Town of Otis
Finance Board/Selectboard Budget Meeting
March 28, 2016
Present: Don Hawley, Roberta Sarnacki, Bill Hiller, Terry Gould, Michael Ernst, Walter Engels, Sandy Pinkham
Meeting called to order at 7:15 pm.
Purpose: Continue reviewing Budget proposals for Fiscal Year 2017
Capital Expenses: Sandy let the two boards know that he expected he would be able to pay for part of the Extrusion Cleaning system for the Fire Department. The washing unit is the most important piece. The Select Board noted this item was not included on Chris’ revised Capital Expense worksheet, so $10,000 was added to cover the cost of this item. Sandy can make a motion to amend the amount at the Annual Town Meeting when he has solid numbers.
It was also noted that Keith wanted to purchase a utility trailer. Michael will speak with Chris tomorrow to see if there is money from Keith’s current budget for this purchase. If not, this will need to be added to Capital Expenses.
East Otis Schoolhouse Foundation was removed from the Capital Expenses and will be put back on for next year.
The Highway small dump truck was left off the Capital Expense sheet so the $60,000 number was increased to $150,000. And the AmVets container was added on for an additional $3500. This makes the new Capital Expense total $412,572.00.
#88 Recreation Expenses: Most of the discussion addressed only the Programs line item. The Select Board mandated that Swim Lessons should be part of the Programs line item and not kept as a separate line item. Memberships should also be included in the Programs line item and not maintained separately. After a lot of discussion, the Select Board decided the Programs line item, including Swim Lessons and Memberships, would be funded at $22,000. The Recreation Commission is required to deliver a breakdown of that total figure with a dollar amount for each of the planned Programs for FY2017 at the April 12th Select Board meeting. The rest of the Rec. Expenses line items were then reviewed and several lines were eliminated. Swim Lessons as a separate line item was removed because it was now included in the Programs line item. Porta-Potties were removed, geese deterrent was removed, Maintenance was increased to $600 from $100, and Memberships was removed as a separate line item because it is now included in Programs. The final budget amount for the Recreation Expenses was approved at $28,913.00.
#89 Recreation Salaries: The Program Supervisor line item was discussed extensively. Due to the personnel review, this position was awarded a 5% increase to $19.58 per hour. The 56 hours of contingency time was removed from the budget. Due to the removal of this line item, it was determined this position would be a maximum of 29 hours per week with Recreation board meeting attendance being included within that 29 hour timeframe. This line item was approved at $29,526.64 at $19.58 per hour, 29 hours per week maximum for 52 weeks. The Supervisor line item then had its 4 hours contingency time removed and was set at $889.92. The Cleaning/Disinfecting line item remained at $1417.50, bringing the total budget amount to $31,834.06, which is the approved budget amount for Recreation Salaries.
Another budget meeting is scheduled for Monday April 4th at 6:00 pm if additional meetings are still needed. Chris Morris will determine if we still need to have this meeting or cancel it.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:38 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa D’Orazio
Selectmen’s Secretary
Town of Otis
List of Documents
A copy of Chris’ revised Capital Expenses spreadsheet will be filed with these meeting minutes.