Budget Committee October, 0 0 MINUTES OF THE BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING OF October, 0 0) OPEN MEETING The Municipal Budget Committee Meeting of Wednesday October, 0 was called to order at :00 p.m. at the Knightly Meeting Room. 0) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chairman Bettencourt opened the meeting with the pledge of allegiance and introduction of members. 0) INTRODUCTION OF MEMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Shannon Bettencourt, Chairman Paul Welch, Vice Chairman Dane Hoover, Secretary Martha Spalding Paul Huard Bob Bryant Steve Goddu OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT: Bernard Campbell, School Board Representative Selectman Everett McBride, Board of Selectmen Representative OTHERS PRESENT: Keith Hickey, Town Manager Melanie Murray, Accounting and Budget Manager Jane Savastano, Finance Director Jeremiah Lamson, Recording Secretary 0) RECEIPT OF MINUTES AND CORRESPONDENCE MOTION by Mr. Hoover to receive the following correspondence: School Board Minutes for October, 0 Budget Committee Meeting Minutes for October, 0 and Interview Session Minutes for October, 0. SECOND by Mr. Welch. VOTE: -0-0 in favor. Motion passed. Town of Salem NH Page
Budget Committee October, 0 0 MOTION by Mr. Hoover to approve the following correspondence: Budget Committee Minutes of October, 0 SECOND by Mr. Welch. VOTE: -0- in favor. Motion passed with Selectman McBride and Mr. Goddu abstaining 0) TOWN BUDGET REVIEW Chairman Bettencourt turned the meeting over to Town Manager Hickey and the Budget Review. Town Manager Hickey stated that they would answer any questions from the Committee. Library Mr. Hoover asked about the increase in Line - Temporary Pay. Allison Baker, Library Director, answered that the one of circulation assistants was dropping to thirty hours per week so some part-time assistants were added to make up the difference in hours. Mr. Huard asked if that was what the multi-functional part-timers referred to in the back up information. Ms. Baker answered yes. Mr. Huard asked what they did. Ms. Baker answered that they did a lot of tasks including stacking shelves, processing material, and working the desks. Mr. Goddu asked about the programming that the Library did. Ms. Baker answered that they offered a variety of things. They had children s programming for different ages. They had programs for families that involved families with their children. They had an adult program with a variety of programs. They had people speak on different topics such as coyotes. Mr. Goddu asked if people charged for speaking and if the funds went towards that. Ms. Baker answered yes. Chairman Bettencourt asked if the funds were for paying speakers. Ms. Baker answered that some of the cost was for speakers. Some of the cost was for supplies for the different crafts and activities. Ms. Spalding asked if it was paid for from fundraising. Town of Salem NH Page
Budget Committee October, 0 0 Ms. Baker answered yes. Library Building Chairman Bettencourt asked about Line - Building Improvements. Ms. Baker stated that the double doors to the Children s Room needs to be converted to be handicapped accessible. It was the only set of doors that had not been converted to be handicapped accessible. The elevator was right next to that entrance. Chairman Bettencourt asked if it was the only entrance on that floor. Ms. Baker answered no. There was another door that was closer to the parking lot but it was a long way from the elevator. Mr. Welch stated that there was a typo on Line 0 Equipment stating that the line was increasing by,00%. Chairman Bettencourt thanked the Library Representatives for coming in. IT Mr. Huard asked about Line Operating Supplies and asked if there was something new being purchased. Ms. Savastano answered that they were just budgeting to meet actual expenses. Mr. Hoover asked about the expenditures in Line 00 - Contracted Services. Is the contract paid quarterly? Ms. Savastano stated that the estimate was a little high. They had budgeted for emergency time for repairs that they would not use because it was the first year of the contract. This was reflected in the budget for next year. Mr. Hoover stated that he wanted to ask because the number was lower. Ms. Savastano stated that some things come out later in the year. Mr. Huard stated that the number in the book was for eight months so the spending was on track for the year. Assessing Chairman Bettencourt asked about the decrease in Line 00 Contracted Services. Town Manager Hickey answered that the money budgeted in 0 was for the property revaluation. The money was not needed in 0 so it was removed. Chairman Bettencourt asked how often the revaluation was done. Town of Salem NH Page
Budget Committee October, 0 0 Town Manager Hickey answered every five years. Tax Collector Trustee of Trust Funds Town Clerk Mr. Goddu asked about the increase in Line Health Insurance. Ms. Murray stated that they had a change in coverage. Mr. Hoover stated that there was a change in plan such as from a single to a family plan. Mr. Goddu answered okay. Mr. Hoover asked about the Retirement rate and if there was any way for the rate increases to be stabilized. Town Manager Hickey stated that the Retirement System sets the rates every two years. They were years away from seeing an improvement in the rates. Mr. Hoover stated that it did not help that investment rates were low. Town Manager Hickey agreed that that did not help. Elections Mr. Huard asked about the four elections that were in 0. Selectman McBride listed the elections for the Presidential Primary, the Town Elections, the State Primary, and the November Elections. Mr. Huard what elections are in September? Selectman McBride stated that was the State primaries. Collections Ms. Spalding asked if the amount in Line Health Insurance was for one employee. Ms. Murray answered that it was for two employees. Mr. Hoover asked the increase in Line Temporary Pay. Town of Salem NH Page
Budget Committee October, 0 0 Town Manager Hickey stated that part of it was the contract with the bargaining unit. With changes in labor laws, they addressed pay rates in the contract so that part-time employees were being paid the same as full-time employees with the same duties. Mr. Huard asked about the 0 tax rate. Selectman McBride answered that it was set. Mr. Huard asked about getting the information on the rate that was set. Town Manager Hickey stated that the Town website had comparison of the rates versus last year. Mr. Huard asked about the drug court and if it was part of the County Tax Rate. Town Manager Hickey stated that if it impacted the 0 Budget, it was part of the tax rate. He thought it was going to be in effect for the 0 County Budget. Mr. Huard asked if there was any local impact currently. Town Manager Hickey answered not yet. Mr. Huard stated that it would happen eventually. Chairman Bettencourt stated that they got a press release on it. Town Manager Hickey offered to provide a copy. Community Development Town Manager Hickey stated that there were no staffing changes in this budget. Assistant Town Manager Goodwin moved the support staff two full-time employees and one part-time employee which were all previously listed in Community Development into the departments that they actually worked in. One of the support staff was moved to Inspections and one was moved to Planning. There was one staffing change in Inspections. They were adding a second plumbing inspector because they were running as much as two weeks behind in plumbing inspections. Chairman Bettencourt asked about the increase in memberships. Town Manager Hickey stated that it reflected Mr. Goodwin s membership in ICMA. Planning None. Inspections Mr. Huard asked about the shifting of personnel. Town of Salem NH Page
Budget Committee October, 0 0 Town Manager Hickey stated that the goal was to assign the personnel to the departments that they were assigned to help out primarily. Mr. Huard stated that it was to make thing more effective. He asked how much having a second plumbing inspector help fix the problem. Town Manager Hickey stated that it would be doubling the amount of time. They will have more time for this type of inspection than the others the Town did. They expected this would solve the problem. Mr. Hoover stated that it was needed. Health Mr. Goddu asked about the increase in Line 00 Contracted Services regarding septic system inspections. Town Manager Hickey stated that they were doing more of the septic system inspections for granting permits. Mr. Goddu stated that these were for residents. Town Manager Hickey stated that there were offsetting revenues for the inspections. This was contracted out. Planning Board Board of Adjustment Budget Committee Conservation Commission Finance Chairman Bettencourt asked about Line 00 - Contracted Services. Ms. Savastano stated that it was an expense every two years for actuarial services. Mr. Huard asked about the audit costs. Ms. Savastano stated that the cost was partially assigned to the Library and Water and Sewer Budgets. Town of Salem NH Page
Budget Committee October, 0 0 Debt Service Mr. Huard asked if the trend would continue where the budget kept going down. Selectman McBride stated that as long as no projects were added then it would go down. They were not proposing any bonds this year. Mr. Huard asked if anything was going away soon. Ms. Savastano answered that the first one was. Selectman McBride stated that it was about ten cents on the tax rate. Mr. Huard asked about the projected tax rate. Selectman McBride stated that it was a.% increase or cents. Mr. Huard stated that they were below the goal barring surprises. Selectman McBride stated that the Manager met the goals and they trimmed it a little bit. Mr. Huard asked if they were aware of anything else. Town Manager Hickey stated that the Board s articles are included in the.% increase. He was not aware of any Citizen s Petitions. Mr. Huard stated that minus any surprises we are in good shape. Town Manager Hickey answered yes. Insurance None. Employee Benefits Chairman Bettencourt asked about Line 0 - Regular Pay and if the money was for the shared administrative person. Town Manager Hickey answered yes Mr. Hoover stated that people don t realize how hard they work. He thanked the staff for putting the Budget together. Town Manager Hickey stated that there was a capital item under IT. It was the rewiring of the Police Station. He wanted to make sure people were aware of it. Selectman McBride stated that if you have seen the Police Department then you know the problem. Town of Salem NH Page
Budget Committee October, 0 0 Mr. Huard asked about the process for next week. Selectman McBride stated that the Town Representative would make the motion and the School Representative would second it. Then the Budget Committee handles final vote. Mr. Huard stated that there will be a public hearing first. Selectman McBride answered yes. Ms. Spalding asked about the page for the IT Capital Item. Town Manager Hickey answered that it was on Page. Town Manager Hickey stated that next week is the preliminary votes. They expect to get the health insurance adjustments next week which would go to the November th Board of Selectmen meeting. Any adjustments approved then would be given to the Budget Committee for the Final Votes meeting on the th. Mr. Hoover asked for an electronic copy of the changes. He would be out of town and participating remotely for the meeting. 0) TOWN BUSINESS Selectman McBride stated that he had no update. 0) SCHOOL BUSINESS Mr. Campbell stated that the Davis Gymnasium and the new cafeteria were complete. Work has been ongoing for the music room and the new four court gym. The School Board had the first budget review meeting last weekend. They expected to meet the timeline. The School Board had given some questions to the staff and were awaiting responses. Mr. Huard stated that they continued to be having questions about enrollment. He asked for the historical information on the number of students versus the number of staff. He spoke about Dr. Delahanty having commented that twenty staff positions had been reduced. Mr. Campbell stated that he thought the number was greater than that. He asked if the request was for all levels. Mr. Huard stated that he would like it separated by grade level. Mr. Campbell stated that there were some positions that were eliminated when the Haigh School closed. He could get the breakdown. Selectman McBride asked about a limit on retirements and if people were allowed to retire beyond that when the Haigh School closed. Town of Salem NH Page
Budget Committee October, 0 0 Mr. Campbell stated that there was no limit. They had a benefit for ten retirements. They had more than ten retire last year. Mr. Welch asked about improvements at the Woodbury School. Mr. Campbell stated that there was a capital item for boiler replacement. He expected it to be in the budget. It would be about $00,000 to $00,000. Mr. Hoover asked if they could address the drainage behind the Woodbury School. Mr. Campbell answered no because they did not have permits. Selectman McBride asked about using natural gas at Woodbury. Mr. Campbell stated that he thought the school did use it currently. Chairman Bettencourt asked about the boiler replacement having been in the budget before for one. Mr. Campbell stated that they did study work last year. He did not think that one had been replaced. Chairman Bettencourt asked if the boiler was very old. Mr. Campbell answered yes it was very. There were also proposals for seal coating for parking areas. Selectman McBride stated that next week s meeting is at the High School. Chairman Bettencourt stated that they were in the Media Center. 0) OTHER BUSINESS Chairman Bettencourt stated that the next meeting is next Wednesday. 0) ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Bryant to adjourn the meeting at :PM. SECOND by Mr. Huard. VOTE: -0 in favor. Motion passed. Minutes recorded by: Jeremiah Lamson Approved: Budget Committee Date: November, 0, as amended Town of Salem NH Page