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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-01-13 Board of Selectmen Minutes x Town of Reading 44 ` b Meeting Minutes '639:11tCOR40�4 Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Selectmen Date: 2015-01-13 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Conference Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Vice Chairman Marsie West, SecretaryDaniel Ensminger (participated remotely), John Halsey, Kevin Sexton Members - Not Present: Chairman John Arena Others Present: Town Manager Robert LeLacheur, Police Chief James Cormier, Deputy Police Chief Mark Segalla, Fire Chief Greg Burns, Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom, Public Works Director Jeff Zager, Library Board of Trustees members David Hutchinson, Cherrie Dubois, Vicki Yablonsky John Brzezenski, Assistant Library Director Amy Lannon, Robert Corwin, Nancy Dockser, Stephen Crook, Executive Assistant Paula Schena Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Secretary Topics of Discussion: Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments.- John Halsey noted that he attended the Board of Health meeting last week and they are finalizing their report to the Board of Selectmen. They will be meeting again on January 15, 2015. He attended a presentation from MAPC which was extremely thorough. The outcome is that Reading is hard to do business with. Some of our Boards, Committees and Commissions should speak more fluently with each other and the Town lacks a marketing strategy for commerce. There will be public sessions at the Senior Center on April 1 and May 13. Reading is highly desirable to move to for the schools. The major focus is on South Main Street, downtown and General Way. Kevin Sexton noted that he attended a Community Planning and Development Commission (CPDC) meeting last night and they finished the site plan review for, Summer Avenue Criterion. Criterion did a good job working with the folks - they made concessions. CPDC voted 3-1-0 to approve the site plan. Marsie West noted that there will be a Martin Luther King Program on January 19th at 9:30 a.m. at the High School and Bob Surette will be featured. Town Manager's Report - The Town Manager noted that Town Moderators requested Deval Patrick to take action regarding cancelling Town Meeting and he did. Town Moderators can now cancel Town Meeting in the event of bad weather. The Town Manager noted that on page 8 of the handout is an independent rating of Reading and we are very strong in all categories except we haven't had an override in a long time. Marsie West recommended that a press release be done to let the public know. Page 1 1 Board of Selectmen Minutes - January 13. 2015 - page 2 Personnel and Auuointments Contributory Retirement Board - The Town Manager noted that Richard Foley's term on the Contributory Retirement Board expired on December 31 and he did not want to be reappointed. Town Treasurer/Collector Nancy Heffernan is interested in being appointed. A motion by Ensminger seconded by Halsey to appoint Nancy Heffernan to one j position on the Contributory Retirement Board with a term expiring December 31, 2017 was approved on a roll call vote with all four members voting in the affirmative. i Discussion/Action Items FY16 Town Budget - The Town Manager noted that he asked all Department Heads to bring a budget to the Board asking for everything they need. The budgets you will see are $1 million more than we can afford. The demographics for Reading show that over the next 20 years 73% of the residents will be over 65 and 20% will be 25 years old. John Halsey noted that some will stay and some ' will leave because we are not creating the spaces for people 65 plus. The Town Manager noted that the Board will need to discuss eliminating the early discount at some point. Public Safety - Fire - Fire Chief Greg Burns noted that his budget request is 44,508,850. The salary is $4,351,225 and $157,625 is for expenses. This budget permits staffing of a second in commandP osition. There has been an increase in emergency response with 43 structure fires, 7 mobile fires and 17 outside fires last year. The department has also seen an increase in drug overdoses C of 266% increase over last year - 12 in 2013 and 32 in 2014. Ambulance fees are E $616,839. The increase in non-union wages are according to the pay and classification that was approved by the Board. Union holiday pay shows in wages now instead of a separate line item. The union contract allows for a 1% increase on 7/1/15 and 1% on 1/16. Four fire i fighters are moving up a step and three fire fighters received degrees so they receive additional pay for that. Ambulance fees are trending higher due to increases in our ambulance fees. There is an increase in the uniforms because we will be hiring four new fire fighters. John Halsey asked if Civil Service limits who we can speak with and Chief Burns indicated it does. Daniel Ensminger noted that the Police gave up Civil Service and he asked if the Fire Department is considering that. Chief Burns noted that will have to be bargained. The Town Manager noted that the Fire Chief is also the Emergency Management Officer which is a heavy workload. He has added a line item of $10,000 to look at doing something different for this position. Chief Burns noted that the overtime line is trending 8% higher but that should drop because we have hired a new fire fighter and an injured fire fighter will be returning in two weeks. He also assigned the Fire Prevention Officer to a group to help reduce overtime. Public Safety - Police - Police Chief James Cormier noted that the Level 1 budget is funded at $4.6 million or 3.1% over fiscal year 2015. Over 95% of this budget is spent on personnel. The Level 1 budget includes an additional officer as a School Resource Officer. Page 12 Board of Selectmen Minutes - January 13, 2015 - page 3 John Halsey asked if two School Resource Officers is in response to drugs and Chief Cormier noted that it is in response to substance abuse, bullying and harassment. The School Resource Officer is very busy. There are also general safety issues i.e. keeping drills up to date. Chief Cormier noted that the current School Resource Officer spends most of the time at the High School and there is a need at the other schools. He noted that the program is very successful. Chief Cormier noted that the salaries meet all contractual agreements and non-union pay and class. The SAMSA Grant offset of $151,921 covers RCASA salaries. Joint training with the Fire Department is in the overtime account. Chief Cormier noted that there is a reduction in the clothing allowance because it is now included in the base pay. RCASA's expenses are now covered under the grant. Body worn cameras are a potential future expense and policies would need to be developed. Public Safety - Dispatch - Police Chief James Cormier noted that 95% of the budget is for salaries. The Level 1 budget has a 19% increase due to a proposal to add two positions. Medical Dispatch takes up time and there is a need to have two Dispatchers at all times. Regional Dispatch is off the table - we are in the best shape out of all the communities. Daniel Ensminger asked if there was any defect if we don't get one or two additional Dispatchers. Chief Cormier noted that one position doesn't staff appropriately for 24 hours, it would actually end up costing overtime. The right thing to do is staff two Dispatchers 24 hours per day. Dispatch received over 2000 medical calls last year. The next generation 911 will be extended to pinpoint cell phones, etc. but the bond to pay for the next generation was vetoed by the outgoing Governor. If the incoming Governor doesn't reinstitute then it will cost the Town money. John Halsey noted that two Dispatchers doesn't sound like a luxury. We hired two Dispatchers to fill the vacancies and they didn't work out. Seven Dispatchers are running the show now. Marsie West noted that we also have growth in Town, so there is a need. Public Library - Assistant Library Director Amy Lannon, Library Trustees David Hutchinson, Cherrie Dubois, Vicky Yablonsky and John Brzezenski were present. Vicky Yablonsky called the meeting to order at 8:30 p.m. Ms. Yablonsky noted that the Library has moved to 80 General Way and newcomers have found them. They are operating a full 63 hour week and informational sessions are being done around Town. The FY16 budget keeps the service level strong. The Library Board is requesting funding for a Library Strategic Plan. A Digital Services Librarian is being requested for 1/2 year beginning in January 2016. They will rebuild the public technology budget when they move into the new Library. Salaries include steps and 1% cost of living allowance. The material budget is at 15%. Marsie West asked where the reductions are and Ms. Yablonsky noted that the technology supplies were reduced from $14,500 to $6200. The other reduction was in pages - they did not renew the student pages. John Halsey asked for the total reduction on pages and Ms. Yablonsky noted from $14,000 to $10,000 and next year to $7500. Marsie West asked about the impact of a Digital Librarian and Ms. Yablonsky indicated $28,500 for 1/2 year and it is listed in the budget as Library Librarian. Mr. Hutchison indicated this person would be responsible for digital work, licensing, etc. Marsie West asked if there will be any adjustment for going into the new building and Amy Lannon indicated that was a good question because that is why they need a strategic plan. She noted that they are adding automation so that will either reduce staff or retrain for Page 1 3 Board of Selectmen Minutes - January 13, 2015 - page 4 i I: other duties. The Town Manager noted that now is a good time to plan and he recommended looking at restoring hours. a Daniel Ensminger asked why the budget is going from $448,000 to $568,000. The Town Manager noted that materials were not fully funded in FY13. Ms. Lannon indicated if you take out the Digital Librarian then the budget will go down. The Town Manager suggested asking Town Meeting for the money for the strategic plan at the February Town Meeting. John Halsey noted that the Library is looking at a 4% - 10% increase in all categories and they are in a smaller place. Ms. Lannon noted that they are still doing the same programming but what would have taken two hours in the past now takes three hours and is costing more for transportation. l Mr. Halsey asked how much of the costs are associated with the schools. Ms. Lannon noted that a certain percentage is spent on school support and a certain percentage is spent on other groups. She could get numbers from children's services and teens services. They spend a lot of time on early childhood literacy. The Town Manager suggested including the school libraries in the study. Public Works - Public Works Director Jeff Zager noted that the budget has increased 7.5%. Sidewalk construction was increased from $10,000 to $175,000. There is a request for a second Co-op student in Engineering. The line item for vehicle parts has increased $10,000 and there is a $5700 increase in professional development for license upgrades and management courses for new leadership. There is an increase in personnel services to cover contract wages of 3% and 1% COLA. The Assistant DPW Director is in place and there is a new supervisor in Highway and Water. The clerk in DPW Administration was upgraded G to Administrative Secretary. I Public Works paved 90 streets over the past 5 years. Sidewalks were dropped off to do the roadwork but we need to get back to sidewalks now and focus on the school and downtown areas. Marsie West suggested making sure the residents need the sidewalks because people tend to walk on the street instead of sidewalks. The cost of adding a Co-op Student in Engineering is $16,000. Engineering is working on 25 projects in FY15 and FY16. The Co-ops do surveys, dig safe, plans, office coverage and scan plans. In addition, Engineering is moving into the Administration office and that will help with coverage. Jeff Zager noted that JRM wants to talk about a 5 - 10 year extension. The program has gone very well and is being duplicated in a number of communities. Daniel Ensminger noted that a cost effective curbside leaf collection program needs to be talked about. Jeff Zager agreed that something needs to be done with the Compost Center. I The Town Manager noted that we received an additional $300,000 in road money from the State. John Halsey noted that the Board approved a no turn on red in the center of downtown and the sign hasn't gone up yet. Chief Cormier noted that they are looking into getting a sign the same as the one at Birch Meadow/Main Street. John Halsey asked about the flashing light on Salem Street at Governor's Drive and Chief Cormier noted that is scheduled for the spring. i The Town Manager reviewed the Enterprise fund. He noted that reserves are high in water and sewer. He noted that 2% - 3% of the water bills do not get paid in the tax year. If we f` Page 14 Board of Selectmen Minutes - January 13, 2015 - page 5 eliminate the 10% discount then we could cut 6% - 8% of the rate and put it on the same playing field as other bills. We have to mark up rates 10% to take advantage of the discount. The published rate with a 10% discount makes us a high rate community. Eliminating the discount will make the collection process much easier. The real rates are up approximately 3% next year. The consensus of the Board was to eliminate the discount. The Town Manager noted that the MRWA is predicting a modest increase. Volume is down in water and sewer. Retirement assessment has increased 17.7%; OPEC payments are on schedule; and health insurance has decreased due to a decrease in usage. The water retirement assessment is up 50%. John Halsey asked if we are hiring actuals and the Town Manager indicated we are and they could have been coding employees wrong. Marsie West asked about the maintenance of the drainage ditch and Jeff Zager noted that they are putting together a minor permit so they can do minor work. The Town Manager noted that the clothing allowance is moving into wages because the IRS says we have to do this. A motion by Halsey seconded by Sexton to adiourn the meeting at 10:05 R.M. was approved on a roll call vote with all four members voting in the affirmative. Respectfully submitted, Secretary Page 5