Town of Pittsfield, NH
2015 Budget Committee
Meeting Notes
1-21-15
Meeting called to order at: 6:04pm
Members Present: Chairman Louie Houle, Vice Chairman Robert Schiferle,
! Secretary Faith Whittier, Selectmen rep. Gerard LeDuc, Helen Schiff, !!
! Helen Schoppmeyer, Mary Thorpe, Fred Hast, Mark Riel, Jacob Kitson, !
! Josh Roman
Reading & Motion to approve minutes of 1-14-15:
! ! ! moved by Fred Hast
! ! ! seconded by Gerard LeDuc
! ! ! minutes approved as amended with three date corrections
Town Budget: Discussed Wage Salary Benefits Report and newspaper article
handouts from Chairman Houle. Looked at and compared Municipal Employment
Data for Pittsfield with area towns of similar size and demographics. We
were similar in many areas, with the biggest discrepancy in the amount we
spend on our fire department.
Discussed the email from the fire chief, regarding EMS calls from midnight-
6am last year. Total of 104 calls which would be about 2 per week. We discussed
the pros and cons of full time EMS coverage versus on call coverage
for this time period. It was decided that it is to late this year to study if a
change would be cost effective. It will be brought up at the Public Hearing to
see if the people feel it is something that they would want to form a committee
to study for next year or if they don?t feel it is something to look into. It would be
a lot of work and it would be best to have representatives from the community
involved, if the public is interested.
Discussed the email from Rob Freese, who was unable to attend, on the
Emergency Management plan. It included a 2015 proposed Emergency Management
Budget. The budget included:!!
! ! ! ! Up-date Emergency Operations Plan! $5,000.00
! ! ! ! Training! ! ! ! ! ! $2,500.00
! ! ! ! Communications/Organizational Tools! $1,500.00
! ! ! ! Storage and Response!! ! ! $1,000.00
For more explanation consult the email.
Discussed the email from the Town Administrator on the surplus, Trial Balance
Summary. Members can read it over in more detail and keep in mind that it
represents just one point in time. It will be discussed more at a future date.
The committee discussed the draft Town Warrant Articles. Articles 6 and 7 deal
with Parks and Recreation Funds. Louie will ask the Town Administrator to find
out how much is in the fund. Articles 9-14 do not state where, This sum to
come from_______________. Louie will get clarification from Town Administrator.
There may be another warrant article regarding the purchase of the Aqueduct.
Selectman rep., Gerard LeDuc, mentioned the January 28th meeting regarding
phase II in the next step for purchase of the Aqueduct. Overall Budget
is a 10% increase without warrant articles which would be a $3.00-$4.00
increase in the tax rate.
Discussed the proposed part time Office Assistant position. Selectman, Larry
Konopka, came in after his meeting and gave us more insight into the proposed
office assistant position. After the discussion, it was decided that Louie would
ask the Town Administrator to give us a comparison of salary and benefits for
the new part time position if combined with the welfare position making the employee
full time or if it was a different person who would be a part time employee.
A job description was requested, as well.
School Budget: Discussed the email from Superintendent of Schools, Dr.
Freeman, that was in response to specific questions from the budget committee.
p.12, 2220 & 2225 Media in Technology increases in;
! ! ! Property Services increase from $16,810 to $25,668! !
! ! ! ! repair of library & technology equipment
! ! ! ! repair/maintenance of I-pads
! ! ! Other Services increase from $18,000 to $26,608
! ! ! ! funds for technology data communications
! ! ! ! anticipated increase cost of internet for telephone
! ! ! ! uncertain about govt. reimbursement (e-rate program)!
! ! ! Supplies and Materials increase from $51,309 to $82,118
! ! ! ! library & technology supplies including software
! ! ! ! expanded access to programs (Microsoft EES and ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Adobe creative Cloud)
! ! ! ! replacement covers for I-pads, library books, other ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! items!16,
!
! p.16, 2600 Building Maintenance increases in;!!
! ! ! Professional Services increase form $6,900 to $13,475! !
! ! ! ! maintenance of Drake Field (lawn mowing,liming,fertili!
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! zation)
! ! ! ! added time for installation of additional equipment
! ! ! ! refurbishing of baseball field
! ! ! Other Services increase from $28,750 to $30,200
! ! ! ! property liability insurance and travel
! ! ! ! increased cost of insurance
! ! ! ! with modest travel allocation
! ! ! Supplies and Materials increase from $303,000 to $311,315
! ! ! ! building maintenance supplies and energy
! ! ! ! increase due to underfunding (recent cuts in these ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! lines)
Other Business: We will meet briefly next week at 6:00pm to go over questions
and concerns in preparation for the Public Hearing on February 4, 2015 at
6:00pm at the Middle High School Lecture Hall. (snow date February 5, 2015)
Meeting adjourned at 8:44pm
Respectfully submitted,
Faith Whittier, secretary