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Warner Budget Committee Meeting Minutes Tuesday,
November 16, 2010
The meeting opened at In attendance: Mike Cutting, Alfred
Hanson, Martha Bodnarik, Paul DiGeronimo, Peter Savlen – Warner
Village Water Precinct Representative and Selectman Clyde Carson Absent: Marc Violette, Others present: Selectman David E.
Hartman, Laura Buono – Town Administrator, William Chandler – Police
Chief 1. Meeting Minutes A motion was made and seconded to approve
meeting minutes dated 2. Capital Expenses At the last meeting Mr. Hanson requested a
spreadsheet on what has been spent on capital expenses.
The Town Administrator provided a spreadsheet that dates back to
2007. The Town Administrator
will also send the spreadsheet to the members by email. 3. Police Department 2011 Budget Mr. Cutting asked for a status on this
year’s activity. The Chief
said the numbers will be down because the Police Department has gone for
a full year without a full-time position being filled. Highlights for the Police Department: o
Wages are budgeted for the employees that are scheduled
for 2011. o
The Chiefs salary will end up at the maximum level. o
The vacant full-time position will be filled by the end of
November. o
The part-time position supports 150 hours of coverage per
week, 20 hours of coverage per day as well as covering for vacations. o
Telephone increased by $200 because of usage. o
It was noted that there may not be enough budgeted for
electricity based on last year’s usage.
The deficit amounts to $425, the Chief will adjust this line. o
Equipment maintenance is budgeted $150 less than last year
because radar certifications are now completed once a year instead of
every six months. Calibration
is also completed on site. o
Vehicle fuel increased by $500 to accommodate for the
full-time position. Full
mileage estimate for the year is 49,500 miles total.
Fuel rate is locked in at $2.74 for one year. o
Cruiser expense increased by $270 to cover tire changes. o
Future building maintenance concerns include the siding on
the building. Alfred Hanson asked the Chief what kind of
savings he looks at compared to the expenditures. The
Chief said any department wants to provide accurate services to the
town. He said with the way
the economy is it’s not always possible.
The Chief said he would like to provide 24/7 coverage and have a
larger crew, but it can’t be that way, especially the way the economy
is. The Chief said the goal
right now is to maintain what is in place.
Mr. Hanson asked the Chief if he is running at “bare bones”.
The Chief said he would not want to go any lower.
The Chief said statistics that are in place show his staff is 50%
behind the stats (8 full-time positions).
The Chief said what is important right now is to maintain what is
in place; the future will dictate where the department should go. Mike Cutting said one of the reasons he
asked for analysis on the activity at the Police Department is history
shows when economic times are tight there is usually more criminal
activity. The Chief said at
this time he has not seen anything astronomical this year, the town has
been fortunate. Peter Savlen asked if coverage is based on
population, what if it doubles in five years.
The Chief said there is a 3,000 population rule; the State is not
required to cover, and if the State does cover a crime that requires
investigation the case is handed back over to the town. Peter Savlen asked what the life span is
on a cruiser. The Chief said
4-5 years and the Ford Explorer will make the 8-10 year mark. Mike Cutting asked about the original
design of the laptops which was to automatically download when the
cruiser came within the vicinity of the Police Department, there was a
problem and the download was not happening.
The Chief said the download is still not happening, at this time
money is not available to hire a technician to troubleshoot.
Right now reports are completed on the laptop by the officer and
then the officer zip drives the report to their secretary.
At this time at cost has not been obtained to correct the
downloading issue. 4. Other Business Mr. Hanson asked about the status on the
Bower Easement (Conservation Commission).
Selectman The Budget Committee will meet with the
Highway Department and the Transfer Station on December 2nd;
they would like to also add the Fire Department. The Selectmen will have a Capital budget
available on December 9th. The Fire Department was also scheduled to
present their budget this evening but the Fire Chief canceled this
afternoon because he needed to attend a training meeting involving a
live burn. Selectman Hartman
commented that the Fire Department has known for several weeks about
this budget meeting. The
Town Administrator said the Fire Department would prefer to meet on a
Thursday rather than a Tuesday because the Fire Department has regularly
scheduled meetings on Tuesdays. 5. Adjournment At Respectfully submitted, Mary Whalen Recording Secretary
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