November 1, 2021  |   

SUTTON BUDGET COMMITTEE MINUTES   11-1-21

 

The meeting was opened by the chair, Robert DeFelice, @ 6:00 PM.  Present were Pete Thompson, John Mock, Gail Guertin, Samantha Gordon, Mark Peterson and BOS liaison, Walter Baker.

 

Review items:

1.There was a brief discussion on the presentation of motions, seconds and discussion.  For a motion to be discussed, it must be brought up, but once brought up, there must the opportunity to discuss.

 

2.It was moved by Thompson and 2nd by Mock to approve the minutes of 10-25-21.  The minutes were approved w/o dissent subject to the following correction.  The Sutton CC has a ‘change of use fund’ – if land in ‘current use’ changes, then 100% is allocated for CC uses, and not the 50% recorded in the minutes.

 

3  The Library trustees requested information from the chair relating to COLA.  Can COLA be utilized for increasing the salary of the librarian in their budget?  The chair responded that the answer was NO.  (a) The budget committee reviews COLA in December, after the library’s presentation. (b) COLA is not by definition, considered to be a benefit.  It is a cost of living increase to all employees.

 

  1. The Solid Waste hydraulic compactor was recently repaired, additional repair or replacement is needed for box itself. It has rusted and does not function at all.  Replacement of the compactor is approximately $20,000 to $25,000.  Currently, all trash formerly going into the compactor is ow being placed in the construction dumpster which will increase tipping and trucking fees.

 

@ 6:15 PM, Peter Stanley, Land Use Coordinator, Roger Wells, Planning Board chair, Derek Lick, ZBA chair and Glenn Pogust met with the committee to review their budget.  Only budgetary changes are noted:

  1. 101 Land Use Coordinator 21 $22,692  22  $23,000  The actual paid out in 2020 $15,497.
  2. 102 Professional Services 2021  $4,000     2022  $11,000 This increase is largely from the implementation of the Master Plan.  The Master Plan is normally re-submitted every ten years and its cost is $40,000.  It was suggested that a CR would be appropriate to assure no spikes in cost.  The annual contribution to the Master Plan would be $5,000.  This would included both the plan implementation and zoning recommendations.
  3. 103 Recording Secretary 2021  $2,567    2022   $2,000.
  4. 555 Public Notices 2021   $1,080      2022    $2,000  more activity is anticipated.
  5. 565 Computer 2022  no money – separate line item.
  6. 620 Office Supplies – no cost since those are the responsibility of the applicant.
  7. 625 Postage – there is greater use, do to increased activity, but again those costs are the responsibility of the applicant, hence both items 6 and 7 are re-imbused.
  8. The chair brought up the right of the Land Use Coordinator to have phone expenses re-imbursed, but Mr. Stanley said no thank you.
  9. There was further discussion of the Master Plan’s $7,000 increase. In a CR, that money is held and can be released by the BOS as needed.  CR money always remain in that CR unless the CR, itself, is terminated and then that money is placed in the general fund.  In addition the committee chairs expressed kudos to Peter Stanley and Kristy Heath, recording secretary.
  10. In his review, Roger Wells commented on the strength of Sutton (a) Town’s economical friendliness, (b) open space environment (c) Towns historic sites and the effort to ease property taxes.  He spoke of the importance of ‘work force housing’ with this incisive comment ‘Try to buy a house 2 at a cost 2 times your annual salary.
  11. 2 Selectman Baker offered BOS updates:
  1. The compactor piston was replaced, but the entire box needs to be completely renovated or replaced. The current budget in this area is $5,000 of which $7,000 has been already spent. To replace the compactor will cost $20,000 to $25,000.  The chair reviewed the importance of CR’s and quoted Charles Forsberg comment at our last town meeting, A review of a capital expense item should include – time, use and, if necessary mileage
  2. DRA – this is money that is available through the state as it is town money held by the state to offset some town expenses. It is much like a savings account.
  3. The budget committee will meet with the BOS on November 15th @ the Fire Department building.

 

 

The chair then quickly reviewed the following items:

  1. Passed out 10-29-21 Actual & Budgeted Expenses & Encumbrance and urged the committee to review those figures.
  2. Prior to the review with the PB and ZBA chairs and Land Use Coordinator, the chair passed out a 4 year summary of monies budgeted and spent.
  3. Next week meeting will review the budget of Solid Waste.
  4. If a stipend is not used, that money is returned to the town and becomes part of the general fund.
  5. In April, after town meeting, a request may be entered to ‘exact money to offset budget.’ There are budgeted money, actual spending money and money revenue to offset the tax payer cost.

 

It was moved by Guertin and 2nd by Thompson to adjourn.  Meeting was adjourned @ 7:14 PM.  The next meeting of the budget committee will be on Monday, 11-8-21 @ 6:00 PM at the North Sutton Fire Station.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Robert W Wright Jr.

Scribe