Town of Fitzwilliam, NH - Budget Committee Minutes 12/17/09

B. Doerpholz made a motion to accept 12/10/2009 minutes as written; F. Bateman 2^nd. C. Yon asked that on page 2, under CIP, the wording be changed from “requesting a budget for 2010” to “recommending”. A motion was made to accept minutes as revised; motion 2^nd. Motion passed; W. Wright abstained from vote.

Committee discussed the condition of the current work truck used by the cemetery workers. S. Hagstrom advised that he had spoken with M. Grab and to repair the current truck would be approximately 8 hours of labor and parts. The figure given to S. Hagstrom was $500.00. The Committee discussed the pros and cons of repairing current vehicle vs. purchasing a newer used truck. C. Yon thought that the current vehicle could be kept on the road for about $1000.00 and could last about 2 years.

The committee also discussed the possibility of getting bids to have the mowing and trimming done. S. Hagstom stated that he had mentioned this to M. Grab already and Mr. Grab voiced a concern about contracting out mowing and trimming because of possible stone damage.

S. Hagstrom asked Heidi to send Mike Grab a letter and ask him and/or the other commission members to meet with the budget committee on January 7, 2010 to talk about the two above mentioned items.

S. Hagstrom asked the committee to discuss the Capital Outlay request from Conservation. B. Doerpholz asked about the revenue from change in current use. C. Yon thought it was comparable to last year, may be slightly less. The committee discussed recommending the same as last year (recommend zero) and letting the Commission know so that they will have time for a Warrant Article. B. Doerpholz commented that if they were not getting income from change of use tax he would be inclined to recommend something, but since they are he can go along with zeroing out that line.

C. Yon advised the committee that the Commission did receive the wage for secretary from Paula Thompson. The budget committee will wait to receive a figure from the commission for line 120.

S. Hagstrom asked Heidi to send Paul Kotila a letter requesting a figure for line 120 as well as advise them of the recommendation for line 710. Advise them that a meeting is not necessary but need a definitive figure for part-time salary.

T. Parker advised that the Select Board has told the Planning Board that the merit increase recommended for S. Gillis was denied. They will need to resubmit a budget with salary line adjusted accordingly. S. Hagstrom asked Heidi to send T. Silverman a letter requesting a revised budget for Planning/Zoning.

The committee discussed the situation with ambulance. T. Parker advised that the Select Board has met with the Firewards and discussed this but no plan has been submitted.

W. Wright said that he has discussed the ambulance with members and has received both refurbish information and information about a new ambulance. B. Doerpholz asked who was determining the lifespan of the current ambulance; has it been taken to an independent mechanic? The committee discussed the need for an independent evaluation of the current ambulance. The replacement plan set by the CIP was also discussed and the fact that the years for replacement are just a suggestion and a way of setting aside money into a Capital Reserve to purchase “big ticket” items.

M. Nolan made a motion to recommend $0.00 for line 760 Vehicles and to suggest to the Firewards to take current ambulance to an outside/independent source and have both a mechanical and box evaluation done and ready for the 2011 budget season. F. Bateman 2^nd. Motion passed in the affirmative.

On-call for the ambulance was discussed. T. Parker reviewed with the committee that the ambulance now has three people on call from 10p-8am on Friday and Saturday nights. This is a ten hour period, but they get paid for five hours, or ½ pay for 10 hours (hourly pay for ambulance personnel is $7.25/hr). T. Parker does not believe it is fair that police personnel get paid $1.50 per hour for on-call time and the ambulance personnel get $3.63 per hour for on-call time.

B. Doerpholz asked how this was handled on budget; not shown on the budget for on-call time. T. Parker stated that call was not in the minutes either. He also said that this issue was never discussed with the Board of Selectmen. B. Doerpholz asked who decided this. T. Parker said he assumes it was the Firewards. T. Parker advised that this issue was stilling being discussed between the BOS and the Firewards.

Update from 01/01/2010 meeting: T. Parker advised committee about on-call pay. He stated that the BOS had met with the Firewards and the on-call pay will $1.50 per hour on call. If they get a call out then they will be paid their full rate of pay ($7.25/hr). Also, all on-call must be reported by the Firewards to the BOS.

C. Yon advised that the part-time salary line, 120, will be closer to $20,000 not the $28,000 submitted in the current budget. This will also affect social security and medicare amounts. T. Parker explained this is because both the Tax Collector and Town Clerk will now have an annual contract and be paid salary. This does not affect the deputy in either department.