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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-02-07 Board of Selectmen Minutes BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES FEBRUARY 7, 2000 CALL TO ORDER: Keith Mitchell called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ATTENDANCE: The following were present: Keith A. Mitchell, Chairman; John R. Leeman, Jr.; Donald B. Stewart; James M. Xenakis; Robert J. Halpin, Town Manager. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: John Leeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart,to approve the amended Executive Session Minutes, and the Open Session Minutes of January 18,2000; vote approved 4— 0. John Leeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart,to approve the Executive Session and Open Session Minutes of January 27, 2000;vote approved 4— 0. COMMUNICATIONS,ANNOUNCEMENTS,AND PUBLIC COMMENT: North Andover Recreation Department. William McEvoy thanked the Fire Department for outstanding efforts in extinguishing a fire in the Recreation Department office. He also said the programs will continue as scheduled. Town Clerk Reminder. The Special Town Election will be held on Tuesday, February 15, 2000. The polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Additional Agenda Items. An Executive Session was added to discuss potential litigation involving the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District(GLSD) and a licensing matter was added. CONSENT ITEMS: Interact Club to Perform Community Service at Chadwick Park. John Leeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart,to approve the request of Jon Goodwin, President of the Interact Club provided they coordinate with William Hmurciak, Director of Public Works and to send a thank you letter; vote approved 4— 0. LICENSING COMMISSIONERS: James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart,to move into Licensing; vote approved 4 — 0. Treadwell's Ice Cream. Donald Stewart said that Treadwell's has ignored requests that it install handicapped parking signs. He stated letters have been sent to the owner about this issue. John Leeman made a MOTION, seconded by James Xenakis,to send a letter to the owner requesting that he/she appear before the Board of Selectmen at an upcoming meeting to explain why the handicapped parking sign was not installed; vote approved 3 — 0— 1 (Keith Mitchell abstained). Keith Mitchell made a MOTION, seconded by John Leeman to move out of Licensing; vote approved 4— 0. Board of Selectmen Minutes February 7,2000 Page 2 OLD BUSINESS: Senior Citizen Tax Deferral Program—Update. The Town Manager said there is a great deal of information available regarding options for senior citizens to defer all or a portion of their property tax bill. Keith Mitchell noted that many senior citizens are concerned about tax increases due to a new high school. He recommended that another meeting be held to inform senior citizens about the program. Permit Fees— Sub-Committee Recommendations. James Xenakis said he and Donald Stewart reviewed the fee schedule. He said it was determined that liquor licenses fees were below the norm. He said the sub-committee recommends that the liquor license fees be increased 10%. John Leeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart,to send the proposed new fee schedule to License holders and ask for a written response by February 18, 2000 and bring it back to the February 22, 2000 Board of Selectmen's Meeting; vote approved 4— 0. Town Manager Search—Update. The Town Manager said there were three responses to the RFP. Keith Mitchell said the Interim Town Manager, Terri Ackerman, would be starting full-time on March 6, 2000. NEW BUSINESS: FY 2001 Budget Presentations: Keith Mitchell stated that revenue projections are tight, and it is impacting all departments. The budget presentations by the department heads will show how the Town Manager's budget will impact each department. The Town Manager said the Board of Selectmen adopted a revenue projection that provides for a 2.8% increase in revenues. When questioned,the Town Manager said that free cash amounted to approximately$229,000 which is significantly less than 1%and this percentage should be 3%. Library Services. Sue Ellen Holmes, Stevens Memorial Library Director, stated she prepared a level funded budget but said"it doesn't cut it." Ms. Holmes said they need 6 PCs to replace terminals and utility costs are high. Increased hours for a technology librarian and training and education is necessary. Also the postage and supplies budget is under-funded. An administrative assistant is needed. Ms. Holmes said the Library serves the public for$25.47 per capita and with just another$2.00 per capita the Library can provide the service the community deserves. Elder Services. Kathleen Gorman, Director of the Council on Aging, presented her level funded budget. She said the request for a new position of Client Assistant Program Manager was cut from 25 to 18 hours per week. The funding for a nurse was eliminated. The tax relief program for seniors will be reduced from 15 to two people. With the reduction of the fuel line item, shopping for elder could be eliminated. She said every effort is being made to search for in-kind contributions,to write grants and to fund-raise. Ms. Gorman said there is less money in the line items than there was 15 years ago. She is requesting $14,000 for the new position and level funded line items. Youth Services. Rick Gorman,Youth Services Director, said Youth Services is facing serious cuts with the Town Manager's proposed budget. He said that the new youth center will be open in June and they hope to not only expand services but to offer an every day operation. He stated that his budget this year was level funded, and the only increases were due to the new center opening. Mr. Gorman said a new position needs to be added. He discussed the various cuts and how they would impact the program. Public Safety: Board of Selectmen Minutes February 7,2000 Page 3 Fire Department. Chief Dolan and Deputy Chief Morgan presented the level funded budget. Chief Dolan spoke about the impact on vacation, sick and injury leave. He also spoke about the cuts in confined space training, fire investigation and time for staff meetings. Police Department. Lieutenant Paul Gallagher represented the Police Department. He stated that the overtime budget is extremely constrained. The cuts will cause manning to be trimmed if a shift is vacated due to sick, vacation, personal or extended leave. Older equipment will continue to be used increasing maintenance costs. Professional services will also have to be cut. The Town Manager said the request over FY 2000 is approximately$210,000. This amount is consumed by the union settlement and the step increase. Kerry Dudek, Finance Director, said the Police Department's request was $3,101,574;the target they were asked to get to was $3,065,350. They have taken out$20,800 from the personnel line item and adjusted overtime. John Leeman noted that the Selectmen are also looking at the management report. Public Works. William Hmurciak, Director of the DPW, said last year's budget was $3,090,000 and the Town Manger's recommended budget for FY 2001 is $3, 129,000. He said his request was for a 21% increase that he felt was the minimum increase he could ask for. Mr. Hmurciak reviewed the cuts he made from the DPW's budget. Assessor's Request for Revaluation Funding in FY 2001. Garrett Boles, Chief Assessor, stated the real property in Town will be revalued and with revaluation the number of abatement applications increase dramatically. He said that one commercial property is seeking an abatement and defending these applications can be very expensive. Mr. Boles requested the Board's support to fully fund two line item increases that total $165,000. Enterprise Fund Budgets: Water Enterprise Fund. The Town Manager said approximately half of the water fund budget is in the form of principal and interest on long-term debt. The remaining half of the budget approximately $524,000 is in wages, $244,00 is for electricity and$238,00 for indirect costs. Mr. Halpin stated within this budget is an increase in the amount of funds spent out of annual operating expense for capital replacement instead of using long-term debt. Sewer Enterprise Fund. The Town Manager said the budget is currently at$2 million and approximately 25%is the GLSD assessment. Another large portion of the budget is in long-term debt. There is a proposal in the budget to replace a pumping station at a cost of$165,000. There is $171,000 in the budget for indirect costs. He said an analysis indicated that the sewer rate should be $3.20 versus the current rate of$2.75. Steven Estate A Osgood Hill Conference Center. William Scott, Director of Community Development, presented the Stevens Estate @ Osgood Hill Enterprise Budget. He said the increase in business has increased 20%annually;the projected increase for FY 2001 is 5%. One of the revenue issues is the availability of week-ends. In order to be able to increase bookings,the Estate is hoping to increase the leaseable area. The business is expanding, and the budget includes fundsfor a capital plan which will provide a safer more accessible site while increasing business opportunities. Board of Selectmen Minutes February 7,2000 Page 4 Annual Town Meeting Warrant. Keith Mitchell said he is seriously considering proposing a Saturday Town Meeting in order to allow senior citizens an opportunity to attend. Also, by having the meeting on Saturday business would be completed in one day. The Town Manager said the warrant would be opened for the month of March, but he urged any citizens who wish to submit an Article to do it as soon as possible. This would allow time to hold hearings, etc. Capital Improvement Program—Update. The Town Manager said an informational package was provided to the Selectmen. This will be discussed at the February 22nd Board of Selectmen's Meeting. EXECUTIVE SESSION: John Leeman made a MOTION, seconded by James Xenakis,to move into Executive Session to discuss potential litigation with the GLSD; vote approved 4— 0. The Board of Selectmen was individually polled and each voted to move into Executive Session_ ADJOURNMENT: James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by John Leeman,to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 p.m.; vote approved 4— 0. Ann M. Keating Administrative Secretary James M. Xenakis, Clerk of the Board