Brattleboro Selectboard Chair David Gartenstein wished everyone a happy, good,and safe Thanksgiving at the start of the board’s Tuesday night special meeting.
Police Fire Facilities
Gartenstein announced that they would be putting the Police and Fire Facilities Project on every agenda in the foreseeable future, to give time for updates, questions, and special topics of discussion. He named four issues for the board to consider at upcoming meetings: how funding the project relates to the general fund budget, how the project fits with our long-term capital needs, how moving the police to Putney Road would impact the use of the Municipal Center, and the public impact and public good of moving police to Putney Road.
John Allen said he was impressed with the turnout of 45 people at the first community meeting to discuss the project options, and hoped to see more people at the two additional meetings scheduled. He thought the attendees had “great questions, positive questions,” that were supportive of the project.
FY 17 Budget – Police, DPW, and Recreation & Parks Departments
The selectboard continued their look at the proposed FY17 budget by considering the specifics of three large departments for the town, the Police, Public Works, and Recreation & Parks departments.
First up was Chief Mike Fitzgerald to present on behalf of the police. He, like the other department heads, gave an overview of his department, noting that the 42 person department handles over 10,000 calls per year.
He said his major issue was hiring and retention of officers, as recently discussed in detail at another selectboard meeting, with the length of time to hire someone and limited windows for training being at the top of his headaches. The total budget for the department, he said, was up 0.2%.
Asked whether there could be cost savings if we didn’t dispatch police, fire and rescue services to each scene, the Chief felt that savings, if any, wouldn’t outweigh the costs to public safety. He says our system means that all qualified personnel arrive in a timely manner, assess the situation, and those needed stay to work.
Asked about high overtime costs, the Chief said it was mostly due to being short-staffed, and filling basic operations. Strategic overfilling of positions should help, he felt.
There were a few other questions about line items, and some fond memories by board members and the town manager of bike registration stickers, and the fear of not being registered (in the 1970’s) compared to the relative non-compliance nowadays. The Chief pointed out that registration means that stolen bikes are easier to identify and return.
Steve Barrett and Hannah O’Connell gave the presentation on behalf of the DPW. With a similar overview of the department, they let it be known that they fix and maintain just about everything in town that the town owns—from roads and sidewalks to parking lots and snow removal, the DPW takes care of it.
There weren’t many notable big changes in the FY17 budget. A bit more to spend for retaining walls, a bit less for street signs, and guesses as to where fuel and salt/sand costs will end up. He explained that with many weather-related costs, the department averages recent years and aims for something prudent.
The board had a few questions about the status of projects (Chestnut Hill next spring, Elliot Street bridge next year, etc.), and David Schoales had some general objections to the assumption that fuel costs were going up. Town Manager Elwell reminded him that the budget begins next July and goes for a year, so they are planning for a rate of $3 per gallon in FY17.
Barrett explained that salt and sand use is much more calibrated than the olden days, when trucks drove around and guessed how much to dump. Now, the amount dropped is calibrated per mile, and infrared detectors are used to look at road temperatures. The end result is a reduction in salt and sand, which he hopes to further increase someday by using a brine rather than solid salt.
The final departmental report came from Carol Lolatte. She gave a review of her department of nine full-time and 40 seasonal employees. Not only do Recreation and Parks manage numerous programs, they also watch over parks and buildings, playgrounds and pools.
Her budget is basically unchanged from the previous year, the only increase being an increase in fuel costs at Gibson-Aiken, and some minor adjustments to keep up with a rising minimum wage.
Schoales again questioned the town-wide decision to use $3 as a price for gas. “Short of a war with Russia, there won’t be much of a price rise,” he speculated.
