Pittsfield Select Board Special Budget Meeting-Tuesday- November 23, 2021

​PITTSFIELD SELECT BOARD SPECIAL BUDGET MEETING MINUTES

 
“To listen to a recording of the meeting please click here: https://bit.ly/315Ieoh
 
DATE:  November 23, 2021
 
PRESENT:   Ann Kuendig, Joyce Stevens, AJ Ruben
 
PUBLIC PRESENT: Trish Fryer, Betty Warner
 
AGENDA MODIFICATIONS:  Skating Rink – OB#2; PDF Subscription – OB#3
 
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:  November 9, 2021 Special Budget Meeting Minutes
OLD BUSINESS:

1. General Fund, Highway, Cemetery Expenditures

 
NEW BUSINESS:

1. Board of Listers Budget/Capital Improvements Plan
2. Treasurer – Reserve Funds Proposal
3. Special Town Meeting Schedule - Warrant

 
NEXT SPECIAL BUDGET MEETING: Tuesday, November 30, 2021
NEXT REGULAR MEETING:  Thursday, December 2, 2021
 
ADJOURN
 
Ann called the meeting to order at 5:03pm.  AJ seconded. All in favor.  Ann had two Agenda Modifications (see above). Seconded by AJ.  All in favor.  AJ moved to approve the Minutes of the November 9, 2021 Special Budget Meeting Minutes. Ann seconded.  All in favor.  Betty Warner from the Board of Listers was present to discuss their budget and capital plan.  Ann moved to take New Business #1 out of order.  AJ seconded.  All in favor.
 
OLD BUSINESS:

1. General Fund, Highway, Cemetery Expenditures.  

       General Fund: Trish said she has a spreadsheet for actual January to November plus two more columns.  Tech Support &               Software: Discussion of purchasing Adobe vs Nitro and their costs. Joyce moved to purchase Adobe (five licenses) at $188 annually.  AJ seconded. All in favor.  Trish was given approval to order Adobe now with the credit card.  The bill would be paid in January.  Increased to $2878 for 6mo, $4840 12mo, $5028 ’22 12mo (Saguaro, QB payroll, QB check fee). Planning Commission: Misc./Assistance from TRORC discussed.  Salaries: A decision needs to be made on the Librarian but waiting for new budget capital plan submission from the Library Trustees.  Disaster Fund Reimbursements: Trish said there are no new figures from the 
State, but the requirements for a 17.5% state reimbursement have been confirmed.  She said she is hoping to use the state reimbursement to pay off the Late April 2019 Flood Note before  May.  If not, the note will have to be rewritten and interest paid.  Trish went through some of the Disbursements and noted which ones are missing figures. Highway and Cemetery were tabled to the next meeting.

1. Skating Rink.  Joyce said that Coral sent over an estimate but does not have any volunteers yet due to the short notice.  The size of 40’ x 70’ was determined to allow for room for a bench. The kit which includes the liner, corner pieces, but not any of the wood is $675.00.  Joyce asked if money from the Recreation Fund could be used.  There is more than enough to purchase the kit and lumber.  AJ moved to disburse up to $1000 for the skating rink from the Recreation Reserve Fund if a three-member volunteer steering committee will be available for management/maintenance.  Seconded by Joyce.  All in favor.
2. PDF Adobe Vs Nitro Subscription-(see discussion and motion under OB#1)

 
NEW BUSINESS:

1. Board of Listers Budget/Capital Improvements Plan. There was clarification as to what needs to be included in the various budgets and what needs to be Warned.  Betty said that the budget is like past years except for a few items.  Computer: Trish explained the computer billing for Saguaro.  It will be in two parts, January and July, instead of monthly.  Supplies: will remain the same. Postage: increased this year due to postcards being mailed regarding the reappraisal.  It will be increased to $300 for the 6mo proposed budget due to mailings. Postcards and/or Reappraisal Booklets will be mailed/emailed/ and available online.  License Fees: It was anticipated that there would be a slight increase for VALA and Apex. Mapping: This can only be estimated going forward as fees would depend on the number of maps recorded each year. It was agreed that money in the Reappraisal Fund could offset some of the budgeted items.  There was discussion about setting money aside annually for the next reappraisal which is supposed to be done every ten years.  Betty felt it would be irresponsible not to plan ahead. Ann thought that any money set aside to a reserve fund should be included in Capital Planning and should be an Article in the Warning.  Salaries: The Listers are proposing hiring a private assessing firm such as NEMRC to do all the computer transactions and interface processing at an estimated cost of $6,000 annually. An elected Board of Listers would still be maintained to do inspections and local communications as well as convey report and other data to the private assessor and print the tax bills, but Lister hours would be reduced to an estimated cost of $3360.     There was discussion on the present Lister wage system versus a single hourly rate the same for everyone.  Betty suggested that the Select Board determine the figure.  The Select Board is using a 4% salary increase for 2022.  Lister Training: reduced to $700.  The cost for NEMRC support is not known at this time.
2. Treasurer – Reserve Funds Proposal.  Table to the next meeting.
3. Special Town Meeting Schedule – Warrant.  Joyce reviewed the timeline: Tuesday-Jan 11 @ 6pm for Special Town Meeting; December 8 or 9– post Warning on bulletin boards and website;  January 3 – deadline to submit to newspaper of record for publication on January 6 five days before town meeting.   An interim budget will be available as a handout at the meeting and available online. Ann asked if the Noise Ordinance and ARPA Funds should be included on the Warning for open discussion.  The Board  will submit a Warning to Trish for publishing/posting.

 
 
 
 
NEXT SPECIAL BUDGET MEETING: Tuesday, November 30, 2021. There will be no meeting this date. Budget discussions can also take place during a regular meeting.
 
NEXT REGULAR MEETING:  Thursday, December 2, 2021 @6pm in the Town Hall.
 
 
Ann made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:52pm.  AJ seconded.  All in favor.
 
Respectfully submitted,
                                                                                    
Martha L. Beyersdorf, Secretary
 
Approved: December 7, 2021
 
 
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           Ann Kuendig                                        Joyce Stevens                                   A.J. Ruben