SUTTON BUDGET COMMITTEE MINUTES   10-3-21

 

The chair, Robert DeFelice opened the meeting held at the Fire Station @ 6:00 PM.  Present were Pete Thompson, John Mock, Gail Guertin, Samantha Gordon, and Mark Peterson.   Selectman, Walter Baker arrived @ 6:13 from his BOS meeting.  Minutes of 9-27-21 were approved – 20th century noted.

 

The chair passed out the following documents:

  1. 9-27-21 Actual & Budgeted Expenses & Encumbrance (Selectman Baker brought the 10-4-21 same documents.)
  2. Highway Department budget history: (a) actual expenditures 2018, 2019, 2020 (b) budget 2020, (c) budget request 2021, (d) budget committee recommendation 2021, (e) CR expenditures, (f) changes to line items and (g) bridge expenses.

 

Prior to the highway budget review with R, Adam Hurst the committee reviewed the following:

  1. #801 Signs (Highway Department) – $3,000 requested and $3,481.50 for no parking signs on Keyser Lake. A question regarding fines:  the fines are required to be deposited into the general fund for the use of the town, not allocated to any one department.  Was this being done?
  2. Library (scheduled for 11-29-21) This budget requires greater clarification; not only for the uses of the funds provided, but also for the source of those funds be it tax revenue, gifts, or endowment interest.  Asked for are the actual 2021 expenditures as well as the budget for 2022.

 

In his BOS review selectman Baker offered the following:

  1. Knox Engineering has been paid $2,000 for the analysis of the Grist Mill project .
  2. In September, the BOS had voted in executive session to increase the salary of the chief and hourly rate for the Sergeant and was to be paid from the balance of 2021. Dollar figures were used, which means that parity and not merit pay was utilized.  (There are three methods of determining pay increases:  (a) merit – purview of the BOS, (b) COLA – purview of the budget committee and (c) parity (comparison with other communities)  the authority for this method is split equally between the BOS and the budget committee.)  This created concern for the chair and members as the committee was not informed of this decision, even after repeated questioning of that regard by the chair to the BOS liaison.  When asked, selectman Baker stated that he thought the question related to 2022 budget year and not 2021.  The response created additional concern as the police department budget for 2022 has yet to be presented.
  3. A percentage raise (say 3%) merits COLA, a dollar raise does not.
  4. No new highway department employee receives no more than $19.00 per hour.

 

In his presentation, RA. Adam Hurst supplied the committee with (a) his proposed operating budget and CR request and (b) a hourly pay and RA income comparison with Newbury, Wilmot, Bradford, New London, and Warner.  Not included was that community’s contribution to their health plan.  (Sutton pays 90% employee and family – that contribution is in excess of $25,000)  For example:  RA’s hourly income x 45 hours a week x 52 weeks a year = $69,241.  Add to that the difference of Sutton’s contribution to the health plan, then that amount approaches $75,000.

 

A suggestion offered by the chair and other committee members was to develop a pay scale based on experience, abilities, competence.  Increases in hourly pay would be commensurate with skill level.  Selectman Baker pointed out the importance of skill and competency levels.

 

 

 

  1. 2 Specific line items covered:
  1. 101 Wages 2021   $286,353      2022   $310,960     increase of 7%
  2. 104 Overtime ages 2021   $38,502      2022  $43,448   increase of 11%
  3. 105 Custodial wages 2021 $1,605   2022  $5,000    increase of  5%
  4. 341 Telephone 2021   $2,400     2022   $2,200  (decrease of $200)  one cell phone/2 land lines
  5. 342 Building alarms/safety 2021   $3,050   2022    $3,050
  6. 380 Uniforms 2021   $9,200     2022   $8,200  (decrease of $1,000)
  7. 390 Other Professional Services unchanged @ $8,000  (An example:  using a 3rd party for culvert digging if necessary.
  8. 391 Radio repair – purchase or lease 2021  $200    2022   $400
  9. 411 Heating Oil 2021   $12,000     2022    $11,000    (decrease of $1,000)
  10. 430 Building Repairs & Maintenance 2021 $4,000  2022  $4,000 Spent in 2021 was $8,170 and there was a written item in this line of $2,566.  A question raised was ‘What was amount allocated for maintenance and what was the amount for repair.’  RA Hurst will explain that.
  11. 410 Electricity 2021   $4,200   2022  $4,200  (Amount spent $2,260.66)
  12. 570 Equipment Rental (primarily road side mowers)  2021  $24,000   2022 $24,000.  This year there is as yet no mowing; it is extremely difficult to get a mower for rent..
  13. 636 Vehicle Fuel 2021   $48,000  2022   $48,000    ($31,9995.80 has been spent as of 10-3-21 The balance remaining is $16,004.20 or 33.34%)
  14. 660 Vehicle Repair and Maintenance  2021   $31,000   2022   $31,000   Amount spent to 10-4-21 is $24,054.  Again the question was asked ‘What was the amount for maintenance and what was the amount for repair?’
  15. 801 Sand & Salt 2021   $105,000    2022  $100,000   (Amount spent to 10-4-21 was $50,638.)
  16. 802 Gravel 2021  $23,000     2022   $23,000   (Amount spent to 10-4021 was $20,860)
  17. 805 Liquid Calcium Chloride   2021   $15,000   2022   $10,000  (No money spent in 2021)

 

The total requested amount  2022 is $698,308 – a 3% increase over 2021  There were unchanged items not included.

 

Capital Reserve Funds

  1. 200 Blacktop Roads 2021   $250,000    2022  300,000  A highway project includes not only the paving material, but also culverts, adding gravel to shoulders and the cost of labor expended on this project; the reason for this is that a major project requires all of these mentioned items.  It also is a measure for helping to determine costs of a similar project scheduled at a later time, and it also is a guide for planning a similar project.  The chair requested from RA Hurst an approximate time the Shaker Street project will begin, what is the time frame of the project and how much the project will cost.  A guide would be the Roby Road project, but RA Hurst would know how long is Shaker Street, how many culverts would be needed, would major grading be required.  All of these disparate parts would factors in determining a cost.  The budget committee would then be able to recommend a CR amount needed to fund a two year, three year or longer project.
  2. 101 Gravel Roads   2021  $10,000       2022  $10,000
  3. 970 Highway Heavy Equipment 2021  $27,000   2022   $27,000
  4. 981 Highway Equipment/plow/dump/truck  2021  $120,000   2022   $120,000
  5. 982 Town Bridges   2021  $50,000    2022   $50,000
  6. 996 Highway Grader    2021  $26,000     2022   $26,000

 

  1. 3 RA, Adam Hurst completed his presentation at 7:53 PM.

 

The next meeting of the Budget Committee will be at the Sutton Fire Department building @ 6:00 PM on Monday, October 18th when the cemetery budget  proposal will be reviewed.  There will be no meeting on next Monday due to Columbus Day.

 

The meeting was adjourned @ 8:01 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted

 

Robert W Wright Jr.

Scribe