TOWN OF BRADFORD
BUDGET COMMITTEE MINUTES
September 15, 2015
Meeting called to order at 6:30pm by Beth Downs.
Members Present
Beth Downs; Dick Keller; Chris Mock; Kathy Rodgers; Dave Nunnally; Michael James;
Karen Hambleton, Town Administrator; John Pfeifle, Selectman
Review and Consideration of Minutes
Motion made to approve minutes of August 18, 2016 with the following correction. The first sentence in the Warrant Articles section should read: “Per the CIP (Capital Improvement Plan), the Fire Department needs a Fire Pumper Truck and $30,000-40,000 to replace the breathing air compressor and cascade cylinders.” Vote to approve the minutes was unanimous.
Rules of Procedure and Code of Conduct:
Dave Nunnally handed out copies of the revised by-laws for the Committee to review and requested any correction/additions be sent to him via email. Dave went over the changes that he made from the previous discussions. Beth would like a one-page flow sheet on how to lead a meeting so that when things get out of hand she will be able to refer to the form on how to get the meeting back in order. Dave and Kathy will work on this and present it at the next meeting.
Vice Chair: It was decided by the Committee that there should be a vice chair appointed on the Budget Committee. There was a motion to nominate Dave as vice chair and it was seconded, Vote 5 in favor, 2 abstained.
Budget: The deadline for departments to submit their budgets to the Selectmen’s Office is October 21, 2016.
Warrant Articles: The Committee expects the Fire Department will most likely request a pumper truck as they did last year. The Committee also discussed the roads and John Pfeifle informed the Committee that he has been talking to the road crew about buying equipment and then renting it out to surrounding towns. John feels this is a good way to create income for the Town. The Committee discussed issues with potential liability and John informed the Committee that there would be documents drawn up by the Town attorney to make sure that liability is covered.
Joint Meetings with Selectmen: The Committee discussed the process of meeting with the Department Heads and the Selectmen to go over Budgets. It was decided that there will be joint meetings with the Budget Committee and the Selectmen in which the Department Heads will present their budgets. Following the joint meeting, the Selectmen and the Budget Committee will have separate meetings to discuss the budgets presented.
Other Business:
- Pumper Truck: The Committee agreed that the Fire Department needs to present different options other than just one pumper truck. The Committee would like to see if there are smaller pumpers or even used pumpers that might be less expensive.
- John gave an update on the Town Hall heating situation and explained that they are close on finding a solution that is cost effective for the Town.
The next Budget Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 at 6:30 pm at the Town Hall.
As there was no further business to come before the committee, meeting adjourned at 7:52 PM.
Minutes submitted by Molly Hopkins.