HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-02-14 Finance Committee Minutes RECcIV�
Rl:413IHC. :';gg:S.
FEBy��n•'1.,�q °P ?ttee Meeting
Feilrr014, 1996
The Finance Committee met at 7 :00 p.m. in the Selectmen ' s
Meeting Room at Town Hall . Present were Chairman Steve
Blewitt, Vice Chairman Jim Keigley, FinCom members Gerry
MacDonald , Nate White, Carol Grimm, Jerry Vitale, Rocco
Nenarella, Tom Green Jr. , Catherine Martin, Town Manager
Peter Hechenbleikner and Secretary Maureen Vierra . Also
present were Fire Chief Donald Wood, Police Chief Edward
Marchand, Lieutenant Patterson and Sargent Pat O 'Brien.
Discussion and Budget Review:
The Finance Committee will receive a copy of the Town
Manager' s recommended budget by the end of the week.
Although the Board of Selectmen have not officially voted the
budget, they have recommended it ' s submission to the Finance
Committee.
Fire Department : Items G5 S G6
The Finance Committee reviewed Public Safety budget items G5
and G6 . Chief Wood submitted a staffing survey of
surrounding towns to support his request for an Assistant
Chief (new day officer) in the amount of $52, 500.00. The
survey showed that 9 out of the 12 communities have at least
1 full time employee in fire prevention and two have at least
one part timer. A savings of $7 , 700.00 in stipend fees,
incurred when the chief goes on vacation, could be saved if
this position is created. The main reason the Chief would
like this position added is the department is lacking
personnel to do fire safety inspections , follow up
inspections and fire prevention education.
The Town Managers recommendation for protective clothing was
reduced from $16 , 800.00 to $14, 850.00.
Included in the fY97 Capital Improvement Plan is a request
for a new pickup truck in the amount of $21 ,000.00. The
current pickup truck is a 1980 and has 66,000 . 00 miles. The
truck is used to carry men and equipment to and from
surrounding communities . Also scheduled in the capital plan
is the replacement of radios in the amount of $87 ,000 .00.
The Chief expressed he may need money transferred into the
f Y96 overtime account. The average overtime in the last
three years has been between $150 , 000 .00 and $160,000.00.
��� 2
Police Department: Items G1,G2,G3,G4
The Chief has requested to move a sargent to lieutenant at
the cost of $11 ,000 .00, move a police officer to sargent at
the cost of $6,400 .00 and hire an additional officer in the
amount of $35, 380.00. Some of this would be offset by the
Quinn Bill . He would like to have 2 supervisors per shift
(currently there is only one on some shifts) . A list of
surrounding towns with the supervisor to officer ratios was
provided. Currently there are 3 . 22 officers per supervisor
on the force . The Town Manager did not recommend this item
for this year.
The request for an additional crossing guard in the amount of
$3 ,067.00 was recommended by the Town Manager. The need is
due to school zoning changes.
The average overtime in the last 3 years has been between
$145 ,000.00 and $170,000.00. They are 63% expended in the
overtime account in fY96 .
Included in the fy97 Capital plan is the purchase of a
breathalyzer in the amount of $6, 300.00, replacement of
walkie talkies in the amount of $5,000.00. Also allocated was
$25,900.00 in fy97 and $35,000.00 in fy98 to purchase data
processing equipment. $50,000.00 of the $60,000.00 allocated
was planned for the purchase of mobile data terminals for
cruisers . Since this technology is not yet available they
are postponing their request for one year. They would however
like to spend $24,990.00 this year to update the mainframe in
the station purchasing additional memory, an additional hard
drive and newly developed software.
On a motion by Vitale seconded by MacDonald the Finance
Committee voted to adjourn at 10:00 by a vote of 9/0/0. The
next meeting of the Finance Committee will be held on
February 21 , 1996 at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference room at Town
Hall .
Re ectfullyLubmiSt t
Chairman