TOWN OF BLACKSTONE
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
March 18, 2013
PRESENT: Normand Forget, Chairman Russell Wells
William Chaplin, Vice Chairman William Macy
Steven Salois Kevin DeLeo
Evelyn Marchand Paul Muller
OTHERS PRESENT: Daniel Keyes, Town Administrator Joseph Marchand, Board of Selectmen
William Walsh, Board of Health Paul Marvel, Planning/Zoning Board
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. and roll call was taken.
REVIEW AND ACCEPT MEETING MINUTES:
A motion was made by Mr. Chaplin, seconded by Mr. Salois, to accept the minutes of the March 9, 2013. There was no discussion and the vote was unanimous.
AUTHORIZE PAYMENTS:
· A motion was made by Mr. Chaplin, seconded by Mr. Salois, to pay the secretary $84.24 for minutes taken and transcribed at the March 9, 2013 meeting. There was no discussion and the vote was unanimous.
· A motion was made by Mr. Salois, seconded by Mr. Chaplin, to pay the Chairman $31.88 for expenses incurred at Staples relative to printing material for the Special Town Meeting. There was no discussion and the vote was unanimous.
· A motion was made at the last meeting approving payment to the Constable; however signatures of authorization were inadvertently omitted. This was rectified this evening.
RESERVE FUND TRANSFERS: None.
PRESENTATION OF HEALTH INSURANCE FOR RETIREES:
Lieutenant Gilmore and Officer Hurwitz were scheduled to give a presentation on Health Insurance for Retirees for the Town of Blackstone. They were unable to attend and the presentation will be rescheduled at a later date.
REVIEW OF BUDGETS:
MUNICIPAL INSPECTOR:
Mr. Walsh noted that this budget was level funded with the exception of an increase in salary line item for the part-time Municipal Inspector from $16,747 to $23,400 due to the fact that the hours were increased from 12 to 19.5 hrs./week and Professional/Technical decreased by $2,500 (from $5,000).
Department Total: $54,227.34.
PLUMBING INSPECTOR:
Level funded at $14,597.
ELECTRICAL INSPECTOR:
Level funded at $8,683 except for a $600 increase for Wages, Part Time Assistant, to restore the Assistant’s stipend to where it originally was 3 years ago.
SEALER OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES:
Level funded at $2,000, where it has been for the past 10 years.
BOARD OF HEALTH:
Line items were level funded with 2 exceptions. Visiting Nurses increased by $230 (from $7,650 to $7,880) due to contracts with the Milford VNA. The line item for Flu Clinic was decreased by $1,500 (from $2,500 to $1,000).
WASTE COLLECTION:
Seamass Tipping: Level funded at $185,000.
Municipal Trash: Level funded at $10,000.
Trash Contract: $231,284, an increase of $6,736. This is an estimate. The numbers will be solidified in a few weeks. The contract expires this year. Mr. Walsh explained that a typical contract is 3 years. However, he prefers a one year contract to oversee the operation, with an option to renew.
Department Total: $526,284.
RECYCLING CENTER ENTERPRISE:
Full Time Laborer: $146,000, a decrease of 13% (from $166,877). One person left and this position will not be filled as the equipment in place now requires less manpower hours
Employee Benefits: $23,000, a decrease of 38% (from $37,144) due to one person resigning.
Travel/Seminar: $1,000, a decrease of 71% (from $3,500).
Electricity: Although this line item remains level funded at $5,000, Mr. Walsh noted that this department will be going to the 3-phase system which will increase electricity usage. He noted that the rate for electricity is going down but the consumption will increase.
Department Total: $410,331, a decrease of 1%.
PLANNING BOARD:
Level funded at $26,497.40, with an addition of a 2% increase for the secretary. A discrepancy was noted and several members complained that it is imperative that the Town Accountant be present at all the Finance Committee meetings as in the past.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS:
Level funded at $8,482.62, with an addition of a 2% increase for the secretary.
CONSERVATION COMMISSION:
Level funded at $4,225, with an addition of a 2% increase for the secretary. No one from the Conservation Commission was present.
CENTRAL MASS. PLANNING:
No one was present to speak about Central Mass. Planning. However, it was noted that the State usually sets the numbers.
CORRESPONDENCE:
None.
GOOD AND WELFARE FOR THE PUBLIC:
None.
GOOD AND WELFARE FOR THE FINANCE COMMITTEE:
Mr. Macy requested to have legal counsel come to the meeting to discuss the status of the contract that the Town Administrator is functioning under at this point and requested that it be a closed session. Mr. Chaplin reminded all that the
Finance Committee does not have executive session powers and whatever questions we ask must be in a public forum. Mr. Forget felt that a good time to discuss any questions would be when we review Town Counsels budget.
Mr. Forget noted that in all the years he has been on the Finance Committee, this is the first year we have had such a lack of cooperation from the Town Administrator. This isn’t the first time we are not in agreement with some of the administration’s proposals, but it appears that they are so opposed to what we are doing that they are attempting to cut the legs off the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee members, on behalf of the taxpayers, are entitled to ask the questions that need answers. Mr. DeLeo said he, and this board, have better things to do than to guess if the numbers are correct.
A motion was made by Mr. Macy to have Town Counsel scheduled to specifically address the status of the contract for the Town Administrator. This was seconded by Mr. DeLeo for discussion purposes only. Mr.
DeLeo added that the status of the contract is that it is in force. He was told that there is a group that has an opinion that the contract does not exist or is not legal because the Town did not fund it last year. Mr. Forget stated that the contract was not funded at the level requested but was funded as it is now. The contract is in force except for the line item that adjusted his salary. After further discussion, the motion was withdrawn. Mr. Wells felt that if we need Town Counsel here to help us make legitimate decisions, we will find a way to pay him. Mr. Salois noted that Town Counsel has a budget of $100,000 for services to the Town. Mr. Forget noted that Town Counsel is usually here to discuss the warrants and we don’t need to schedule a separate meeting but we should make it clear that we have questions to ask. Mr. Chaplin suggested we all make a list of questions to be asked of Town Counsel.
Selectman Marchand stated that so far there are 30 warrants for the Annual Town Meeting in draft form to be discussed by the Board of Selectmen tomorrow night. While the Committee would like to have the warrants as soon as possible, Mr. Forget would prefer to wait until the warrants are more solidified by the Board of Selectmen.
Mr. Muller has read the Conflict of Interest law and noted that because his wife works for the Town, he can vote on Expense items but not on Salary items and he can also vote on the “bottom line”. Mr. Muller copied and distributed a packet entitled “Management Information Systems” dealing with the Finance Committee’s needs and, in small part, it states, “Advances in computer technology now mean that finance committees should not have to ask permission to get municipal financial information from their communities. They should have secure, independent access established in advance by the town. This means that the finance committee may view or print, even from home, municipal financial information”. This is good information to have and would require a large degree of cooperation with the Town. Mr. Forget noted that the Finance Committee has more pressing issues right now, but it is definitely worthy of consideration. We have many other things to work on and getting the Town Accountant to come to every meeting is one of them. We have asked repeatedly for her to come to our meetings with her laptop computer. Mr. DeLeo would like to see a copy of the Town Accountant’s job description. Mr. Forget noted that he would put it on the agenda and the expectation is that she will be at our meetings. An invitation will be extended to her. Mr. Wells said he was flabbergasted that the Town Accountant did not show up for our meeting and there was no explanation for her absence. It appears to be a lack of cooperation.
NEXT SCHEDULED FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING:
Regular Meeting – Monday, March 25, 2013
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion was made by Mr. Salois, seconded by Mr. Wells, to adjourn the meeting. There was no discussion and the vote was unanimous. The meeting was adjourned at 8:56 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Boucher
Recording Secretary
T-03-20-13
cc: Board of Selectmen
Town Administrator
Finance Committee Members
Town Clerk
Finance Committee Meeting - 03-18-2013
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