Town of Bradford
Budget Committee Meeting
January 17th, 2019 Draft Meeting Minutes – Revised and approved 01.24.19
Marlene Freyler called the meeting to order at 6:30pm
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll call
Marlene Freyler Chair, Jason Allen Vice Chair, Claire James, Mark Fournier, Cheryl Croto, Michael James (Select Board Representative)
Select Board members John Pfeifle & Jim Bibbo
David Nunnally absent
Correspondence Updates:
1. Minutes from the January 10th meeting were reviewed by the Committee.
Motion: Claire James motioned to accept
Second: Jason Allen
Vote: 6-0 in favor
Old Business:
1. All pending follow up items are deferred to allow the Budget Committee time to review the draft Operating Budget.
Review of Budget & Expenditures:
1. Town Road Agent, Steve Hall, appeared to discuss the Highway budget proposed for 2019.
Significant communication was had regarding the difference between the General Budget line for Supplies-Road Patch and separate Warrant Articles for Asphalt Road Repairs and a Capital Reserve account for Roads and Bridges. Steve explained that the General Budget line is for small, maintenance work, i.e. filling in a pothole, the Asphalt Road Repair account is used for larger projects where a small section of road would be repaired and the Capital Reserve account would be used for major road work, as an example, restoring Marshall Hill Road.
Michael James questioned why there were separate lines and whether they should be combined. Jim Bibbo explained the separate lines had been established to create visibility for the community and the Capital Reserve account would have had a specific road name attached to it in the past. There was no consensus on combining lines although Jason Allen felt that, as long as there was a priority list that could be communicated, it would likely provide the transparency sought by the community.
Additional discussion was held regarding the need to purchase additional gravel in 2019. Steve stated a different composition of gravel was needed to mix with the gravel on-hand to make the product suitable for use in road repair.
The Committee also had questions concerning the use of dust control. Steve outlined the use of calcium chloride which is applied to the dirt roads. This product helps control dust by bringing moisture to the surface of the road which in turn allows for a longer period of time to elapse between road grading maintenance.
The initial Highway Budget request provided to the Budget Committee was $559,850.18. The current request provided by the Select Board is $523,000.
2. Jason Allen shared a proposed Budget with the Committee that is $8,275.35 higher than the current budget proposed by the Select Board. The proposal would result in a $.13 increase to the tax rate year over year for the General Budget. The Warrant Articles proposed currently reflect a $.44 increase in the tax rate year over year.
Receipt of Information or Proposals:
Future Business:
1. The next Budget Committee meeting will be held January 24th at 6:30pm and will continue to be held weekly through the budget process.
2. The Budget Committee will vote on their proposed 2019 Budget January 31st and will hold a Public Hearing on February 7th , 2019 with the community, continuing the hearing on Wednesday, February 13th if needed.
Motion: Marc Fournier motioned to adjourn at 8:58pm.
Second: Cheryl Croto
Vote: 6-0 in favor
Draft minutes submitted by Laurie Colburn