Chairman Lorrianne Caprioli Vice-Chairman Brian Hart
Robert Bestani John Deziel
Eric Botterman Forrest Ransdell (School Board Rep)
Leo Filion
Michael LaBranche (Town Council Rep)
Larry Pickering
Al Zink
Chairman Caprioli called the meeting to order at 7:01pm.
Chairman Caprioli explained this meeting was requested by Michael LaBranche in order for the Budget Committee to provide guidance to the Town Council as they begin their deliberation and review of the Budget. She noted she was more comfortable providing feedback once the revised budget is submitted by the Town Council.
Michael LaBranche explained last year the Budget Committee provided the Town Council with a 3% increase cap. The Town Council will begin its review of the budget on Wednesday, with additional tentative meetings scheduled if necessary. The draft budget is flat. He hoped the Budget Committee would provide feedback as to whether the CIP was hit too hard, whether a flat budget is not good enough and a decrease is needed. He noted the Council has multiple feelings including looking at cutting programs and reviewing pay increases.
Eric Botterman noted the Budget Committee could determine the bottom line, but he felt it was up to Town Administrator Wojnowski and Finance Director Don Parnell to determine what gets cut from the budget in order to meet that bottom line.
Chairman Caprioli agreed stating she felt the bottom line should reflect a 0% increase or a decrease if possible. The Budget Committee had listened to department heads in order to justify their requests. She felt it was important to hear why the department heads were requesting what they were.
Leo Filion referenced the earnings statements asking who determines how much an employee increase is. He noted he had reviewed the information submitted last week and had determined 32 employees had received increases over 8%.
Administrator Wojnowski noted he determines increases for department heads. Department heads perform employee reviews and evaluations to submit to him. After review, he provides his agreement or disagreement. He clarified employees are eligible to receive up to a 3% merit increase and a 2% cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase annually as determined by the Town Council. He noted one thing that could be skewing those figures is there was one employee who had a knee operation and received workers compensation benefits while recovering. In order to determine worker’s compensation pay, the employee receives 2/3 of the last 16 weeks of highest earning salary.
Michael LaBranche noted the Town Council voted to authorize up to a 3% merit increase and 2% COLA increase. He noted the process is being followed.
Finance Director Don Parnell added reimbursements, clothing allowances, health insurance buy outs are considered part of an employee’s gross pay. This document does not just reflect pay increases. The additional benefits are distorting the information. He noted he would review this information prior to meeting again. He added the Town Clerk/Tax Collector and Deputy Town Clerk/Tax Collector did receive raises per authorization of the Town Council last year because the Town Council had felt these two position’s salaries were not competitive with other municipalities in the area. He added there would be an artificial spike in gross pay amounts reflected recently because health insurance reimbursement had not been part of the payroll previously.
Administrator Wojnowski added prior to his arrival employees had received bonuses from petty cash; this has since been corrected.
Chairman Caprioli agreed any benefits employees receive should go through payroll because they are taxable.
Al Zink referenced an article he recently read indicating this would be the first time there would be negative cost of living adjustments. He suggested this is something to consider. He understood union contracts are very specific. Many corporate companies are requiring employees to pay the difference. He noted he was struggling with a personal dilemma; the School Board operating budget is up 3% with merit increases for employees being proposed at 4%. He felt school employees and Town employees should be considered as employees of the Town of Newmarket. He noted all of these positions are paid for by taxpayers. He suggested one budget should not promote an increase in employee wages if the other doesn’t. The Town budget has cut the CIP and proposed a flat budget. The School Budget was also flat due to the incorporation of additional revenue. He felt the School and Town have both done well under the new leadership of Superintendent Mark LaRoach and Town Administrator Ed Wojnowski. He would like to see the budget on both sides decreased further, but not at the expense of removing the tools necessary to get the job done.
Leo Filion disagreed stating he viewed this as an example of supply and demand. He felt school teachers were in more demand than town positions. Pay needs to reflect that demand. He felt positions that are more valuable to the Town overall should reflect that in pay.
Al Zink felt similar jobs should be paid similarly. He gave the example of a Town administrative assistant and a school administrative assistant. He felt in a town this small, employees with similar jobs should be treated similarly.
Leo Filion questioned the proposed amount appropriated for Police Department overtime. He had concerns with paying overtime in order to cover vacations. He felt with a 13 employee department there should be a staffing plan in place to cover vacations and sick leave.
Administrator Wojnowski noted overtime included police detail work which is allocated at a different amount. Police Chief Kevin Cyr tries not to create overtime, but overtime cannot always be avoided. He noted special events such as weather related emergencies, accidents, details and court appearances all account for overtime. There is revenue to off set detail charges.
Eric Botterman noted the School Board budget timeline is mandated by law. He suggested the Town could schedule their budget review for the same timeframe in order for more coordination of the budgets. He agreed it was unfair for school employees to receive a raise while town employees did not. Nothing prohibited the school and town working together to present their budgets at the same time. This would afford the Budget Committee to work on the overall Town budget as a full, complete picture. There are decisions made that affect the other budget.
Leo Filion noted the Town is mandated under the Town Charter while the School is mandated under the Budget Characterization Criteria relative to timelines. He suggested the Town Charter be looked at for compliance with timelines if this idea was to come to fruition.
Eric Botterman agreed adding the deadlines set for the school are set by State Law. The deadlines set for the Town is set by the Town Charter. Nothing prohibits the Town from proposing their budget earlier.
Leo Filion noted union employees raises are set in the union contract and must be complied with.
Finance Director Don Parnell noted if Town employees were not provided raises, 24 employees out of 225 employees would not receive a raise.
Eric Botterman felt the reason Administrator Wojnowski and Finance Director Don Parnell were here is because of the issues the Town has had in the past. Once the bottom line was decided, he felt they both needed the flexibility to spend within those limits as they saw fit. He did not feel it was the Budget Committee’s role to direct Administrator Wojnowski and Finance Director Don Parnell how to run the Town.
Larry Pickering noted he was not comfortable providing his input until the budget comes back to the Budget Committee from the Town Council.
Robert Bestani noted the economy has never been as bad as it is now. This is a global issue. He noted Washington has put $8.5 trillion into the problem. He agreed the budget needed to be cut, but did not want to see it too lean as the black hole is in part a result because people are cutting the spending. He suggested the budget be as flat as it can be. He has not been on the Budget Committee long, but felt there is not a great amount that can be cut from the budget without dramatic effects.
Leo Filion noted there is $150,000 appropriated for sidewalks this year. He asked if this was the year to be undertaking such a project. He asked if any funds should be appropriated through the CIP. He asked if it was time for the Town Council to review the amounts in the trust funds and begin utilizing those funds if no projects are proposed. He noted funds are not put into the CIP. The CIP is a planning program; not an account.
Administrator Wojnowski noted the CIP is a plan which puts funds into the capital reserve accounts. There is $75,000 per year put into the capital reserve accounts for the water department. The trust funds are expendable. The funds from the capital reserve would be to fund the studies to ensure the projects submitted for stimulus funding were “shovel ready.” There are many water and sewer maintenance projects that have been deferred over the years. Water Superintendent Sean Grieg is looking at areas that need immediate attention. He noted Water Superintendent Sean Grieg is good at managing money.
Eric Botterman noted the CIP had been cut substantially. He wondered if there should be any appropriation to the CIP this year. He asked if the Town should consider a moratorium on new purchases.
Leo Filion noted the CIP was approved by the voters and is no longer discretionary. There is a requirement to appropriate some money to each line item within the CIP. The funds within the budget can be moved to different accounts within the budget.
Chairman Caprioli noted she was not comfortable not putting something away for future expenses. These are expenses the Town knows will have to be expended at some point. She asked if there was any potential revenue from the TIF that could be used to help offset taxes.
Administrator Wojnowski noted the recommendation to the Town Council would be to leave only what is necessary for the bond payment; everything else would be deposited into the general fund to help reduce the tax rate. This would not be part of the budget but would show up on the revenue side.
Chairman Caprioli agreed with Eric Botterman and Al Zink regarding one half of Town employees receiving a raise and the other half not receiving a raise. She liked Eric Botterman’s idea of reviewing both budgets at the same time next year to create an overall picture. She understood there could be scheduling challenges.
Larry Pickering noted his interest in seeing the proposal of TIF funds being used to help offset taxes. He felt this would be a good sell to the residents. He added before the CIP there had been tax spikes because of the infrastructure that needed repair. The CIP has helped to level out the tax rate.
Michael LaBranche felt the CIP had been cut as much as he was comfortable with. The CIP had reviewed the accounts carefully and have asked departments to hold on to vehicles one more year.
Chairman Caprioli asked if the CIP was affected by impact fees.
Leo Filion explained the Town needed to have the CIP in order to collect impact fees.
Larry Pickering noted he was taken aback by the cuts made to the CIP. He noted the School had deferred the hiring of an elementary school teacher that was needed. This would need to be addressed next year. The CIP appropriations would also need to be addressed. The economy situation could be just as bad or worse next year.
Chairman Caprioli noted the future could not be predicted. There were a lot of people who were losing their jobs. That would result in some residents not paying their taxes.
Larry Pickering felt there was reluctance on Town boards to bring industry to the Town. The revenue the Town brings in is tax payer’s money. The deficit the State has will trickle down to the Towns.
Al Zink agreed it was a difficult balancing act. He felt it was important to retain the resources necessary for the Town to operate efficiently. He hoped the School and Town would work on ideas to increase revenue. He felt the Town did a terrible job at attracting new revenue sources in Town. He felt the staff position proposed should be added if it would help bring revenue to the Town. He felt the Town had a great team that needed support. There had been a suggestion he heard this week about eliminating Town trash pick-up.
Larry Pickering noted the Town did not have trash pick-up service. People were required to pay for their bags.
Eric Botterman noted approximately $300,000 could be saved if the road paving program was deferred one year. He added the Town is not looking at cutting positions. Some towns were heading in that direction.
Leo Filion agreed noting the Town could look at what shape the roads were in that were proposed to be paved this year. It would be important not to defer necessary repairs because some roads may need to be rebuilt if not maintained.
Eric Botterman agreed noting there were not many roads in Town that were in bad shape. Paving is a “band-aid” that does not solve structural issues.
Leo Filion noted the CIP committee had asked to defer the purchase of new vehicles by one year. In future years, the yearly contributions to the CIP would need to be increased to make up the difference. He agreed this was a tough year with a lot of people losing their jobs; 66,000 were lost today. This would be a one or two year economic struggle, but he did not think it would go ten years.
Larry Pickering asked if Vice-Chairman Brian Hart or John Deziel had provided their comments for inclusion in the discussion.
Chairman Caprioli noted she was having problems with her internet and phone, so she was unsure whether they had attempted to contact her with their comments.
Michael LaBranche noted he would touch base with Vice-Chairman Hart, John Deziel and Forrest Ransdell for their input as well. He asked if anyone thought of something else to contact him. The Town Council would be meeting Wednesday night to discuss the budget. He felt it was important to notice the work the Town employees put in; even if that could not be at the same level as in the past. He agreed deferring the road maintenance could be a good way to save some money without affecting the day to day workings of the Town.
Larry Pickering suggested staggering shifts at the DPW since most of the overtime was due to weather related issues.
Michael LaBranche noted DPW could not staff for unexpected events. Snow still needed to be removed. It was tough to set up a schedule based on snow and ice storms.
Eric Botterman noted he had directed a Public Works Department in Massachusetts with 300 maintenance people. During the winter, 20 people were put on night shift to help alleviate over time expenditures. He agreed the Town of Newmarket would be difficult to operate in that manner due to its size, but he did not feel it was impossible. He would be willing to sit with Public Works Director Rick Malasky to discuss possibilities. He added it was a union situation he had dealt with in Massachusetts. He felt this was an option that could be investigated.
Al Zink noted he had a friend who had gone through the same situation in Wakefield, NH. The maintenance crew had gone to four day work weeks with rotating schedules. He felt it would also be important for the School and Town to work more closely in cost savings measures.
Chairman Caprioli noted the deliberative session is schedule for February 3, 2009. The Budget Committee is scheduled to meet February 9th and 11th. The Budget Committee should have the Town’s final budget soon.
Eric Botterman asked what the Budget Committee would receive from the Town when they received the budget.
Chairman Caprioli noted the Town would submit the entire budget the same way the School Board had presented theirs.
Leo Filion noted the Town would need to provide a line item budget at the public hearing.
Al Zink noted the School had provided a one page summary he had found helpful.
Administrator Wojnowski noted the Town could provide a similar summary.
