TOWN OF GRANBY
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
BUDGET WORKSHOP MINUTES
MARCH 3, 2010
First Selectman John Adams called the meeting to order at 6:07 p.m.
PRESENT: John Adams, Ronald Desrosiers, Mark Neumann, B. Scott Kuhnly and William F. Smith, Jr., Town Manager
Also present: Barbarajean Scibelli, Administration Finance Officer, and Michael Guarco, Board of Finance Chairman
Selectman Desrosiers began with a review of Administration. Categories under this section are General Administration; Legal Services; Fringe Benefits; Town Clerk Operations; Probate Office; Contingency and Reserve; Election Services; Boards, Regional Programs, and Staff Development; Revenue Collections; Property Assessment; Finance Management; and Insurances.
Selectman Desrosiers reported Administration has a slight increase in regular payroll, which is due to step increases, an increase of 8.4% in services and supplies, and a 1.7% increase in contract and maintenance service, which gives an overall increase of 4.9%. Fringe Benefits has risen considerably due to the Health Plan w/Stop Loss. The town is self funded and this is still a great savings over buying a fully funded policy. The Probate office, by state mandate, will be consolidating with other towns, in Simsbury, in January 2011. The cost is expected to increase to as high as five to six thousand dollars per year. Contingency and Reserve has monies set aside for contract increases as the town is in negotiations now with three Unions. Insurances were up $3,713 for worker’s compensation, other
insurance costs remained the same.
No changes were made to Administration at this time.
Selectman Kuhnly began the review of Public Works and Environment, which includes Public Works Administration; General Maintenance; Solid Waste and Recycling; Equipment Maintenance; Street Lights and Signalization; Planning and Engineering Services; and Building Maintenance and Town Grounds.
Public Works Administration came in with an overall increase of 0.1%, which works out to be $150.00. General Maintenance had new hires coming in at a lower pay rate, which reduced the payroll by 1.3%. Services and supplies are down due to the purchase of different plow blades that last longer and less gravel will be purchased next year. Also, less basin cleaning is expected due to the reduction in sand use during winter storms. They anticipate an overall savings of 1.6%, or $13,000. Solid Waste and Recycling saw a savings of $40,000 in Mid-Ct Tip Fees and revenue generated is $50,000, which comes from transfer station activity. Significant changes in equipment maintenance are a $7,000 increase for gasoline. Planning and Engineering services are showing an overall reduction of 13.7%. Some of the
fees are being passed on to developers to save the town money. Building Maintenance and Town Grounds has a $42,814 savings in regular payroll due to a reduction in staff, a 4% increase in part-time payroll and a reduction of 7.7% in overtime. The overall reduction is $41,744 for this section.
No changes were made to Public Works and Environment at this time.
Selectman Neumann began the review of Libraries, Recreation, and Social Services, which includes Library Services, Social Services, Recreation Administration, Senior Citizen Activities and Community Support.
Significant changes in Library Services are a 45% cut in part-time staff, which relates to $63,189. This staff reduction and cutting hours of Library Services in both libraries are a result of keeping at zero percent operations for this upcoming budget. The Library Board will work with the staff to determine what they will do to meet these cuts, but the Board of Selectmen have the final say. Social Services shows a slight increase of 3.6% in payroll due to grant fall off. There were no significant changes in Recreation Administration. Senior Citizens Activities had a change between regular payroll and part-time that gave them a net increase of $4,534 due to grant fall off. There was no change in Community Support.
No changes were made to Libraries, Recreation, and Social Services at this time.
First Selectman Adams began the review of Personal & Property Protection, which includes Building Inspection; Fire Prevention; Emergency Management; Health Services; Police Department Administration; Police Operations and Services; and Communications and Dispatching.
There were no significant changes in Building Inspection. Building Inspection fees are $16.00 per $1,000. The total revenue is $130,100, which includes fees from Hartland. There are no major changes in the operating budget for Fire Prevention and Emergency Management. Health Services also stayed fairly flat. Police Department Administration had some changes in staff with hiring a new Captain and splitting the duties of the previous Records Communications Supervisor with one full-time and on part-time person for an overall savings of $7,864. Police Operations and Services have stayed constant as well as Communications and Dispatching. Overall things have stayed pretty much in line with last year.
No changes were made to Personal & Property Protection.
The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
William F. Smith, Jr.
Town Manager
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