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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-02-08 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting February 8, 2011 For ease of archiving, the order that items appear in these minutes reflects the order in which the items appeared on the agenda.for that meeting, and are not necessarily the order in which any item was taken up by the Board The meeting convened at 7:04 p.m. at the Senior Center, '49 Pleasant Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman James Bonazoli, Vice Chairman Camille Anthony, Secretary Richard Schubert, Selectmen Stephen Goldy and Ben Tafoya, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Public Works Director Jeff Zager, Fire Chief Greg Burns, Office Manager Paula Schena and the following list of interested parties: Barbara Meade, Karl Weld, William J. Hecht Sr., Gina Snyder, Will Finch, Jane Kinsella, Tom Gardiner, Betsy Schneider, Jeff Zaher, Mike Modica, Mary Ellen O'Neill, Annika Scanlon, Barry Berman, Frederick Van Magness, William Boatwright, Marsie West, John Carpenter, Betty Cronin, Kara Fratto, Mark Dockser. Discussion/Action Items Bridget and Capital Improvements Program — Chairman Bonazoli asked for an update on snow and ice removal. The Town Manager noted that we are $402,000 over budget for snow and ice. Public Works is working on hydrant clearing, buildings, widening of roads, clearing intersections and drains. Public Works Director Jeff Zager noted that it takes 1 — 10 days to catch up from one storm. The equipment is taxed_three out of four sidewalk equipments are out of service and that equipment is also used for widening the roads. Fire Chief Greg Burns noted that he and facilities staff surveyed the schools. Wood End School and Parker Middle School had heavy snow on the roofs. The snow at Wood End has been removed and they are still working on Parker Middle School. There have been no serious structural issues. James Bonazoli asked Chief Burns if he had been called in by any commercial buildings and Chief Burns indicated he has not, but he's checking the canopies at the gas stations. Budget Review/Update — Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur gave an overview of the budget. He noted that the taxes on an average home that is worth $400,000 in .Reading is $5,500 plus other local revenues that equal $8,013 per homeowner. He noted that . cash reserves are at 8.7%. If we have unforeseen expenses like snow and ice and a reduction in State aid we need to have money in reserves. If we didn't have reserve cash then we would be cutting 4% from the budget instead of 2%. If we hold wages at 0% then we will be short $1.7 million.in FY12 and $1.9 million in FY13. Conservation Commission Chairman Bill Hecht spoke in opposition to eliminating the wetland regulations and also for cutting the Conservation Administrator position to half time. Council on Aging Chairman Steve Oston spoke against the reduction in the Elder Services Administrator's position. Board of Health Chairman Barbara Meade spoke against the cuts to the Health Director's position. She noted'that regionalization is a quick fix and the conversations haven't been started yet. Charlie MacDonald requested that the cut in the Elder Services Administrator's salary be reinstated. Michael Oniskey spoke on behalf of Sally Hoyt who was unable to be present. Mr. Oniskey read a letter from-Sally Hoyt supporting restoring the Elder Services Administrator position to full time. Mr. Webb spoke against the reduction in the Inspector's positions. Aron Kelbelbachi spoke in support of the Town Manager's budget for FY2012. He noted that the accreditation to the schools, library or senior center should not be affected. . Mike Moniker spoke against the cut to the Elder Services Administrator position. Will Finch, former Conservation Commission member, spoke against eliminating the wetland regulations and reducing'the Conservation Administrator position to half time. Town Meeting Member Carl Weld indicated he doesn't want to pay taxes to give employees pay raises. He feels the Town should increase revenues by selling advertising on billboards. Mary Ellen O'Neill indicated she was concerned to see such a high percentage of cuts in Community Services. She feels the cuts should be restored and distributed among the other , departments. She indicated she would be in favor of an override next year. Fred Van Magness noted that the cuts are extremely difficult. He also noted that the Town Manager and Superintendent of Schools are paid to create the budget and make cuts. He suggested increase revenues by increasing conservation fees, parking fees at the Depot and Compost Center fees. Board of Health member Colleen Seferian advocated restoring the Health Director's position to full time. She has concerns regarding regionalization. Town Meeting member Kara Fratto indicated it is not sustainable to keep cutting Elder Services. Gina Snyder, Precinct 5, spoke about the importance of protecting the wetlands. Chairman James Bonazoli said that it was good to see the support for the employees and thanked everyone who came out this evening. He also noted that the Selectmen raised fees in January except for the parking. Camille Anthony asked the Town Manager about salary increases. The Town Manager noted that all nonunion employees and all unions with contracts in place have a one step increase equal to 2%. This current year the employees received no step increase or cost of living allowance. All sick leave buyback has been eliminated for new employees and there has also been a reduction of sick leave for employees. We have also gone to a tiered medical plan to help control medical premiums. Camille Anthony asked what the total of the salary increases are worth and Bob LeLaeheur noted it was approximately $90,000. The Town Manager noted that it is not reasonable to assume we can balance the budget on the backs of the employees. Ben Tafoya asked how quickly the regionalization of services can be put into place. The Town Manager noted that a letter of intent was submitted for doing a regionalization study. In September we will apply for funding of $50,000 - $75,000 per year to enhance services. The Town Manager noted that the Health Administrator position will be reduced on July 1 despite regionalization. The Town Manager noted that Reading is staffed higher than other communities even with the cuts. Richard Schubert asked about the additional actions that go along with the budget.cuts. The Town Manager noted that if we don't eliminate the Wetlands Bylaw then it needs to be refined. The Town needs to stop regulating things we don't need. The Town Manager also noted that billboards are not recurring revenues so the money can only be used for capital. He noted that the Town needs to take action because we cannot be using $1.5 million of free cash every year. We also need to move forward with regionalization and if we can't then there will be a reduction in service. Richard Schubert noted that each item needs to be looked at separately and perhaps we should seek an operational override. Camille Anthony noted that the Town cannot afford to pay 71% of health insurance. She asked how much the health insurance cost the Town and Bob LeLacheur indicated approximately $600,000. Camille Anthony noted that we have to change the way of funding health costs. Stephen Goldy noted that if you look out to FYI 4, cash reserves will be 4.6% and that is a big concern. He feels it has taken too long to look at alternate revenues such as billboards, parking and cell towers and feels these would solve some of our problems. He indicated we also need to look at the healthcare percentage. Camille Anthony noted that once our cash reserve goes below 5% then our bond rating goes down. Ben Tafoya indicated he is confident that inspectional services will not suffer. He also noted that these are painful decisions and we will be having these exact same discussions next year. James Bonazoli noted that we are not at the point of an override yet. He suggests looking at alternative revenues and feels the Town needs to set priorities. Richard Schubert noted that staff reduction can have a ripple effect on staff support for Boards, Committees and Commissions. A motion by Bonazoli seconded by Anthony to agree to the budget as proposed by the Town Manager was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. It was noted that the action items will be looked at separately. A motion by Tafoya seconded by Anthony to go into Executive Session to discuss strategy with respect to litigation and that the Chair declares that an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the body, and not to reconvene in Open Session was approved on a roll call vote with all five members voting in the affirmative. Respectfully submittd, Secretary