No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-03-11 Finance Committee Minutes Finance Committee Meeting March 11, 2009 Conference Room, Reading Town Hall The meeting convened at 7:30 PM in the Conference Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, MA. Members Present : George Hines, Barry Berman, David Greenfield, Marsie West, Hal Torman, Mathew Wilson, Andrew Grimes. Members absent : Thomas White Also present : Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, Public Works Director Ted McIntire, Town Engineer George Zambouras, DPW Supervisor Bob Keating, DPW Business Administrator Jane Kinsella, Board of Cemetery Trustees member Bill Brown, Fire Chief Greg Burns, Police Chief Jim Cormier, Library Director Ruth Urell, Assistant Library Director Dorota Socha, and Board of Library Trustee members Suzy Axelson, Cherrie Dubois, Vicki Yablonsky, and Karyn Storti, Board of Selectmen Chair Stephen Goldy, School Committee member Elaine Webb and recording secretary Abby McCabe. There being a quorum the Chair called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM. Town Manager’s FY2010 Budget Board of Library Trustees Library Director Ruth Urell summarized the Library Department’s budget and distributed handouts for FINCOM members. Ruth reported that the total salaries and expenses in the FY2010 budget both show a reduction for the library department. Library business has been up in FY2009, particularly in programming and computer usage which have not previously been included in the data because it is difficult to collect. Reference transactions and circulation is shown on a chart over a 12 year time frame provided on the handouts. The reference transactions and circulation is very labor intensive because there is a lot involved with inter- library loans and assistance with research and other questions asked at the reference desk. Over the past 12 years, the number of reference transactions has grown from 40,000 annually, to over 60,000. Library Overtime Budget —The library’s over time budget as shown at last year’s Town Meeting was the projected cost of opening on Sundays for a portion of the year – which was approved. This year, despite attempts at re-arranging staff, the amount of funding available will not support all of the same hours of service. The Town Manager’s budget included a bottom line figure available to fund library wages and expenses, and the Library Trustees will make a determination of how to best employ those funds. David Greenfield asked if Sunday staff were paid overtime. Ruth answered yes that in FY2009 the Sunday library staff was paid at an overtime rate and three librarians were hired to work specifically on Sundays. Hal Torman asked if this was standard practice, and asked the Police Chief about civilian dispatchers. Chief Cormier replied that the rotation of dispatcher’s hours does not include and overtime stipulated 1 for any Sunday hours worked. David asked the Library Director for more information as to why overtime was paid to the employees that were only working the one day. Software License —The Library will have to decrease the NOBLE license expense by dropping one of the software licenses for next year. Materials —The materials budget is slightly below the 15% allocated now in FY2009 and if FY2010 it will be 13.8% which is equal to a medium level of compliance. A wide range of materials across the board will need to be cut. The library is considering using some state aid and trust funds for 1 year to make up the difference. The materials budget can come from sources other than the municipal budget. Peter Hechenbleikner explained that after Annual Town Meeting there should be more money in the materials budget for FY2009 than is required so they will not have to use as much in state aid this year and can hold off on spending the state money because it can be carried over to the following year. This should bring the library in or very close to compliance with the 15% requirement with Town funds. Ruth estimated the total annual state aid is approximately $30,000 each year. The Sunday hours are a big priority as many of the Sunday programs were well attended. Barry Berman asked why materials are broken down in the 2009 budget in different categories, but not in the FY2010 budget. Ruth replied that during the summer the library assesses what types of materials are most needed for the upcoming year. Bob LeLacheur offered some clarification on what will be requested in terms of FY2009 funding at the Annual Town Meeting. Last week a need for Fire overtime was cited, and this week extra library expense money was mentioned. There will be several budget amendments that will be requested. In terms of the budget process in front of FINCOM, after the school budget is reviewed Bob will describe exactly what FY09 funds will be requested to be moved around, and what will be used for the FY10 budget process. At this point in time, there are only three know items that will require free cash – snow & ice ($600,000+); a replenishing of FINCOM reserves ($50,000); and a funding for a police academy tuition ($3,000) that will be repaid directly into the general fund over the next several months, FINCOM members emphasized the importance of the Sunday hours and stressed that this should be a priority for the committee. Peter Hechenbleikner explained that the Sunday library hours were not originally included in the 2008 budget but were transferred later and at that time it was known that the Sunday hours may not be sustainable. Hal Torman asked if the overtime budget was only for Sunday hours. Ruth explained that the library has no other overtime aside from the Sunday hours. Marsie West asked if there will be a substantial decrease in services. Ruth reported that the library will be making changes across the board so they can manage without completely eliminating any once service except for the Sunday hours. The library is doing their part by actively seeking out donors from the community and applies to grants whenever possible. One member asked if there was money available from the Trust Fund to use towards the Sunday hours. Trustee Vicki Yablonsky explained that the Foundation really does not have enough money to support all the services and Friends of the Library are raising as much money as possible for the programs. George Hines asked if it would be feasible to implement late fees. It was the consensus of the Board of Library Trustees and the library director that it would cost more to collect and enforce than would be collected from the late fees and would thus be counter productive. Elaine Webb asked if there were any positions not included in the FY2010 budget 2 due to retirement or other. Ruth reported that there was one vacant position that is not funded in next year’s budget. Marsie West further emphasized the value of the library services and particularly Sunday hours by explaining that the library’s budget should be increased in tough times because people are more likely to use the community library and the community needs a safe place for people of all ages. One of the Trustee members suggested increasing the rates for room rentals. They did not have the exact number of how much money is generated from room rentals today but will look into it and report back to FINCOM. In conclusion, the Chair wants the library to reconsider the pay for staff on Sundays and also evaluate the late charges and increasing room rental fees for extra revenue. Department of Public Works Bob LeLacheur noted that in November at subsequent Town Meeting the original estimates for the results of the pay & class study were different than the final results needed for FY2010 in terms of the allocation between the DPW general fund and the DPW water & sewer enterprise funds. As a result, more funding was directed towards the enterprise funds than was needed, and will be returned to reserves at fiscal year end; and a bit less than needed in the DPW general fund budget. No further FY09 actions will be required - however comparisons from adjusted FY09 to proposed FY10 budgets should be viewed with this background in mind. Snow & Ice – Public Works Director Ted McIntire reported that the snow and ice budget was increased $50,000 for FY09, with a similar increase requested in FY10 (to $500,000 total). A few years ago the Selectmen requested that this budget be increased gradually to $500,000, which was just below a long-term average at the time. Today, that average has continued to increase above the $500,000 level. The FY09 budget is already about $600,000 in deficit in this account. Rubbish - Ted reviewed the FY2010 budget, reporting that rubbish collection did not change much and the disposal contract is in effect until 2012. Cemetery - The cemetery budget for FY2010 has decreased. George Hines asked if anyone has turned cemetery lots back in for money. Bob Keating replied that people have only been returned lots when they have moved out of state. David Greenfield asked Bob if it is possible to build a crematory to generate more money as some communities have done. Bob Keating pointed out that this is very difficult because you first need the approvals and the zoning and this is something abutters are gong to have an opinion about. The income produced by the cemetery trust fund has declined in recent years. Barry Berman asked how many lots are still available in the Town. Bob gave the break down for each lot that has not been sold in each cemetery, estimating that we have approximately 6,000 lots still available. Engineering – The temporary engineering aid position has been cut out of next year’s budget; one was for a college student and the other position was for a high school student. Highway & Equipment – Two positions have been eliminated from the summer labor help and one person has retired and will be filled by someone receiving less pay. Elaine Webb asked about the temporary wages positions in the highway department and what would happen in 2010 without the help. Ted McIntire explained that there will be no cuts in service and that everything 3 will still be completed it just may be at a slower place, such as the street sign replacement program. DPW Administration – There is money included in the budget to pay for the overlap of the new DPW Director for four months with Ted. David Greenfield said that they received a strong pool of candidates for the position and suggested reducing the overlap time to less than four months. Peter Hechenbleikner said he was ready to hire someone and recommended the four month overlap because we need the new individual to start working with Ted as soon as possible. There are several major issues coming up in the next year such as retirement for certain positions for which the new director will need Ted’s expertise. Recreation – The recreation department has three full time staff positions; Recreation Administrator, Clerk and Program Coordinator. Expenses – Ted McIntire reviewed the Engineering and Highway expenses and reported that there is a 0% increase for engineering, highway and DPW administration but noted that it is very difficult to predict the budget because much of the work is reactionary. George Hines asked how the street name sign program was progressing. Ted responded that it was going well. One member asked what the police detail was for in the engineering expenses and George Zambouras answered that it was for the police during the road re-striping. Bob LeLacheur noted that funds allocated to the municipal government in the FY 2009 budget were spent on leaf collections, but these are being discontinued in FY2010. Thus the budget shows this as a town reduction in what normally would be an accommodated cost, shared with the School department. Marsie West asked how many people used the curbside leaf pick up this year and Ted responded that the department did not keep track of those numbers. Bob Keating reported that in other years of curbside leaf pick up there was approximately 5,000 less trips to the compost center. However, there was not a significant decreases in trips to the compost in 2008 most likely because of the economy people did not hire landscapers. The compost hours of operation are being reduced beginning in April. Department of Public Works, Enterprise Funds Bob LeLacheur reviewed an overview of FY10 through FY13 for the enterprise funds. An Article at Town Meeting will propose that over $600,000 in legal settlements recently placed into the general fund be moved to the water fund. If this Article is approved, using simple assumptions about costs in FY11-FY13, then reserve usage may be able to keep annual rates of budget increases of the overall enterprise funds to be about 5%. Rates charged to users may vary depending on volume of water patterns and other factors. Bob noted that this has not yet been reviewed or approved by the Board of Selectmen. Peter Hechenbleikner noted that this is st scheduled for a Hearing on March 31. Sewer Salaries – The budget shows skilled labor and labor but this is only for one employee that has moved up, there have been no changes in staffing. The MWRA assessment is an estimate right now because they have not approved their budget yet. George Hines asked what the software support was and George Zambouras answered that it is for GIS upgrades. 4 Water Salaries – There are no changes in staffing for water treatment, but there is staff that is likely to retire in 3 to 4 years. Expenses – Hazardous waste disposal day was held in Wakefield last year and will be held in Reading this year. David Greenfield asked if the overtime in these budgets usually relates to emergencies. Ted said water main breaks are common and also noted the flushing program as part of the water overtime budget. Ted also noted that the Town needs to keep cleaning the wells in case we do need to use them at some point in time. Capital – Ted explained that a new high velocity cleaner is needed and included in the budget for FY2010 (split between sewer & storm water). A faster Meter replacement program is also proposed for next year. George Zambouras explained that the NPDES phase II requirements now require the stormceptors (catch basins) need to be cleaned at least twice per year. George Hines asked if it would be less expensive to rent the high velocity cleaner. George Zambouras replied that it would be at least $3,000 - $5,000 per day to rent. George Hines asked if the high velocity cleaner is used on a regular basis. Ted stated that the high velocity cleaner is used routinely and also on an emergency basis. Stephen Goldy asked if it would be possible to share the equipment with a neighboring community. Ted said that sharing equipment is not the best option because it is more likely to break with several different people using it and it would commonly not be available when the Town needs it. George Zambouras advised not to sharing the machine because the need for it will also increase with the new storm water regulations and we use it on a daily basis during the spring through fall. Staff will follow up from tonight’s meeting by getting more information to FINCOM about the library Sunday hours and rates of room rentals at the library. On a motion made by Marsie West, seconded by Matt Wilson the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 PM on a vote of 7-0-0. Respectfully submitted, Secretary 5