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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-14 Board of Selectmen Minutes k Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Selectmen Date: 2014-01-14 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Conference Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Vice Chairman John Arena, Secretary Ben Tafoya, Selectmen Daniel Ensminger and Marsie West Members - Not Present: Chairman James Bonazoli Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom, Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, Community Development Administrator Jessie Wilson, Library Director Ruth Urell, Fire Chief Greg Burns, Police Chief James Cormier, Public Works Director Jeff Zager, Office Manager Paula Schena, Finance Committee Chairman Barry Berman, John Halsey, Bill Brown Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Secretary Ben Tafoya Topics of Discussion: Reports and Comments Public Comment - Bill Brown noted that there is a parking problem at Birch Meadow School. People are parked illegally in the fire lane. He suggested the Town educate them by towing. Town Manager's Report - Fire Chief Greg Burns noted that the Fire Department received a call from facilities today because the carbon monoxide detectors were tripping at the Barrows School. The Fire Department went out and found different levels of carbon monoxide from floor to floor. The decision was made to evacuate the building. The levels were not dangerous, but over time could cause headaches, etc. The children were evacuated to Austin Prep and reunited with their parents. Everything went smoothly. The School Department used "Connect" to get the message to the parents and also used Everbridge to get the word out to the neighborhood. Daniel Ensminger asked what the cause was and Chief Burns indicated it looks like the HVAC and they will do more testing tomorrow. The Town Manager noted the building has been declared safe and there will be school tomorrow. Discussion/Action Items FY15 Town Budget - The Town Manager noted that the FY15 budget assumes use of $1.4 million of free cash. The department budgets are at 2.7%. Page 3 of the packet shows what Department Heads are requesting and the Selectmen will need to discuss service levels at some point. Page 1 1 Board of Selectmen Minutes - January 14 2014 - page 2 Administrative Services - The Town Manager noted that Administrative Services is at $2 million. There is an increase in election expenses due to three elections this year. Page 28 shows the $75,000 to fund the pay and classification. The Business Administrator has been downgraded because former Town Accountant Gail LaPointe has agreed to stay on at 16 hours per week to work in Munis. She can answer many questions that Munis cannot answer. Centralizing procurement alone is a plus. We are spending $600,000/year on technology and that will be a key role. John Arena asked if Gail LaPointe will stay on as an advisor and the Town Manager indicated she is very willing and able and we need an outsider to help. Ben Tafoya asked about the election costs and the Town Manager noted that the net cost of three elections is $40,000. The state has reimbursed costs in the past through a grant. Community Services - Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios noted that additions include the Regional Services Housing Director and Code Enforcement Inspector. We will continue with the regional health services and we are looking at a regional Veterans District. The budget consists of seven divisions including Recreation. The permitting software allows us to work smarter. Gail LaPointe has been enormously helpful in Munis. The comprehensive update of the Zoning Bylaws is going well and something will go out to Town Meeting. Permitting has been busy this year. A lot of minor site plan review has been done. In regards to enforcement, the biggest eyesore in Town has been demolished. The Town continues to take the lead on regional housing initiatives. Daniel Ensminger asked about the Town's affordable attainment and Jean Delios indicated it is at 8%. Ben Tafoya asked about doing an evaluation of elder services. Jean Delios noted that the part-time Administrator is supervising a variety of staff and she will look at that. She noted that the quality of programming has increased and attendance has increased. There are a lot of volunteers in Elder Services. John Arena asked about the professional development line and Jean Delios noted she is looking at getting people a little more training. John Arena asked about the increase in Veterans Services and the Town Manager noted that he had a difficult time whittling down to one option so he will need to go and speak with other towns about regionalizing. Accounting - Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom noted that Finance is now Accounting, Assessors and Treasurer. Her wage budget line is at -11.8 due to her maternity leave and overtime is not carried over to FY15. Professional development is increased 50% for her and staff. The Assessors revaluation is done so we save money there. Professional development is also needed for the Assessing staff and Board members. The Town Manager noted that he will talk next week about what the Assessors asked for but didn't get. They want $5,000 in case a revaluation is needed, but he told them that is what the reserve fund is for. Fire - Fire Chief Greg Burns indicated his budget includes a salary increase for non-union personnel according to the Pay and Class plan. He has a Fire Fighter moving up. The fire alarm budget line has increased due to flag placements. Medical supplies have increased. There is $1,000 for flag replacement. Daniel Ensminger asked about ambulance billing and Chief Burns noted that they have just switched to a private vendor. Page 1 2 Board of Selectmen Minutes - January 14, 2014 - page 3 John Arena asked about alarm costs and Chief Burns indicated he wants to get back to where we were before. Chief Burns noted that he studied the optimal department structure and he is recommending a second in command Executive Officer. He is also requesting a Training Officer position. John Arena asked if the training roles would serve'as any other capacity and Chief Burns indicated that person would work an administration schedule and could do inspections, fire prevention, etc. His goal is to provide the same training to each group. Marsie West asked if we do training with any other communities and Chief Burns indicated we did driver training and aerial training with Wakefield, Wilmington and Stoneham and it was great. The Town Manager noted that he asked Department Heads to look at fees and that will be discussed next week. John Arena asked if the steps were based on performance or years of service and Chief Burns Indicated it is based on years of service. Police - Police Chief James Cormier noted that his budget is straight forward with a 3% increase. They are also starting negotiations with the Unions. He will hire vendors to administer Assessment Centers for promotions. Substance abuse issues are busy for them and ongoing investigations are bringing good outcomes. The diversion program gives them some discretion and it was well received by the schools and courts. The move out of civil service was very favorable. He will be doing another Assessment Center with new tests. He also purchased a couple of Crown Vic's to have on hand and he is looking at replacing the administration vehicles every two to three years. Dispatch - Chief Cormier noted they are starting negotiations with the Dispatchers. There Is a small increase in expenses. He should have an answer on regional dispatch in a couple . of days. If they don't go with regional then they will look to hire a couple more Dispatchers. He noted It takes five to six months to train a Dispatcher. John Arena Informed Chief Cormier that Bill Brown was in earlier complaining about people parking In the.fire lanes at the Birch Meadow School The Town Manager informed the Board that construction on West Street will be starting around September. Chief Cormier noted that the gas company will be starting in August. A motion by West seconded by Ensminger to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 u.m. was 111212roved by a vote of 4-0-0. Resp Ily submitted, cretary