Shutesbury Board of Selectmen with the Finance Committee February 24, 2009 Meeting Minutes Members present: Chairman Rebecca “Becky” Torres and Al Springer. Absent: Ralph Armstrong. Also present: Town Administrator David Dann and Administrative Secretary Leslie Bracebridge, recording. Finance Committee members present: Chairman Eric Stocker and members Frederick “Rus” Wilson, William “Bill” Wells, Lori Tuominen and Elaine Puleo Meeting opened at 7:06 P.M. Committee Reports The Personnel Board recommends no salary increases for FY 10, across the board throughout the town, including the elementary school, Union 28 and the Amherst-Pelham Regional school district, and to not cut hours for either the Assistant Town Clerk or the Assessors’ Clerk until the Personnel Board reviews those 2 job descriptions. The Fire Chief and Highway Superintendent contracts expire June 30. The Police Chief contract expires in 2011; though the Police Chief’s contract says that the Chief will receive whatever percent increase the town employees receive. Since the Town Administrator is retiring, should that salary also be lowered?: * The Select Board will decide, in conference with the Finance Committee and Personnel Board. * David strongly recommends keeping the salary the same. * It is usual for a new hire to start at a lower rate than the previous high ranking administrator. o The last Amherst School Superintendent started higher, o Joan Wickman in Union 28 started lower. o David Dann started lower than David Ames. * Often a salary is based on experience with a salary range given in the advertisement. * David offered to research Administrator salaries in the area. * These are unusual times, people will work for less; previously high paid employees are out of work. * Eric requested a summary be prepared of what Shutesbury Administrators have earned since it became a full time position. Question 1: What if anything can be done about the Union 28 increases? Nothing, it has already been approved by the Union 28 sub-committee. Discussion of writing a “moral force” letter to all departments including Union 28 and recommending zero COLA increases: * Understanding that there is no legal thing to do, the letter would ask everyone to take a zero percent COLA. If the highest paid employee got a 6% raise, when others got none, it wouldn’t look good. * The letter would be signed by the Select Board and the Finance Committee and Elaine will ask the School Committee to consider signing it at their next meeting. * There are no “legal teeth” to make it happen. * The Union 28 budget is imbedded in the elementary school budget so not funding the line would only hurt the elementary school budget. Question 2: What happens to the estimated $22,000 saved by freezing school staff COLA’s? * Maybe split it ½ to supplies for students and ½ back to the town? * The request would apply to all school personnel. * Negotiations haven’t even started yet. The team understands the financial position of the town. * The soil contamination clean-up could cost $250,000 to $500,000. * The (moral force) letter should also go to the Selectmen, Finance and School Committees of all 4 Amherst-Pelham region towns and to the Amherst-Pelham Region Superintendent at the same time that it goes to the Union 28 towns. o David will write the first draft. o Elaine will invite the School Committee to sign the letter (along with the Selectmen and the Finance Committee) tomorrow night. * Shutesbury won’t be the only town looking for zero increases. * There may be some savings due to the change of custodian. * The letter will be ready for March 3 when the Selectmen meet with the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee unanimously voted on the intent of the letter, that all salaries be held at a zero percent COLA increase for FY 10 and that the letter be sent to the Union 28 staff including the Superintendent, the other 4 Union 28 towns’ Selectmen, School and Finance Committees, and to the Amherst-Pelham region Selectmen, Finance Committee and Regional School Committee also. Selectmen also voted unanimously on the same motion. Second votes, by both the Finance Committee and the Selectmen, that the elementary school retain ½ of the savings from freezing the school staff COLA’s and the other ½ of the savings be returned to the town were unanimous. Third votes by the Finance Committee and the Selectmen that the zero COLA apply to all town employees, including all contracted positions, were unanimous. Senator Stan Rosenberg thinks that the state will stay with its commitment to level fund chapter 70 for FY 10 and 11 (which in reality is a cut.) We don’t know what will happen with the regionalization concept in the next 2 years: we might have to get our elementary teachers’ salaries up to the Amherst Pelham region salary rates. Shutesbury’s are about 20 to 25% lower with a bigger difference for the salaries of new teachers, smaller differences for those who have been in the system a longer time. A comparison is needed. Review of the FY 10 expense budget was put off until David can re-work it, because tonight’s votes will make a significant difference in the budget. The federal stimulus package could change state aid; the house budget won’t be out for a few weeks. With zero COLA’s there could be a budget surplus. Snow removal budget: * The average of the previous 5 years’ expenses for overtime and materials came to $73,000. * In order to get state aid in emergencies such as a winter storm, the town cannot reduce its total snow removal budget from the previous year. * We’ve significantly under-budgeted in the past. * The figure of $60,000 in the FY 10 budget is a little closer to reality. * Last year we budgeted $60,000 and the actual expenses came in at $95,000. * Right now, this year we’re already at $82,000. Any budget surplus should go into Finance Committee reserves for ice and snow removal expenses. Alan Weiss will meet with the Selectmen the last week in March or the first week in April to review the soil contamination remediation at the Fire Department. Finance Committee appointments to negotiating teams and TA search committee: 1. Patrick Callahan to the Police Chief negotiating team. 2. Rus Wilson offered to do the Highway Superintendent contract negotiating. 3. Lori Tuominen volunteered for the Town Administrator search position. 4. Eric will represent the Finance Committee on the Fire Chief negotiating team. 5. The regionalization committee representative will be settled after the first planning meeting. The timeline on the Administrator Search Committee: The position does not have to be vacant for the search to begin. It is anticipated that the person will be hired and have some training time with the current Town Administrator. The selectmen will be asked to make 1 or 2 minor changes to the job description at their next meeting and at that time they will appoint a search committee. Expense Report review: * The Police Department operating is low; the Chief knows he has to stay within his budget. * The Library budget line is low because the department uses all town budgeted funds before going to their other forms of income. * The School lunch program has $19 left in the budget for this year. It is behind in USDA reimbursements, even with USDA reimbursements, but it will go over budget this year. Waiting for to see how far off we will be this year. Those reimbursements are very slow. Nothing has happened concerning last year’s losses. Elaine will ask at the School Committee tomorrow night. David: “How the income and expenses matching up for this year?” About $28,000. Bad bookkeeping and no receipts. Poor oversight. In 08 the school lunch $50,200. School budget line 623. Could Union 28 have a standardized process for running the lunches? There were no Finance Committee Reserves transfers. Future Finance Committee meeting dates and other meetings of interest: 1. Saturday, February 28: 4-town budget meeting of Selectmen, School and Finance Committees at the Amherst-Pelham Regional Middle School Library, 9 to 11 AM. 2. Saturday, February 28: meeting of the Amherst-Pelham Regional representatives to reach consensus about what to bring to the table of the regionalization study committee, at the Amherst-Pelham Regional Middle School Library, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM. 3. Tuesday, March 3: Meeting with the Shutesbury financial team at the Select Board meeting, 7:30 PM. (David will have the across the board zero percent COLA letter ready by that meeting.) 4. Saturday, March 7: Regionalization Study Committee. 5. Tuesday, March 24: Finance Committee meeting. 6. Tuesdays, April: 7 and 21: Finance Committee meetings (opposite the Select Board meeting dates.) 7. Saturday April 4, Senator Rosenberg’s annual seminar/training at the Clarion Motel in Northampton. The Finance Committee adjourned at 8:34 PM Select Board continued meeting: 1. Selectmen reviewed a sample Trench Permitting process from Bernardston: a. The Franklin County Cooperative Inspection Program (FCCIP) fall 2008 quarterly meeting minutes state that the FCCIP will not be doing the trench permitting for the member towns and refers towns to Bernardston’s initial effort. b. Shutesbury Selectmen suggest that the applicants could pick up the applications at Town Hall and the Highway Superintendent will be the authority to sign off on the permits, as it makes sense to select someone who already has the training. c. David will talk with Highway Superintendent Hunting and bring his input back to the next Select Board meeting. d. David will talk with other town administrators to see what other towns are doing about this new regulation and bring the information back to the next Select Board meeting. 2. Selectmen discussed participating in the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) fuels bidding process: a. The cost of the FRCOG bidding service is $145/product, equaling about $435 for all three fuels for Shutesbury. b. The town would not be obligated to purchase the fuels through the FRCOG bids if the Selectmen did not like the bidding results. c. The Lower Pioneer Valley Collaborative offers a free bidding service for heating oil for the schools. David will check to see if the other municipal buildings’ fuel can be included. d. Typically the town has done well with the FRCOG bidding. Last year was an exceptional year for fuel prices; towns locked in early and high. e. Selectmen asked David to ask FRCOG if the bidding can be done soon enough that the information is available by April 20 at the latest, for the annual town meeting budget. f. Currently, fuel prices are low. There is no way for anyone to know what the future prices will be. David will also call the current supplier to see if the town can lock in at the current price for the coming year. g. FRCOG has stronger buying power in numbers, but could loose anything gained in numbers by waiting to lock in. h. Selectmen will make a decision after getting further feedback from David at their meeting next week. Selectmen adjourned at 9:14 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Leslie Bracebridge Administrative Secretary 090224 Selectboard and Finance Committee 1