Select Board/Finance Com./Capital Planning Com.

Tuesday, February 19, 2019, 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm
Town Hall, 9 Montague Rd
A meeting of the Selectboard

Meeting of Selectboard

Members: (Quorum)

  • Present: Peter d'Errico, Chair, at 7:00 PM
  • Present: Tom Hankinson, at 7:00 PM
  • Present: Julie Shively, at 7:00 PM

Also Present:

  • Mike J. for the Montague Reporter
  • from FinCom: Ann D.
  • Tom P.
  • Greg W.
  • Phil C. From Capital Planning: Wes G.
  • Sue L.
  • Robert W.
  • Ricky R. Others in attendance: Steve W.
  • Bill S.
  • Laura M.
  • Isaiah R.

See original Agenda Final Minutes

Meeting opened: 7:00 PM

Meeting closed: 10:00 PM

  1. Meeting Preliminaries

  2. Appointments

    • 7:00 : Police Dept. Budget Hearing - Request for a cruiser purchase in FY2020

      General Discussion...
      (also present Chief, Scott M.)
      Scott announced that the department received a $7,954 Bike Safety Grant. Scott talked about the new in-vehicle computers and how much time they save and their increase in reporting because of them. Call volume has been increasing, though it was hard to tell if that was linked to under-reporting. The Police Department budget was within the requested 1.5% increase. Scott would like to change the make-up of the department from 2 full-time officers and many part-time to 3 full-time officers. This would add an additional $3,000 for another full-time academy training. There were several reasons why this configuration would be beneficial. However it would cost annually $20,000 (more or less) in benefits. The request will need to be weighed with all other requests at the end of the budget process.
      Capital Planning met with Scott to discuss replacing the Dodge Charger. It is early to replace this vehicle on the schedule but because it has had so many problems and Scott can purchase a 2019 Ford for 14-18% less because the body style is changing in 2020; now seemed like a good time to do it. A new 2019 will be approximately $45,000 of which there is $23,000 in stabilization. Hybrids were discussed as a definite possibility, but not until the kinks have been worked out in a few years. Also, there will now be 3 Police vehicles on the capital schedule, each to be replaced every 9 years.

    • 7:30: Highway Dept. Budget Hearing

      General Discussion...
      (David Finn, present)
      The Highway Supt. budget was within the 1.5% requested guideline. David would like to try a new treatment for winter road maintenance. It is a molasses by-product which can be used to treat the salt and roads directly. He was offered a free trial of the equipment required to spread it. Dudleyville Rd. was discussed. David feels that the road needs a lot of work due the fact that there is clay under it.

    • 8:00 : Transfer Station Budget Hearing

      General Discussion...
      (Annette Herda, present)
      The Transfer Station budget had some increases in hauling and trash disposal fees but Margie and Annette met and did some budget rearranging to address the issues to stay close to the 1.5% recommendation. The question with the Transfer Station budget always is, “is it is self-supporting and to what extent?” Margie will create an expense/revenue sheet to review. The compactor is old, unsafe and needs to be replaced. The repaired motor is in the one being used now. There was money appropriated last year to purchase a new compactor. Annette will be ordering one. Once it has been replaced a plan will be made to get rid of the old one.

    • 8:15: Capital Planning Committee - Incorporating a number Capital Planning Consultants recommendations & maintaining a comprehensive Capital Inventory for 5-10 years out- Other requests for purchases and moving forward - inventory vs. funding decisions vs. need

      General Discussion...
      This was the first conversation the board has had with the Capital Planning Committee since the consultants from the Collins Center were in town. The Capital Planning Committee modified the strategy a bit from the model the consults suggested to better suit Leverett. The committee outlined their strategy for keeping a log of all town capital expenses including roads, bridges, and buildings in addition to equipment, which they have always tracked (see plan, attached). Since “Capital Planning” is in the Code for the town, a bylaw change will be necessary to increase or remove the $4,000 threshold that is in current bylaw. Also discussed was the possibility of creating a separate account for capital funds. Margie will research to see how that can be done with a broad interpretation of use of funds.

  3. Business

    • Cultural Commission appts. - After confirmation about current membership on the Cultural Council:

      MOTION, moved by Peter d'Errico, seconded by Tom Hankinson: Motion: To appoint Annaliese Bischoff, Julie Lapping-Rivera, and Susan Kassirer to the Cultural Commission. Vote: 3-0 in favor.

      Pass: Aye: Peter d'Errico, Tom Hankinson, Julie Shively.

    • Air BNB warrant article

      General Discussion...
      Passed over.

    • Animal Control Officer Appt.

      General Discussion...
      Peter will talk with the current ACO to see if she wants to be reappointed.

    • Annual Report Dedication

      General Discussion...
      Passed over.

    • Dudleyville Rd.

      General Discussion...
      Passed over.

    • Sign Tata and Howard agreement

      General Discussion...
      Already signed.

    • Vote FY20 COLA

      General Discussion...
      Margie needed the board to vote a COLA amount so she could finish filling in the budget. The Personnel Board recommendation was for a minimum of 2.2% (current CPI) or up to a 4.2% increase to keep other town employees at a similar increase to school employees. This caused a raucous exchange between boards and individuals. Some felt that the school and their contract format were incomparable to town employees, others felt that to have part of the “town employee” category getting large salary increases affects the budget exponentially in favor of school employees, leaving behind a lesser paid hardworking core of Town employees as had been evidenced in recent attempts to fill vacancies in other departments.

      MOTION, moved by Peter d'Errico, seconded by Tom Hankinson: Ann D. suggested a 2.5% increase. Motion: To give town employees a 2.3% COLA for FY2020. Vote: 3-0 in favor.

      Pass: Aye: Peter d'Errico, Tom Hankinson, Julie Shively.

    • With FinCom - FRCOG budget analysis, Personnel Board Update, Special Article Request Lisa

  4. Mail

    • ACT monitoring report

    • Eversource tree trimming

    • Historical Com. Letter Demo Delay

    • Jennifer Glover, resignation letter

  5. Old Business

    • Revisit School Budget - The Finance Committee and Select Board discussed the fact that the School Committee did not respond to the budget request of a 1.5% increase. Phil C. still wondered where the extra, one-time $20,000 went. A joint meeting of the School Committee, Finance Committee and Select Board will be scheduled for the March 5 meeting.

    • Class II Auto

      General Discussion...
      A Class II Auto License was signed for Richard and Margaret Carey.

  6. Meeting Wrap-up

The listing of matters is those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law.

Minutes prepared by Lisa Stratford

Minutes approved on Wednesday, Mar 20, 2019