October 19, 2020 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Budget Committee October 19, 2020 The chair, Robert Defelice, opened the meeting@ 6:00 PM. Present: Pete Thompson, Gail Guertin, Mark Peterson, Samantha Gordon, John Mock and Bob Wright. A sub-committee was formed to review highway department CR’s, with emphasis on the following: length of time in service, cost of the replacement equipment when purchased, trade in value and safety of the highway crew members. The following people were selected and agreed to participate: John Mock, Mark Peterson and Pete Thompson. The minutes of 10-12-2020 were deferred. The chair handed out the following items: Highway department CR’s: heavy equipment, highway equipment (trucks), highway grader and bridges. A larger information piece reviewing TC budget request, actual spending and a brief The chair then invited Carol Merullo, TC for department head review. Before crunching the figures, there was discussion on certification (both a requirement and a measure of competency and its relation to salary). The baseline was set @ $35,000, although the BOS sets salary parameters other than COLA and parity. The hours of the TC are (1) open to public 20 hours a week with additional 3 hours @ end of the month. (Information taken form 2019 Town Report p. 4) (2) To prepare, the TC has 6 additional hours per week. The deputy TC averages 15 hours a week as a new appointee for training purposes and competency level. The committee then reviewed the TC budget with emphasis on changes: 1.391 Mortgage Research (3rd party) $1,000 $1,500 2. 392 Computer Expense 2,500 2,000 3. 555 Advertising (notices) 1,300 500 4. 620 Office Supplies 1,500 1,000 5. 625 Postage/Envelopes (envelopes w/stamps) 6,500 6,000 6. 505 Equipment Maintenance 1,000 500 7. 630 Professional Services 1,200 1,000 8. 631 Mileage (reimbursement) 1,200 1,000 Election and Voter Registration 1. Supplies $600 $200 2. Postage 650 200 There was a brief discussion on the necessity or desirability to upgrade the voting booths, but no determination was made. The chair then thanked Carol for her presentation and she departed. The chair then reviewed the process of ‘raise and appropriate’ the responsibility of the budget committee and ‘spending’, which is not. It is the recommendation of the budget committee that is included in the town warrant and is determined by that body attending Town Meeting. The next meeting of the budget committee will be @ 6:00 PM, Monday, October 26th @ the Town Hall and the committee will review the highway operating budget and CR. The committee adjourned @ 8:01 PM. Respectfully submit ted, Robert W Wright Jr. (Scribe)