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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-01-12 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Minutes January 12, 1993 7:30 p.m. The meeting was convened at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, MA. Present were Chairman Dan Ensminger, Vice Chairman George Hines, Secretary Sally Hoyt, Selectmen Bill Burditt and Eugene Nigro, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner and the following list of interested parties: Jim Keigley, Gary Demopoulos, Annette Flanagan, Richard Foley, Beth Klepeis, Deidre Hanley, Steve Thomases, Tom Stohlman, Richard Radville, Tim Twomey. The Board of Selectmen reported on their attendance at the MMA meeting last weekend. Bill Burditt indicated that he had at- tended the Legislative Update session, session on lottery, and a session on Property Tax Ballot Questions. He also attended the Opening Session, the Selectmens Annual Meeting, the Business Meeting, and the Banquet. He felt the program was very worthwhile and distributed materials that he had picked up par- ticularly in the legislative updates session. Sally Hoyt indicated that she had attended the School Committee meeting and gave copies of the MMA policy on education to the School Committee. Eugene Nigro distributed material that he picked up from the To- tal Quality Management Program. He also attended a session on managing Worker' s Comp cases where they emphasized a treatment plan, educational counseling, immediate care, and case manage- ment. He was particularly interested in Scott Harshberger's com- ments that law enforcement alone will not deal with crime problems. Education is needed. George Hines attended sessions on neighborhood traffic control, cable TV law and regulations, David Osborne's session on rein- venting government related to customer service, and Senator Kennedy's insight into the new Clinton Administration. Dan Ensminger attended the Selectmen' s session, the Business Meeting, and sessions on labor relations and update on urban law. In the various sessions he learned that the Town can put condi- tions on liquor licenses; that the Town should look out for gifts of land because of potential 21E problems; that the best method of zoning enforcement is to go through the district court; and the collective bargaining agreements are valid upon signing by the negotiating authority. Ensminger indicated that we need to watch the local aid picture and in the School Committee's presen- tation last night they did not mention local aid. . The Town Manager reviewed the FY94 Budget presentation. Specifi- cally, he went through the status of the FY93 Budget. Revenues are tracking in accordance with the projections. He went through a number of potential expenditure problem areas, none of which are huge. He expressed a need for a 53rd payroll either this year or next year and the Board asked if that can't be spread out over five or six years rather than facing it as a lump sum. Board of Selectmen Minutes - 1/12/93 - page 2 The Town Manager then went through the FY94 and FY95 budget projections. The revenues are basically level, the only sig- nificant increase being in the property tax area. The result is a trend towards greater reliance on the property tax and this is contrary to what ought to be happening. Local aid is anticipated to be level funded 'and the Town Manager expressed concerns about earmarking local revenues. The Town Manager reviewed projected expenses outlining the fixed expenses and variable expenses. The Town Manager expressed general concern for municipal government's being able to continue to manage. All elements of town government are stretched so thin that there are some errors being made; there is a lack of timeliness; and a lack of ability within the organization to respond to absences of employees. General issues and questions raised by departments are: 1. The distribution of the budget between the town and school services. 2 . The need for maintenance to the capital plant. 3. The inability to provide services because of inadequate resources. 4. The need for salary increases for all employees. 5. The need for salary adjustments for specific positions. 6. The fact that the town has deferred progress on services. 7 . The question as to what is to be charged to the enterprise system for rubbish. 8. The need for enhancing professional development. 9. The effects of the budget on our ability to generate and collect revenues. 10. The need for the town to respond to the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. The Town Manager then went on a department by department basis and talked about what each department's specific issues and con- cerns are. The Accounting Department's concern is that the department has no capability of dealing with disruption in staff because the staff is stretched so thin. Therefore, the depart- ment has to do the work of clerical staff when clerical staff are missing. In the Community Development Department, the major issues are lack of clerical support; a couple of specific salary issues; the need to focus on economic development and master plan implanta- tion issues; the need to improve zoning enforcement; the need to f Board of Selectmen Minutes - 1/12/93 - page 3 prioritize land acquisition and maintenance of conservation lands. In the Finance Department, concerns were expressed about our ability to continue the assessment function via CAMA which is a cost savings for the town; the need to continue to enhance the data processing functions of the town and a concern about the Tack of capital expenditures for personal computers and for training; in Personnel the need for new job descriptions to meet ADA requirements; inadequate funding for medical and advertising expenses. In general in that department, a concern that staff is so thin that there are some errors being made; that there are problems covering all functions when key people are absent; and that the work load in issues like evaluating health insurance, monitoring and administering worker's comp, and evaluating life insurance as well as aggressive work needs to continue. The Board reviewed the debt service and employee benefits schedules. With regard to the Library, the concerns are that the Children's Room hours do not meet standards; the book budget is inadequate; we need to expand hours on weekends; there is a need to restore the opening hours to 9: 00 a.m. ; there is a need to restore programs that have previously been cut; there is a need to in- crease salaries for staff; there is a need to increase non-print materials; and we need to work cooperatively with the schools regarding book ordering in the children's collection. Tim Twomey spoke on the need for strategic planning. There was some discussion about the possibility of enhancing revenues through the town adopting school choice and bringing in tuition paying students. On motions by Hines seconded by Burditt the Board voted to ad- journ at 11: 00 p.m. Respectfully submitted: Secretar