Budget season has begun. For six weeks at the beginning of each year, the Finance Committee meets with all town departments to review their requests for the next fiscal year. This season kicked off with requests from the 11 smallest departments, resulting in no major spending increases. But the Jan. 12 meeting was a different story due to requests for new or expanded personnel positions for the Council on Aging and the land use boards.
Community and Economic Development Director Chris Ryan had originally requested elevating the existing conservation agent position to conservation director, a move that would have involved a three-step jump in pay grade. In addition, Ryan wanted two new part-time administrative staff to cover the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Energy Advisory Committee, Climate Initiative Committee, and the Transportation Advisory Committee.
But Town Administrator Tim Bragan explained to the Finance Committee that he had nixed those requests. He said he saw no need for a conservation director, especially given the level that the Personnel Board assigned to that position—a level higher than that of the Council on Aging director. Instead, Bragan said he met with the land use boards and proposed hiring one new full-time administrative assistant to take on the duties of the conservation agent that are unrelated to conservation. That would allow the agent to work on conservation issues full time, which has become necessary since recent commission members are not able to do as much work as previous members did. The administrative assistant would support the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Building Department and would provide additional support to the Board of Health and Conservation Commission as needed.
The Personnel Board will meet Jan. 20 to grade the amended job description for the conservation agent to determine the position’s pay grade. Bragan said the pay grade for the new administrative staff position would be determined by town administration using data from similar positions. Because the administrative position is new, its creation will be put to a vote at Town Meeting in the spring. The conservation agent position already exists so only a change in job description and possibly in grade level would be required. Bragan said it will be up to the Finance Committee to approve any pay increase for that position.
COA asks for assistant director
The Council on Aging is requesting an expansion of its 19-hour administrative assistant position to a 40-hour assistant director position. Currently, Director Debbie Thompson is the only full-time COA employee, and there is no succession or emergency plan to guarantee continuity of senior services in the event anything happens to Thompson. Fate helped prove the COA’s point as Thompson attended the Finance Committee’s Zoom meeting to answer its questions while still ill at home with COVID-19.
The salary increase for the new position would be about $35,000. But part of the job is handling MART van dispatch, and MART reimburses the town for that work based on a percentage of the dispatcher’s salary. A higher salary would result in a larger reimbursement, so the actual budget increase to the town for the new position would amount to about $28,000.
In her answers to the committee’s questions, Thompson said the COA could get by with 25 to 30 hours per week instead of 40 for the assistant director position, an offer the committee seemed interested in pursuing. But no decisions on any department requests will be made until the committee has the entire financial picture for fiscal 2023, including state revenue forecasts.
