Here’s the skinny on the 4/14/2008 Town Council meeting:
Councilor Comments:
All of the council members spoke of their sadness at the loss of Dennis Smith, who passed away on April 10. They spoke of his selfless dedication to his family and to the town. They described him as a friend, a mentor, a source of inspiration, and an example of how to work with others.
Council Chair Suzanne Roberge made two announcements:
1. She met with Public Works Director Terry Oliver and asked him to reconsider his resignation, which he did so he will continue to be Public Work Director.
1. She resigned from her position as Chair of the Council effective at the end of the meeting. She will continue to serve as a Council Member.
The following actions were taken on the agenda items:
Old Business
1. Discuss/take action on VFW request for funds.
Council voted to give VFW $500 toward purchase of flags
2. Discuss Comprehensive Plan update.
Acting Interim Town Manager gave an update on the update and revisions to the plan.
The Council agreed to put the Comprehensive plan on the agenda of the May 12 Council meeting for action.
New Business
1. Discuss/take action on donation to Lion’s Club.
Councilvoted to give the Lion’s Club $400 to assist with cost of the 2007 Christmas parade
2. Discuss/take action on EMA Director and Deputies.
Voted to appoint: Blain Cote as Director, Adam Hollick and Mark Leach as Deputy Director
3. Discuss/take action on acceptance of ATV Enforcement Grant.
Voted to accept
4. Discuss/take action on request to apply for Speed Enforcement Grant & Seatbelt Grant.
Voted to approve application
5. Discuss/take action on disposal fees at transfer station.
Council voted to accept recommendations to change disposal fees for certain items at the transfer station, including televisions, computers, printers, scanners, propane tanks, and construction refuse. Changes included some reductions in fees as well as some increases.
6. Discuss/take action regarding petition for Charter recall provision.
Council voted to hold an election onf 6/10/08.
7. Take action on St. Michael’s purchase option.
The town let the first option expire and has come to an agreement for a new purchase price of $875,000. They have developed a plan to purchase the property by exercising the $600,000 bond that citizens passed last summer and using $275,000 from the library reserve fund. This will mean they can purchase the property without adding to the tax rate. The plan is for the library to move into the church as a temporary measure. It will increase the library space from the current 1500 square feet to 5000 square feet. All Council members spoke of the importance of this piece of property for the town of South Berwick and expressed strong support for the plan.
Council voted to authorize the Town Manager to sign purchase option.
Council voted to seek a bond anticipation note for $600,000
Council voted to authorize the use of the library reserve fund for the purchase of the property.
The earlier part of the meeting was very interesting. I had never been there to go over the budget before.
I did get to meet Molly, and the other Dave Webster, so that was nice.
I also meet a couple of other people who at least read these blogs, if not post to them.
It was a very lonnngggg but enlightening meeting last night… Dave you met me, I was standing with the EMA director in the back of the auditorium.
The one with the ball cap, or the one with the community center issue?
Ball cap
It was great to meet people who I only knew online. Now I can picture some of you when I read comments.
It was a lonnngggg meeting. I think it is a healthy sign for South Berwick that so many people came out on a Monday evening to participate in the budget process. It made me realize how hard it is to cut a town budget. You can probably find advocates and opponents of every single expenditure so whatever the council cuts or leaves in, some people will be mad. Also it is so hard to know what cuts are fair since any cuts affect some group of town employees or citizens or both. An across the board cut of cost of living increases would only affect non-union employees. Cuts to specific programs like social services or the community center would affect people in need or seniors. It makes for very tough choices.
I took notes on all the budget discussion and will try to post a summary later in the week.
I agree with Molly. This is a very difficult process for the Council and senior staff. They’ve made a good, earnest start, but I think they need to dig deeper, and I think they know it. They were left with a huge problem from the former manager, both in the budget as proposed, and with the drained undesignated reserve (which the former manager drained over his tenure). This Council deserves our support and thanks as they do this difficult work.
Lets not put all the blame on the former town manager especially when he’s no longer around to defend himself.
OK, then, let’s try this: The designated reserve was raided coincident with the time of the tenure of the former town manager.
The present town councilors were also part of the equation.
I think it’s safe to say we’ve hashed over the Manager/Councilor blame game long enough. Nobody is going to change their minds on who’s to blame, we ought to just move on. Like all arguments, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
The budget meeting was very enlightening. One thing that no one seems to understand at all is that we are now on the verge of a prolonged downturn in the economy. To that end ==
1) Looking ahead, we’re going to see people in our town have trouble paying for heating oil and feeding their families. Employers are laying people off. Most of those who have jobs in private industry haven’t seen raises in years at this point. Or, in most cases, even cost of living raises.
— to ask people worried about their own economic security to pay higher taxes to provide town employees with raises, in addition to cost of living raises, — is just completely out of line. There are plenty of people in this town that would gladly do those jobs at the current salaries. And in the months ahead, that pool of potential employees is going to grow dramatically.
2) The town manager’s salary of $140K is beyond ridiculous. Justifying this by saying this is what town managers of towns comparable to South Berwick make is first and foremost false. Other small population towns without major industries, a small retail base and commercial tax roll, and no strong revenue base beyond property taxes do NOT pay their town managers a salary 2X the salary of the governer of Maine. Someone did not do solid research. Others completely lost their heads agreeing to this salary.
All that said, bottomline, the Council’s reasoning is irrelevant. Our town simply can not afford this salary.
This contract with the town manager should be renegotiated — by someone with experience in negotiation, and someone aware of the fact that he/she has a fiduciary responsibility to exercise some degree of sanity in making an agreement.
3) Regarding raising taxes in the range of 20-24%, there seems to be a general lack of awareness among board members concerning economic conditions and any sense that their short term actions can and will result in potentially horrific long-term consequences for the town.
To wit, in the coming year, residents of the town are going to be faced much higher gas and heating oil prices — some 30-40% higher than just a year ago. Food prices are also anticipated to rise exponentially in the months ahead. Moreover, due to the real estate boom of the past couple of years, this town does have its share of people facing the nightmare of adjustable mortgages adjusting much, much higher.
To this, the town council wants to add an increase of the neighborhood of 20-24% to real estate taxes.
This is a recipe for disaster >> people teetering on the edge due to the economic climate will be pushed over. Foreclosures will climb — depleting town tax rolls. Moreover, as properties are reappraised and sold in foreclosure, the town’s overall property values will decline, which means, in turn, other property owners are going to start turning up at town hall in droves demanding their property’s values be reappraised, and their taxes lowered.
Given the overall drop in property values, it is going to be extremely difficult for the town to maintain current assessments in the coming two to three years. It is going to be even harder to legally refuse to re-assess properties if comparables are going down 25-40% over the next year in a wave of tax-induced property sales and foreclosures.
The end result will be, not the higher revenues that the Town Council anticipates, but rather a long, painful tumble downhill for the town’s finances. In short, we’re shooting ourselves in the head.
Now is the time to end “luxury spending” like overpaying the Town Manager and providing generous raises to town employees, hunker down, do some serious budgeting cutting and do some serious long-term thinking and planning. And yes, there will be pain >>> but nothing like what will happen if the Town Council continues on its current path.
There are a couple of very hard years ahead of us and our economy — and we need to figure out how to get thru them without putting people out of their homes, without destroying property values, and nuking the long term future of the town. That’s going to take creativity, real belt-tightening, and a big jolt of discipline on the part of the Town Council.
KC, One thing I did find out at the budget meeting.
The salary listed under town manager is a combinatione of the town manager’s salary of $102,000 and part of the assistant manager’s salarry.
The other part of the assistant’s slary is billed to Admin
or something like that.
I still think $102,000 is high for this town, but it’s a little better than the $140,000 it looks like
I find it very curious that they don’t want to break down the benefits by departmentthough.
I also agree with the raises that are not contract bound.
I find it hard to believe that every town employee performed at a level that justifies a merit raise on top of a COLA.
THe private sector generally gives you one or the other, not both.
KC Here,Here!
Oh, and I have a few thoughts about per bag fees on trash proposed. People having a tough time are simply not going to use the dump. Not when the choice is dumping three bags of trash or buying a pound of hamburger for dinner >>> and there are people in this town who are in this position.
We are going to find trash dumped on the roadsides or in abandoned lots — which will increase our town costs. Or simply heaped in the woods to rot and ultimately, damage the water table. And, the non-permitted burning of trash is going to rise dramatically, which, if we have a dry summer increases the chances of uncontrolled burning.
Again, we are potentially shooting ourselves in the head. There are long-term consequences to all actions. We need to think these things thru and understand how they will impact not only our budget, but the town over the next several years.
COLA raises and merit raises are getting harder to come by in all areas. So is 100% health insurance. Many employers don’t offer that, even large insurance companies don’t offer that to their employees. Benefits are an area that should be considered when making cuts.
The point about insurance is something I brought up last night.
My cost have gone up over 50% in the last few years.
It’s been 24 years since I had 100% covereage for my health care,
and that was when I was in the Navy.
Ladyjane I couldn’t agree more I’m a retired federal worker and my health insurance cost 300 dollars a month.
It appears the only job currently recession proof is town employee of South Berwick, where do I apply? In the past couple of years, I have seen our household income drop. No more bonus, no cost of living increase, higher insurance cost and commuting expenses have doubled. Yet one feels thankful that their name has escaped the “layoff” list at the end of each week. Noone has or is entitled to immunity. This isn’t “reality TV” it’s real life.
I find it interesting that the Council also voted to give the VFW $500 for flags (!), and the Lions Club $400 for help with their Christmas parade. We are tens of thousands of dollars short, and they are still giving money away to the town employees and others. Clearly, the only people who understand that this town is in dire straits are the folks paying the taxes. Something has to give! Unfortunately for them, they are going to find that the well is running dry. Really.
I hear what you are saying about the donation, but unfortunately, as far as the VFW goes, the state law dictates that the town HAS to provide funds.
For the Lions club, their participation in the Christmas parade was with an understanding that the town would make a donation.
They won’t be involved in this years festivities.
We have the same problem in both the town and state level. There seems to be some belief that these are not government systems, but actually a jobs program. Come work for us, we’ll give you raises and excellent benefits you can’t get in the private sector.
There was an article on the CNN web site that I am trying to find again.
The State of Maine employees earn on average 30% more in salary and benefits than their private sector counterparts.
Just bringing them down to private sector levels would save the state $400,000,000 a year.
That is more than double the latest state budget crisis.
Yesterday, I saw an article in the Portsmouth Herald that some film maker wants to make a movie in the state, but wants the state to pay him $800,000 to do it.
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080415/NEWS/80415007/-1/ARCHIVE
The state is cutting funding for programs for special needs, the elderly, schools, etc, but this yahoo from Farmington sponsored a bill asking for the money. Maybe I’ll make a movie too! We all can! then the state can pay us and South Berwicks tax problems will be solved!
I agree one hundred percent about the health care and raises.
I said something about the healthcare costs at Monday’s meeting.
My costs have gone up over 50% the past 5 years because times are tough, and the company I work for is passing some of the increases on to us.
Why shouldn’t the town do the same?
When was the last time the town shopped around for a health care provider?
Are there cheaper programs out there?
Did every town employee really perform above and beyond expectations to the point where every town employee deserves a merit raise?
Even with companies that are still giving raises, it’s usually one or the other, not both.
I couldn’t agree more. One problem, though, is health insurance in Maine. There are not many carriers who write coverage, so an alternative is that employers cut the amount they contribute. I find it very sad that the state employees make more than the private sector – rather self-serving.
KC, you don’t want to pay for trash disposal, you don’t want higher taxes, you don’t want town employees salaries to increase, etc. Are you willing to volunteer your time at the transfer station to keep these costs down?
Actually, my husband brought up the idea of using volunteer effort to man the transfer station and it was shot down, so I don’t think KC volunteering will be the answer either.
At the company where I work, we are self-insured. Everyone was a little nervous about it at first, but it is actually working out well. The program is administrated by Harvard-Pilgram. Our costs went down 17%. Self-insure plans are going on the fact that the majority of people in your organization are healthy, and the likelihood of a major medical issue is low. It teaches us to utilize healthcare more wisely. Perhaps the town should explore something like this with their insurance underwriter?
Actually I would be happy to volunteer at the transfer station. It would give me the opportunity to sensibly lay the place out….so that we do not experience the accident waiting to happen there. You think we have trouble now, wait until some kid running out of the swap shop gets hit, and the town finds itself on the receiving end of a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
And its not like we all don’t know its a dangerous situation.
KC, I could not agree you with more about the transfer station. I don’t know which administrator if falls under but it needs some serious work. The traffic pattern is a mess. The only thing the new entrance does is allow for more vehicles to wait in line and not be in the road. The new plastic bailer is only good for bailing jugs so anything that is #1 or #2 but not a bottle or jug ends up getting tossed into the hopper. I can almost guarantee that if we go to a pay per bag system you are going to see more illegal dumping. We would basically be paying for garbage disposal twice. Once in our taxes and again when we buy the bags.
From the meeting it was learned that the town pays 100% medical for single and 80% for family. That’s overly generous to ne in these times of cost sharing. I think the Council shoul dlook at some cost shifting like the rest of get hit with in the private sector. As for the transfer station, I’m no engineer but whoever laid out the traffic flow wasn’t thinking clearly. Not a very effective use of the space there, not to mention a safety hazard. I would be happpy to volunteer there so I can reprimand those that don’t recycle properly per the guidelines. It takes me about 30 minutes preparation time just to make sure I’ve got all my items sorted properly and I happily do this.
As young adults with young children it is horribly hard to sustain more taxes in this State and this Town. Don’t get me wrong, we love living here, but the State Taxes are bad enough! Now our Property Taxes are increasing again? It’s bad enough a couple years ago the Town came in and reassessed our home 3 years after it was built! The reassessment was ridiculous! We must be assessed at 100 % of bank values now. So now we are going down another road of higher taxes? Bottle Taxes, Income Taxes, Excise Taxes, Sales Tax! What happened to Freedom? What happened to people taking care of themselves? What is with the astronomical TAXES we are paying? My Wife and I are under 30 and have two young kids and it’s very hard to get taxed this hard. Where is our hard earned money going?
Some people may not know this, I believe there are “volunteers” at the dump now. There are individuals doing there community service at the transfer station.
As for the pay by bag system…how much litter are we going to see in our community if this is instituted?