MINUTES APPROVED BY BRISTOL BUDGET COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 5, 2009
Town of Bristol
Budget Committee Minutes
September 14, 2009
Jon Thouin, as acting Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Bristol Town Offices.
The minutes for June 8, 2009 and August 10, 2009 were distributed for review and approval. Mr. Paul Simard made the motion to hold the approval of both sets of minutes so that the members could review and make suggestions, if applicable, at the next meeting. The motion was seconded.
MOTION CARRIED 9/0
Mr. Jon Thouin requested that the minutes from June 8, 2009 and August 10, 2009 and from this evening be emailed to committee members for their review prior to the next meeting.
Mr. Paul Weston began his presentation reviewing the Budget Schedule, noting that the provider hearings were moved toward the end of the schedule as the majority of the budget requests from these providers are usually not able to be determined until later in the year. Mr. David Carr inquired about the Budget Committee’s involvement in setting up the schedule. He stated that in past years the Committee was involved in the initial set and scheduling process. Mr. Weston indicated that the Chairman, Mr. Andrew Hemingway began the scheduling process based from prior Budget Committee meetings.
Mr. Shaun Legueux inquired why smaller departments were not listed on the schedule and how they would be reviewed. Mr. Weston explained that he, as Town Manager, would be presenting these budgets unless time permitted.
Ms. Dorcas Gordon inquired about putting more time in for deliberations. Mr. Simard inquired on the latest time for the public hearing to be held with respect to additional deliberation meetings. Mr. Weston indicated that he would check with the Department of Revenue and get back to the Committee. Further discussion and suggestions were to add deliberative sessions before the public hearing and then again after the public hearing. Mr. Weston requested that the Committee consider making tentative decisions on each of the budgets the night presented, reserving the right to revise those budgets at a later date. Mr. Carr indicated expressed his concern about being able to make a decision the night of the department presentations due to the timeliness of getting the back-up materials of each department for the presentations. Mr. Weston stated that he would be disseminating the back-up materials a week prior to the presentation, and will make every attempt to stick to this schedule.
Mr. Ron Preble stated that he would like to see CIP recommendations before getting too in depth with the department items as CIP should be suggesting the bulk items from a department’s budget. Mr. Weston indicated that CIP would be meeting this week, September 15th, and he would be able to have a better idea of status from that meeting.
Mr. Carr questioned whether or not the Committee should begin with wages, as wages seemed to be about 49% of the budget and that it would be easier to address them first. Mr. Weston advised that he and the Board of Selectmen have chosen to freeze employee wages for the 2010 Budget. Although the majority of the wages will increase when referenced back to the 2009 Budget because of the pay adjustment processed in 2009 where the employees were paid at one wage for 12 weeks and the newer wage for 40 weeks. He also indicated that the Library Trustees have submitted a proposal for an increase for a full-time librarian, thus an increase in wages for the library. He indicated that we are looking to adequately fund present staff and keep the budget in the black as this year there were lines in the Police Department that were not adequately funded and thus overspent. Mr. Simard expressed his confusion with regards to the any department budget being overspent, as each department was given an amount to start the year and therefore should have spent within that amount. Mr. Weston requested that this conversation take place when the Police Chief was also present.
After further discussion regarding the need for additional meeting dates for deliberations, Mr. Legueux made a motion to move the public hearing to January 25th and to add additional sessions for deliberations on January 4th, 11th, and 18th as needed. The motion was seconded by Paul Simard. Again further discussion was held, with the inquiry if the Town would be able to get the reports to the Department of Revenue in a timely fashion. Mr. Weston stated that this would be a very difficult task to accomplish and requested to leave the public hearing on January 18th. Mr. Simard and Mr. Legueux withdrew their corresponding motions.
Mr. Legueux made a motion to add deliberative sessions on January 4th, January 11th, and January 25th and to continue with the public hearing on January 18th. Mr. Simard seconded the motion. Further discussion included a comment from Mr. Carr, that the Committee can schedule additional meetings if necessary, in addition to the dates indicated in the motion.
MOTION CARRIED 9/0
Mr. Weston will have the Budget Schedule revised and a new one will be emailed to the Committee.
Ms. Gordon inquired if the Board of Selectmen would be presenting a separate budget on the December 14th. Mr. Weston stated that the Board has submitted their recommendations in the packet of information given at this meeting and they will not be submitting a separate budget.
Mr. Weston discussed the tax rate calculation and the expectations of the Board. The Board of Selectmen wishes to level-fund the budget for 2009. Discussions regarding recent drop of values in properties, brought Mr. Simard to point out a recent article in the Concord Monitor regarding the Town of Hopkinton. He stated that values went down 17%, which caused a 22% increase in the tax rate.
Mr. Carr inquired if the fund balance was in good shape. Mr. Weston stated that it was in fair shape, but it is not expected that we will be able to pull much to help with the tax rate. Mr. Carr requested that Mr. Weston provide to the Budget Committee, information reflecting how much we can increase or decrease the budget using the same tax rate calculations from this year. Mr. Weston indicated that we would email this information once estimated.
Mr. Weston presented a chart of the full value tax rates for the state of NH. It was only one page of the chart, reflecting Bristol, but it indicated that Bristol is the 56th least taxed town in the state. Mr. Weston pointed out that we are in good standing considering that we are a full service town.
Mr. Weston also presented the recommendations of the Board. There are 6 main bullet points that the Board of Selectmen agree on and then a detailed description of further recommendations from each individual Selectmen. In addition to the Board recommendations, Mr. Weston submitted a draft budget with Department Head and Town Manager submissions. The 2009 Actual column in the Budget Spreadsheet is through August 31, 2009. The Town Manager 2010 Budget column is in process and will be further adjusted prior to the next Budget Committee meeting. In addition to the Town Manager column, there will be further adjustments to the health insurance lines per department as the Town is reviewing three proposals currently for coverage. The number in the worksheet currently is 14% over last year’s figures, but this could fluctuate depending on the final proposed insurance carrier. Mr. Weston asked that the Budget Committee members review and let him know any questions via email.
Mr. Andrew Williamson commented about paving cuts, stating that they had received complaints from the Mooseman Triathlon last year about how poor the paving was. Mr. Weston explained that the State had contacted the Town this year to inform them that paving was being cut. The Town notified the State along with Ray Burton that there was a Triathlon competing in Bristol and the surrounding areas that the cut in paving affected. This notification along with the assistance of Ray Burton was prominent in the getting West Shore Road paved.
Mr. Carr inquired how much money has been spent on the MICA building to date. In addition, he inquired where the money spent was appropriated from. Mr. Weston will get a tally of the current year-to-date monies spent and email the Budget Committee. He believes a large part of the money spent was in legal and abutter relocation. Mr. Carr inquired on the status of the building. Mr. Weston indicated that the building has been secured and that the abutters have been allowed to move back in.
Mr. Carr also inquired about a transfer of funds that was voted on at the 2008 Town Meeting, where $15,000 was supposed to be transferred from the balance of the Public Communication line to the Consultant line. Mr. Carr stated that he never saw that happen. Mr. Weston indicated that he would look into this and get back to the Budget Committee.
Mr. Jon Thouin inquired if non-government folks have been notified of the Budget Schedule. Mr. Weston believes that they have been notified with a deadline for submissions of October 15th. He will make sure a cover letter goes out to the community groups to attend on the scheduled date. Mr. Thouin commented that it is important that community groups understand when they are to attend as those last year who didn’t attend didn’t get funded.
Mr. Thouin also inquired on the Borough Road Bridget project and how this will affect the Budget? Mr. Weston explained that the Town of Hill has agreed to be fully accountable and that the Town of Bristol will have no encumbrances in its budget. He did indicate that Article 15 was voted on and will be included in the budget.
Mr. Weston also advised the Committee that the Water/Sewer project is out to bid. Mr. Thouin explained to those newer Committee members that the Water/Sewer Department is maintained by enterprise funds and that because of this, they stand alone in the budget. Ms. Barbara Greenwood commented about a tour that she took this summer of the plant and how fortunate we are to have the staff working at the plant. She said that the plant is very well kept and the staff was very knowledgeable and willing to give the tour. Mr. Weston agreed that we do have a fine Water/Sewer Department and that they are award winners.
Mr. Simard commented that the Budget format is a traditional format. It is a good format and it is important that we keep this format as it currently exists.
Mr. Simard and Mr. Williamson made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Legueux seconded the motion. There being no further business to come before the Board and by unanimous decision, the Budget Committee adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
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