September 26, 2022  |   

Town of Sutton
Sutton Budget Committee

Draft Meeting Minutes for Monday, September 26, 2022 at 6:15 p.m.

 

Present – Bob Wright, John Mock, Gail Guertin, Bruce Kozikowski, Samantha Gordon, Bob DeFelice

Absent – Walter Baker, ex officio (arrived at 7:00)

Call to Order – Meeting commenced at 6:20.

 

Agenda Discussion Action
New Board Members ·         Bruce Kozikowski is a new elected committee member.
Protocol for this Year’s Schedule ·         It has been decided that the selectboard will meet with the department chair, and then the Budget Chair and or Vice Chair will present the Budget to the committee 2 weeks later – this is to allow the selectboard an additional meeting to pull the department head back in to follow-up. This is a change from last year when it was 1 week later.

·         There will still be a few proposed budgets that may require the department head to meet with us (for example, if the budget does change other than utilities or if there are other special circumstances).

·         In the case of the highway department, the selectboard will represent the department, as they oversee the road agent.

·         As a reminder, the budget committee can only ask questions about the current budget and cannot derail meetings with extensive detail on specific expenditures. If an individual wants to dive into expenditures, they may do so as a resident of the town with the select board.

·         As in past years, the budget committee has no input on salaries; this is the purview of the selectboard. We will still need to provide a recommended cost of living adjustment (COLA) per the criteria we established in the past, but they are not obligated to take our recommendation. If there are concerns about the final decisions of the selectboard, individuals can raise salary/COLA questions at town meeting.
Current Budget & Expense Report ·         Like previous years, this will be provided at each of our meetings. It is designed for us to monitor the percentages and progress of the budget.

·         As a reminder, unexpended funds at the end of the year go back into the general fund to help offset other increases and can be used to keep the tax rate level.

·         We also keep an eye on the historical data and monitor “one-off” budget requests, to ensure that the budget goes back down the year after a department requests a one-time increase.
Walter Baker & Mike McManus arrived at 7:00 from the selectboard meeting.
Upcoming Schedule ·         10/3/22 – Next week we will review the welfare department budget.

·         10/17/22 will be the fire department and rescue.

 

Next Meeting – The next meeting of the budget committee will be on 10/3/22 at 6:15 at the fire station.

Adjournment – Bob W. motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:27 p.m. Gail seconded. Unanimously approved.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Samantha Gordon