Selectboard Minutes
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Thursday, December 20, 2018 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chair Robert Marshall, Selectwoman Margaret A. Charig Bliss, Selectwoman Karen Day
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator
Public: Keith Hickey, Budget Advisory Committee; Jack Moran, Budget Advisory Committee
Documents for Review/Approval:
Documents List:
- A/P Check Register – 12/19/2018
- Town of Peterborough – Domestic Septage Agreement
- Wage Adjustment Worksheet - Library
- Selectboard Minutes – 12/13
- Welfare Letters (2)
Items for Discussion in the Public Session:
1) Employee Wages 2019
5:30 PM: Public Forum
At 5:30 pm, Chairman Marshall opened the meeting. It was noted that there were no public in attendance for the public forum.
The Selectboard began working on the Consent Agenda. The Board voted, on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Charig Bliss to approve the Consent Agenda. The motion was approved 3-0 in favor.
5:45 PM: Fire Chief David Hall & Incoming Fire Chief Richard McQuade
The Selectboard discussed the 2019 Fire Department budget with retiring Fire Chief David Hall and incoming Fire Chief Richard McQuade. Prior to the budget conversation, Chief Hall provided a brief update on the new tanker truck. Chief Hall provided an overview of the budget. He then provided a line by line explanation of the expense lines, including adjustments and increases. The budget includes several increases and decreases in the overall budget, as well as an increase to the firefighter stipend. The total change in budget from 2018 to 2019 is an increase of $8,200 or 6%. Chairman Marshall explained that the increase to the firefighter stipend stems in part from a conversation that he had with the Chief, and his interest in exploring solutions to the issues with volunteerism. As a result of the falling volunteerism nationwide, as reflected in Greenfield’s roster of volunteer firefighters, there is a crisis in providing coverage during work week day-time hours. There followed a discussion about the stipend that covered the point system and the current breakdown of calls, meetings, and trainings. Budget Advisory Committee member Keith Hickey discussed the question of whether it was possible to incentivize daytime calls. Town Administrator Patt provided an overview of the information provided by the NH Department of Labor. Selectwoman Day suggested that the department revisit the bunk-in program and budget marketing dollars to advertise the program to union communities where it is difficult to volunteer as a firefighter (and gain experience). An in-depth discussion of the point system and the question of whether the point system could be weighted toward day time calls was explored. At the conclusion of the conversation the Selectboard thanked Chief Hall, Mr. McQuade, and the Budget Advisory Committee members for their participation in the 2019 budget discussions.
7:00PM: Groundskeeper Bid opening
At 7:20pm the Selectboard opened the 2019 Groundskeeper bids. The Board noted that only two bids were received. The Town of Greenfield Purchasing Policy requires three bids in most instances. As such the Board noted that it reserves the right to negotiate with the bidders. The first bid was opened as follows:
Jeremy Gagnon (current groundskeeper)
Total of bid = $67,025.00
Greenfield Landscapes
Total bid = $62,330.00
After a review of the bids, the Selectboard discussed the costs outlined and the impact on the 2019 budget. At the conclusion of the conversation the Chair made a motion to negotiate a one year contract with Jeremy Gagnon, the current groundskeeper at an amount less than $60,000. The motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day and passed 3-0.
7:35 PM: Selectboard Work Session Contd.
The Selectboard reviewed the Welfare budget and noting that the budget had exceeded the amount of funds transferred by the Board at a previous meeting, the Selectboard discussed transferring additional funds to the budget. At the conclusion of the conversation, the Chair made a motion to transfer $4,570.39 from Personnel Administration to the Welfare Budget. On a second by Selectwoman Charig Bliss, the Board voted 3-0 in favor.
The Selectboard reviewed the Town Clerk’s budget, under Elections/Registrations/Vital Statistics in the budget. The budget is over by $4,607.38. The Chair made a motion to transfer this amount from Personnel Administration to the Clerk’s budget. The motion was seconded by Selectwoman Charig Bliss and passed 3-0 in favor.
Next the Selectboard reviewed contracts from George Sansoucy PLLC for legal services in conjunction with a lawsuit from Eversource. The Selectboard then reviewed a contract with S.R. Jones for culvert replacement. At the conclusion of the conversation the Board discussed encumbering funds from the 2018 budget. The Board reached a consensus on encumbering funds and voted the following: on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Day, the Board voted 3-0 to encumber $10,000 from the 2018 budget to pay for the Sansoucy contract, with the sum coming from the DPW Road Maintenance budget transferred to the Legal budget prior to encumbrance. Next the Board voted, on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Day to encumber $12,500 from the individual warrant article #16- Road Paving/Reconstruction for the S. R. Jones Contract (a culvert replacement). The motion passed on a vote of 3-0 in favor.
The Selectboard held a discussion on merit raises and performance bonuses. The Selectboard discussed adding a line to the Executive budget for performance bonuses in the 2019 budget. The Board discussed providing exceptional performance payments to several employees. The Selectboard discussed the difficulties encountered when trying to cover the Town Clerk’s office throughout the course of the year. The difficulties were responded to by members of the town office staff and by Dorene Adams, Deputy Town Clerk. The Board reached a consensus to award exceptional performance payments to the Deputy Clerk, Treasurer, Office Manager, Tax Collector, and Town Administrator in the amount of $500 ea. A discussion on timing was held. Selectwoman Day explained that she preferred that the payments take place in the pay period ending January 6th. The Board discussed a preference for the payments coming from the final pay period of 2018, with a pay date of December 28th. On a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Charig Bliss the Board voted 2-0 with one abstention due to the payment period, to award exceptional performance payments in the final pay period of 2018 as outlined. It was the consensus of the Board that the Chair would sign certificates of award on behalf of the Board, to be printed at the Town Office.
Next the Selectboard discussed the 2019 Budget Hearing. The Selectboard reached a consensus to hold the budget hearing on February 5th at 6pm in the Town Office. Notice will be given in the Ledger Transcript.
The Selectboard reviewed the calendar for the January 3rd, 2019 selectboard meeting. The Board requested a budget for the town clerk’s office and employee wage and salary documents. The Board agreed to finalize 2019 wages on January 3rd.
Adjournment
At 9:35 pm Selectwoman Day made a motion to adjourn the meeting, the motion was seconded by Selectwoman Charig Bliss, the motion carried 3-0.