=
p;
Among the responsibility pool the total pay remained the same for
teacher grants, incentives process and school improvement pay, it was
reallocated in a different way. Mr.
Farris said the annual was increased.
Mr. Steel said the responsibility pool was increased by $20,000, but
they had reduced the TGIF by $10,000 and also the school improvement by
$10,000. The net of all of the
items was even. Mr. Hall aske=
d if
the four pools were evaluated at any point in time to see if they were being
effective. Human Resources Di=
rector
Fran DeCinto explained this year the areas that were used more, such as the
responsibility pool were increased, whereas the areas that weren’t as
well utilized were reduced. M=
r.
Hall, who was a former member of the PCM Committee, noted there was no long=
er a
member of the public involved. The
committee was to represent the stakeholders of Pelham education community; =
Mr.
Hall would like to see someone (such as a parent) be added in the future.
Mr. Farris asked what pro= cess the seven people (PCM Committee) took to award compensation. Ms. DeCinto explained that under t= he responsibility pool, it was governed by the principal; they determined how = the money would be used. Teacher = grants and school improvement went before the PCM to determine if the grant would = be approved. Mr. Hardy noted tha= t the negotiation process focused mainly on reducing the steps and changing the driver on the health care. &nbs= p;
Mr. Farris questioned wha= t the net savings effect of the healthcare was and if the budget presented would = be adjusted. He also wanted to k= now if the default budget would be affected. Mr. Steel discussed how the process worked for the ballot. He said the legislative body had t= o approve all cost items of the collective bargaining agreement. He explained that they added up al= l cost items that were different from what was in the current budget. The net from all the changes (addi= tions and subtractions) would be placed on the ballot. Mr. Steel summarized the changes.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>
Mr. Hall noted in the pre=
vious
contract there was a sidebar agreement to look into health insurance and
questioned what happened to it. Ms.
DeCinto explained that the sidebar agreement was a proposal that the School
Board and the union would look at other health insurance options and try to
come up with ways of saving money.
They met several times, but the union didn’t seem interested in
looking at different health insurance options. The decision was made to educate t=
he
employees on trying to save the district money by using prescription mail
away. They also looked at
implementing a wellness program.
Mr. Hall commented that there was new wording within the new agreeme=
nt
“…The Board shall contribute toward a Blue Cross or the substantial equivalent”
Mr. Guimond said when rev= iewing the budget there was a potential that teachers would be reduced. He questioned how it would play in= to the contract. Mr. Steel replied t= hat state law read they were supposed to budget for things as they existed today. They looked at all the teachers they were planning to have next year, including the reduction of t= hree teachers and included only the cost items that would affect what they would have next year. Mr. Guimond confirmed that the contract contained a provision of how reduce the number = of teacher if they weren’t needed. Mr. Steel answered yes.
Mr. Dunne asked how many = teachers were awarded the compensation (though PCM) last year. Ms. DeCinto didn’t know how = many teachers received it, but informed that the amount of money spent in 2009 (= for TGIF) was $17,000, school improvement teachers received $27,000 and $55,000= was paid out from the responsibility pool.&nbs= p; Mr. Dunne questioned if the remaining money was turned back. Ms. DeCinto assumed that the remai= ning money not used by the end of the fiscal year would go back to the Town.
Ms. Diack requested a cop= y of the full contract. Mr. Steel answ= ered yes; they haven’t received it yet.&n= bsp; The items affected are the only items they review. Ms. Diack said she would like to s= ee the entire contract prior to voting. Mr. Hardy noted that the present contract was on-line. The proposed changes had not yet b= een incorporated into the contract.
Mr. Lavallee recalled in = the past (four or five years ago), the Board was given information and an explanatio= n, however when the contract came out at Town Meeting the information was foun= d to be completely erroneous. He suggested that may be the reason why the Board wanted to review the contract.
Mr. Hall confirmed that t= he dollars were correct. Mr. Ste= el answered yes.
Mr. Hall saw that the eig= hth grade trip was during the school day and confirmed that the person going wo= uld be paid their salary plus the stipend.&nbs= p; Mr. Steel answered yes.
The Board then reviewed t=
he
default budget. Mr. Steel sta=
ted
that the theory behind a default budget was, should an operating budget fai=
l,
the voters should have a choice to either accept a proposed operating budge=
t or
to go back and have a default budget.
He noted that the way law was written leads to some ambiguity; it
includes statements about things required by contract, law or agreement that
leave it open to interpretation. Mr.
Steel said the New Hampshire Council of School Attorneys (‘NHCSA̵=
7;) has
done a lot of work to provide recommendations to towns. He said in the area of Speci=
al
Education the NHCSA recommend=
s that
the default budget always include the School Board’s budget so the
Mr. Farris reviewed Food = Service budget and questioned if there should be a minus in some column to show the offset. Mr. Steel said the de= fault budget was only the expenditure side; they don’t show revenue anywher= e in the default. When the MS-27 i= s done to show anticipated revenues, the revenues with exactly match up to what th= ey would spend in the Food Service area. Mr. Farris commented that it wasn’t reducing the request in the default budget. Mr. Steel sai= d it would be netted out.
Mr. Guimond questioned if= the warrant article amount for number four would change; it was approximately $100,000 higher than the default budget currently stated. Mr. Steel replied that the warrant= had not been updated with the new default number. The new default will reflect the revenues.
Mr. Hall asked if the $12=
5,000
and $1 in building acquisitions was a combination of things. Mr. Steel said it was two things; =
the $1
was the buy-out for the High School modulars that will reach the end of the=
ir
lease. The $125,000 was the a=
mount
for the sprinkler system at
Warrant Article wording w= as discussed. Mr. Steel told the= Board that the School Board had voted to recommend Article 3 – Collective Bargaining Agreement. They had recommended the Operating Budget. The wording for Article 7c (District Psychologist) and 7d (District Speech Pathologist) matched wording that was on the ballot two years ago for the Technology Technician. Mr. Lavallee suggested putting in the money that was currently being paid for consultants.
Mr. Lavallee suggested ad=
ding a
time limitation to Article 2 – new kindergarten school. Mr. Steel believed the thought was=
a
five year term (for a bond or note).
Mr. Farris asked if the money that would come back from the state ha=
d to
be listed in the article. Mr.=
Steel
said they weren’t allowed to.
He said
Mr. Steel addressed recei= pt of additional Federal Funds. He = said as part of stimulus money for schools, the Federal Government had created an Educational Jobs Grant that had come to the State. He explained that the State would distribute the money two different ways: 1) part of the normal adequacy pro= gram from money they would already receive; and 2) additionally the schools will receive a total $151,991.16, which they just found out about. The purpose of the funds is to eit= her save/create educational jobs. Mr. Steel said there weren’t a lot of stings attached except it was suppo= sed to go toward salary and benefits for educational jobs (not administrators or non-educational people). The = School Board would like to fund the Technology Integration Specialist with half the money. This was a position currently on the warrant and the School Board would like to take it off and fund the position using the grant funds ($75,193) and use the remaining fun= ds ($76,798.16) to lower (offset) the tax rate next year.&= nbsp; Mr. Steel said if the Budget Committee would support that move, the budget’s bottom line would need to be increased ($75,193) in order to cover that expenditure.
Mr. Guimond questioned if= this was circumventing tax payers from voting on a new position. Mr. Steel said he heard what was s= aid, but they didn’t see a way around that to receive the money and use it= for the position. Mr. Guimond sai= d once the position was in the budget it would remain until it was decided not to = have it anymore. Mr. Steel said th= ey were asking the Budget Committee to meet them half way; instead of creating= two positions or do something different with the money, they were looking to use half to create a position that the School Board and Administration feel is = the highest priority to them as a District&nbs= p; and to return the other half to help offset the tax rate. Mr. Lavallee questioned if they we= re allowed to return the other half of the funds. Mr. Steel said it was kind of a mo= ney inventory issue. He said they= had received the guidance directive from the State who says that they can do it (turn the money back). Mr. La= vallee was curious why they chose the technical position versus the speech pathologist. Mr. Steel said t= he speech pathologist and psychologist were positions that were already paid f= or using contracted service dollars. The only two positions that were being requested were an Athletic Director and a Technology Integration Specialist; the School Board reviewed= the two positions and agreed that the integration specialist was the higher priority educationally.
Mr. Farris asked if the w= arrant wording could be done similarly to how the Police did when they accepted mo= ney for the School Resource Officer. Mr. Lavallee said that was a one time program.= Mr. Hall confirmed that the position was currently being funded using the IDEA grant and the school didn’t feel comfortable paying for that position through IDEA in the future. Mr. Steel answered yes. Mr. Hall questioned if there were any other people in the IDEA grant position t= hat might not be enhancing special education that the remaining money could be = used for. Mr. Steel said if the Bo= ard would like them to increase the operation budget by the full amount, they c= ould find a position they would like to fund. Mr. Hall questioned the alternative= . Mr. Steel said they couldn’t= spend the dollars for a teaching position unless the expenditure budget increases= . Mr. Guimond said the money could a= ll be put in to offset the tax rate, but what they wanted to do was create a new position. Mr. Steel answered yes. Mr. Guimond reiterated t= hat they were trying to circumvent the system. Mr. Hardy said they were try= ing to use the dollars for what the incentive was for to create a teaching positio= n to help the school district out. It was noted if the position was funded (as described), it would be a permanent position contained within the operating budget. It was further noted that the posi= tion would not be a union position.
Mr. Dunne asked if the po=
sition
would be used as non-exempt. =
Mr.
Steel said they would not be exempt from overtime laws etc. It was not a management position.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Dunne asked if the funds could=
be
used as a school resource officer.
Mr. Steel said the
ADJOURNMENT
|
MOTION: |
(Lavallee/Guim=
ond) To
adjourn the meeting. |
|
VOTE: |
(8-0-0)
The motion carried. |
The
meeting was adjourned at approximately
= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Respectfully submitted,
= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Charity A. Landry Willis
=
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
Recording
Secretary
BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING/Thursday,