TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN
FINANCE COMMITTEE
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2006
Chairman Ruth Gilbert convened the meeting at
1:00 p.m. noting the following attendees:
Members present: Ruth Gilbert, Chairman;
Mathew Clark; Virginia Ross; Thomas Thurston; Sue Buerkel; Alice Foley; Robert
Vetrick; Mark Leach; Edward Gage, Alternate; Walt Winnowski, Alternate
Absent FinCom Member: Gary Delius (excused
absence)
Other Attendees: Keith Bergman, Town Manager;
Douglas Taylor, Building Commissioner; Alex Hellala, Town Accountant; Beau
Jackett, Information Systems Director; Paul Gavin, Principal Assessor; John
Fitzgerald, Treasurer
Recorder: Cynthia Curran
The following are
meeting minutes, in brief:
REVIEW FY 2007
OPERATING BUDGET REQUESTS
Keith Bergman started
with an overview of the budget process.
He said that the BOS had submitted the budget even though it is out of
balance by $315,000.00. The BOS will
meet next week and will make cuts.
The Governor’s budget
had promised a 17% increase in local aid, but Mr. Bergman had thought it might
be only 10%. On the Cherry Sheet
instead of an increase there was a net loss of $130,000. This information came in on 1/25/06, after
the BOS had reviewed the budget. On the
plus side, they had figured that the group health insurance costs would
increase by 10%, but they increased by 7.7% for next year which cut $58,000
from the budget. Other good news in the
Governor’s budget was that the Chapter 70 funding assessment would
decrease. The Senate and the House
still have to vote on this. The net
impact is that instead of being $340,000 in the red, the budget is $315,000 in
the red. The BOS directed the Town
Manager to investigate three possible ways to balance the budget:
1.
Have
the entire shortfall covered by the Municipal budget.
2.
Have
the Municipal budget cut by 80% and the School budget cut by 20%.
3.
Have
the cuts split equally between the
Municipal and the School budgets.
The Cape End Manor
will be out of the budget next year.
The cost for a Grade 6 employee with benefits is $45,000. If the Municipal budget covers the whole
amount, seven fulltime employees will have to be cut. At 80%, six Municipal employees will be cut. At 50%, four Municipal employees will be
cut.
Mr. Bergman said that
they are working to cut health costs even more by asking employees to switch to
lower cost health plans. The switch
would be voluntary. The Chairman asked
if Mr. Bergman knew what percent of the employees was in each plan (Master
Health, PPO, or HMO). Mr. Bergman said
that there about fifty active and fifty retired employees in the Master Health
plan, but he did not have the complete breakdown. He said that a $50,000 saving was possible if the employees
switched to cheaper plans.
Keith Bergman said
that he is looking for other places to cut the budget. $50,000 is in the budget for the 4th
of July, but he will not cut that at this time. Mr. Bergman said that the Airport Commission may cut their budget
by $10,000. He has met with staff to
talk about which employees may be cut.
If they do not make cuts, there will have to be a Proposition 2 ˝
override and the BOS has not given him the directive to do this.
Mr. Bergman said that the Governor has also proposed significant changes to
the Chapter 70 formula which would affect the foundation enrollment, the
foundation budget, Chapter 70 aid, and required local contributions for each
school district. These changes would
affect Provincetown in that the foundation budget would be reduced. Provincetown’s foundation enrollment is 155
students. This does not include
students from Truro. Mr. Bergman said
that the old formula did not take into account the Town’s declining enrollment. The required budget was over 300%
previously. He said that these rule
changes significantly alter the discussion.
Mr. Bergman says that the School
Committee budget goes on the warrant, but a budget could be adopted that
doesn’t meet Proposition 2 ˝ requirements.
He said that the DOE has issued figures and the minimum requirement is
$2,605,000. The sole reason for the
reduction is the new cap in the Governor’s budget. Ruth Gilbert asked if there was any fear that the changes would
not be passed by the legislature. Mr.
Bergman said that there was no way to know.
He said that the Legislature might oppose the changes and then the DOE
would have to recrunch the numbers. Mr.
Bergman said that the Legislature might not vote on this before Town
Meeting. He said that the impact of the
formula change would be that the budget would be based only on our own students
(42) and not include outside students (which would be 95).
Ginny Ross asked about
regionalization. Mr. Bergman said that
he believed that the cap (150%) is the reason why the regional assessment
decreased. He said that it suggests that
if regionalization goes through it would not be a disadvantage. There are transportation costs. He said that Truro pays about $50,000 a
year. Provincetown’s cost could be
double or triple that. It was thought
that more information was needed to know if sending students to Nauset was a
good idea. Ruth Gilbert said that the
Committee might want to visit Nauset, but it is not appropriate now. Mr. Bergman said that they could consider
what information would be needed in order to make the decision. He said that it would be good to know if it
is worth asking the questions because many people may be upset by the thought
of regionalization. Ms. Gilbert
wondered if Nauset was even interested in taking our students. She had heard in the past that they weren’t. Mathew Clark wondered if the Committee was
allowed to ask Nauset. Mr. Bergman said
he thought they could ask any questions, but that if the answer doesn’t exist,
they are not compelled to create one.
Ruth Gilbert said that there are state guidelines on how and when a
municipality can close a school. She
said that the discussion was perhaps going far a field, but the questions would
be a) Is Nauset interested; b) what is the quality of the education there; c)
what are the guidelines for closing a high school. Walt Winnowski said that some parents are adamant about not
busing their children for an hour to go to school. Mr. Bergman said that eleven students go to Nauset now.
Keith Bergman said that a question for
the School Committee would be: if you close the High School, which building
would you keep for the younger students?
He said that it would probably be better to keep the high school.
At 1:55 Ruth Gilbert began the budget
hearing. She noted that Gary Delius was
an excused absence and the Walt Winnowski (Alternate Member) would be voting
today. The first budgets came under the
Finance heading.
#131 Finance Committee
Ruth Gilbert said that the Finance
Committee has offered to reduce the reserve budget by $10,000. She said that in
the past couple of years they haven’t had requests for the reserve. Keith Bergman said he was pleased with the
suggestion.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #131 as presented in the amount of $30,300.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by: Mark
Leach Yea 9 Nay 0
#135 Town
Accountant
Alex Hellala said that
this budget was level-funded. Ms.
Hellala said there was nowhere to make cuts and that much of the money went to
audits. Mathew Clark questioned whether
the Town was getting quality work from its auditors. Ms. Hellala and Mr. Bergman thought that they were. The Town changed auditors three or four
years ago. Ruth Gilbert asked if there
any cuts in personnel which could be made.
Ms. Hellala said that the only way that could be done was with more
automation. She said that they are
working to do that by having the departments enter their invoices into the
computer system themselves. Mr. Bergman
said that the School Department is also trying to cooperate in this area.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #135 as presented in the amount of $184,282.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by: Mark
Leach Yea 9 Nay 0
#136 Information Systems Department
Beau Jackett said that they have been working for the Town as well as for the schools. The schools would like to have more support
from them. Mr. Jackett said he would
like to hire two more staff persons and eliminate the current two contracted
service positions. This would be a net
increase to the budget of $20,000 due to health insurance costs. The School Department would reimburse the
Town with $32,500. The schools used to
have a fulltime director of information.
Mr. Bergman wants the schools to pay their fair share. He said there should be one MIS for the
municipality and the schools. Beau
Jackett said right now they are just doing technical trouble-shooting for the
schools and not helping them with their strategic planning, as he would like.
Tom Thurston said that
the Information Systems Department would have to be moved out of Town Hall
while the renovations were being done.
He wondered if the cost of the move would be included in their
budget. Mr. Bergman said the moving
costs would be in the renovation project’s own budget. He said that the next step has not been
worked out, so they are not moving yet.
Ruth Gilbert asked what percent of time was Mr. Jackett supposed to
spend with the schools when he was hired.
Mr. Bergman said that he was not hired to work for the School
Department, but Mr. Jackett had seen that his department could assist both the
Town and the School Department. The BOS
had made this change with a memo. Mr.
Bergman said that all of the MIS staff are coordinated by Mr. Jackett and the
School Department reimburses the Town for the time the staff works there. Mr. Jackett said that the School Department
has been happy with the arrangement, but would like more. He said that eliminating the contract
service positions and hiring two fulltime staff would cause a shortfall of
$20,000 due to health insurance benefits.
Mr. Bergman said his only objection was that they would be stuck with
the health insurance bill, but they could still get stuck with it (if the
School Department hires its own staff). He thought that it was better to come
to an agreement with the School Department.
Ginny Ross asked if the MIS paid for the schools’ supplies. Mr. Jackett said that the schools buy their
own supplies. Mathew Clark asked about
the second biggest item in the budget: software and licensing. Mr. Jackett said there were a lot of
recurring expenses such as Internet access, maintenance cost, licensing fees
and updates. He said that they are
using old software just to get them by.
Mark Leach asked if money could be saved if the MIS bought the schools’
supplies. Mr. Jackett said that schools
usually get bigger discounts than municipalities, so it is better if they buy
their own supplies.
Mr. Jackett said that
the virtual private network discussed earlier can be used with the School
Department. He said that a lot of the
schools’ equipment is old. He is trying
to get more suitable equipment.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #136 as presented in the amount of $142,678.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by:
Ginny Ross Yea 9
Nay 0
#141 Board of Assessors
Paul Gavin, Principal Assessor, said that their budget is down, but
that they would try to level fund from now on.
Ruth Gilbert asked if any jobs could be combined or eliminated. Mr. Gavin said that he didn’t think so. He said that they are always very busy and
that their workload is increasing.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #141 as presented in the amount of $166,727.00.
Motion by: Ginny Ross
Seconded by: Walt
Winnowski Yea 9 Nay 0
#145 Treasurer
John Fitzgerald said that the revenues were fairly fixed. He said earnings from investments may go up,
but only by about five or ten thousand dollars. Penalties and interest are fixed by the state and can’t go
up. Ruth Gilbert asked about the
possible elimination of some of the staff.
Mr. Fitzgerald said that they were thinly staffed already and had lost
two people in the last nine years. He
said that services would suffer if there were cutbacks in staffing.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #145 as presented in the amount of $182,725.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by:
Ginny Ross Yea 9
Nay 0
#710 Debt Service
Ruth Gilbert asked if the bond rating were stable. Mr. Bergman replied that it is.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #710 as presented in the amount of $1,546,597.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by:
Ginny Ross Yea 9
Nay 0
#820 Tax and Title
John Fitzgerald said that the average age of outstanding tax bills is
three years. Previously it had been ten years.
They are following standards set by the state. They wait six months and then start foreclosure.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #820 as presented in the amount of $25,000.00.
Motion by: Tom Thurston Seconded by: Sue
Buerkel Yea 9 Nay 0
#910 Retirement/Benefits/Insurance
Mr. Fitzgerald said that he had the breakdown of percentage of
employees by health insurance coverage:
27% - Master Health
30% - HMO
23% - PPO
20% - Medicare
Mr. Bergman said that he hoped they could cut back on people with
Master Health, but the changes had to be voluntary. Ruth Gilbert suggested that perhaps employees could be covered by
their spouses’ health plans. Mr.
Fitzgerald said that they will have a workshop to explain the different plans
and encourage people to switch. He said
that they do talk about switching to a spouse’s plan, but the Town’s health
plans tend to be better than other plans.
He said that they are having open enrollment for three months. Twelve retirees have switched from Master
Health to PPO. Mark Leach asked about
labor negotiations to change the 80/20 split to another split. Mr. Bergman said that they have initiated
negotiations with the unions, but that it would take time. Mr. Fitzgerald said that one of the retirees
is calling other retirees to talk to them about switching to a cheaper health
plan. He said that once they realize
that they will still be covered, they do switch. Mr. Bergman said that their incentive for changing is to reduce
the amount that they have to pay for coverage.
Alice Foley asked if the workshop would be for retirees as well as
active employees and she was told that it would be.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #910 as presented in the amount of $4,365,040.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by: Tom
Thurston Yea 9 Nay 0
#169 Licensing
Douglas Taylor said that this is level-funded. This department has one employee, the
licensing agent. Mr. Taylor said that
new fees were developed with the BOS this year and there is a ten percent
increase in the licensing fees. Ruth
Gilbert asked about the inspections of condos which are rented weekly. Mr. Taylor said that there have been many
requests for information. Ms. Gilbert wondered how many would come on board and
Mr. Taylor said that he did not know.
Mr. Taylor said that they are trying to make people aware that the
department is actively looking for them.
He felt that the base of compliance would increase every year. Mr. Taylor said that they contact people who
rent weekly first by letter, email or phone, but then go further if
necessary. He said that they don’t know
how many condos should be in compliance, but they monitor real estate ads. If a condo isn’t advertised, it might slip
through. Walt Winnowski thought there
should be more publicity. Mr. Taylor
said that a letter went out last year, but they did not send one this year
because of the cost. Ms. Gilbert thought
that pressure would be put on unlicensed condo owners by others at an annual
condo meeting.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #169 as presented in the amount of $39,693.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by: Sue
Buerkel Yea 9 Nay 0
#171 Conservation Commission
This budget has increased due to the cost of paying for a conservation
agent. They had been able to pay for
the services with surplus funds for Barnstable, but the credit will run out. They need $10,800 to get two days of service
per week. Mr. Bergman says that the
conservation agent gives professional assistance to the Conservation
Commission. Mr. Taylor said that he
didn’t think that the position could be cut back to one day because of their
agreement with Barnstable. He said
that, with the level of development,
there is enough work for two days.
Bob Vetrick asked what harm it would do not to have one. Mr. Bergman said that other staff members
would have to take over the work. He
said that they don’t have the technical staff on board and would have to hire
people. Mr. Bergman said that the BOS
is in full support of having a conservation agent, but they haven’t had to pay
for one before. Doug Taylor said he
likes having the conservation agent, but he would cut the position totally
rather than go down to one day. He
suggested that if a consultant needed to be hired, the applicant would have to
pay. Ruth Gilbert suggested giving
$5,000 to pay for consultants when needed.
Mr. Taylor said that $5,000 would not go far in hiring consultants. Doug Taylor said that he would really like
to continue to have the conservation agent for one year, because it has really
helped the Conservation Commission.
MOTION: Move to
reserve recommendation for now.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by:
Mathew Clark Yea 9
Nay 0
#173 Housing Partnership
This is level-funded. Doug
Taylor said that they have a symbiotic relationship with zoning and planning,
but are not overlapping. Mr. Taylor
said that they are all volunteers and deserve a clerk, photocopying, etc.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #173 as presented in the amount of $1,060.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by:
Ginny Ross Yea 9
Nay 0
#175 Planning
This budget was reduced by $3,410.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #175 as presented in the amount of $3,883.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by: Tom
Thurston Yea 9 Nay 0
#176 Zoning Board of Appeals
This is level-funded.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #176 as presented in the amount of $2665.00.
Motion by: Alice Foley Seconded by: Walt
Winnowski Yea 9 Nay 0
#179 Historical Commission
This is decreased by $105.00.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #179 as presented in the amount of $500.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by: Sue
Buerkel Yea 9 Nay 0
#180 Historic District Commission
This is level-funded. Mr.
Taylor said that their work is very time-consuming and very important for
tourism.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #180 as presented in the amount of $1,697.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by: Walt
Winnowski Yea 9 Nay 0
#240 Inspections
This is level-funded. Doug
Taylor said that he is looking at possible staff reductions. Ruth Gilbert said that the budget will come
back if there is a reduction in employees.
Bob Vetrick wondered if they should reserve recommendation. Ms. Gilbert said that they could do that,
but the Committee decided to go ahead with their recommendation.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #240 as presented in the amount of $155,863.00.
Motion by: Tom Thurston Seconded by: Walt
Winnowski Yea 9 Nay 0
#241 Community Development
Ruth Gilbert said that the clerical personnel work with all the other
departments downstairs.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #241 as presented in the amount of $108,184.00.
Motion by: Tom Thurston Seconded by:
Mathew Clark Yea 9
Nay 0
#511 Health Inspector/Agent
This budget was reduced by $1890.
Mr. Taylor said that there was a reduction in contracted services. He said that hazardous waste was mandated by
the county. He said that the health
inspector is fulltime and the agent works three days a week.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #511 as presented in the amount of $98,366.00.
Motion by: Bob Vetrick Seconded by:
Ginny Ross Yea 9
Nay 0
#513 Board of Health
There is a decrease of $845.00.
Doug Taylor said that they are raising fees now and also in January
2007.
MOTION: Move to
accept Budget #513 as presented in the amount of $1,472.00.
Motion by: Mark Leach
Seconded by: Sue
Buerkel Yea 9 Nay 0
Ruth Gilbert said that there is a change in the schedule of the meeting
with the School Committee. It will be
on February 15 from 1-4 p.m.. She said
there will probably more than one meeting.
MOTION: Move to
adjourn the meeting at 4:33 p.m..
Motion by: Mark Leach
Seconded by: Ginny
Ross Yea 9 Nay 0