Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting Notes – FY18 Budget Discussion Continues, Finance Director Plans Retirement

Brattleboro’s Finance Director, John O’Connor, announced that he might retire during FY18.  Vacation buybacks were a frequent topic and planners are using fewer ballpoint pens.

All this and more, at a special meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard from a remote but familiar location across the street from their usual meeting room.

Preliminaries

Chair David Gartenstein called the special meeting in the basement of the Gibson Aiken Center to order, in front of a quilt and below something that sounded a bit like a basketball game.

Town Manager Peter Elwell reminded everyone that snow removal was in progress, and more would occur in the next day or so.

For selectboard comments and committee reports, Dick DeGray praised the town for clearing snow from crosswalks downtown, and asked if the requirement for building owners to clear walks within 24 hours was too generous.

Gartenstein said they usually send out an “enforcer” at the beginning of the season to remind them, and they usually act well once reminded.

No public participation, so the board began reviewing more departmental budgets for FY18.  Department heads presented their respective numbers and justifications.

FY18 Budget – Town Manager’s Office

Town Manager’s Office FY18 revenues are projected to be down $1,000, or – .65%, to $152,500. Part of the reason is that investment income is down, due to low interest rates.

“Investment income?” asked David Gartenstein. “What’s the capital?”

Town Manager Elwell said the money came from the “idle funds of the Town,” that is, balances held in co-mingled funds earning money market rates. This, he said, was the General Fund’s share, and other funds have their own.

Expenses up $6,637, or 2.94%, to $232,170.

Kate O’Connor asked where income from street permits went (it goes to the Town Manager’s Office miscellaneous revenue account) which prompted a reminder from Elwell that the budgets show where the money comes in but that no department “owns” the income. It all goes in and is evenly expended to meet the needs of the budget.

FY18 Budget – Finance

Revenue flat at $50,000 from Business License Fees. “We elected not to change this number,” said John O’Connor.

Expenses up $17,737, or 5.23%, to $357,153. This increase, he said, is attributed to vacation time buyout. “I may retire in FY18,” he announced in a rather calm, Finance-Director sort of way.

The board jokingly considered not okaying the vacation buyback portion of the budget, to keep him.

DeGray asked about bank service charges, which were described as the fees charged every month to process credit card transactions.

FY18 Budget – Assessor

Revenue down $250, or 12.20%, to $1,800, which is generated mostly from fines and penalties.

Expenses up $11,167, or 6.96%, to $171,554. This also includes some vacation time buyback, but no retirements were announced. Instead, the department would be adding staff, to bring them up two full-time and two part-time positions.

“We tried three full-time but it wasn’t a good combination,” said Russell Rice.

This led to a short discussion of possibly cross-training departmental staff to fill in, like substitute teachers, in other departments. Elwell said they’d look into ways for the administrative team to do more, and to facilitate more collaboration among departments.

FY18 Budget –  Planning

The first planning item regarded meetings.  “The next time we schedule a meeting here we have to think of whether there is a basketball game upstairs,” said Gartenstein to the sound of random thumps overhead.

Revenue is expected to go up $19,950, or 44.28%, to $65,000, the increase expected from planning permit fees.

Expenses up $9,917, or 4.79%, to $216,924. Vacation buyback is a line item, said Rod Francis, and an increase in professional services is being requested to assist with a downtown master plan project.

Office supply expenses were minimal, prompting John Allen to ask if Francis was stealing office supplies.

“It reflects the changing nature of our work,” replied Francis. “We send emails, and need fewer ballpoint pens.”

FY18 Budget –  Library

“This is my first time, so I’m looking forward to it,” announced Starr LaTronica to some chuckles from the board.

She wanted it to be clear there were two funding sources, the Town and the library’s endowment, and promised more clarity between the ways all funds are accounted for in the coming months.

Revenue is expected to go down $3,650, or -7.41%, to $45,600.

Expenses up $8,524, or 1.38%, to $627,791. “No vacation buyback,” said Latronica,” just vacations!”

She said the library’s telephone system was “the oldest in town” and would be upgraded soon. She also made note that the library maintains the only remaining public fax machine downtown.

Gartenstein asked if the plan was to continue to fund some library hours with endowment funds, and the answer was yes. Hours would remain as they are now.

John Allen asked whether people would like the library open even more. Sunday hours, he was told, are most requested. “But it is a huge investment.”

Dick DeGray recounted visiting Florida and being charged hourly to use the library computers. Latronica said that went against best practices to have reciprocal arrangements for free access. “I’m surprised by Florida charging extra,” she said. “Materials can’t be lost, damaged, or stolen.”

The library budget update ended with a promise to bring the board a report on the library’s endowment.

FY18 Budget –  Recreation & Parks

“Welcome to Gibson Aiken. I apologize for the gymnasts upstairs flipping about,” said Carol Lolatte.

Revenues are expected to go up $12,400, or 5.51%. to $237,400. Most of it is generated by user fees and rentals of various spaces.

Recreation & Parks Expenses are spread over multiple categories.

Rec Admin expenses are rising $4,462, or 2.36%, to $193,170.

Gibson-Aiken Center building expenses are down $1,860, or -1.92%, to $95,193.

Parks expenses are up $9,426, or 3.31%, to $294,311.

Cemetery maintenance expenses remain flat, at $27,000.

Gibson-Aiken program expenses are up by $1,166, or 17.06%, to $8,000. Lolatte said new windows were starting to bring down energy costs, and more cost savings are expected now that more windows have been replaced.

Senior Center expenses are flat, remaining at $4,000.

The Skating Rink expenses dropped $7,320, or -8.16%, to $82,360.

Day Camp expenses are down $600, or -1.96%, to $30,000.

Swimming Pool expenses are up $243, or .42%, to $57,930.

Overall, this amounts to just over $790,000, or about 1% increase over the previous year.

DeGray has many questions. Could the snack bar contract be put out to bid? (Yes.) Could the pool stay open until Labor Day? (It’s complicated, but maybe, if hours are shuffled for late season access.) Could we rent out the Creamery Bridge for events? (We’ll look into it.) How are the pool repairs? (On schedule, going well.) How are skating rink compressors doing? (So far, so good this season.) Can we contract out for summer mowing rather than hire part-time help? (Yes, but we’d lose all the other work they do, such as cleaning bathrooms and picking up trash.)

Gartenstein questioned subsidizing parks and recreation. “It’s a significant subsidy. We spend over $750,000 and bring in $250,000.”

David Schoales said that pool served many low-income kids, and that any subsidy was appropriate.

Capital Expenses requested for the Recreation & Park Department include $300,000 for the skatepark and $25,000 for the skatepark (paid with donations, not tax money), plus $30,000 for Gibson Aiken window replacement and $50,000 for Gibson-Aiken parking lot improvements.

Both DeGray and Allen questioned the parking lot paving, DeGray asking if the work on the Gibson Aiken lot could be combined with the adjoining Town parking lot, and Allen wondering if $50,000 was enough.

Elwell agreed that the lots were in bad shape, but also reminded them that the capital plan for parking lot paving showed higher priorities, such as Harmony Lot. He said they’d report back in January on this and other issues. 

Deliberative Session for Bittersweet Lane Reconsideration

Before adjourning, Elwell announced a need for an executive session in addition to the deliberative session regarding Bittersweet Lane reclassification. They announced them, and promised not to take any action when they re-emerged to adjourn

Comments | 3

  • Business License still unfairly applied

    I’m a bit surprised Business License revenue is projected to be flat, considering the hundreds of new AirBnB operators in town. Maybe that’s a business that one can do in town without a license? I was told they were going to track them all down. Looks like they got a pass. (While we’re at it, what about the people making their living online selling books, antiques and other items on E-bay, Etsy, and so on. I know people are making a living and not paying any business tax.)

    The business tax is applied only if you are above the radar, which makes it unfair.

    Also, $50,000 in business tax income. This was supposed to be a fee that covered the costs of running the program, like a service, not an income generator. At least that was the claim when it was introduced. But that’s more than what is claimed it costs to administer. There’s a profit being made. With about 1,000 businesses, the annual fee could be more like $15-30 and still cover all costs of the program.

    Final point, there is one big employer in town that provides services throughout the town that has never had a business license to operate: The Town of Brattleboro. They claim their services are for everyone, so it doesn’t apply (I’d argue that not all town services are for everyone, and, there are other businesses in town that provide services to everyone, too). The point of the business license is to have a full record in the database, right? By not participating, it makes it seem like the license is more about revenue (which it is) than licensing.

    My annual rant. The Business License Tax is overpriced, not fairly applied, and doesn’t produce a database of all businesses in town. End it, or fix it.

  • No apologies required

    The noise above your heads that sounded like a basketball game was, in fact, a basketball game. The kid’s mixed age league practices/plays on Tuesday nights.
    My grandson is in it and loves it. Nobody should be apologizing for noise being made by any kids who are enjoying some kind of physical activity and learning interpersonal skills and good sportsmanship. This is what we should want our kids to be doing.

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