SELECTMEN’S MEETING
MINUTES
OCTOBER 1,
2001
The Board of Selectmen met this evening at the Easton Town Offices with Chairman William Hardin presiding, Clerk Jeffrey Tufts, Patricia Webster, Carla Goodwin, Leo Harlow and Town Administrator Kevin Paicos were also in attendance. (7:00p.m.)
On Harlow’s motion, seconded by Webster, the Board voted unanimously to approve General Minutes dated 9/17/01.
On Webster’s motion, seconded by Harlow, the Board voted 4-0-1 to table General Minutes dated 9/24/01, awaiting Webster’s addition to page 5. Goodwin abstained.
On Webster’s motion, seconded by Tufts, the Board voted
4-0-1 to approve Executive Session Minutes dated 9/24/01. Goodwin abstained.
A letter from the Dighton Fire Department expressing appreciation for assistance in the Taunton Expo Fire on September 15th was read by Hardin.
Mike Deltano was present to receive his award. His transition from Winstar to Merrimack Educating Center has save the town $8,589 annually. To date, the total savings of the Smart Budget Dollar Committee is $45,179. Hardin thanked Southworth and the committee the committee for their work on this committee.
On Webster’s motion, seconded by Tufts, the Board voted unanimously to approve the road closing and to further authorize temporary sign placement at the S-Curve and Washington Street , subject to the approval of the public safety departments. Other temporary sign locations should be coordinated through the Building Inspector. Tufts further noted that the area of Barrows from Lincoln to Main Street need to be closed for the weekend. Also coordination of the event should be consistent with last year’s consideration of the area of 72-76 Main Street.
Mr. Kenneth Domuczicz present. Hardin read the comments from town departments. Domuczicz noted that the Board of Health would be re-inspecting the premises on Friday.
On Harlow’s motion, seconded by Webster, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Common Victualler license, subject to final inspections by the necessary departments.
Mr. Chuck King – 41 Kennedy Circle asked about public safety. Specifically, he asked how many firefighters should be on each call as needed vs. how many we currently have out on calls. He also asked how many fire stations there are supposed to be 2, or 3. He referred to the proposal of the budget cuts for the upcoming Special Town Meeting (STM). Fire Chief Phill Blye suggested that NFPA suggests 4 people per truck. We currently have 2 people per truck and another 2 if an ambulance is required. Hardin responded to the request of how many stations we are supposed to keep open. Hardin noted that Town Meeting says three until told otherwise. Webster reiterated King’s concerns and stated that it was fair to say that the STM proposal does reduce the manning of stations. Webster referred to the Strong Chief Law and asked Chief Blye what he recommends for staffing. Blye recommend that all stations be open and more staffing of people.
Bill McAndrews – 16 Spooner Street referred to the 1997 Town Meeting where a voted to taken to keep all stations open. He suggested we should not lose any public safety due to these budget cuts. Mr. McAndrews submitted a petition with 500 signatures who were all in agreement.
Dotty Conceison – 7 Andrews Street referred to the September 11th tragedy. She spoke of the innocent peoples lives that were lost that day and commended all those working tirelessly to remove debris and New York officials were urged to stay away. She referred to a 9/25/01 newspaper article where it stated that our Town Administrator and Police Chief went to New York. She questioned why the Chief and Administrator were there when the Board had not allowed the Administrator to go. Hardin explained that respirators were brought to New York and discouraged her remarks. He further noted that they were there on their own time on the weekend. Conceison suggested that the Administrator used his authority to gain the spotlight and again referred to the newspaper article. She asked the Board for a public reprimand for what he has done. Hardin commended him for what he had done. Conceison commends all who went to help but noted that the Town Administrators in other communities did not go. At this point, Tufts called a point of order and asked that Conceison stop her comments and suggested that she be removed if she did not stop.
Mr. Sanghak Lee and Ming Dong were present.
Hardin read the comments submitted by all departments. It was noted that the tax exempt number is pending and they will submit this to the Selectmen’s Office when it is approved.
On Harlow’s motion, seconded by Webster, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Common Victualler license, contingent upon final inspections by the necessary departments.
Al Siegel was present.
On Harlow’s motion, seconded by Webster, the Board voted unanimously to approve the temporary sign permit and fee waiver.
On Harlow’s motion, seconded by Webster, the Board voted unanimously by roll-call to accept with regrets the resignations of Patricia Fruzzetti, Ellen Cark and Theresa Mathers and to also appoint Albert Becker to the position of Deputy Clerk for Precinct 1.
Tufts Becker, Harlow Becker, Hardin Becker, Webster Becker, Goodwin Becker.
DPW Director Wayne Southworth present.
The proposed composting facility plan was presented to the Board. The area will be located to the rear of Station #3 on Bay Road. This will an unmanned facility that will periodically be monitored.
Some concern was expressed with safety. Blye responded that they do not anticipate a large number of people using the facility. He stated that the garage doors are wide and it should not be a problem for the trucks to get through in case of an emergency. Paicos reiterated that this is being recommended on a trial basis. If there is a problem at this site, we will terminate or look for another location.
On Harlow’s motion, seconded by Goodwin, the Board voted unanimously to approve the recommendation. (see map attached)
FY’02 BUDGET – (see attached new proposal)
Paicos explained the new list in detail. In summary, all the public safety positions have been restored and DPW and Town Hall remain the same as voted by the Board originally. He specifically noted that in the Police Department, two Dispatchers and the reduction of one Secretary after February 1st will reduce the Fire Department cut to $131,000, while increasing the Police Department cuts. This will assure that not more than one station will be closed on a rotating basis. Paicos reiterated that the burden has shifted to the DPW and Town Hall. The cuts are now less than 20% of public safety. All other cuts are made elsewhere.
Harlow expressed concern that if you eliminate positions it creates more over-time which costs more than having more firefighters. Paicos explained the reasoning behind hiring new personnel vs. over-time. Harlow suggested making more cuts at Town Hall to save other positions and he referred to approximately 7 newly created positions which he felt could be eliminated. He feels it makes no sense to eliminate DPW workers when other positions can eliminated instead.
Webster explained that the cuts must be based on priorities. She suggested that the Fire Station closing is always being reconsidered. She referred to a recent meeting that some of the Selectmen had with Bill Lovely and Richard Harb and the Administrator. She stressed that everyone needs to be part of the decision-making. She expressed disappointment that she has ideas and they are not met in a welcoming way.
Her proposed cuts are as follows:
In general Webster believes that there should be no cuts in schools, elderly or public safety. She also is in agreement that it is better to fund a new position than to give over-time. She also recommends eliminating programs before people. She acknowledged that she did share some of the same items as the Administrator.
She also incorporated Harb’s suggestions regarding out of state travel.
$27,707
Conservation Commission 53 E1/2 $10,000 for engineering
Total amount is $1,224,308.
Webster also suggested that we look at the Town Charter and the non-union issues.
Richard Harb – Sheridan Street spoke as a citizen. Since the failure of the override, he has been vocal on the budget cut proposals. He has worked with many departments in Town. This also includes many discussions with the Town Administrator. He suggested that Paicos’ recommendations of Police and Fire are credible. He also agreed with Webster’s proposal. He urged the Selectmen not to vote on a proposal tonight and to give Webster’s recommendation some thought. He suggested another meeting this week. He agreed that the K9 dog at the Police Department should be eliminated ($20,000). He suggested that a decrease in the hours for the Recreation Department staff. He referred to some of the salaries in town as “runaway wages”. He supports keeping three fire stations open but also supports the idea of rotating one for the remainder of the fiscal year. He also agrees with cutting the two Dispatcher positions.
Hardin thanked Harb and Webster for their proposals. Hardin clarified that the only two elected officials on the Board of Selectmen that were not taking the Town’s health insurance were Webster and Hardin.
Paicos responded to Webster’s list. He suggested that it would not be recommended to level fund accounts and touch the unclassified regarding insurance. He also disagreed with out of state travel. He referred to the library and suggested that if you lower the amount to $40,000 we could jeopardize state aid. He also noted a difference of her opinion in cutting the Town Planner and the Secretary in the Administrator’s Office.
The Town Planner deals with zoning changes, meets with zoning enforcement officers and processes new applications. This process is exceptionally complicated and needs review. The elimination of this position will impact citizen needs. If the Town Planner position is taken away, it will be a disaster. Paicos referred to the elimination of the Secretary to the Administrator/Selectmen. He referred to the office as being very busy and the elimination of one Secretary will destroy productivity and you will be paying the Town Administrator to do clerical work. The elimination of this position will be another disaster. The Secretary does licensing, books appointments, personnel work, transcribes minutes, prepares packets for the Selectmen’s meetings weekly. The agenda process alone takes one secretary two days of work. Cutting the staff 50% will render the department inoperable. Regarding citizen calls, people will not be helped in an expeditious manner. Licensing will lack. If the other secretary uses sick time, there will be no coverage. This would be an absolute non-productive thing to do. Hardin commented on the Planner. He noted that the Town tried for years to get the Planner position and we should consider this when making that decision. Tufts also commented on the Planner and echoed the comments as stated above. Tufts also noted that he had already experience the environment when there was only one Secretary in the Selectmen’s office. The calls cannot get answered in an expeditious manner and the work doesn’t get done. This was a major issue in years past. Tufts noted that services must be cut. He is against using free cash. He feels strongly in the training programs like the Safe Sitter Course, SAFE program and Domestic Violence programs. He referred to cutting clerical replacement lines. He stressed the need to keep the funds as the money is needed when someone is out. He strongly urged not stripping each department of its shell just to get the money. Everyone has a different perspective. He also expressed concern that the capital budget is still not funded. Webster criticized Tufts’ concerns with closing offices when staff is out. She questioned the importance of this compared to closing fire stations when people’s lives are in jeopardy. Goodwin stressed the need to do as much work as possible before we go into Town Meeting. We need to be prepared together to represent things. The Board needs to show leadership. Paicos reminded the Board of the realities. He noted that the cuts have shifted from public safety to DPW and Town Offices. 78% is non-public safety and 22% is public safety. Paicos noted the only three big differences in Webster’s plans vs. his plan was the level funding of all departments, the Town Planner position and the Secretary position in the Administrator/Selectmen’s Office. Webster noted that she did not include the three DPW positions in her list. Paicos noted that the budget must balance to the penny and Town Meeting is approximately 7 days away and it is nearly impossible to recreate a list in this amount of time.
Mike Boyle – 32 Day Street noted that he is privileged to say that he has served the town over the years. He suggested that the Department Heads are being ignored and suggested that only one person can truly understand all the implications of the budget. He criticized the AD-Hoc committee members for not talking to the Department Heads and suggests cuts without knowing the ramifications.
Bob Hicks asked Webster for a copy of her proposal. He suggested that they look at state receipts. He agreed that a consensus needs to be met before we can go forward to Town Meeting.
Wayne Southworth spoke on behalf of the all the Department Heads and noted that most were present this evening. The Department Heads are professionals and are proud of the services that they provide and are here to provide services to the citizens of Easton. The public is very demanding. He suggested that they use the professionals that you hire when making decisions about the budget cuts. He noted that each and every Department Head has worked hard with the Town Administrator to understand the cuts. Southworth spoke of the Smart Budget Dollars Committee. We are always working on deficiencies to save more.
Hardin thanked the employees for the job that they do. He noted that we don’t say thank you enough.
On Tuft’s motion, seconded by Goodwin, the Board voted 3-2, Harlow and Webster opposed, to approve the Town Administrator cut list as amended by the Administrator. This includes two changes.
1. Transfer money to the overtime account for the Fire Department $150,000 through October 9th.
2. Additional dispatcher position and money to the overtime account for the Fire Department (60,000-80,000).
Bob Daly – 154 Highland Street stated that people don’t want to see outrageous pay increases now. He agrees with making cuts across the board. He noted that the citizens will not stand for making huge cuts to public safety. He was critical of the recently passed CPA. Harlow suggested that the Town Administrator gave very large raises to the non-union personnel. We can’t ask others to sacrifice and not sacrifice ourselves.
Paicos noted that he was recently questioned as to why we were using D. Moscas for legal services. Paicos noted that the DET requirements were a free service. He also respond to a question as to why he was filling a vacancy at Town Hall, he explained that it was a union position and would most likely be taken from within. Before he fills the final vacancy after the bumping has occurred, he will go back to the Board.
Webster asked where the funding comes from for the temporary employee in the Planning Board office. Paicos stated that the position is being funded from the 53 E1/2 revolving account.
Harlow asked why the Town Administrator was recently involved with a meeting relative to the landfill. Hardin noted that Harlow is mistaken and that the Administrator was asked not be involved in any audit related information relative to the landfill.
On Harlow’s motion, seconded by Webster, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 10:45pm.
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APPROVED
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DATE