Meeting called to order at 6:32pm
Pledge of Allegiance
Courtney Schusler was sworn in as a Budget Committee member.
Roll Call- Marlene Freyler (Chair), Cheryl Croto, Courtney Schusler, Mark Fournier were present
Jason Allen (Select Board Rep), Justin Dohrn, Claire James absent
Receipt of Correspondence:
- Minute from the August 15th, 2019 meeting were reviewed.
Motion: Mark Fournier motioned to approve the minutes.
Second: Courtney Schusler
Decision: 4-0 in favor
Old Business:
- Recap of Budget Conference:
- Marlene shared Budget Committee books that were handed out at the Conference.
- Mark shared a few suggestions he took away from the conference. The 1st was to have the Committee do a physical visit at the various Departments to get a better 1st hand sense of what Departments need. The 2nd was to think about extending the budget to an 18-month budget because the budget doesn’t get approved until Town Meeting but spending for the new budget year begins in January. Karen added that spending beyond general operating expenses do not general happen until after the 1st tax bill is issued and revenue begins to come in.
- Cheryl asked how the Budget Committee should suggest ways to save money. A discussion ensued about ways to potentially lower taxes through changes in how services are delivered or growth in the property tax base as well as asking questions about the budget and becoming more familiar with the operations of each Department.
New Business:
- Marlene outlined the need for all Budget Committee members to attend scheduled meetings. If a Committee member cannot attend their absence should be communicated to the Chair and if they cannot make multiple meetings, they should step down so another member can be identified. Unexcused absence at 4 concurrent meetings is a reason for dismissal from the Committee.
- The Budget Committee discussed holding joint meetings with the Select Board and Department heads, along with a revised meeting schedule through the end of December. The Committee will meet on November 7th and November 21st, 2019 to review the budget and begin meetings with the Select Board and Department Heads in December at meetings to be held December 5th and December 19th, 2019. January’s schedule will be determined closer to that time.
- A Public Hearing on the Budget submission must be held no later than February 15th. The Committee will aim to hold the Public Hearing at the beginning of February.
Review of Q2 Budget and Expenditures:
- The Committee reviewed the Q3 expenses against the 2019 Budget. 31% of the budget is remaining.
Areas discussed in detail were:
- The Committee reviewed part time wages for the Recording Secretary role, both for the Budget Committee and the Selectmen’s office, which is over expended. The requested budget amount was reduced by $1,000 as recommended by the Budget Committee and Karen is working to cover the overage from other areas.
- Cheryl questioned how the Rescue Squad charges are established, particularly focusing on the Capital Reserve portion of the budget line and how/who is involved in understanding what that line is purchasing. Henniker establishes this amount and tracks the activity volume.
- The Committee discussed Contract Services for the Highway Department utilized for sweeping and a contract rock crusher.
- A follow up is needed on account 7300-4312 repair and maintenance to determine what costs were incurred.
- The Committee discussed the Construction and Demolition disposal line for the Transfer Station which is trending over, residents are generally charged for this service but any off-setting revenue is not shown in the General Budget line.
- Patriotic Purposes – Markers and Flags were over expended; Marlene will explore options to get flags donated through a State/Federal program.
- The Committee then discussed where they thought opportunity may exist to reduce the budget in the future. Cheryl asked what the expenses were associated with the Town Hall. 2019 expenses were $1,300 which does not include the repair work being done as part of separate Warrant Articles. Cheryl also asked about software and computer support. Marc suggested a comparison be done to other Towns. Karen provided some additional details related to the Computer Support Contract and discussed additional lines related to software for a variety of different programs utilized by various departments.
Receipt of Information or Proposals: None identified.
Future Business:
- The next Budget Committee meeting is scheduled for November 7th, 2019 at 6:30pm.
Motion: Mark Fournier motioned to adjourn at 7:55pm.
Second: Cheryl Croto
Decision: 4-0 in favor
Minutes submitted by Laurie Colburn, Recording Secretary