Town of Bradford
Budget Committee Meeting
January 24th, 2019 Draft Meeting Minutes
Marlene Freyler called the meeting to order at 6:34pm
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll call
Marlene Freyler Chair, Jason Allen Vice Chair, Claire James, Mark Fournier, David Nunnally,
Select Board members John Pfeifle & Jim Bibbo
Michael James (Select Board Representative), Cheryl Croto absent.
Correspondence Updates:
1. Minutes from the January 17th meeting were reviewed by the Committee.
Motion: Jason Allen motioned to accept with a revision to delete the phrase “Before any offsetting revenue”.
Second: Marlene Freyler
Vote: 5-0 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. Nola Jordan, Treasurer for the Brown Memorial Library, presented an overview of the Library budget proposal for 2019 which is increasing by $3,000 year over year, from $70,000 to $73,000.
Nola outlined increases driven by employee rate changes which are currently on the lower end of the pay scale as well as increasing fuel prices. Some of the increase is being offset by an LED lighting upgrade done which was noted as being done at no expense to the Town.
After review the Budget Committee recommended increasing the 2019 request by $300 as the rate of fuel oil is anticipated to be higher than was originally requested.
2. Officer Ed Shaughnessy and Police Chief Jim Valiquet appeared to review the Police Department’s budget proposal for 2019.
The 2019 proposal is $8,897 greater than the 2018 budget driven primarily by employee related expenses. Ed walked the Committee through the various components of the budget and the Committee thanked him for the time and detail provided. Chief Valiquet noted that the Department is very conscientious about spending, planning out the timing of their spending, do not spend outside of plan and will conserve if asked.
The Chief also spoke in conjunction with Karen about IT support which has been included in the Executive budget request and also supports the Police Department; as well as the Fire Department, Town Clerk and Selectmen’s Office.
The Town had experienced an issue with a virus that week which costs $2,400 in outside support and 20 hours of internal staff hours to resolve. The intent of having a proactive IT support contract would eliminate unplanned expense associated with the computer network. The support provided would include active monitoring, firewall monitoring, off site backup storage and hardware support. Chief Valiquet felt that this was an important step needed to keep the Town safe.
Receipt of Information or Proposals:
1. The Committee reviewed their current recommendations with the Selectmen and identified any areas of disagreement. The Selectmen will review their General Budget recommendations again on Monday.
2. The Budget Committee will vote on the General Budget recommendation at the January 31st meeting and will also review the Warrant Articles.
Future Business:
1. The next Budget Committee meeting will be held January 31st at 6:30pm.
2. The Budget Committee will hold a Public Hearing on February 7th , 2019 with the community, continuing the hearing on Wednesday, February 13th if needed, at the BACC Youth Room at 6:30pm.
Motion: Jason Allen motioned to adjourn at 9:30pm.
Second: David Nunnally
Vote: 5-0 in favor
Draft minutes submitted by Laurie Colburn