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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - BoS - 01/04/2011 Minutes—Board of Selectmen January 4, 2011 Selectmen Present: Karen Quigley, Chairman Edwin G. Carr Paul Carlson Leland H.Jenkins Selectman Absent: Frederick Koed Others Present: Steve Lombard, Interim Town Manager Jennifer Oram, Selectmen's Clerk Chairman Karen Quigley called the meeting to order at 7:OOPM Town Manager's Report Interim Town Manager, Steve Lombard, asked Mary Quill, MAA Deputy Assessor and Linda M. Litchfield, Treasurer/Collector read aloud a memo explaining why the Fiscal Year 2011 third quarter tax bills would be delayed. Ms. Quill explained that normally the third quarter actual tax bills would have been issued by January 1ST. However,they cannot be issued until the results of the Water Department Audit are complete. She stated that although the Department of Revenue has certified the Town's 2011 property assessments,the Town cannot set a tax rate without a balanced budget. Treasurer/Collector, Linda Litchfield, stated that people who wish to pay their taxes without a set rate can do so by paying the same amount they paid for their second quarter payments. Selectman Leland Jenkins stated that he would be making his payment without a bill and encouraged the community to do the same. Mr. Lombard stated that it would be best for people to do so they are not hit with a double payment when the rate is eventually set. Mr. Lombard stated that the earliest a Special Town Meeting could be held to address the budget would be in March. Mr. Lombard stated that he had received a letter from the Sons of the American Legion requesting to hold the annual healing field of flags starting May 21, 2011. Selectman Edwin Carr moved to support the request. Selectman Leland Jenkins seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Selectmen Comment Period Selectman Paul Carlson expressed asked the Board to hold a moment of silence in honor of Rocco Laugelle and Edward Lappen. Selectman Carlson updated the Board and community on the progress of the Cable Studio. He explained that due to key pieces of equipment being backordered by six weeks, it looks like it will be February before the studio is up and running. Selectman Carr stated that the search for the new Superintendant of Schools and the search is aggressive. The process will be open and transparent and both he and Chairman Quigley will be participating and will keep the Board and the community apprised of the progress. Selectman Jenkins said he has met with Merle Brown, Superintendant of the DPW Carl Sestito and other staff of the RTF to review costs for run the RTF. He will continue to do so. Selectmen—1.4.11-JBO 1 Minutes—Board of Selectmen January 4, 2011 Public Comment—Mr. Brian Murphy and Ms. Barbara Green from the Cohasset Coalition for Caring asked the Board of Selectmen to be the first to sign the anti-bullying pledge. Licenses& Permits Selectman Carlson moved to approve a one-day liquor license to Carmella K. Martell of the Choral Art Society for"Cabaret Au Chocolat",a fundraising event on March 5, 2011 7:30-9:30 at the Saint Anthony's Parish Center located at 10 Summer Street. Selectman Carr seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous(4-0). Used Car Dealer's License—Class II—Mr. Curtis Smalzel has requested a license to sell no more than 2 (two)cars at 143 South Main Street. Mr. Smalzel has held a license with the Town for several years but did not file his annual renewal paperwork by the deadline. Selectman Carr moved to approve the Used Car Dealer's License—Class II to Auction Autos, LLC, owner Curtis Smalzel. Selectman Carlson seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous (4-0). Recap& Review of Storm & Emergency Procedures—Fire Chief Robert Silvia and Deputy Director of Emergency Manager, Glenn Pratt updated the Board on the storm of December 26/27 2010. Chief Silvia stated that the majority of the issues they had during the storm were with National Grid. National Grid made a corporate decision to only go to phase 1 of a phase 3 plan which meant they only sent 7 trucks to cover 28 communities. Because of this,the department responded to many incidents normally covered by National Grid. The Chief personally sat from 6:50PM to Midnight at downed power line until a National Grid truck arrived. The Chief has since been contacted by the Attorney General's office and it appears that this issue is being brought to the Department of Public Utilities. They are going to try and recoup funds for the overtime costs incurred because of the lack of availability of National Grid in the area. The Chief said that the storm came in earlier than projected and was more sever than expected. It resulted in 1,100 people without power; there were snapped poles and hundreds of power lines down. Some people were without power for 36 hours. Once National Grid did roll out their resources,they sent 14 people and 8 trucks to the area. Selectman Carr asked if a letter from the Board would help with the DPU's investigation and possible reimbursement to the Town. The Chief said it would. Mr. Pratt then reviewed how they had to put their Emergency Management plan into action. They used the Deer Hill School as a shelter and even though the power was out,they had a back up generator. At 2PM on the 26t"they sent out a connect CTY call alerting the residents of the shelter's location; more than half of those calls went to machines, most likely due to the power outages. Mr. Pratt stated that there were a few glitches, most notably that the cell service at Deer Hill is nearly non-existent. Another concern is checking in on people who are not willing to leave their homes. Elder Affairs is looking at compiling a list of people who wish to be checked on. Another item that needs to be looked in to is getting a generator for 60 Elm Street. They plan on getting the word out to people about what is available during emergency situations. Interim Town Manager, Steve Lombard, stated that they had meeting today with all involved and they are going to work on additional support for the community during these situations. Insurance Advisory Committee& Member Composition—Mr. Lombard explained to the Board that per MGL Chapter 32B Section 3, the Board needs to appoint an Insurance Advisory Committee to review and make recommendations to the Board of Selectman on Health Insurance. This is necessary if the Town wishes to make changes to its heath insurance plans. One member of each union and a retiree needs to make up the committee. The Board will create a charge for the committee. After a brief discussion, Selectmen—1.4.11-JBO 2 Minutes—Board of Selectmen January 4, 2011 Selectman Jenkins moved to create the Insurance Advisory Committee. Selectman Carlson seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous(4-0). Town Manager Search: Candidate Profile&Selection Composition Discussion— Mr. Lombard reviewed the process and timeline for the Board. He said that the deadline for the RFQ is the 5th of January. Once those come in, the Board will receive copies and he will go to the Advisory Committee to get a transfer to pay for the consultant's services. In the meantime, the Board should be compiling a candidate profile, but that won't be needed until the consultant is hired. The Board then needs to decide on a Town Manger Search Committee and what they would like the composition to be. Chairman Quigley stated that there are many good groups of people in Town that could comprise a great committee. IT Audit Update: Accounting Software—Mr. Lombard reminded the Board that an IT Audit was completed by JFK Systems. After working for the Town over the past two months, it is apparent to him that the Town has to update its Accounting Software. As the Board has heard from Auditor John Sullivan, gathering of the financial information has been extremely difficult and much of this is due to the antiquated system the Town is using. Mr. Lombard stated that he is working to get things in order and has begun the process at looking at software vendors. He has met with the Capital Budget Committee and hopes to be able to go the Spring Town Meeting for funding with the goal of implementation as of July Vt. He stated it will be a cumbersome process starting with a purchase order system, but it is something that he highly recommends. Selectman Jenkins stated that they have to look in to the schools tying in to the same system. Mr. Lombard stated that is his plan, but first the costs have to outlined to the Capital Budget Committee and move the process forward from there. Chairman Quigley stated that the Town has not had new software for 15-20 years and with what the Town has seen in the past year in regard to financial problems, she could not support Mr. Lombard more on this recommendation. Town Hall Policies: Investment Policy -The Board reviewed the policy. Selectman Carlson suggested that on page 5 that the reporting be to both the Board of Selectmen and the Advisory Committee. The Board agreed. Selectman Carlson moved to approve the Investment Policy as amended. Selectman Jenkins seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous(4-0). FY 2012 Budget Process: Preliminary Update—Mr. Lombard stated that he has held a preliminary meeting with Department Heads and stated that it is early, but that he warned there seemed to be a short fall in the$400,000 to $500,000 range. He stated that having the Town Meeting on April 30th will allow for the numbers to shake out and for the departments and the schools to come up with more realistic numbers. There was a brief discussion about the cost of unemployment. Chairman Quigley stated that if people are laid off,the Town has to cover the costs for unemployment. Mr. Lombard stated that he did not anticipate any layoffs. Mr. Lombard addressed the fact that due to the tax payments going out late, that will affect the Town's cash flow. He also addressed the Enterprise Funds and that this time those budgets will show the indirect costs. Mr. Lombard stated that when it is completed, the Board will receive a copy of the entire budget. Selectman Carr moved to adjourn. Selectman Jenkins seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous(4-0). Meeting adjourned at 9:0613M. Respectfully submitted, Karen Quigley Chairman Selectmen—1.4.11-JBO 3 Minutes—Board of Selectmen January 4, 2011 Documents: Memo from Mary Quill, MAA Deputy Assessor and Linda M. Litchfield,Treasurer/Collector re: Fiscal Year 2011 Actual Tax Bills Delayed dated January 4, 2011 Insurance Advisory Memo from Steve Lombard dated December 30, 2010 Draft Investment Policy Selectmen—1.4.11-JBO 4