Selectboard Meeting
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Thursday, January 23, 2020 – 3:00 PM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Margaret Charig Bliss, Selectwoman Karen Day, Selectman Robert Marshall
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator;
Public:
Documents for Review/Approval:
- Payroll Check Register
- Vacation Request – DPW
- Change of Wage Worksheet - Library
- AFG Grant Assistance support letter
- Selectboard Minutes 1/8, 1/9, 1/15
- Welfare Voucher
Other letters/ items for Discussion/Signature:
1. Eversource – Tree Pruning notification tri-fold
2. Bid for Police Cruisers
3. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI information 2018-2020
4. Social Security Administration COLA information 2018-2020
5. Tax Exempt Leasing Budgetary Quotes – 2020 6-Wheel Dump Truck
6. Milton CAT Backhoe Quote
3:00 PM: Selectboard Budget Work Session – No Public Forum, No Appts.
The meeting was called to order at 3:00pm. The Selectboard held a brief discussion on the library budget and recent changes to the budget requested by the Stephenson Memorial Library Trustees. The Selectboard requested that the 2020 budget be updated to reflect the changes requested. These include a higher Director salary/wage line to reflect a severance for the former librarian and the need to cover an interim Director until a new Director is hired.
The Selectboard opened a discussion on wages and salaries for town employees in the 2020 budget. The Board was updated on a decision by the New Hampshire Municipal Association (NHMA) to discontinue the Wage/Salary and Benefits survey, which has been an on-line reference for municipalities for many years. This schedule allowed for cross referencing wage and salary data across similar sized communities, as well as comparisons across all communities Statewide. The Selectboard received reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics outlining the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the past three years. The Selectboard compared the town of Greenfield wage and salary schedule to the national CPI model and the Social Security Administration (SSA) COLA increases for the same time frame. The town’s wage and salary schedule is averaging .078% ahead of the national CPI benchmarks based on the Social Security Administration’s CPI schedule (Sept. of the previous year to Sept. of the current year). However, in 2019 the town wage and salary adjustment was equal to the Social Security COLA. Selectman Marshall stated that the SSA model is the most conservative response to the national CPI and is not particularly relevant to the local area. He stated that Greenfield’s wage and salary model has stagnated since it was created in 2016. There followed a discussion on recent news articles from surrounding towns that report a concern about the heated labor market, record low unemployment, and the need to address employee wages in order ensure retention of vital employees. The news articles outline that Rindge, New Ipswich, and Temple have all made significant increases to employee wages during the last few weeks. The Selectboard discussed the “volunteer crisis”; the difficulty in filling volunteer positions and certain part-time positions and/or appointments. The Board discussed stipend positions. After a lengthy discussion on the Health Officer role, the Selectboard made a determination to separate the Health Officer from the Code Enforcement/Building Inspector wage line. The Selectboard set the Health Officer stipend at $1,000.
Next the Selectboard compared several different draft wage schedules and agreed to a 3.5% wage increase for full-time and critical positions. This is a .07% increase to the town of Greenfield wage and salary schedule. The Board then chose four part-time positions for retention based wage/rate adjustments. The Board made one retention wage/rate adjustment for a full time employee within the Department of Public Works.
Next the Selectboard discussed a recent phone call from Ray Cilley regarding the public hearing for the 79-E application. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Selectboard agreed to move the public hearing to February 13th at 6:30pm in the Town Office meeting room.
Next the Selectboard requested that the Town Administrator reach out to Keith Hickey on the Budget Advisory Board and see if his schedule allowed a meeting on the 2020 budget with the Selectboard.
The Selectboard took up a conversation about the need to purchase a back-hoe and the plan to purchase a 2020 6-wheel dump truck. At the conclusion of the discussion the Board voted on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectman Marshall to pursue the purchase of a new backhoe using capital reserve funds. The vote passed 3-0 in favor.
The Board took up a conversation about the need for the 6-wheel dump truck in the current year budget. The Board agreed to table the discussion until the 29th.
Lastly, the Board received a sealed bid for the two Ford Crown Victoria police vehicles. The Chair opened the bid. The bid is from Luke Chichester of Greenfield in the amount of $1,300.00. The Selectboard voted on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Day, 3-0 in favor of accepting the bid. The Board requested that the Town Administrator contact Mr. Chichester and arrange for the sale of the vehicles.
Adjournment
At 6:22 pm Selectman Marshall made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day. The motion carried 3-0.