APPROVED
TOWN OF
BUDGET COMM= ITTEE - MEETING MINUTES
APPROVED &#= 8211; September 13, 2012
CALL TO ORDER – approximately
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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, Selectmen Representative Doug Viger |
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ABSENT: |
School Board Representa= tive Megan Larson |
Also Present: &nbs= p; Town Administrator Tom Gaydos, Finance Director Cindy Kelley
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
MINUTES REVIEW
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MOTION: |
(Sherman/Dunne=
)To
approve the |
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VOTE: |
(5-0-1) The motion carried. Mr. Guimond abstained. New Board members didn’t v= ote as they were not Board members at the time of the meeting: Ms. Hillsgrove, M= r. Smith, Mr. Cronin, Mr. Viger. |
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MOTION: |
(Guimond/Sherm=
an)To
approve the |
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VOTE: |
(9-0-1)
The motion carried. Mr. Vig=
er
abstained. |
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MOTION: |
(Sherman/Guimo=
nd)To
approve the |
|
VOTE: |
(9-0-1)
The motion carried. Mr. Smi=
th
abstained. |
2013 TOWN BUDGET REVIEW
Mr. Hall stated that there had been e-mail correspondence between the Board mem= bers and School Business Agent Adam Steel that would be incorporated into the meeting minutes. All Board me= mbers were copied on the correspondence therefore it constituted a Board meeting = open to the public. See Attachment= .
Mr.
Hall also incorporated a spread sheet compiled by Mr. Guimond showing the
expended budget number for the years 2006 and 2007; showing the budget and expended nu=
mber
for the years 2008-2011; showing the budget and expended number for 7 month=
s of
2012; and 2013 department proposed budget and Selectmen approved number.
The Budget Committee then reviewed the proposed 2013 budget requests for the following departments:
Town Celebrations – Mr. Gay= dos explained that Town Celebrations funded programs primarily by American Legi= on, VFW and Pelham Community Spirit. He described how the budget was expended by the various activities.
Mr. Farris asked if the maintenance and replacement of flags was included. Mr. Gaydos said that came through = Town Buildings.
Mr. Sherman questioned if the summer camp rented a moon walk. Ms. Kelley answered yes. Mr. Sherman asked if purchasing on= e had been considered versus renting one each year. Mr. Gaydos said he would like to s= peak to the rental company to obtain the cost.&= nbsp; Ms. Hillsgrove, who had priced moon walks believed the cost could ra= nge anywhere between $6000-$12,000.
Mr. Cate noticed that the picnic wasn’t listed in the 2012 budget and que= stioned if it was a new addition. Ms. Kelley replied that the picnic ($350) was included in last year’s bud= get as an all inclusive number. T= his year the budget had been further broken down. Mr. Cate asked what the ‘contingencies’ number ($378) included. Mr. Gaydos answered that the VFW a= nd American Legion put that number together.&= nbsp;
Town Clerk/Tax Collector – = Given the State election was the following day (September 11th), this budget review was deferred to a future meeting.
Elections – Given the State election was the following day (September 11th), this budget rev= iew was deferred to a future meeting.
Legal – Mr. Gaydos discusse= d the situation of board members communicating through e-mail. He proposed a way to deal with it = (so as to not create a quorum), was to e-mail him; if it ended up being an issue t= he board should handle, he could in turn forward the e-mail to the Chair and V= ice Chair to set an agenda item for the next meeting.
Mr. Gaydos explained that the legal budget covered all the legal expenses paid = for by the Town and summarized those items.&nb= sp; Some items were covered by insurance.
Mr. Cate asked what happens to the surplus if the entire budget is not expended. Mr. Gaydos said the amount not spent would automatically go back into the undesignated surplus. Mr. Cate asked if th= ere were anticipated costs given the budget request. Mr. Gaydos believed the Town would= use a little more than the $85,000 this year.&nb= sp; He said they had to budget for what they considered to be worst case scenarios. He noted the Town doesn’t have retainers; they went to the law firm that has the most expertise in what they needed.
Mr. Viger added that the Selectmen decided in the past year to seek representat= ion when negotiating contracts with the unions. Part of the expenditure was due to= the lawyers being more involved with that process.
Mr. Sherman noted that the budget being reviewed/voted ran from January 1s= t through December 31st. Therefore, when the budget is ultimately approved by the voters they were already three months into the year.&n= bsp;
Mr. Dunne reviewed the history of the budget and questioned if the requested $85,000 was an actual figure or if it should be increased. Mr. Gaydos said legal issues were = always an unknown, but wanted to think that they could keep the expenses close to = the budgeted number. Mr. Dunne as= ked where the funding would come from if the expenses ran above the budget. Mr. Gaydos said funds would be tak= en from another budget depending upon how the departments were doing.
Trust Funds – Mr. Gaydos
explained that the Town had elected officials called Trustees of the Trust
Funds. He said in the past it=
was
always an area of weakness, however the Trustees had since went back traced
through the records to confirm what the Town had and turned it into cash.
Mr. Hall asked if the Board could review a spread sheet showing the results of = the investment portfolio. Mr. Gay= dos offered to also provide the Board with the 2010 documents that were audited= . The 2011 documents will be availab= le within a month; the draft was presently being reviewed.
Budget Committee – Mr. Gayd= os reviewed the budget that mainly consisted of the Recording Secretary salary.
Mr. Sherman asked if the Town’s secretarial/office staff had a contract t= hat would be ending this year, or contain any contractual raises. Mr. Gaydos said the Support Contra= ct ends in two years; the Recording Secretary was not a member of that union.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Sherman asked if the contract contained scheduled percentage raises.&nbs= p; Mr. Gaydos said last year they received a stipend, they receive zero this year and 1.3% increase in year three.= Mr. Sherman noted that the Budget Committee’s recording secret= ary salary was in the second year of being frozen.
Mr. Farris understood that the salary didn’t include FICA etc. He asked if the salaries in the ot= her budgets included those numbers. Mr. Gaydos answered no; it was uniform across the board. Any benefits (including mandatory)= were not included. Mr. Farris conf= irmed that the salaries were being understated due to FICA etc. Mr. Gaydos answered yes; because n= ot everyone had the same benefits. Mr. Farris asked where that money would come from. Mr. Gaydos said it was budgeted elsewhere.
The Board concluded their normal business.&nbs= p;
Mr. Hall discussed the Capital Improvement Plan status noting that the school’s portion was incomplete.&nbs= p; He said this year the Town didn’t have anything other than the municipal debt. In the future= he believed it made sense to have the information sooner for the Board to deli= berate on the items and incorporate it into their review. Mr. Dunne discussed the threshold = figure that was designated at $75,000. He commented that the school was still unsure what exactly they would come for= ward with. Mr. Viger said the item= s that fell under the specified threshold were requested to be place on a ‘punch’ list so the Selectmen could keep them on their radar and work toward completion. Mr. H= all asked Mr. Dunne to bring a message to the CIP letting them know how importa= nt it was to have information regarding the school. This information will help the Bud= get Committee with their deliberations. Mr. Dunne stated at present there was no CIP meeting scheduled.
ADJOURNMENT
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MOTION: |
(Sherman/Guimo=
nd)To
adjourn the meeting. |
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VOTE: |
(10-0-0)
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
= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Recording Secretary
ATTACHMENT
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BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING/Monday,