BC20120405

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BUDGET COMM= ITTEE - MEETING MINUTES

Thursday April 5, 2012

APPROVED &#= 8211; September 10, 2012

CALL TO ORDER – approximately 7:00pm

PRESENT:

Mr. Larry Hall, Mr. Dan= iel Guimond, Mr. Gregory Farris, Mr. Robert Sherman, Mr. David Cate, Mr. Ken = Dunne, Ms. Daryle Hillsgrove, Mr. Greg Smith, Mr. Dave Cronin

ABSENT:

Selectmen Representativ= e Doug Viger, School Board Representative Megan Larson

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Mr. Hall turned the meeti= ng over to Mr. Sherman. Mr. Sherman accepted nominations for Chairman. <= /span>Mr. Guimond nominated Mr. Hall as Chairman.&nb= sp; Mr. Dunne seconded. Th= ere were no other nominations. Nominations were closed.

MOTION:

(Guimond/Dunne= )To elect Mr. Hall as Chairman. <= o:p>

VOTE:

(9-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was turned ba= ck to Mr. Hall, who then took nominations for Vice Chairman.

Mr. Farris nominated Mr. = Guimond as Vice Chairman. Mr. Cate seconded. There were no other nominations.

MOTION:

(Farris/Cate)T= o elect Mr. Guimond as Vice Chairman.

VOTE:

(9-0-0) The motion carried.

Mr. Hall noted that the p= osition of Corresponding Secretary was open. He also noted that the Board needed liaisons for the following: Scho= ol, Town and CIP. Mr. Cate and Mr. Cronin volunteered to be the Board’s liaison for the School. Mr. Sherman volunteered to be the liaison for the Town. Mr. Dun= ne volunteered to be the liaison for either the Town or the CIP. The Board’s liaisons would b= e as follows: School – Mr. C= ate and Mr. Cronin; Town – Mr. Sherman; CIP – Mr. Dunne.

DISCUSSION

Joint Meeting with Budget Committee, Board of Selectmen, School Board

Mr. Hall announced that a= joint meeting of the Budget Committee, Board of Selectmen and School Board would = be held April 12, 2= 012 at 7pm in Sherbur= ne Hall. The agenda has been pub= lished on the Town website.

Mr. Hall commented he wou= ld distribute a spreadsheet (prior to the joint meeting) showing the historical budget numbers from 2006 to present for both the Town and the School. For the new Board members he provi= ded an overview the budget review process and the timeframe meetings would commenc= e.

Mr. Farris asked that the= Board consider setting up a Town vehicle capital reserve fund; using excess monies from the Ambulance Fund that now go into the Town surplus. He said he spoke with Selectman Gl= eason about the topic. Mr. Farris s= aid he wasn’t looking to build a reserve fund like what was set up to offset= the fire station, which was a one-time occurrence. He understood that the capital res= erve couldn’t be ‘capped’, but felt the Selectmen should maint= ain a useful reserve to put away for expenditures, but at the same time help against taxes. The money woul= d only be spent by vote at Town Meeting. Mr. Hall believed there were similar issues with bridges and roads. Mr. Farris believed the Highway Ag= ent could list the upcoming needs, and although the Town may not be able to save for it, it may be able to be budgeted out to better understand what affects= it would have on the budget process. It would also create a better understanding of the needs when warrant articles were brought forward.

TOWN MEETING RESULTS

Mr. Hall reviewed the Town Meeting vote results for both the Town and the School.

Mr. Dunne discussed the l= ease for the Planning Department Code Officer vehicle that was not approved. He felt by using the current vehic= le it would cost the Town taxpayers more money.&= nbsp; At the same time he understood that having the Code Officer using a former Police cruiser would be beneficial.= He wanted to know if the Board still felt the Planning Department vehicle should be on the ballot. He questioned if a revolving account for vehicles would incorporate the Code vehicle.

Mr. Hall believed the Pla= nning Department would bring it forward and the Board would have a discussion.

Mr. Farris said some may = say the blame was on the Budget Committee for not approving the vehicle through the budge= t, but he believed the Planning Department had to do a better job presenting it. He noted that they came i= n late, and didn’t have information to justify the Code Enforcement position,= or the vehicle. In his experienc= e, items that come in last minute don’t work; the oneness is on the departments to explain their needs. Once it is approved the first time, Mr. Farris said (through the By-Laws) he had no problem replacing it.&n= bsp; To him it was not the Budget Committee that failed to do their job; = the vehicle was presented late, the justification was late and the department needed to do a better job presenting.

With regard to Town vehic= les, Mr. Guimond still felt that the first time a vehicle was purchased it should be= up to the taxpayers.

Mr. Cate asked if the Boa= rd would be informed when the catastrophic reimbursement for Special Education would take place and how much would be received.= Mr. Hall replied the School should have an idea of the number in June. He didn’t have information regarding the catastrophic reimbursement. He said there were three areas on = the school side that he made note of last year: 1) technology plan, which was in deep distress; 2) difficulty projecting out for Special Education; and 3) tracki= ng aides.

Mr. Sherman believed the = school budget would be crucial with the split of the SAU, preschool, special education, continued problems with the high school and teacher contracts.

Mr. Dunne understood that= the (state) roundabout project had the current fire station being destroyed. He didn’t understand why that building couldn’t be used. He said even though there was mold, the interior could be gutted, and retain the building shell to house the SAU. Mr. Hall replied that the Selectme= n had already voted that the building would be taken down. He was aware that Mr. Farris had presented a letter to the Selectmen regarding a possible use for the buildi= ng, but the decision was made to eliminate the building. He said the SAU issue would be on = the budget reviewed this year.

Ms. Hillsgrove commented = that it might be helpful to have the Special Education people meet with the Board to explain the process of developing plans and program requirements. She said having an understanding o= f what control they had and didn’t have may be helpful for the Board and the voter.

Mr. Smith wanted to under= stand the alternatives regarding the SAU needs. He felt pre-school and kindergarten would be taking the priority over new office space.

Mr. Hall said currently i= n the budget for pre-school was approximately $125,000 for the lease of the classrooms; so there was money to enter into a different leasing agreement.= They would need to make a decision regarding the current trailers. He said there were a lot of things that would need to be decided upon.

Mr. Farris said in his le= tter to the Selectmen he noted the possibility for housing the SAU within the empty classroom space in the Mu= nicipal Building. There were a total of six empty classrooms; three would probably be adequate. He commented that last year the sc= hool came in last minute. He felt = they had to get together and decide what they wanted to do because there were no longer small items remaining. He discussed some of the difficulties in the past regarding budget requests and communications with the school.

Mr. Dunne discussed the facilities site walks that the Board conducts prior to budget reviews. He commented that they never revie= wed the Annex building and questioned if it was large enough to house the SAU.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He asked if there were any contrac= ts that would be ending this year. It was believed that the teacher, the Fire Department and possibly the Transfer Station contracts were ending this year.&n= bsp;

Mr. Hall noted again that= the joint meeting would be held April 12, 2012 at 7pm<= /st1:time> in Sherburne Hall. He believe= d the discussion would revolve around capital expenditures.

Mr. Farris told the new B= oard members for information regarding the Town budget that they could go onto t= he Town website (with a security password) and review the monthly expenditures with= in the budget accounts for easy tracking. He said Mr. Guimond could provide a = summation sheet of how each budget ended and compare such to the website to see how t= he money was being expended. He = said the school didn’t have a similar website; the Board had to request monthly running balances from them. He hoped the Board could get the information from the school this ye= ar as well. Mr. Smith asked if t= here was a technical limitation for why the school didn’t have the informa= tion on the website. Mr. Hall beli= eved it may be more complicated for the school to provide the information than it was for the Town. He said the= Town had a set number of departments and had clear concise information. He said they did a nice job going = back to zero based budgeting every year. He said the school was a little more complicated, but the Board shou= ld receive the monthly information on a more consistent basis. He noted that the school couldn= 217;t do anything with surplus at the end of the budget; the money went back into= the general fund. The school didn’t have the ability like the Town to take the surplus and keep it= in reserve.

Mr. Hall will be in conta= ct with members; the Board will set the next meeting for the June, 2012 timeframe.<= /p>

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

(Sherman/Dunne= )To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(9-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:45 pm.

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Respectfully submitted,

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Charity A. Landry

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Recording Secretary