March 13, 2007 Meeting Minutes of the Shutesbury Board of Selectmen with the Finance Committee and members of the Elementary School Committee Members present: Chairman Rebecca Torres, Debra Pichanick and Ralph Armstrong. Also Present: Town Administrator David C. Dann and Leslie Bracebridge, recording. Meeting opened at 7:06 P.M. Select Board Action Items 1. Selectmen signed a letter in of support the Broad Band Committee grant application for creating a one year high speed internet Beta Test community at Lake Wyola as voted at the March 6 Select Board meeting. 2. By unanimous consent Selectmen signed an amendment to the FY 07 Department of Conservation and Recreation Fire Assistance Grant Program returning $83.90 that was not used, as requested by Fire Chief Walter Tibbetts. 3. Ralph volunteered to represent the Board of Selectmen for the Town Administrator’s annual review. Selectmen met with Finance Committee Chairman Eric Stocker and members Al Beswick, Al Springer, Lori Tuominen, and Patrick Callahan and began a review of the proposed FY 08 budget including the use of free cash and stabilization funds. 1. The total FY 07 budget request from the Library has increased by $6349.20 to $37,000 to pay for an Assistant Library Director who would work 11 hours per week at $11.10/hour. This would cover extended hours open to the public for an additional 2 hours on Saturday year round and Sunday afternoons and Mondays included in the summer. Library Trustees will be asked why the new hours don’t match up to 11. The Personnel Board is creating a job description as was requested by the Library Trustees last week. Discussion of the accessibility project: * More details are being added to the design before it goes out to bid. * The trust funds will be used for repair of the existing building but not for anything over $75,000 of the access project. 2. Review of FY 08 budget: * The Library request brings the current $88,000 budget gap up to $95,000. * It is expected that new free cash will come to $120,000 that could be used to cover the gap, but doing so will cause the ’09 budget process to start $100,000 "in the hole." * What will we do if the regional budget goes up 3%? * Town Treasurer Voelker will be invited to the next meeting to discuss borrowing strategies for the backhoe and the Highway Garage renovations. * Town Treasurer Voelker prefers to keep free cash at or above $300,000 for the necessary cash flow when paying bills. * Designated Stabilization funds could be used for dam permitting and repairs, and to create an unemployment revolving fund that earns interest. Appointments At 7:30 P.M. Elementary School Committee members Matthew Hart and Michael DeChiara, and Union 28 School Superintendent Joan Wickman, Business Assistant to the Superintendent Charlie Paulin and Elementary School Principal Robert Mahler joined the Selectmen and the Finance Committee to review the FY 08 Elementary School budget. Superintendent Wickman distributed the latest Elementary School Budget now at a 3% increase over the FY 07 budget. She summarized her Memo (Addendum #1) that explains where the cuts were made. It is now realistic to place the Phase 1Community Partnership for Children (CPC) monies back into the budget. The CPC monies combined with three higher salaried teachers retiring, reducing the staff by two aides (not required by law), reducing instructional supplies and a food service program that is running in the black the new proposed Shutesbury Elementary School budget comes in at an increase of $45,868, an increase of 3% over the FY 07 budget. Superintendent Wickman emphasized that it’s "pretty unusual" to be able to do this but for the higher salaried teachers leaving for newer teachers with lower salaries. * The school started pre-school enrollment early and is almost fully enrolled. * School personnel are engaging in family meetings to reduce students who are leaving Shutesbury for a school choice option. * Opening Shutesbury up for incoming school choice is not recommended because class sizes are "on the cusp" of being full. If Shutesbury residents move in, the classes become overly large. * Declining enrollment is consistent in Western Massachusetts communities beyond Shutesbury. Overhead costs remain the same and the town loses out on Chapter 70 money. * The 2.5% allowable annual increase matched against 3% and greater budget increases inevitably causes eventual overrides. * Though school employees get higher raises than town employees, teacher salaries are comparable to other towns’ teacher salaries. * A unanimous vote of the May 2006 annual town meeting requested the state legislature to increase the state income tax to 6% with the additional revenues to be returned to the towns * The school psychologist is not shared with other towns; and rather is used in a variety of ways within the school. The Union is exploring if there are ways to share employees within the Union. A possible example would be a shared food service director. This year’s example was the SPED secretary. Eric invited comments on the regional school budget: No one had a solution. School committee members left at 8:25 PM. and the Selectmen resumed their discussion of the FY 08 budget with the Finance Committee: Free Cash: Start with $480,000. Spend $95,000 to balance budget. Spend $40,000 for the Capital Plan budget. Leave $345,000 for cash flow. * $50,000 could be needed for legal expenses if the zoning revisions pass. Stabilization: Start with $431,000. Take $20,000 for the unemployment revolving fund. Take $20,000 for a 1/3 match for a grant to explore Library expansion options. Take $20,000 for dam permitting and $60,000 to match any possibly available state funds to repair the dam. That leaves $311,000 in general stabilization. Total remaining in Free Cash and Stabilization savings: will be $656,000, down to 12.8% of the budget. Savings is slowly eroding. More comments on use of Free Cash to fund the deficit and use of Stabilization: * We got a break this year on the regional budget that we won’t have next year. * Shutesbury may be talking an override next year. * Reminders of other future expenses: Library project, dam repair, school "renos." * In a perfect world we would spend less money. * Should small amounts of money be put away each year for a Library building project that will cost hundreds of thousands or more but not at least for 5 more years, or should that money go to fund the grant match? * Can trust funds be used to help with the grant match? * $15,000 is more realistic for dam permitting than $20,000. A special town meeting will precede the annual town meeting. If state funds don’t come through to repair the dam, the $60,000 will sit in the designated fund either to be used for dam repairs or to be voted back into stabilization if the entire repair amount is borrowed. The warrant articles should be worded carefully; Town Counsel will review. The Finance committee will meet with the library Trustees on April 24th: * Can they come up with money toward the grant match? * How will the 11 hours Library Director Assistant be used? * How much will a future library project cost? The Finance Committee will also meet on April 10 and on May 1 with the Selectmen. Senator Rosenberg’s regional event takes place on Saturday April 7. Both committees adjourned at 9:20 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Leslie Bracebridge Administrative Secretary 070313 Selectboard 1