There was a discussion of the articles for the STM warrant.
There is an article that would use free cash to fund more hours for
Heath’s Post Office Manager. The BOS has spoken with Tammy Hicks,
the Post Office Manager of Charlemont, who has recommended more hours
for Heath’s Post Office Manager due to increased business.
The discussion of the article that would increase the hours and
salary of the Town Coordinator included a review of the salary data for
town coordinators in nearby towns.
Regarding the article that would give the Tax Collector $500. In
fees owed to her, Dave Howland explained that when a resident’s taxes
are long overdue, the Tax Collector is due a fee for the extra work
that entails. The previous Town Accountant, Tim Robinson, had not
agreed to the payment of those fees until the late taxes had
been collected.
In the discussion of the article that would provide $15,000 for a
floor drain for the Town Garage and $9,000 for a storm water permit,
Dave Howland asked for more information regarding the March 3, 2003 DEP
deadline.
The meeting adjourned at 8:00 P.M. to join the BOS meeting in
progress.
March 25, 2003
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Heath Free Public Library
Present: David Howland, Charlene Churchill, David Cote, Budge
Litchfield, and Ned Wolf
The minutes of the March 4 meeting were read and approved with the
following 2 changes:
(1) Eliminate the words “while Chapter 70 money is down $1,037,000 from
last year” from the beginning of paragraph 5, and
(2) Eliminate the second sentence from paragraph 7.
There was a discussion of a March 24, 2003 memo RE:
Request for Funds – FY03 from Town Coordinator Becky Jurek to the
Finance Committee. The memo requests that the FinCom advise
the Town Accountant and the Board of Selectmen on how to replenish
various Town accounts so as to avoid “holding invoices for payment
to our vendors”. The accounts and the corresponding estimated
FY03 budget overruns are Sawyer Hall-Maintenance/Utilities $2300,
Community Hall-Maintenance/Utilities $2300, Town
Garages-Maintenance/Utilities $3000, Vehicle Gas & Oil $1000, and
Dump Tipping $4000.
Dave Howland reminded the committee that there is only $5000 in the
Reserve Account, Dump Tipping is averaging $1600 per month, and there
are 5 ½ weeks until Town Meeting. Dave Cote recalled the
Town Accountant’s saying he had some maintenance bills for the garage
that he couldn’t pay. Budge Litchfield noted that the Sawyer
Hall Maintenance Fund has $2235 as of the end of February. With
an estimate that we might be $65 short he questioned the need to take
money out of the Reserve Fund. Charlene Churchill said that she
would prefer to have the voters vote on specific accounts where more
money is needed.
There was further discussion of winter account shortfalls. The
consensus was that for the Winter Sand/Salt Account, which was
estimated to be overdrawn $20,435 as of 3/18/03, no special action
would be needed until Town Meeting. For Winter Highway Wages Dave
Howland noted that there was $50,000 to cover approximately 4
months.
There was a discussion of the possible motivation for and the likely
effects of having Chapter 70 money go directly to the towns instead of
to the District. Potentially serious cash flow problems were
mentioned. When Dave Howland asked about
the effects of proposed FY04 budget cuts, Budge spoke of gym’s being
cut, music reduced, and class sizes increased. There was
talk of writing letters to legislators. Dave Howland said he
would talk with Joe Boudreau about a plan described in a memo from
James Johnson concerning new ways of delivering Chapter 70 monies.
Finally, there was a discussion of a memo from Building Inspector Jim
Hawkins concerning various warrant articles. In particular Dave
Cote related some of the history of an article
that would apply to part-time building inspectors who are also
contractors for the buildings being inspected. The article aims
to minimize that apparent conflict of interest.
The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. to join a meeting of the BOS and the
FROG already in progress.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
April 15, 2003
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Assessors’ Office, Sawyer Hall
Present: Ned Wolf, Charlene Churchill, David Howland, David Cote,
and Budge
Litchfield
The minutes of the March 25 meeting were read and approved.
There was unanimous approval (by a vote of 4 – 0) of
3 requests for Reserve Funds:
$183.28 for vehicle gas and oil for the highway department, $914.31 for
maintenance and utilities for the Town Garage, and a request for $125
from the Treasurer for unemployment.
There was a discussion of the May 6th warrant articles. The
consensus was to approve Article 1. Regarding Article 2 the
committee noted that $11,126 had been spent on dump tipping as
of March 31st. It was noted that $5000 was left in the Dump
Transportation Account. The FinCom tentatively recommended
approving
Article 2. In considering Article 3 the committee expressed an
interest in making a mutual decision with the BOS when more information
becomes available.
Article 4 is due to an increase in the rate charged the Town because of
the filing of a claim. Treasurer Linda Marcotte says that at this
time next year the rate should be back down.
Regarding Article 5, Charlene said that the oil burner repair and the
plumbing problem account for the need for more money in the Sawyer Hall
Maintenance/Utility Account. There was some discussion of the 4
or 5 oil burner repair visits by Country Oil, the advanced age of the
oil burner, and the advisablity of replacing it
with a new one. Both Article 5 and Article 6 are affected by
the Title V inspection expenses of Sawyer Hall ($248) and the Community
Hall ($800). The latter inspection was required for the Community
Hall Grant to go through. Another factor was the high winter fuel
cost.
In the case of Article 7 Charlene spoke of electrical repair and the
repair of a propane gas fixture at the Town Garages as items requiring
unbudgeted work.
Regarding Article 8 the committee checked that the contract price for
Vehicle Gas and Oil had been adhered to.
The purpose of Article 9 is to pay for winter road work done by Alvin
Hillman with his own truck.
Article 10 is to pay for replacement blades for snow
plows.
Regarding highway wages Dave Howland said that he had written a memo to
Mike Smith with a copy to Tom Lively asking whether any Chapter 90 work
could be done in May or June in such a way that salary for that work
could be covered by Chapter 90. Dave said that only 48% of
budgeted highway wages has been spent. Dave Cote
suggested that some of that unspent money could be used to cover winter
wage overruns.
The FinCom scanned the 1st draft of the Warrant Articles for the Annual
Town Meeting. Regarding Article 7, Dave Howland asked Dave Cote
why $2000 has to be put in a revolving fund for
the Dog Officer. Dave Cote says it’s Dale Kowacki’s
suggestion. All fees will go into that fund, and no money is
appropriated.
Dave Howland said that Linda Marcotte has provided information on
alternative investments for the Town’s Stablization. In
particular Morgan Stanley provides alternatives to the money market
accounts the Town presently has with the State. There was a
consensus to seek more information on these alternatives.
Finally, Dave Howland passed out copies of the Capital Outlay Report
for FY04 – Final Draft. Copies will be given
to the BOS.
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm to join the BOS meeting in progress.
Respectfully submitted
,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
May 6, 2003
Time: 6:45 pm
Place: Heath Elementary School
Present: David Howland, Ned Wolf, and Budge Litchfield
The minutes of the April 15th meeting were read and approved.
There was a discussion of the request for the transfer of $1,050. From
the Reserve Fund to the Vehicle Gas and Oil Account. Dave said
that we have $3,777. left in the Reserve Fund. Each year
the Town appropriates $5,000. For the Reserve Fund. The
committee voted 3 – 0 in favor of the transfer.
There was a discussion of budget deliberations in Boston.
Dave said that increasingly it looks as though there may be a 1/12 th
budget.
The meeting adjourned at 7:00 pm to attend the STM.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
May 27, 2003
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Heath Library
Present: David Howland, Charlene Churchill, Budge Litchfield,
David Cote, Ned Wolf,
and Selectman Tom Lively
The minutes of the May 6 meeting were read and approved.
Dave Howland said that the overall operating and capital assessment for
the Mohawk School District is up 3.9%. Heath’s is up 11.9%.
Budge reported that by June 14th Superintendent Genovese is hoping to
have numbers the Town can work with. Budge said
that the cuts in the District school budget to date are based on an
anticipated 1 million dollar cut in state aid. But the House
has proposed cuts of 1.4 million which when added to transportation
cuts become 1.8 million, a more serious situation.
Dave Howland said that the current figure of $536,205 for Heath’s
combined Mohawk operating and capital assessment is based on an
approximately 10% cut in the District operating budget. The
corresponding 03 figure for Heath was $481,000. The 04 increase
would result in about a $1.10 increase in Heath’s tax rate. When
added to the 04 increase in Heath’s assessment for Franklin Tech, the
resulting increase in Heath’s 04 tax rate would be about $1.25.
Tom Lively asked by how many students has Heath’s Mohawk student
population decreased from last year. Dave Howland
said the number is down by 10 and that Heath’s percentage of the
total elementary and high school population has also gone down.
There was a discussion of whether or not a proposal to
purchase a new fire truck would affect the Town’s 04 tax rate.
Tom Lively and Charlene Churchill said that the 04 tax rate would
not be affected. Financing would be similar to that of a Highway
Department truck. Payments would not begin until the next
year.
Budge suggested we might use money from Stabilization to bring down the
remaining cost of a fire truck to that of a Highway Department truck
(approximately
89K).
Dave Howland reported that Dick Gary has told him that
Luciana Ross has signed a letter donating about 1 acre of her
land to the Town expanding the Heath Center Cemetery. Dick Gary
will be seeing lawyer Richard Bishop in Shelburne Falls about this
transaction.
Regarding Article 3 there was a discussion of whether or not the Town’s
not installing a new Fire and Heat Detection System in the Town Garage
would result in a canceling of insurance.
Charlene suggested that the committee ask Becky to clarify that for
the BOS. Budge asked Tom about Mike Smith’s proposal that a new
position be added to the Highway Department. Tome reported that
the BOS had said it would be impossible but that the BOS had accepted
other proposals Mike made.
The FinCom examined Tom Lively’s BOS FY04 Worksheet with the
understanding that the proposed 04 salaries included 2% cost
of living increases as well as other adjustments in special cases.
On line 14 Dave Howland asked why $1,000 is still needed for
mapping. More information is needed.
On line 16 it was noted that with Kris Nartowicz’s becoming the new
Treasurer there will be a savings of $3,440 in the salary of that
position.
It was noted that tax collecting fees will be up due to the increased
mailings for quarterly bills.
On line 25 the committee suggested $5,000 instead of $7,000 for 04
legal fees.
On line 30 there was a discussion of the Town Clerk’s proposal to
increase the hours from 5 to 7 ½ per week. The question
arose as to whether the amount on line 30 should be thought of as a
stipend. Dave Cote said that he sees the Town Clerk’s job as more
a salaried position than that of Fire Chief. Budge said he
thought that the hourly rate of the Town Clerk should not exceed that
of the
Town Coordinator. The committee decided to leave a question mark
beside line 30.
On line 45 there was a question about the proposed $1,500. Increase in
the Police Department Salaries. The increase includes
increases in both hourly rate and hours. Committee members asked
for the hourly rates paid around the county. The thinking
was that there needs to be a discussion about how many hours to include
for 04.
The increase on line 50 in the Firemen’s Incentive Award is due to the
increase in the number of firemen.
On line 49 Charlene said that she has been asked whether or not when
Mike Smith is called to a fire during the day, he gets his usual
Highway Department pay. Tom said that in that situation Mike does
not get paid for both. Dave Howland said that the Fire Chief does
not get paid by call. The Chief’s pay is a stipend. Dave Cote
said that it’s a stipend that has been increased from year to year in
the same way that salaries have. The committee put a question
mark on line 49.
Dave Howland noted that on line 65 $35,963 should be replaced by
$31,406, the MTRS capital budget for 04.
On line 76 Mike Smith wants to rent a piece of equipment to clean out
the collection basins. This will be discussed
further.
There will be no summer employment this year.
Regarding lines 85, 86, and 87, Budge asked whether the $50 transfer
station stickers cover the total transfer station costs. The
committee agreed that more information is needed. Tom said that
the BOS may propose an increase in the $50 fee.
On line 89.1 the $18,396.20 is a carry-over from 03.
On line 80 there was a suggestion that the amount for salt and sand be
increased from $45,000 to $50,000.
On line 94 Dave Howland asked whether the Town Nurse’s
Salary is offset by any grant. There was a question of how many
hours are involved.
On line 97 Tom says that the Veterans Benefit will be $1500 instead of
$2500.
There was a discussion of lines 100 – 102 concerning the library.
Charlene has proposed that her hours be increased
by 2 per week and that her wages be increased by 5%. She
mentioned the increase in paper work that has come with new
policies. The operating expense, which equals the amount spent on
circulating expenses, must be 20% of the total amount spent on the
library. There were suggestions that the 04 operating expense be
lowered from $4,588 to $3,500. There were suggestions that the
assistant librarian’s salary be increased from the 03 rate to $7.00 per
hour in 04.
On line 120 it was noted that the $36,390 amount for health insurance
includes $7,000 for Becky’s health insurance.
Finally, there was a discussion of how any proposal brought to the
floor of Town Meeting for the financing of a new fire truck must be for
no more than 5 years. To get a waiver for 10 years the Town must
go to the Emergency Planning Board.
The meeting adjourned at 9:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
June 10, 2003
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Heath Free Public Library
Present: Charlene Churchill, David Cote, David Howland, Budge
Litchfield, and Ned
Wolf
Consideration of the minutes of the May 27 meeting was
postponed.
The Fincom discussed its organization for FY04. David Howland was
nominated to serve as Chair. The committee approved David Howland
as Chair by unanimous vote. Ned Wolf was nominated to serve as
Secretary. The committee approved Ned Wolf as Secretary by
unanimous vote.
There was some discussion of Article 4 on the Warrant for the Special
Town Meeting. Dave Howland asked about the proposed transfer of
$1,500 into the Vehicle Gas & Oil Account following a recent
transfer into that same account. Budge wondered whether enough
had been budgeted in that account for FY04.
There was a review of the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting.
Concerning Article 3 the committee’s comment was that recommendations
will be made at Town Meeting. Dave Howland made available a
packet of materials he had recently received from the office of the
superintendent of the Mohawk School District. He was pleased
with the effort to be out in the open about the District’s capital
problems.
The FinCom recommends articles 4 – 9. Article 8 provides for a
revolving fund for the Dog Officer. It’s set up with
a maximum of $2000 and gives the Dog Officer, David Cote, discretion
in making payments. Money collected from the owner for the care of
his/her stray dog goes into this account.
There was a discussion of Article 10 concerning the purchase of a new
fire truck. Dave Cote reported that the decisions
on applications for federal grants to help towns purchase new fire
trucks begin this week. Heath’s application will be among
those reviewed. Dave will pass on any new information.
The thinking of the committee was that financing a new truck over
10 years would be better than financing one over 5 years. Dave
Cote said that if the decision is made to purchase a new fire truck, he
would like the payments to affect the tax rate as little as
possible. He said that we should wait to see the state numbers on
education before recommending the purchase of a new fire truck.
Budge noted that
the School Committee has said that it will not change the amounts of
the
school assessments even if the amounts of state aid turn out to
be
less beneficial than expected. Budge wondered whether we should
approach the Emergency Planning Board to inquire about such matters as
getting a waiver from the 5 year limit on
financing. There was some discussion of using $50K versus $100K
from the Town’s Stabilization Fund which currently is $244,029.
Ned wondered whether the state in the current economic
climate might indirectly penalize a town for having a large
Stabilization Fund. Dave Howland said he did not think the state
would view the Town’s current Stabilization Fund as large. The
committee decided to defer on Article 10 for further discussion.
The FinCom recommends Article 11.
Article 12 would use up all the Town’s Free Cash. Another option
discussed is to use a combination of Stabilization money plus Free Cash
to reduce the cost of a fire truck. Still another option to
reduce the cost of a fire truck is to use the Town’s $17,000 in E &
D. The committee chose to defer on Article 12
until deciding on Article 10 next week.
There was a discussion of Article 14 and whether or not the office of
building inspector should be part of the COG. Dave
Cote said that building inspector Jim Hawkins is not in favor of such
a change. Charlene Churchill questioned whether the increase in
bureaucracy would mean an increase in cost and a decrease in
efficiency. The committee concluded that this article is
debatable.
The FinCom does not recommend Article 15 out of concern about conflict
of interest.
The committee will ask the BOS about Article 16 and Article 17.
There is some concern about administering such a policy uniformly.
The committee thinks that neither Article 18 nor Article 19 is within
its purview.
Regarding Article 20 Budge says that he will review the proposed
changes in the Mohawk District Regional Agreement and report to us next
week.
There was some discussion of the categories ‘Stipend’,
‘Salary’, and ‘Wages’. Dave Howland said that he thinks the
Fire Chief is in the Stipend group. Dave Cote noted that the
Shelburne Falls Fire Chief gets paid $2500. Other nearby towns
pay the Fire Chief less than does Heath.
Regarding the position of Tax Collector, Charlene noted that when the
Tax Collector switched from coming in to collect tax bills twice a year
to coming in 4 times a year, she was not asked about her hourly
rate. It was a matter of getting the job done.
The FinCom adjourned at 8:30 pm to join the BOS meeting in progress.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
June 17, 2003
Time: 7:15 pm
Place: Heath Library
Present: David Howland, Budge Litchfield, Charlene Churchill, and
Ned Wolf
The minutes of the June 10 meeting were read and approved after the
words “approved of” in the last sentence of paragraph 4
were replaced by the words “was pleased with”.
Dawn Peters stopped by to offer to answer questions about the Board of
Health’s request for $2000 for FY04. Dawn reported the good news
that there are 2 new members of the Board of Health. For them to
get the tools they need, it is important that they attend
training classes provided by the DEP and the DPH.
Attending those classes will require funds. Dave Howland asked
about the income from fees. Dawn said that she anticipates $1700
- $1800 from fees for FY04. The committee thanked Dawn for her
information.
After a discussion of the Board of Health’s request the
FinCom agreed to recommend the $2000 for FY04.
There was continuing discussion of the financing of a new Fire
Truck. The FinCom agreed not to recommend Article 10 on the ATM
Warrant as written but to recommend instead the transfer
of $50,000 from Stabilization for the purchase of a new Fire Truck
to be financed over 10 years.
There was agreement not to recommend Article 12 regarding the transfer
of $39,000 from Free Cash to reduce taxes in FY04. The
committee’s thinking was that Free Cash could be used later at an STM
to adjust the tax rate.
The committee decided not to recommend Article 13.
The committee recommends Article 14 by 3 – 2 with reservations.
Budge Litchfield reported having carefully examined the
proposed changes in the Regional Agreement for the Mohawk School
District. He said that he thinks the proposed changes in Articles
21 – 29 respect the interests of Heath. The FinCom agreed to
recommend these changes.
The FinCom adjourned at 8:30 pm to join the BOS meeting
in progress.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
July 14, 2003
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Heath Library
Present: Charlene Churchill, David Howland, and Ned Wolf
The minutes of the June 24th meeting were read and approved.
Dave Howland informed the committee that Mike Smith reports that
Stagecoach Garage did not bill him for $909.35 of work done as far back
as October ’02. The work was for the Fire Department Supplies and
Training. After some discussion Dave presented a Request
for Transfer of $909.35 from the Reserve Fund to pay the bill.
The
vote in favor of the request was unanimous, and the committee members
present signed it.
Dave Howland made a motion that the FinCom use $105 of its funds to pay
its dues to the Massachusetts Association of Finance
Committees. The motion passed by a unanimous vote.
Finally, there was some discussion of a Heath Herald article on Heath’s
finances and a consensus to think about alternative ways to fund
education.
The meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
November 4, 2003
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Heath Library
Present: David Howland, Charlene Churchill, David Cote, Ned Wolf,
and Budge Litchfield
The minutes of the July 14th meeting were read and accepted.
There was a discussion of a memo from Becky on the possibility of the
Town’s getting a reduced insurance rate if Town Officials attend
certain out of town instructional meetings during work day hours.
Dave Howland will tell Becky that the FinCom thinks it’s a good idea
but that FinCom members are unable to attend the meetings.
Dave Howland said that he attended a meeting where information on the
closing of the Yankee Rowe plant was presented. He was given a
loose leaf binder with information on the closing and has given it to
Becky for those who are interested.
Charlene Churchill volunteered to make a copy of the most
recent FROG wage survey for each FinCom member.
Dave Howland said that the $5,000 which the Town allocated to the
preschool will be returned to the Town. Dave also spoke of the
School District’s finances. The District has applied for $200,000
in pot hole money. The District has not yet determined how much
E&D it has. Since the number of District students has
decreased, there was a cut in the Foundation Budget.
There was a discussion of a possible school bus for Heath
School field trips. The bus would be financed by a recent gift
to the School. Such a bus might also be used for seniors.
Important issues involve safety equipment, insurance and maintenance.
The committee discussed fire prevention work that has been done in
Sawyer Hall. Dave Cote said that a lot of the work is paid for by
the Sawyer Hall grant. Charlene said that the Town Garage and
Fire Station need to be brought up to the same level as Sawyer Hall in
terms of fire prevention. Dave suggested that we
ask the BOS about related things which might come up as charges to the
Town.
There was a discussion of the need to have a survey of the land to be
donated by Mrs. Ross to the Town for expansion of the Center Cemetery.
The committee then turned its attention to a list of recent Town
expenses prepared by Becky. Some of the expenses are anticipated;
others are incurred. Sources for the $25,000 needed to match the
$225,000 in the FEMA fire truck grant include the selling of 2 old fire
trucks, some savings in the purchase of the first fire truck at the
Annual Town Meeting in June, fund raising and perhaps money from the
Fire Department Association.
Regarding the administration of the FEMA fire truck grant, Dave Cote
said that he would be meeting with Becky and the Treasurer.
Charlene said that the required documentation might be handled by
the Town Treasurer and the Town Accountant. Dave Cote
said that the first time the Town applies for a payment will mark the
Town’s commitment to the entire process including providing the $25,000.
Another item on Becky’s list was a School Building Assistance shortfall
of $1,970. The $1,970 is a 1% reduction in State payments
due to recent budget considerations. The BOS and FinCom are
preparing a letter protesting this cut to the Governor and Legislators.
The FinCom will ask the BOS about the $1,500 for lighting
in the Town Garage.
Regarding the 3 FY03 items totaling $200.98, Dave Howland
said that the FY03 books are closed and suggested that transfers be
used. He suggested that we ask the BOS about them.
The meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm to join the BOS meeting in progress.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
November 25, 2003
Time: 6:45 pm
Place: Heath Library
Present: David Howland, Charlene Churchill, and Ned Wolf
The minutes of the November 18th meeting were approved as read.
Dave Howland spoke of the 10 page Rosenberg Report prepared by
State Senator Stan Rosenberg on the past legislative session.
Charlene Churchill said that she would make copies for the FinCom.
There was some discussion of the memo sent by Assessor Henry Leuchtman
to the Finance Committee on the setting of the ’04 Tax Rate.
Henry listed 3 options:
A. A tax rate of $22.05
B. Midway estimate between A and C
C. A tax rate of $21.72
Dave pointed out that a tax rate of $22.05 would not be that much
different from the $22.15 estimate mentioned at the Annual Town
Meeting. He explained that the $22.05 was less than the $22.10
because in his calculation for $22.10 he was using last year’s
evaluation. He also noted that in using option A. there would be
about $40,000 in Free Cash.
Charlene said that she favored A or B because she feels the estimate of
’04 receipts is shaky. Ned also favored A or B. There was a
consensus to favor A or B with some leaning towards A.
The meeting adjourned at 7:00 pm to join the BOS meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
January 20, 2004
Time: 7 pm
Place: Heath School
Present: David Howland, David Cote, and Ned Wolf
The minutes of the November 25 meeting were read and approved after
$22.10 was corrected to $22.15 in the third paragraph.
Dave Howland noted that Becky will set up a schedule of budget
meetings. The FinCom will try to have a representative at
each of the meetings.
Dave Howland said that he has written a reply to the Working
Group document on Chapter 70 allocation which is at the Commonwealth’s
website.
There was some discussion of the fact that Franklin County towns are
still paying for county employees’ healthcare benefits which should be
paid for by the State. This problem will require continued
attention. Dave Howland said that he has heard that Free Cash
will be at least $100,000. Dave Cote and Ned Wolf asked where
it was coming from. Are we over-taxing? Dave Howland said
he would ask Dale for more information.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
March 9, 2004
Place: Heath Library
Time: 7:00 pm
Present: David Cote, Budge Litchfield, David Howland, Charlene
Churchill, and
Ned Wolf
The minutes of the January 20 meeting were read and approved after
replacing the first sentence of the fourth paragraph with the sentence
“There was some discussion of the fact that Franklin County Towns are
still paying for county employees’ healthcare benefits which should be
paid for by the State”.
There was a discussion of filling a seat on the Safety Complex
Committee with a member of the Finance Committee. The discussion
will be continued.
Turning to the Mohawk District School Budget, Dave Howland said
that it appears that the District is proposing an increase for ’05 to
make up for its having been cut 1.4 million dollars in ’04 for Chapter
70 and 0.4 million dollars for Chapter 71. He said that he thinks
the budget needs a lot more work.
Dave Cote expressed concern over the percentage increases in the towns’
assessments over the past 5 years.
Budge Litchfield suggested the State consider a proposal that would
maintain level services, increase the towns’ assessments by no more
than 2 and one half percent, and cut the number of school days to suit
the
financial need.
Dave Howland said he would circulate information about State Senator
Stan Rosenberg’s Day of Reflection on March 27th.
Dave Howland distributed copies of a draft of a letter to Treasurer
Kris Nartowicz.
The letter is about her helpful role in straightening out the Town’s
transactions about SBAB payments for the construction of the elementary
school. The letter mentions the Town’s recent appeal on the
schedule of grant payments. Dave Cote suggested that
restructuring the loan might be to Heath’s advantage. Dave
Howland said that a phone call should be made to Chris Lynch,
Administrator School Business Assistance, about whether restructuring
the loan is allowable.
At 8:00 pm David Howland distributed a list of overages which the
FinCom carried out of the library, up the stairs, and into the BOS
meeting in progress. After a discussion of these overages
with the
BOS, Dave Cote made a motion that the Finance Committee transfer
$501.82
from the Reserve Account to pay a bill for Town Garage Maintenance.
The motion passed by a unanimous vote.
The FinCom adjourned at 9:00 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
March 23, 2004
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Heath Library
Present: David Howland, Charlene Churchill, Budge Litchfield, and
Ned Wolf
The minutes of the March 9 meeting were read and approved.
Dave Howland asked for comments on his revised Finance Committee report
to appear in the next issue of the Heath Herald. Committee
members had read the report. They had no comments.
Dave Howland said that Mike Smith’s request for the Garage Maintenance
Fund was $694.85 instead of $501.82 as reported at the March 9
meeting. Dave made a motion that the Finance Committee do the
following two things: (1) Withdraw its March 9th approval of the
transfer of $501.82 from the Reserve Fund to the Garage Maintenance
Fund, and (2) Approve the transfer of $694.85 from the Reserve
Fund to the Garage Maintenance Fund. The motion passed by a
unanimous vote. The members signed the transfer request.
There was a discussion of a request that $3,880.24 for maintenance on
the Town’s road grader be transferred from the Reserve Fund to the
Machinery Maintenance Fund. Dave Howland made a motion that the
Finance Committee deny the request to transfer $3,880.24 from the
Reserve Fund to the Machinery Maintenance Fund. The motion passed
by a unanimous vote.
Turning to the choice of a FinCom representative to serve on the
Committee for a Safety Complex, Ned Wolf made a motion that Budge
Litchfield be the Finance Committee representative on the Committee for
a Safety Complex. The motion passed by a unanimous vote.
Dave Howland said that Finance Committee member Charlene Churchill has
not taken out nomination papers to run for re-election to the
committee. Charlene has decided not to run for that office due in
part to other commitments. Members expressed their regrets over
Charlene’s decision. Dave Howland expressed the committee’s
appreciation for her diligence and helpfulness. Charlene spoke of
bond money available for libraries in Massachusetts and how Heath needs
to go after it.
The committee then turned to the school budget and considered a list of
possible responses in the face of so large an increase over last year’s
budget and the resulting jump in Heath’s assessment of about $152,000.
a. Do nothing
b. Consider a proposition 2 ½ override
c. Vote for a lesser budget … maybe 2 ½ % increase on the Town
Meeting floor
d. Level fund the budget and see what happens after July … operate
month to month
e. Postpone the Annual Town Meeting vote to June 28
f. Think about lobbying using Dave Howland’s letter or a facsimile to
mobilize a “movement”.
Committee members praised Dave Howland’s letter to the governor and
said that it should be used as one tool in a lobbying effort.
Budge said he thought the FinCom should continue working on a Town
budget despite the lack of clarity on how the 8 towns would respond to
the school budget. Dave Howland spoke of the next MMAC meeting on
April 8 at which Jeff Wulfson of the DOE will speak on option d.
Something significant might come from that meeting.
Finally, Dave Howland reported that Town Treasurer Kris Nartowicz
says that there is $53,401.51 in the School SBAB Fund.
The FinCom joined the BOS for further discussion of the school budget
with School Committee member Bob Gruen.
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
April 20, 2004
Time: 4:30 pm
Place: Heath Public Library
Present: David Howland, Ned Wolf, Budge Litchfield, and Charlene
Churchill
The minutes of the April 6 meeting were read and approved after the
following corrections: (1) “FEMA” is replaced with “FIMA”, and
(2) The second sentence of paragraph 7 is replaced with “Considering
the cost of health insurance, the committee realizes that a 2% cost of
living increase may result in a net decrease for employees”.
There was some discussion of how the Town benefits from Chapter 90
funds for the use of Heath equipment in Chapter 90 projects. In
recent years the Town has not put this money into Free Cash as had been
the practice. Mike Smith has instead used it to purchase gravel
and other road material. The FinCom recommended that the BOS
consider
the previous practice.
There was a discussion of the articles on the May 8th STM
warrant. The FinCom recommends Articles 1, 2, and 3.
The FinCom thinks more discussion is needed on Article 4.
Budge asked what was driving the need to transfer $4,500 into the
Winter Equipment Maintenance/Utility Account.
The FinCom recommends Article 5.
Regarding Article 6, the FinCom wants to know whether repairs to the
grader are driving the need to transfer $6,000 into the Machinery
Maintenance/Supplies Account.
The FinCom recommends Articles 7, 8, and 9.
The discussion turned to the warrant articles for the May 8th
ATM. The FinCom believes we have insufficient information about
what the state Legislature will do with Chapter 70 and 71 funding to
act on Article 3. The FinCom recommends that Article 3 not be
voted on.
The FinCom recommends Article 4.
The FinCom recommends the Articles 5, 6, and 7 not be voted
on. Referring to Article 6, Dave questioned whether the
superintendent’s office has explained why the whole Capital Assessment
is up $90,000.
The FinCom recognizes that the Franklin County Technical School
Operating Assessment is affected by Chapter 70.
The FinCom recommends Articles 8 and 9. The FinCom recommends
passing over Articles 10 – 13.
The FinCom recommends Articles 15 and 16.
The FinCom acknowleges that Town Counsel has pointed out problems with
Article 17. The FinCom does not recommend Article 17.
The FinCom recommends Articles 18 and 19. The FinCom thinks
that Article 20 is not in its purview.
The FinCom recommends Article 21.
The meeting adjourned at 5:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
May 4, 2004
Time: 7:05 pm
Place: Assessors’ Office, Sawyer Hall
Present: Charlene Churchill, Budge Litchfield, David Howland, and
Ned Wolf
The minutes of the April 20th meeting were read and approved after
adding the following sentence at the end of the 2nd paragraph:
The FinCom recommended that the BOS consider the previous practice of
putting the money into Free Cash.
There was a discussion of various scenarios involving yet to be taken
votes on the Mohawk Regional School District budget by towns in the
District including Heath.
At 8:00 pm the FinCom joined the BOS meeting in progress. The
FinCom recommended Article 6 on the May 8th ATM warrant after David
Howland’s
recounting of meeting with David Fraser at the District Office and
receiving
a satisfactory explanation of the increase in the District Capital
Assessment.
Then FinCom meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
May 17, 2004
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Heath Assessors’ Office, Sawyer Hall
Present: David Howland, Budge Litchfield, Jeff Simmons, David
Cote, and Ned Wolf
The minutes of the May 4th meeting were read and approved.
Dave Howland and old members welcomed Jeff Simmons as the new member
elected May 7th.
After a discussion of officers for the coming year, Dave Cote made a
motion that Dave Howland continue as Chair and Ned Wolf as
Secretary. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote.
Dave Howland recommended that members look online at Senator
Rosenberg’s report covering Chapter 70 legislation and House Senate
Resolution. He said that although the House and Senate vote
70 million for Chapter 70, which is one million more than the amount
recommended by the Governor, there would be no change for
Heath. The Town will receive $6,500 more from the lottery
than it did last year.
Members agreed to make a pitch to the BOS to send a letter to
superintendent Genovese urging that assessments to the towns be
certified to reflect the increases in transportation and SPED funding
which he spoke on the floor of the ATM.
Budge asked whether the committee should look at changes in the use of
Free Cash to help reduce the tax rate. Dave Howland said he had
not assumed that $50,000 of Free Cash would go to reducing the tax rate
when he calculated an 05 tax rate of $26.18. Members asked
whether Free Cash might be used any other way.
Jeff Simmons questioned the budgeting of $5,000 for the
pre-school. He noted that the pre-school is not a State mandated
program and wondered whether the $5,000 reportedly given to the school
for a bus might be used instead for the pre-school. Dave Howland
said that the funding of pre-school is handled differently from town to
town and that a recent State proposal includes pre-school funding with
school funding.
Dave Howland passed out copies of data used at the Plainfield ATM in
such a way as to misrepresent the Heath School student cost. He
and other members made the following points:
1. Heath’s SPED enrollment is 1/3 to ½ higher than that of other
schools for its enrollment.
2. Heath’s actual enrollment is 88, not 56; thus, the budget reflects
the actual enrollment.
3. Towns pay for their own pupils no matter where they go to school.
4. The data used at the Plainfield ATM may not reflect offsets of SPED,
grant support, choice, etc.
5. Using the same data, one gets that Heath’s per pupil cost is more
like $12,520, not $19,674, but SPED
inflates it.
The members discussed a request from the Assessors to transfer $750
from the Reserve Fund to pay a bill to the Town from the Consortium for
Software. Dave Howland made a motion that the request be
approved. The motion passed by a unanimous vote. Dave will
talk with Henry Leuchtman about procedural improvements in financing
software.
The FinCom joined the BOS meeting in progress at 8:00 pm.
The FinCom recommended sending the letter mentioned above to
superintendent Genovese. Even though the District Office will not
know the exact transportation figures until November, they can estimate
what for example a 65% instead
of 35% reimbursement would mean for the assessments.
Bob Gruen spoke of 10 students from Halifax having recently visited
Mohawk Regional School. Their attending Mohawk might mean more
revenue for the District.
It was agreed that the FinCom will meet with the BOS at 7:45 pm on June
14th.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.
Respectively submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
June 14, 2004
Time: 6:45 pm
Place: Heath Library
Present: David Howland, Ned Wolf, Jeff Sessions, and Budge
Litchfield
The committee reviewed the STM Warrant for June 26th and recommends all
the Articles.
The committee discussed the Mohawk Trail Regional School District
Budget and the recent School Committee vote that it be recertified at
$127,000 less.
The FinCom recommends pulling $25K of Free Cash back from the Dump
Closing Account. This means that it does not recommend Article 13
on the ATM. The FinCom continues to recommend Article 12 which
would transfer $25K of Free Cash to the Stabilization Account.
The committee discussed the cutting of various budget items in
preparation for discussing these with the BOS.
The minutes of the May 17th meeting were read and approved.
The FinCom went upstairs at 8:05 pm to join the BOS meeting in
progress. The FinCom agreed with the BOS to recommend that Free
Cash be used as mentioned above. On other items the FinCom
and BOS agreed to recommend the following:
-Not to cut $500. in Item 15, Assessors’ software
-Cut $1,000 in Item 27, Legal Expenses
-Cut $1,000 in Item 41, Sawyer Hall Utility Costs
-Not to cut $1,000 in Item 42, Utility Costs Town Garage
-Not to cut $1,000 in Item 44, Utility Costs Community Hall
-Level fund Item 54, Firemen Award, at $6,000
-Level fund Item 56, EMT, at $500.
-Cut Item 59, Emergency expense, by $300 to $300.
-Cut Item 65, Pre-School, by $2,500 to $2,500
-Cut Item 72, Roadside mowing, from $8,000 to $5,000
The FinCom and BOS also recommended that the Treasurer’s Fund be
increased from $1,763 to $2,763 to pay for a new computer as
recommended by Town Accountant Dale Kowacki.
The FinCom and BOS discussed the Postmaster Margo’s request for a
salary increase of more than 2%.
The FinCom and BOS acknowledged a need to review all salaries and
recommend that Margo’s increase remain at 2%.
The FinCom and BOS reviewed the ATM Warrant Articles. In addition
to recommendations mentioned
above, they agreed to recommend that $50K in Free Cash be used to
reduce taxes and that $95K be used to purchase a new truck with
alternate financing if possible.
The FinCom meeting adjourned at 10:50 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
July 12, 2004
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: Assessors’ Office, Sawyer Hall
Present: David Howland, Ned Wolf, Jeff Simmons, and Budge
Litchfield
The minutes of the June 14th meeting were read and approved.
David Howland distributed copies of the requests to transfer funds from
the Reserve Fund. The total of the requests is $6187.19.
Since there is only $3555.19 in the Reserve Fund, the deficit would be
$2632. The FinCom agreed that the Dump Transportation and Dump
Tipping could be dealth
with at an STM.
Dave spoke of his continuing efforts to track down in the beuracracy
Heath’s request to MEMA for $6000.
For storm damage in ’03.
Dave made a motion to pay $110. In dues to the Massachusetts
Association of Finance Committees. The motion passed by a
unanimous vote.
At 8:00 pm the FinCom moved across the hall to join the BOS meeting in
progress. There was a discussion of the salaries of Town
employees.
Concerns were expressed about the pay of Margo Newton who as Postmaster
receives
$10.47 per hour. Members of the BOS and the FinCom expressed
interest
in reviewing the salaries of Town employees, having the Town pay
salaries
competitive with those of employees doing comparable work in nearby
towns,
and having salary equity within the Town.
The discussion turned back to the requests for transfer from the
Reserve Fund. The FinCom approved and signed requests for the
following transfers: $2500. for Highway Machinery Maintenance,
$77.60 for Highway Miscellaneous, $471. for Fire Department Supplies,
$386.64 for FICA Medicare, $33.21 for Town Nurse Salary, and $86 for
the BOS – Flag. The Town Nurse Salary was the only overdrawn
account.
The meeting adjourned at 9:25 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
September 21, 2004
Time: 7:00 pm
Place : Sawyer Hall, Assessors’ Office
Present: David Howland, Budge Litchfield, Jeff Simmons, and Ned
Wolf
The minutes of the July 12th meeting were read and approved with
corrected spellings.
The committee discussed the following items:
Funding of the decorative rail on the steeple of the Community Hall
Funding of the new truck via Chapter 90 money
CDBG funding reported by Senator Nuciforo
Report on the FY05 Pothole application
Tentative Three Town Dump “agreements” with Yankee and the other two
towns.
In the discussion Jeff raised questions about whether 10 years is a
long enough period of time to expect a construction vehicle such as a
truck to be useful to the Town. Is everything
necessary being done about salt corrosion? These questions were
considered worthy of further discussion ideally with Mike Smith present.
At 7:40 pm the committee moved across the hall to join the BOS meeting
in progress.
Sheila Litchfield read aloud a letter from the Franklin County
Technical School announcing that Heath’s assessment has been reduced by
$6,420. Dave Howland noted that Heath is also to receive $10,870 in
additional lottery money, which prompted him to speak with Joe Boudreau
of the DOR about accessing it . As for the lottery money it can
be used like (1) Free Cash, which means going to a Special Town
Meeting, or (2) it can be used on the Recap Report as “estimated
income”, which would reduce taxes, or (3) if left alone it would become
part of the Free Cash calculation. The money from the Tech School
is to reduce assessments, as far as he knew, which would be used on the
recap Report and reduce taxes. No Special Town Meeting is
required. There was a general discussion about the money.
Tom Lively said he wanted
to find out more about the Tech money and would call the school.
Further discussion concerned the approximately $132,000 the Town has in
Chapter 90 money. The FinCom voted in favor of a motion of the
BOS
to spend the $132,000 as follows: 60% for the roads, 20% for the
new
truck, and 20% for the salt shed and other
eligible projects.
The FinCom meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
September 21, 2004
Time: 7:00 pm
Place : Sawyer Hall, Assessors’ Office
Present: David Howland, Budge Litchfield, Jeff Simmons, and Ned
Wolf
The minutes of the July 12th meeting were read and approved with
corrected
spellings.
The committee discussed the following items:
Funding of the decorative rail on the steeple of the Community Hall
Funding of the new truck via Chapter 90 money
CDBG funding reported by Senator Nuciforo
Report on the FY05 Pothole application
Tentative Three Town Dump “agreements” with Yankee and the other two
towns.
In the discussion Jeff raised questions about whether 10 years is a
long
enough period of time to expect a construction vehicle such as a truck
to
be useful to the Town. Is everything necessary being
done
about salt corrosion? These questions were considered worthy of
further
discussion ideally with Mike Smith present.
At 7:40 pm the committee moved across the hall to join the BOS meeting
in
progress.
Sheila Litchfield read aloud a letter from the Franklin County
Technical
School announcing that Heath’s assessment has been reduced by $6,420.
Dave
Howland noted that Heath is also to receive $10,870 in additional
lottery
money, which prompted him to speak with Joe Boudreau of the DOR about
accessing
it . As for the lottery money it can be used like (1) Free Cash,
which
means going to a Special Town Meeting, or (2) it can be used on the
Recap
Report as “estimated income”, which would reduce taxes, or (3) if left
alone
it would become part of the Free Cash calculation. The money from
the
Tech School is to reduce assessments, as far as he knew, which would be
used
on the recap Report and reduce taxes. No Special Town Meeting is
required.
There was a general discussion about the money. Tom Lively said
he
wanted to find out more about the Tech money and would call the school.
Further discussion concerned the approximately $132,000 the Town has in
Chapter
90 money. The FinCom voted in favor of a motion of the BOS to
spend
the $132,000 as follows: 60% for the roads, 20% for the new
truck,
and 20% for the salt shed and other
eligible projects.
The FinCom meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Wolf, Secretary
November 16, 2004
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Heath
Library,
Sawyer Hall
Present: David
Howland, Jeff Simmons, and Ned Wolf
The minutes of the September 21 meeting were
read. A motion to accept the minutes was
approved.
In the discussion of the Yankee/Three Town Dump
Contract
Jeff asked how the agreement would affect the pending court case
involving the
Three Towns. The FinCom will ask the
BOS.
In the discussion of the Town Accountant
position questions
were asked about whether it would be cheaper to use the COG. The FinCom will ask the BOS.
Dave said that Dale Kowacki will continue as
the Town’s Accountant through December 31st.
Regarding the land being given to the Center
Cemetery by Mrs. Ross,
Dave said
that he has engaged free legal work on the part of Shelburne
Falls attorney Richard
Bishop. The FinCom discussed the possible
use of $700
from the Reserve Fund to pay for the needed surveying of the land.
Turning to the possible use of about $1500. for
a new
computer for Joy, the FinCom discussed such questions as “What is wrong
with
the computer she’s using”, “How would a new computer fit into the
Town’s long
range network needs?”, and “How might the computer and needed software
be
purchased for less than $1500?”
At 7:30 pm
the
FinCom joined the BOS meeting in progress.
In the discussion of the Yankee/Three Town Dump
Contract
Dave Howland suggested that wording in Section 1 be changed to “Yankee
agrees
to reimburse the engineering firm selected by the Towns for the costs
incurred
by development of a CAD …” Sheila
responded to citizens’ concerns about Section 3 on Disclaimer and
Release by
suggesting that the words “and the BTL” be dropped from the next to the
last
sentence. Both the FinCom and the BOS
approved of these changes.
In discussing the Town Accountant position Tom
Lively said
that moving back into the COG would increase that line item in the
budget. Tom said that he would contact
Melanson Heath
and Co. The BOS agreed to contact Jean
Holdsworth. Since Dale will leave on
December 31st,
limited time remains for him to tutor a replacement.
In describing her computer Joy says that too
much of her
time is spent shutting down and rebooting. Software
freezes are frequent, and Henry Leuchtman, who has
listened to
the hard drive, is concerned about its continued functioning. Moreover, Joy’s printer works only if hand
fed one page at a time. The FinCom
approved the spending of no more than $1500 on a new computer/printer
for
Joy. The amount would be reimbursed to
the Reserve Fund at a Special Town Meeting.
The FinCom also approved the spending of $700.
for surveying
the land given to the Center
Cemetery
by Mrs. Ross. It would be reimbursed to
the Reserve Fund at a Special Town Meeting.
Finally, there was some discussion of the School
Budget. Ned Wolf reported on the
November 10th meeting of the Budget Subcommittee of the
School
Committee. Dave Howland said that the
District’s increase in spending in ’06 should not exceed 2 ½ %.
The FinCom meeting adjourned at 9:25 pm.
Respectfully
submitted,
Ned
Wolf, Secretary
December 14, 2004
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Sawyer Hall
Present: David
Cote,
Ned Wolf, David Howland, and Budge Litchfield
Minutes of the November 16th meeting
were read
and accepted.
David Howland distributed the most recent
accounting report
of the Town and copies of the updated CD of the Finance Committee
Handbook.
The FinCom discussed the bids opened by the BOS
on December
6th for the Town’s 2 old fire trucks. The
FinCom regretted that higher bids were
not received. Members voted unanimously
to approve the sale of Engine 1 and Engine 3 to the highest bidders: Engine 1 to Malcolm Thompson of South
Deerfield for $1,565., and Engine 2 to Alan McDonald of Bridgewater
for $945.
The FinCom discussed the $10,874 which the Town
has received
from the Massachusetts State Lottery. The
FinCom agreed to withdraw the following requests for
Reserve Funds:
-$1500 for a new computer and printer for Joy
-$700 for the survey of cemetery land given to
Heath by Lucille
Ross
-$1367 for advertising for jobs
Members agreed that these would be paid for with
the $10,874
from the State and that the amount left over would go into the General
Fund and
become part of Free Cash.
Henry Leuchtman distributed information on the
Levy and the
Town’s Receipts. Talks are planned with
Joe Boudreau. David Howland’s
preliminary estimate is that 61.4% of the Levy consists of school costs. There was discussion of setting up a January
meeting for members of the School Committee, BOS, and FinCom.
At 8:00 pm
the
FinCom moved to the Assessors’ Office for further discussion of the
above
issues. After reviewing the Town’s
Actual Receipts for 2002, 2003, and 2004, the committee agreed that
$127,000
would be a suitable estimate for Receipts in 2005.
The FinCom rejoined the BOS at 9:00 pm and reported its vote
approving the sale of the fire trucks as
well as its estimate for ’05 Receipts.
The meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.
Respectfully
submitted,
Ned
Wolf, Secretary
January 4, 2005
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: Sawyer Hall
Present: David
Cote,
Ned Wolf, David Howland, and Budge Litchfield
The minutes of the December 14th
meeting were
read. The corrected minutes were
approved.
Dave Howland said that it turns out that the
$10,874 that
the Town has recently received from the State Lottery is not available
for
paying bills only because special Town STM action is required. He made a motion that the Finance Committee
approve the following requests from the Reserve Fund:
$700. for the cemetery survey, $1500. for
Joy’s new computer and printer, and $1386 for advertising for the job
of Town
Accountant. The motion passed by a
unanimous vote. The Reserve Fund will be
replenished at an STM.
Dave Howland said that Dale Kowacki has
estimated the Town’s
Free Cash to be $136,020.41.
Members turned their attention to a December 15, 2004 memo from
Town Accountant Dale
Kowacki concerning the Town’s Overlay Surplus. There
was a motion to declare $5300. from the year 2002 and
$1700. from
the year 2001 as surplus providing (1) the BOS acts accordingly, and
(2) if, in
the judgment of Dale Kowacki and/or the judgment of the new Town
Accountant,
this is prudent considering the outstanding “deficit” in the year 2004. The motion passed by a unanimous vote.
The FinCom examined a memo on benefit changes
for Town
Employees. The FinCom will ask Joy to
inquire about the steep increase for mail order drugs.
There was a discussion of the Mohawk District
School
Budget. Budge said he would like more
clear information about the $950,000 more needed for level services. Looking at the $250,000 line item for
salaries, he asked what exactly goes into that line.
If, as reported, it includes such things as
the total salaries of new hires, then it gives a misleading impression
of teachers’
salary increases. He added that the
changing of budget categories makes it difficult to compare different
years.
At 8:15 pm
the
FinCom moved from the Assessors’ Office to join the BOS meeting in progress. Dave
Howland distributed copies of his report on Student
Population Data
and the Mohawk Trail
Regional School
District
which uses data from the FRCOG and a report done by the Massachusetts
Institute
of Social and Economic Research at UMass. The
report points to a 22.9% decline over the past 5 years
based on six
towns’ K-12 enrollments. The overall
enrollment in the District is projected to decline although the decline
for the
town of Heath is projected
to be less
than that of several other towns.
Dave emphasized the need for continued, careful
study of
student enrollment data.
Tom Lively said he had recently talked with a
member of the Shelburne Falls
selectboard in which the topic
of closing Heath School
was mentioned. Regarding the closing of
any school, Budge doubted that a town’s voters would ever be certain
that the
reduction in their town’s assessment resulting from closing its school
would
offset the cost of bonds to pay off the school. For
that reason as well as others, he said it seems unlikely
that a town
would vote to close its school.
Tom asked that in the District study of facility
use there
be an analysis done for each school on where the children would go if
their
school were closed and what the ensuing costs would be.
Questions were asked about the superintendent’s
strategy of
using E and D money to increase the towns’ budgets over what was voted
at the
ATM. This adversely affects the towns’
budgeting the following year. Budge
suggested that the E and D be used up front in the way that the towns
use Free
Cash to reduce taxes.
Finally, there was discussion of transportation
contracts
that require the bus company to provide as many seats as there are
students in
a school even though many of those students rarely use the bus. Budge noted the inefficiency of having so
many buses less than half full.
The meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.
Resprctfully
submitted,
Ned
Wolf, Secretary
January 25, 2005
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Sawyer Hall
Present: Dave
Howland, Budge Litchfield, Jeff Simmons, Dave Cote, and Ned Wolf
The minutes of the January 4th
meeting were read
and approved after adding to the first sentence of the second paragraph
“only
because special Town STM action is required”.
The FinCom discussed with the BOS
billings to the Community Hall
Maintenance/Utilities Fund that include such items as $1300 for additional lighting. The
BOS allowed these additional billings in
anticipation of approximately $15,000 extra monies coming from the
grant for
work on the Community Hall. A motion was
made in the FinCom and was unanimously approved to transfer $879.63
from the
Reserve Fund to cover expenses charged to the Community Hall
Maintenance/Utilities Fund with the expectation that it will be
replenished
from the grant or from Free Cash.
The BOS reported having voted at its previous
meeting to
increase the Winter Hire Services Account by no more than $2500. Dave Cote asked whether thought had been
given to having this extra work done by fulltime
Town employees. After some discussion, a motion was made in
the FinCom and approved unanimously to increase the Winter Hire
Services Account
by no more than $2500. The expectation
is that there will be a transfer from the Winter Salt Account, or from
Free
Cash, or there will be a carry over to next year.
From 7:40 pm
to 8:00 pm the FinCom and
BOS met in Executive
Session discussing litigation related to the capping of the Three-Town
Landfill.
At 8:00 pm
the
FinCom left the BOS meeting to meet in the Assessors’ Office. Dave Howland said that there is $138 left in
the Finance Committee Budget. There was
agreement in the committee to keep the Finance Committee Budget at $250
and the
Reserve Account at $5000.
Budge asked whether the Town had ever gotten a
committee
going on a Safety Complex.
Jeff said he has looked at websites with grant
information. Dave Cote said that
considering the work being done to research library grants there should
be
comparable work done for a Safety Complex. He
noted that as soon as you combine fire with police the
costs
soar. As far as grants are concerned,
access codes would be needed if the structure were to include police.
There was a discussion of the fee system some
towns have to
defray the costs of fire and/or rescue work. Jeff
distributed some information from other towns. It
was the consensus of the committee that it
would be alright for Jeff to present Mike Smith with the possibility of
a fee
system in Heath.
There was agreement among members that during
Dave Howland’s
absence in Florida Ned Wolf will coordinate FinCom activities.
The meeting adjourned at 9:10 pm.
Respectfully
submitted,
Ned
Wolf, Secretary
February 15, 2005
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Sawyer Hall
Present: Ned Wolf,
Dave Cote, and Budge Litchfield
The minutes of the January 25th
meeting were
read. A motion was made and approved
to
accept the minutes.
The FinCom reviewed the preliminary list of STM
Warrant
Articles from the February 8th BOS meeting and voted
unanimously to
approve a motion that they be recommended.
At 7:30 pm
the
FinCom joined the BOS for further discussion of the STM Warrant
Articles
including changes and additions to the preliminary list.
Tracey Baronas is requesting that the $350.
amount in
Article 1 be increased to $420. so that she can receive 2 more hours of
advice
from former Town Accountant Dale Kowacki.
In Article 2 the $250. for the Community Hall
Renovations is
due to an accounting entry for correction. The
funds that it was originally posted against were not the
right
monies.
Since the grant is closed out, this has to be
covered some
other way.
Referring to Article 14, Tom Lively said that
$1517 is still
available in the Selectmen’s Operating Expense Account as of the
January
expense report. He said that $1000 may
be needed for advertising for the position of Town Coordinator and that
$1500
seems like an appropriate amount to transfer from the One Time
Municipal Relief
Funds Account to the Selectmen’s Operating Expense Account.
There are 3 new articles added to the
preliminary list: Article 15 is to
transfer $500. from Free
Cash to the Treasurer’s Tax Taking Account; Article 16 is to transfer
$150.
from Free Cash to the Treasurer’s Expense Account; Article 17 is to
accept the
gift of property near the Center
Cemetery
from Lucianna Ross.
A motion was made that the FinCom recommend the
STM 3-08-05
Articles as drafted. The FinCom approved
the motion by unanimous
vote.
Dave handed Ned his letter of resignation from
the Finance
Committee effective at the Annual Town Meeting 2005.
Ned and Budge expressed appreciation for his
many years of fine service.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm.
Respectfully
submitted,
Ned
Wolf, Secretary
April 5, 2005
Time: 7:10 pm
Place: Heath Library
Present: Dave
Howland, Ned Wolf, Jeff Simmons, and Budge Litchfield
The minutes for the March 15th
meeting were read
and accepted.
The minutes for the March 29th
meeting were read
and accepted after the following changes were made:
-In paragraph 6 replace the 3rd
sentence with
“The Heath FinCom appears to be lukewarm in supporting the School
Budget”.
-In paragraph 10 eliminate the 3rd
sentence (“There
was no trade.”)
-In paragraph 11, sentence 1, eliminate the
words “due to
the State’s having taken away a retirement system”.
There was some discussion of an e-mail from Tom
Lively
requesting that the minutes of the Town committees be forwarded to him
so that
he can post them on the Town’s website. Ned
said that he has been posting the FinCom minutes on the
bulletin
board by the mailboxes as well as on the FinCom page of the Town’s
website. He said he would ask Tom to
clarify
his intent for FinCom minutes.
Dave said that his estimate as of March 28, 2005 of the ’06
Tax Rate is about
$1.60 higher than the ’05 Tax Rate of $18.34.
Dave mentioned that the dues for the Town
Finance Committee
Association will be $115.
The FinCom will not pay them immediately because
they are
not due until July 1st.
Members expressed approval of Jenna’s memo
coordinating the
securing of office supplies with Baker’s in Greenfield.
There was some discussion of the School Budget
with Jeff
calling for more detail in the disclosure of all the District’s
revolving
accounts. He approved of the increased
transparency this year for one such account.
At 7:50 pm
the
FinCom joined the BOS meeting to discuss the Library budget request and
other
Library matters. The requested change in
the Libray Director’s Wages is from $15,314 to $20,150.
Deb Porter, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said
that the intent is to acknowledge the Library Director’s having earned
a degree
and to make those wages more in line with those of comparable positions
nearby. In the case of the Library
Assistant’s Wages the requested change is from $3,328 to $6,825. This would increase the hourly rate by 7% and
would add 7 more hours each week resulting in 2 staff being present at
all
times in the Library so as to address security concerns.
Budge asked whether the security concerns could
be addressed
by having the Police Chief have different hours. Jeff
asked whether the Library could change
from Wednesday to Tuesday evenings. Tom
said that more thought should be given to various ways of confronting
security
issues. Regarding salaries, he said that
later in the evening the BOS would review all salaries using the
recently
completed job classification.
To generate more revenue for the Library, Jeff
suggested a
more rigorous system of fines for overdue books. Deb
expressed concern over the number of
staff hours such a system would take up in relation to the amount of
revenue
generated.
There was discussion of 3 Warrant Articles
related to the
building of a new Library.
In each case no matter what the Town vote, there
would be no
financial liability for the Town. There
is a need to find out more information on ways of setting up an account
for
funds donated to the Library so that such gifts are tax-deductible. Tom said he will ask Town Counsel about
this.
With the arrival of Bob Gruen the discussion
turned to the
School Budget and the Building Use Study Committee.
There was agreement that there should be a
reconvening of the BOS, the FinCom, and Heath’s School Committee
members when
there is more information available on things such as Rick Scortino’s
report on
building use and the State’s funding of transportation.
Finally, Tom said that next week there would be
more
information available on insurance, dump transportation, and dump
tipping.
The FinCom adjourned at 9:10 pm.
Respectfully
submitted,
Ned
Wolf, Secretary
April 26, 2005
Time:
7:00 pm
Place:
Heath Library, Sawyer Hall
Present: Jeff Simmons, Ned Wolf, Dave Howland, and
Budge Litchfield
The minutes of the
April 5th
meeting were read and accepted before Budge arrived.
Jeff said he would
try to put
together the minutes of the April 12th meeting.
Note:
The numbering used for Warrant Articles in
these minutes is the same as that used in the 4/26/05 version of the Warrant.
In discussing the
Budget members
raised questions to be asked later in the meeting with the BOS. Turning to the Warrant Articles for the ATM
on May 7th, Dave asked in connection with Article 26 whether
Heath
should go ahead with borrowing for the Dump capping without the
assurance of 3
town cooperation. Budge said that both
Charlemont and Hawley have warrant articles similar to Heath’s. He added that the DOE is expecting the
capping to be done by October. Dave
questioned what DOE would do if the Landfill were not capped by then. Budge said that the Town’s approving
borrowing would give a contractor the needed assurance that the Town is
serious
about getting the job done.
Regarding Article
5, Dave
expressed concern that the $661,044 MTRSD Operating Assessment exceeded
that of
’05 by more than 21/2%. He
made a motion that the $661,044 in Article
5 be reduced by $23,595 in order that the increase over ’05 not exceed
21/2%.
Jeff seconded the
motion. Budge said that he couldn’t see
where in the
budget the $23,595 would come from. Ned
said
that he thought the superintendent and others had tried hard to reduce
the
budget. The vote was 2 in favor and 2
opposed. Turning to Article 7, members
expressed concerns about the increase in the FCTS Assessment. Budge acknowledged the effort to make
assessments more fair among the towns but said he would have favored a
more
stepped adjustment. The FinCom
recommends Articles 5 and 7 with reservations.
Regarding Article
10, the
FinCom will suggest to the BOS that the required number for a forum at
an STM
be 20 instead of 10.
The committee will
seek more
information about the 10 year contract referred to in Article 11. The contract is with the Waste Management
operations of the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility.
Members recommend
Article 17
and expect that the administration of
fees will require more work by both the BOS and the Board of Health. Dave said that sensitivity is needed in
dealing with residents’ concerns.
The FinCom’s
approach to
Articles 19-21 related to the library is to recommend them as a means
of
keeping the door open for grant possibilities while not committing the
Town in
any way financially.
The FinCom does not
recommend
Article 24 because the Post Office Manager Salary given in Article 3 is
in
keeping with the work done by Dave Howland and Bob Viarengo on the
salaries of
town employees while the salary given in Article 24 is not.
Regarding Article
28, the
committee’s question is whether there would be a single revolving fund
serving
all three boards.
As for Article 32,
the FinCom
does not think that the article is within its purview.
At 8:40 pm the FinCom joined the BOS
meeting already in
progress. FinCom members asked what had
happened to the article to transfer $15,400 from the Community Hall
Grant to
the Dump Closing Account. Tom Lively
acknowledged that the article should be included.
Budge urged that
for each of
the articles there be someone who stands up to explain it on the floor
of the
ATM.
On Article 10 the
FinCom was
willing to compromise with the BOS on ‘15’ as the required number for a
quorum
at a STM.
In Article 15 a
correction was
made. Replace $105. with $105.92 for the
Staples bill.
Regarding Article
17, Tom
explained that it affects only new trailers. He
responded to FinCom concerns about the administration of
fees by
saying that some thought is being given to the use of fines instead of
blanket
fees. Sheila added that there should be
a designated speaker on Article 17 from Mohawk Estates.
She said that Deb Phillips of the Planning
Board will speak on Article 18. The
Planning Board will also speak on Article 19 which is needed because
‘motor
homes’ are addressed in a zoning bylaw (see Article 17), and to have
‘motor
homes’ in two places would be a conflict. Deb
Phillips will be alerted to the possibility that the
defeat of
Article 17 at the ATM might lead to a change in Article 19.
The missing date
and page
number need to be inserted in Article 23. Gloria
will seek the missing information from Henry Leuchtman.
In the discussion
of Article
26, Budge asked whether or not words such as “contingent upon the
passage of a
Debt Exclusion” should be inserted in light of the effect on
prospective
contractors. Brian said that such
language would definitely discourage a contractor.
BOS members said that a Debt Exclusion vote
would have to be by ballot if the amount to be excluded would make the
increase
over last year’s Levy Limit more than 2 1/2%. Dave
said that the total for appropriations is roughly $50,000
below
this year’s Levy Limit. He advised
contacting Joe Boudreau to confirm that.
On Article 28 the
BOS said that
one revolving account would serve the 3 boards.
In the discussion
of Article 30
concerns were expressed about the possible complications of entering
into an
agreement with other towns. Dave did not
want a situation where people in Heath are told from which company they
must
buy their electricity. The FinCom
concluded that such a situation would be unlikely and decided to
recommend
Article 30.
In summary, the
FinCom recommends
Articles 5 and 7 with reservations. It
recommends Articles 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 – 23. It
does not recommend Article 24. It does not
think that Article 32 is in its purview. It
recommends that $15,400 be transferred
from the Community Hall Grant to the Dump Closing Account.
At 10:00 pm the discussion turned to
Article 3.
-
Line 5. This
is
unchanged. Tom said they did not set up
the postage account discussed earlier.
-
Line 10.1. The
$315 being requested is to allow more time for former Town Accountant
Dale
Kowacki to meet with Tracey.
-
Line 14. The
$500 increase is to allow the Assessors to catch up on things like the
binding
of deeds which hasn’t been done since 1992.
-
Line 17. This
line will be zeroed out. The Assessors
wanted to put aside $1500 for the next Revaluation, but Dave pointed
out that
it can’t be done this way. Money left
over from the last Revaluation must go into the General Fund.
-
Line 20. The
BOS
explained that this is for Eileen Tougas. In
reply to the FinCom’s question of who does Payroll, Tom
said that it
is Tracey Baronas.
-
Line 25. This
line will be zeroed out.
-
Line 29. The
BOS
agreed with the FinCom that with the Dump settlement the amount for
Legal Fees
can be reduced from $7,000 to $6,000.
-
Line 34. The
$300 increase for the Town Clerk’s expense is for new software.
-
Line 37. Jeff
asked why $180 would be needed after the passage of Warrant Article 28
which
would set up a revolving fund for the Conservation Commission. Tom said that the coming year would be an
experiment in how the fund works.
-
Lines 41 and 42. These
salary lines will be increased by 2% for a COLA.
-
Lines 43 and 46. An
increase in Line 43 from $8,650 to $10,000 and an increase
in Line 46
from $6,520 to $9,000 are needed due to the costs of elevator service
contracts.
-
Line 69. Sheila
said that she would phone Suzanne Crawford about the Pre-School to ask
whether
they will actually need $2,500. this year. There
has been no formal request this year.
-
Lines 70 – 73. These
will be removed because these school assessments are in
Articles
5, 6, 7, and 8.
-
Line 77. In
response to several questions Tom will check with Mike Smith about the
increase
from $26,000 to $32,000 for Machinery Maintenance/Supplies.
-
Line 99. The
Nurse’s salary is frozen. Jeff asked
what sort of a year-end report the Nurse submits. He
wondered whether people served by the Town
Nurse have insurance money that could be coming to the Town. Tom said that there is a report submitted but
that it may lack the details needed to answer Jeff’s question.
-
Line 102. The
BOS and FinCom agreed to reduce the veterans’ benefit to $500 because
it hasn’t
been used.
-
Line 105. Tom
explained that the salary increase for the Assistant Librarian does not
include
any increase in hours such as had been requested as a means of
increasing
security.
-
Line 79. Tom
said that Mike says this increase is needed so that jobs such as catch
basin
cleaning and gravel sifting can be done.
-
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