Most of last week’s meeting of the selectmen was devoted to a review of budget requests by town services for the coming fiscal 2017 year. As the session stretched to 10 p.m.—the deadline set by board policy for taking up new business—several action items on the agenda remained, including a final review of their own budget, all of which were postponed until December.
Before adjourning, however, the selectmen did attend to two agenda items that called for a vote: approval of two sets of meeting minutes stacked up since October and of the Bare Hill Rowing agreement for the summer program, which was extended for another year.
The heads of finance, police, fire, and ambulance departments, the Department of Public Works, and the Council on Aging appeared for their annual cross-examination, with all but the ambulance presentation completed early in the meeting. (See our page-one story on the Harvard Ambulance Service for further details.) The next step is for the Finance Committee to review the budgets and make recommendations for the Annual Town Meeting warrant.
Here is a rundown of each presentation and the issues discussed.
Department of Public Works
DPW Director Rich Nota said employee expenses went up by the anticipated 2 percent, but it wasn’t a big impact due to department turnover, with lower pay rates for new hires.
Noting some cost increases, Nota said he’d been “ratcheting up” items that have been level-funded in past years, which he described as a “robbing Peter to pay Paul” strategy. That way, the budget could cover repairs to the aging building, vehicle maintenance, and the cost of asphalt, which goes up every year.
The biggest increase in his budget was $13,000, the cost of contracting out for townwide catch basin cleaning. Doing the job in-house with the “$8,300 annualized vehicle cost” as well as employee hours would have totaled $30,000, Nota said. The selectmen agreed with his cost analysis.
They also approved his plan to repurpose the money slated for a new catch basin cleaner. Nota had included the equipment on his capital budget list, but it won’t be needed now, so the requested amount would go into the DPW operating budget instead, he said.
Noting the “ups and downs” his budget was subject to, Nota cited a couple of multiyear contracts and transfer station costs, which went up mostly due to recycl-ing expenses. The market for recyclables “tanked” over the past year and didn’t bring in enough to offset the cost of trash collection, which was about $90,000 with trucking, he explained.
Single-stream recycling?
Selectman Ron Ricci asked Nota about single-stream recycling and whether all recyclables, including paper, glass, plastic, and cans, could be tossed into the same container instead of separate bins. Nota didn’t favor the idea. “Once you commingle, it’s tough to go back,” he said. Besides, the market for clean paper is better than if it’s dirty, he explained.
But Ricci persisted. He said he had visited recycling facilities where items are separated on a conveyor, so separating them at the transfer station seemed unnecessary. “It would be more convenient for residents” to use a single bin for all their recyclables, he said.
Nota worried about broken glass and said he’d have to buy another compactor to handle the increased volume, but he promised to look into it.
Concluding his presentation, Nota told the board that he was advertising to fill a vacancy, that he expects snowplowing expenses to go up, and that the Water Department budget did not include the cost of the study that the Water Study Committee reported on earlier. “It’s not an operating expense per se,” he said.
Selectman Ken Swanton marveled at Nota’s budgeting skills. “About a million-dollar budget, but there’s almost no increase,” he said. “Kudos!”
Selectman Leo Blair agreed. “You do a remarkable job,” he told Nota.
Fire Department
When Fire Chief Richard Sicard presented his fiscal 2017 budget, he noted that the tower truck—a purchase the selectmen had supported—was put to good use when firefighters responded to a recent house fire in town. Thanks in part to working smoke detectors in the home, all of its occupants (four young children and their parents), got out safely, he said. And with the new tower truck positioned to get in close and reach the roof, the house and most of its contents were saved, Sicard said. (In last week’s paper, however, the owners reported their insurance company had ruled the contents a total loss. “The contents were most certainly not saved,” they told the Press in a follow-up phone call.) He said the truck was also used to string lights on the town Christmas tree and to install a new rope on the flagpole. Sicard also noted that Ricci was taken for a ride in the new truck so he could be apprised of its utility. “It’s a valuable piece of apparatus,” he said.
Call pay went up 2 percent to cover cost-of-living increases, Sicard continued. And with the deputy chief retiring this year, his plan is to keep the position in place plus add a lieutenant. He noted that although there’s a captain’s position on the books, it’s unfunded.
Other increases included the expense line, which went up by $2,000, and the bill for firefighters’ protective clothing, an annual expense at five sets purchased per year.
This time around, Sicard is looking to buy new facemasks that meet current standards if there’s money left at the end of the year. “It’s not a request,” he said. But the old equipment is a “weak point” for firefighters, he said. The new masks are designed to withstand higher temperatures, up to 600 degrees, compared to 300 degrees. “Ours are old,” he said.
Sicard was following Finance Committee guidelines, presenting the “current greatest need” along with a level-service budget, Town Adminstrator Tim Bragan told the board.
But the selectmen saw the need for new masks as immediate. “Can we express our strong support?” Blair asked.
They agreed that the $6,500 cost should be listed as a separate line item for essential protective gear. “Let’s make sure it’s a small warrant article if it doesn’t make the cut,” Chairman Ricci said.
Police Department
Police Chief Ed Denmark said his budget included enough personnel to cover all shifts, with overtime as needed. Otherwise, expenses were leveled, per FinCom’s directive, he said. However, there were slight increases for needed building repairs, to avoid asking for reserve fund transfers later on, he said. Circulator pumps, for example, have been a recurring repair expense since the building was new, Denmark said.
Asked why the system has caused so much trouble, Denmark guessed it was an engineering issue. “I’m not a plumber; I don’t know why,” he said. A new system would cost $40,000, he said, but at this point, the existing system is “like new”: With 120 components replaced since the system was new, it’s been rebuilt, Denmark said.
Finance Department
For Finance Director Lorraine Leonard, who is retiring this fiscal year, this was her final budget presentation to the board.
Her department’s bottom line for expenses last year, including recurring bills, was $150,000, compared to her request for $153,325 this year, she said.
Personnel was the “only huge change,” Leonard said. It was substantially lower, due to an almost entirely new staff hired at the lowest step on the wage and salary scale over the past year.
Discussion focused on where to set the pay level for Leonard’s replacement. Although she was well qualified for the position, Leonard was hired at the lowest rung and worked her way up the salary scale, board members recalled. But Swanton cautioned against following that procedure when hiring a new finance director. It might be “historic practice” to hire new employees at step one, but maybe not a good move in this instance, he said, when it’s a dual position as town finance director and school business manager. “Why limit our options?” he asked. Others agreed. Blair, for example, saw no harm in plugging in a higher number for planning purposes. Then, if a better deal presents itself, “so be it,” he said.
Selectman Stu Sklar wondered if the School Committee would push for a separate position. Leonard said no. “They’re not looking to split the position permanently,” Leonard said. Instead, the schools plan to appoint an interim business manager until the new finance director gets up to speed. “They don’t want to train someone,” she explained.
For now, the current salary for the position, $117,000, should remain in place, Bragan suggested, with room for negotiation once the search process begins. The board members agreed.
Council on Aging
Council on Aging Director Deborah Thompson presented a level-service budget, as requested by the Finance Committee’s guidelines, with no new employees or added hours.
The employee list includes a full-time director, two part-time outreach coordinators, an administrative assistant/MART van dispatcher at 19 hours per week, and a 12-hour-per-week program coordinator. Grants and reimbursements cover part of those salaries.
The bulk of the budget request, which is 10.9 percent higher than last year, was for personnel, totaling $156,511. The net cost to the town, however, is $119,871. The balance is covered by the COA Formula Grant and MART reimbursement, Thompson explained. She also submitted an expense budget of $1,995 to buy supplies and cover travel expenses for the two outreach coordinators, who make house calls.
Since the second coordinator was hired, the council has helped 71 clients, Thompson told the board, including 19 new ones. The total outreach roster now stands at 200, she said.
