August 26, 2019 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Budget Committee The current chair, Bob Defelice, opened the meeting at 6:00 PM: present were Mark Peterson, Pete Thompson, Sue Esposito, Gayle Guertin, Samantha Gordon and Bob Wright. The chair then suggested that all around the table re-introduce themselves as both Mark and Pete were new members, although Pete was a committee member in the 50s. Election of officers: Chair – moved by Espositio, 2nd by Peterson to re-elect Defelice as chair – carried w/o dissent – chair did not vote. V-Chair – moved by Wright, 2nd by Gordon to elect Gayle Guertin as V. Chair – carried w/o dissent. Secretary – moved by Defelice, 2nd by Guertin to re-elect Wright as secretary – approved w/o dissent. The chair reviewed the normal protocols and activities that govern the committee: Meeting with department heads, asking questions that assist the committee in following and accounting for the money raised and appropriated.Review the budget after meeting with all department heads.Govern (the chair) a public hearing to explain the current budget to members of the public attending and eliciting their feed back and responding to questions.Upon completion of the public hearing the committee then reviews and drafts the budget to be placed in the warrant. (There can be no discussion of any budget item unless that item has been presented at the public hearing.)At town meeting, it is the budget of the budget committee that is placed in the warrant for public review and approval/disapproval. That is the budget discussed. The attendees of the town meeting may amend any and all budget articles with the limitation that the budget cannot be more than 10%. The chair then handed out 2018 town meeting minutes that will be included in the 2019 town warrant, which incldes all articles and results. The chair noted that merit increases are under the purview of the BOS, but COLA is•under the purview of the budget committee because, COLA is not a pay raise but a pay adjustment. In the same presentation, the chair reviewed encumbered (directed set aside) and unencumbered ( can be returned to the beneral fund) Also discussed was parity, Sutton’s income paid in comparison with other towns. The chair had gathered information from other towns to assist the committee in its deliberation, not as a decision making aid for the committee, but to assist the BOS in their decision making process. An important topic was CR (Capital Reserve) In last town meeting a number of CR’s were discontinued and others had change of use. To assure transparency, it is imperative that all CR money (as well as all voted money) is clearly directed. Some CR projections can be as long as 30 years. Finally, the chair counseled the committee in separating personal opinions and wants as opposed to the needs of the town; we act as fiduciaries in the raising and appropriating, and following actual spending. The meeting adjourned@ 7:01 PM. Our next meeting will be held at the Town Hall @6:00 PM on September16, 2019. Respectfully submitted, Robert W Wright Jr.