BC20111003

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BUDGET COMM= ITTEE - MEETING MINUTES

Monday, October 3, 2011

APPROVED &#= 8211; October 17, 2011

CALL TO ORDER – 7:30pm

PRESENT:

Also Present:

Mr. Larry Hall, Mr. Dan= iel Guimond, Mr. John Lavallee, Mr. Gregory Farris, Mr. Robert Sherman, Mr. J= oe Puddister, Mr. David Cate, Mr. Ken Dunne, Selectmen Representative Edmund Gleason

Senior Center Director = Sarah Landry, Recycling Center Superintendent Ron Hannon, Highway Agent Don Fos= s, Town Finance Director Cindy Kelley

ABSENT:

School Board Representa= tive Meghan Larson, Mr. Dennis Viger

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

2012 BUDGET REVIEW AGENDA

Senior Cente= r, Transfer Station, Highway Depart= ment, Cemetery, Health Services, Human Services, Health Officer

Senior Center – Senior Center Director S= arah Landry came forward to discuss the 2012 Senior Center budget. She provided an overv= iew of the changes that had occurred at the Senior Center during the p= ast year and the programs she would like to create.

= Senior Center

2012 Selectmen approved=

2012 Budget increase/(d= ecrease)

Salaries:

     79,090

   16,699

Supplies:

Telephone:

Gas/Oil:

Repairs:

Rentals:

Expenses:

       1,040

       &nbs= p; 2,460

       2,700

       &nbs= p; 2,500

       &nbs= p; 1,860

       &nbs= p; 4,431

       &nbs= p; 320

        (780)

       &nbs= p;    0

       &nbs= p;     0

       &nbs= p;     0

      2,752

Ms. Landry explained that the Senior Center had been run= ning over on the nutrition budget and had the Council on Aging (‘COA’= ;) help with funding. After reviewing options, the decision was made to work with St. Joseph’s Community Services f= or meals. When the nutrition pro= gram changed, there was also a change in the way money came into the program, th= ey no longer had the funding for the administrative staff. Ms. Landry discussed the tremendous amount of work that the administrative staff conducted and commented that s= he wouldn’t be able to function the Senior Center without them.

Mr. Guimond asked if the COA stopped contributing money. Ms. Landry said the COA was reallo= cating their funding; the goal was for the COA to put their funding back into renovations and items needed at the Senior Center. She discussed how the COA utilized funding helping to offset costs.

Mr. Sherman asked what seniors paid for lunches. Ms. Landry stated the price had re= duced from $4.00 to $2.00. Mr. Sher= man asked how many non-resident members there were. Ms. Landry didn’t have that statistic, but could look it up. She said they had approximately 430 members and guessed possibly 20% of thee membership were from out of Town.

Mr. Dunne asked for an explanation of the department head incentive. Ms. Landry said she discussed that= line with the Town Administrator who felt it was important to keep it in the budget. This line would allow= Ms. Landry to keep up with education, current trends and attend available semin= ars etc.

Supplies - Mr. Cate asked if office supplies were purchased through the Town. Ms. La= ndry answered yes.

Equipment Repairs – Mr. Guimond questioned if the line should show a reduction since the kitchen facility wasn’t being used as much as it had been.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Ms. Landry said they may not need = it, but being her first year she was hesitant to make changes. Mr. Guimond asked if the freezer h= ad found a new home. Ms. Landry = said it was still at the Senio= r Center, but knew th= at the Town Administrator was working to have it removed. Mr. Gleason believed the Common Ma= n had expressed an interest in the freezer. Ms. Landry noted that the center still utilized their appliances for parties, breakfasts etc. and would need to continue to maintain them.

Mr. Farris asked if the new copier had a maintenance agreement and the current length of such. Mr. Gleason said they would get th= at information.

Mr. Guimond asked the age of the bus. Ms. Landry believed the year was 2006. She explained when she first start= ed the bus had some maintenance that needed to be done. A lot of the needed work was still= under warranty. At this point the b= us seems to be running well, although there is a reported odor, the origin can= not be found. Mr. Lavallee asked = how many miles the bus had. Ms. L= andry will provide the information.

Equipment Rentals – Mr. Lavallee asked who had the contract for the dumpster. Ms. Landry stated Allied. Mr. Farris asked if Allied was the= same vendor Town wide. Mr. Gleason believed so= .

Expenses – Mr. Dunne questioned if the bus driver needed two DOT physicals. He believed a driver could get a certified card for up to two years, unless there was a medical problem. Ms. Landry said two were listed so= they could have a back up driver in the event someone else had to fill in. Mr. Farris believed DOT physicals = were done based on the type of job a person did. They may want to test a person more often because they are dealing with seniors. Ms. Landry discussed the activitie= s she would like to conduct at the center and the requested subsidy contained in = the budget. One item is volunteer appreciation. She started a p= rogram asking volunteers to log their time so she can have hard numbers of the hou= rs it takes to run the center. <= /p>

Transfer Station – Recycling Center Superintende= nt Ron Hannon came forward to discuss the 2012 Transfer Station budget. He provided the Board with a summa= ry of services and programs that began during the past year and the community inv= olvement activities. There was an incr= ease in usage at the facility. Mr.= Hannon said they were always looking for outlets for their products and looking to refine operations. He said th= ey worked well with the public over the past year and looked forward to contin= uing.

Transfer Station

2012 Selectmen approved=

2012 Budget increase/(d= ecrease)

Salaries:

     221,467

     (2,220)

Supplies:

Telephone:

Gas/Oil:

Repairs:

Rentals:

New Equipment:

Expenses:

       &nbs= p; 2,234

       &nbs= p; 2,760

       &nbs= p; 4,105

         5,250

       &nbs= p; 1,854

       &nbs= p;    200

     308,439

        (250)

        960

        (160)

       &nbs= p;     0

        (200)

       &nbs= p;     0

    14,758

Salaries – Mr. Dunne asked how many employees were at the facility. Besides himself, Mr. Hannon said h= e had three full-time employees. Mr. Dunne asked if the was still a contract with Empire. Mr. Hannon answered no (it was open ended). Mr. Dunne asked if th= ere was a need for Class B or C drivers on the staff. Mr. Hannon answered no.

Supplies – Mr. Hannon said there were a few items that increased after the bud= get was drafted, but he would keep the submitted numbers and do their best to w= ork with them.

Telephone – Mr. Guimond saw there were new items in the line. Mr. Hannon said two cell phones (h= imself and Larry Nesky) had been moved from expenses into telephone where it belonged.

Gas/Oil – Mr. Farris asked if there was an increase in fuel surcharge from vendors picking up. Mr. Hannon answered yes, but felt he could work it in. Mr. Farris asked if the Selectmen = would amend the number at reconsideration. Mr. Gleason said if Mr. Hannon felt it was significant enough to jeopardize any portion of the budget, they will ask for reconsideration of = the surcharge when the gas price is amended.&n= bsp;

Mr. Sherman asked if there would be increased fuel usage because of adding the = pick up program. Mr. Hannon said he would report back to the Selectmen, but believed it would be covered in the cost for the service. There w= as a brief discussion regarding the pick up program. Mr. Gleason noted that the Selectm= en have asked for an analysis of the program.=

Equipment Repairs – Mr. Hannon said he had a big concern (expressed to the Selectmen) was regarding the trailers and was getting numbers back. He said there had been an arrangem= ent with the vendor that they would take care of the parts and maintenance of t= he units because they drove them. The item overlooked was the inside the trailers. There was a discussion regarding w= hich trailers. Mr. Hall asked thei= r life span. Mr. Hannon believed the trailers were from 1991 and had a 12-15 lifespan. The replacement cost would be approximately $80,000. He sai= d he had discussed an alternative (multi-purpose trailer) with the Selectmen, but was not at the point for discussion with the Budget Committee.

Equipment Rentals – Mr. Guimond questioned why funding for welding tanks was removed. Mr. Hannon said he didn’t use the tanks. <= /p>

Expenses – Mr. Hannon said the main increase was for single-stream, most of wh= ich should have been in the budget last year.&= nbsp; He said they started the program partially during the year and never envisioned recycling increasing 144%. There were also contractual increases with the vendors.

Mr. Hannon reviewed the 2012 revenue estimate sheet which he believed would com= e in at $71,545. He said it was all commodities driven. Mr. Farris asked if number would increase with the new buy-back program. Mr. Hannon said they tried to deal= with the picking problem that had gone on for years. He discussed the process and noted= that payment would be handled through the Town Clerk’s office.

Highway Department – Highway Road Agent Don Foss came for= ward to discuss the 2012 Highway Department budget. He discussed what the department had worked on during the past year.

Highway Department

2012 Selectmen approved=

2012 Budget increase/(d= ecrease)

Salaries:

     442,853

      3,690

Supplies:

Telephone:

Gas/Oil:

Repairs:

Rentals:

New Equipment:

Expenses:

Specials:

     214,275

       &nbs= p; 3,696

       44= ,170

       45= ,500

     197,251

       67= ,573

       38= ,127

     243,000

        (670)

      1,152

       &nbs= p;     0

    10,000

       &nbs= p;   12

       &nbs= p;     0

     (4,800)

       &nbs= p;     0

Salaries – Mr. Hall asked for an explanation for the adjustment for warrant articles lines. Mr. Gleason believed when a warrant article passed and had a direct effect on salaries,= it was rolled back into salaries for that year’s budget and adjusted to = what the warrant article put into it. Mr. Lavallee if the numbers would dropped out of the budget if the warrant arti= cle passed. Mr. Gleason said the numbers would be adjusted for the contract; the numbers were based on what = they knew right now if the contract was extended.

Telephone – The increase was negotiated in the last contract.

Gas/Oil – Mr. Sherman asked how many miles the Crown Victoria had. Mr. Foss said it had 163,049. Mr. Cate asked if the vehicle was = in line to be replaced. Mr. Foss answered no.

Mr. Lavallee asked if the Highway Department cut the brush on the side of the road. Mr. Foss said they did = brush cutting once per year; if a complaint is received they go back out. Mr. Lavallee felt the brush needed= to be cut at the park and at the intersection at Pond View. Mr. Gleason said the brush cutting= was subcontracted out every year.

Equipment Repairs – Mr. Foss said he increased the number by $10,000. The oldest dump truck (Sterling) they had was in need of a lot= of repairs; a few of which were done this year. Mr. Cate questioned if equipment r= epairs would be decreased/replaced by the new equipment listed. Mr. Foss was hopeful that the new equipment would replace the truck that needed all the work. The $10,000 was included in the bu= dget in the event the department didn’t get the new truck. There was a discussion regarding t= he how the default budget was set up. Mr. Farris explained that one of the potential problems of putting equipment in= the operating budget was because it then became part of the default budget. Mr. Gleason said in this case it w= as not new equipment, it was equipment the voters had already approved that was be= ing replaced. Mr. Farris noted th= at the Budget Committee had no control over the default budget. Mr. Gleason said the committee had= control over the operating budget that accompanied it. Mr. Lavallee said the By-Laws woul= d need to be reviewed on replacement of equipment. He said the proposed truck/figure = would be over the specified amount (in the By-Laws); the Budget Committee would n= eed to decide whether it should be a warrant article or kept in the budget. Mr. Hall believed the budgetary expenditure was less than the cost of two cruisers. Mr. Gleason said the Budget Commit= tee had been requested to reconsider their By-Laws and modify them to start accommodating= this type of growth.

Equipment Rentals – Mr. Foss said the plow rates were increased 1%. Mr. Guimond asked if the Town had problems filling plowing slots. Mr. Foss said in the past couple years, they hadn’t had problems filling slots. He would prefer bigger trucks, but couldn’t get them.

New Equipment – Mr. Foss reviewed the proposed new equipment – 6-wh= eel plow truck (5 year lease) and 4x4 backhoe (3 year lease). Both of the vehicles would be repl= acing old vehicles with numerous hours on them.&= nbsp; He noted the cost for equipment repairs to date was $36,000.

Expenses – Mr. Dunne asked how many CDL drivers there were at the Highway Department. Including Mr. Fos= s, there were five. Mr. Dunne as= ked if the Town put anyone in a drug pool. Mr. Foss said they belonged to the Inter-Trucking Association pooled= in with other companies. Mr. Dun= ne noted that the budget didn’t include DOT physical payment. Mr. Foss didn’t believe they needed it. He said the employ= ees have their CDL license, but didn’t necessarily need their medical card.

Mr. Guimond asked why street lighting was decreased. Mr. Foss said for the past two-thr= ee years the Town had been switching companies. The budget figure reflected what M= r. Foss found when reviewing the monthly totals.

Paving – Mr. Sherman asked if Mr. Foss knew what was going on at the intersection of Sherburne = Road and Mammoth Road. Mr. Foss answered no.

Cemetery - Town Finance Director = Cindy Kelley brought the budget forward for the Cemetery Trustees. There was an increase of $1099 fro= m last year. Mr. Guimond noted there= was an increase of $680 for the flower budget and questioned the reason.   Ms. Kelley will find out the answer. Mr. Guimond asked if = the cemetery had wireless internet. Ms. Kelley believed they did. Mr. Sherman asked if they were on the Town’s cable system. Mr. Gleason said Comcast provided = it to all the Town’s facilities. Mr. Cate questioned why gas was allocated at $3.50, versus the other Town departments that allocated $3. Mr. Hall said the actual number would be changed at reconsideration. Under New Equipment, Mr. Guimond questioned what the $2,600 was in 2011, if the dethatching machine was $1,5= 00 for 2012. Ms. Kelley said the $2,600 was for the ride on mower last year.

There was a discussion regarding perpetual care.= Mr. Gleason explained that in perpetual care, each individual grave,= as it was opened, became an individual trust.= There were approximately 900 graves. There is over $600,000 in perpetual care. The only way to withdraw money from perpetual care was to petition an amount for specific graves. Mr. Guimond asked if the earnings = from Perpetual Care could be spent. Mr. Gleason answered yes, if it was identified where it would be spent. He said no requests had been made.= Mr. Dunne asked how much interest = could be spent. Mr. Gleason said he wasn’t speaking for the trustees; the individual perpetual care had $478,638 and the accrued interest was an additional $57,000. The total perpetual care was $532,= 173, however there were other individual perpetual care accounts (smaller in quantity) that could also be drawn upon.&n= bsp; Mr. Gleason explained that under the old perpetual care system, if a person paid $800, a portion of it went in to the perpetual care account and= the balance of the money went to the Town to offset the cost of maintaining the cemetery. This system changed= a number of years ago; a warrant article was written to have a Cemetery Maintenance Fund. 60% from ev= ery grave went into this fund the remainder went to the Town to offset the budg= et. The money can now be used by the Trustees for any purpose. Mr.= Hall asked how the maintenance fund money could be used. Mr. Gleason said the cemetery were= the agents to expend as long as they requested it.

Health Services – Town Fina= nce Director Cindy Kelley presented the proposed budget of $46,235, which was decreased from 2011 by $1,910. Health Services were monies sent, by request, to organizations helping to service = the Town.

Human Services – Town Finan= ce Director Cindy Kelley presented the proposed budget.

Human Services

2012 Selectmen approved=

2012 Budget increase/(d= ecrease)

Salaries:

Expenses:

      11,440
      75,040

      1,040

       &nbs= p;     0

Salaries – Increase was in hourly rate. Mr. Guimond questioned why the employee received an 8%-10% raise. It was Mr. Gleason’s impress= ion that the employee had increased hours and work. Even with more people seeking assistance, the employee is effective in getting people needed services/ref= errals. Mr. Lavallee asked for a descripti= on of position. Mr. Farris asked fo= r the 2011 rate, number of hours worked and weeks worked. Mr. Gleason will provide the reque= sted information.

Mr. Puddister confirmed that the increase was non-contractual. Mr. Gleason said the employee was = not under contract. Mr. Puddister confirmed that the salary was not in the default. Mr. Gleason said the salary shouldn’t be in the default budget because it was not contractual. Ms. Kelley will make the correction.

Health Officer - Town Finance Dir= ector Cindy Kelley presented the proposed budget.   Mr. Dunne asked for an explan= ation of the difference between the Health Officer and the Deputy Health Officer. Mr. Gleason stated t= hat the Health Officer was Dr. Kodali; she was responsible for all the health issues that came up with the Town; testing and questions arising from safety and health. He said the Deputy Health Officer was Paul Zarnowski who was primarily concerned with Article K waivers for septic systems. A= rticle K was under the purview of the Board of Selectmen who convened as the Board= of Health with Mr. Zarnowski as Chairman.&nbs= p; Mr. Gleason noted that Mr. Zarnowski was doing more inspections and = had asked for compensation for such.

Mr. Lavallee asked if Mr. Zarnowski handled issues with the Town ponds. Mr. Gleason said that was done thr= ough Park & Recreation.

Mr. Cate questioned why the 2012 request was $6,250 if only $625 had been expen= ded in 2011. Mr. Gleason said the= Town probably hadn’t paid the checks that were due. A lot of times checks aren’t= sent until the end of the year.

DISCUSSION

Mr. Hall discussed replacement of equipment in the budget. He said they would be reviewing th= e Town budget Thursday. Mr. Lavallee= said if the equipment was going to be included in the budget, the Board’s By-Laws would have to be changed. There was a discussion regarding the manner in which the By-Laws cou= ld be amended.

Mr. Hall stated if a Board member wanted to make a motion to have the By-Laws reviewed, now would be the time. Mr. Sherman made that motion. Mr. Dunne seconded the motion. Mr. Sherman’s motion was to establish a committee to review the By-Laws. Mr. Lavallee said if= Mr. Sherman would take his motion off the table, he would make a motion to susp= end the By-Laws, at this point in time, to allow the Highway Department to util= ize their expenses on their leases for both vehicles to be put into the operati= onal budget. He said in doing this= the $10,000 (for repairs) could be cut out of the Highway budget. Mr. Farris questioned if the Board= was allowed to suspend their By-Laws. Mr. Lavallee believed they were allowed.

Mr. Hall read aloud the language contained in the By-Laws regarding amending the language:

Section VIII – Adoption and Amen= dment:

These By-Laws shall be known as the Municipal Budget Committee By-Laws of the Town of Pe= lham.

These By-Laws shall become effective after adoption by majority vote of the Budget Committee at a regular or special meeting.

These By-Laws may be amended from time to time by the Budget Committee at a regular or special meeting.

An amendment to these By-Laws may be moved at one Budget Commi= ttee meeting but shall not be voted upon until the next regularly scheduled meeting, not less than seven days later. A copy of any amendment shall= then be certified and submitted to the Town Clerk for inclusion in the Town records.

Mr. Hall said a motion could be made to amend the By-Laws at this meeting and v= ote for it at the T= hursday, October 13, 2011 meeting. He didn’t see a provision in the By-Laws to suspend the rules. Mr. Sherman withdrew his motion.   Mr. Dunne withdrew his second= .

There was further discussion how to proceed.&nbs= p; Mr. Gleason made a motion to amend the By-Laws to allow the inclusio= n of previously approved operating equipment in the operating budget, subject to= the concurrence of the Budget Committee. Mr. Guimond seconded the motion.&nb= sp; Mr. Hall said that would be for any piece of replacement operating equipment. Emphasis on ‘= ;replacement’ only (previously approved by voters). Mr. Farris said the only thing the Board was doing was approving they would have a discussion in the next week.&= nbsp; There was discussion regarding the verbiage. Mr. Gleason said it would be the replacement of capital equipment. It would give the Selectmen the opportunity to put it in the budget and have a discussion with the Budget Committee.

Mr. Hall read aloud the language contained in the By-Laws pertaining to Capital Expenditures:

Section VII – Procedure for Revi= ew of Budgets:

B. Capital Expenditures – Shall = meet the following criteria:

1.      = A warrant article shall be any item th= at has a useful life greater than 3 years, and meets or exceeds the DOLLAR VALUE of the current state= bid price of a police cruiser

a. A replacement capital expenditure whose dollar amount exceeds the lowest current state bid price = of a police cruiser by no more than twice, may be inserted into an operational budget by a vote of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Gleason said his motion was for the Budget Committee to modify its By-Laws = to allow the inclusion, within the operating budget, of any replacement of cap= ital equipment and subject to the approval of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Hall said the wording contained in the By-Laws could be amended as follows:=

“A replacement capital expenditure may= be inserted into an operational budget by vote of the Budget Committee…&= #8221;

Mr. Gleason made the motion to modify the By-Laws. Motion seconded by Mr. Guimond. The Budget Committee will act on t= he motion at the O= ctober 13, 2011 meeting. The motion is to put an amendment on the floor for discussion.

MINUTES REVIEW<= /p>

July 28, 2011

MOTION:

(Guimond/Sherm= an) To approve the Ju= ly 28, 2011 meeting minutes as written. <= o:p>

VOTE:

(6-0-3) The motion carried. Mr. Lav= allee, Mr. Puddister and Mr. Dunne abstained.

-------------------------------------------------

September 12, 2011

MOTION:

(Guimond/Farri= s)To approve the September = 12, 2011 meeting minutes as written. <= o:p>

VOTE:

(8-0-1) The motion carried. Mr. Cate abstained.=

------------------------------------------------

September 15, 2011

MOTION:

(Guimond/Farri= s)To approve the September = 15, 2011 meeting minutes as written. <= o:p>

VOTE:

(8-0-1) The motion carried. Mr. Cate abstained.

ACTION ITEMS

Highway Department to submit a vehicle replacement schedule;

Highway Department to submit a listing of= all roads repaired in the past two years;

Mr. Gaydos to provide a copy of the Treasurer’s report;

Ms. Kelley to provide the Committee with a copy of the FSLA spreadsheet including what qualified;

Mr. Gleason will review to find out if all dumpsters (Town facilities) were with Allied Waste.

Park & Recreation will provide a spre= ad sheet showing the amount contained in the revolving fund, what came in= and where it went out to.
Mr. Gleason will find out how many old ca= rs were currently in service and if they were included in the vehicle inventory list.

Mr. Gowan to provide the Board with an updated number of building permits issued.

Mr. Gleason to provide a copy of the main= tenance agreement (including the term) for the Senior Center<= /st1:PlaceType>’s new copier.

Ms. Landry (Sr. Center) will submit the number of miles for the bus.

Ms. Landry (Sr. Center) to find out the term of certification for the bus driver’s DOT card.

Ms. Kelley will find out the reason for t= he increase in flowers (Memorial Day, perpetual care) within the Cemetery budget.

Mr. Gleason will provide the information = for the Human Services Administrator for 2011 - hours, rate and number of weeks in the year.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

(Lavallee/Sher= man)To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(9-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:45pm.

            =             &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