Town of Atkinson
Budget Committee Meeting Minutes
October 9, 2007
Attending: Jim Blackadar – Chairman, Dave Paquette Vice Chairman, Paul Tracy, Maggie Osborn, Mari Anne Princiotta, Fred Thompson, and Fred Childs ex officio
Jim called the meeting to order at 7:04 PM. The first order of business was to review the minutes from the October 2, 2007 meeting.
Dave motioned to accept the minutes as presented/Seconded by Paul/Unanimous (6-0, Fred T. Abstained)
Jim presented information from the mailbox which included an amendment to RSA 32:5. The amendment states that the Town may include the vote made by the budget committee on a warrant article. The Board determined that for the Town to adopt this practice it would require a warrant article. Also, Jim informed the Board that we now have the guidebook for NH elected officials and the basic law of Town budgeting.
The Board then reviewed all the preliminary budgets submitted to date. Jim stated the purpose was to have a brief review and concentrate on the bottom line. The Board reviewed the following budgets:
Notes:
1. Fred T. informed the Board that he had met with the Police Dept and Elderly Affairs and had gone over their budgets. Fred stated that the preliminary Police budget is up 2.1 percent from last year due to minor adjustments and the Elderly budget is up $5,229 due to increased labor hours. He also stated that there may be an additional $5K for HazMat training. The Board determined that it would be best to include it in the Training line within the budget vs. a warrant article. Fred also stated that they are considering using the detail account to fund the required equipment for the CAR 54 project ($2,026 WiFi capabilities). Lastly, the Board also determined that the Computer Tech is in the Executive budget.
2. Will increase to cover a new roof for Town Hall to coincide with the Town Hall expansion warrant article.
3. Increase due primarily for additional hours for Officers.
4. May be adjusted for additional services required for the master plan update.
5. Increase due to merit increases.
6. Fred C. presented this budget to the Board since it was received by Town Hall after the other budgets.
7. Not formally reviewed since it was contained in Dave’s excel File. Dave did inform the Board that the Town Clerk really wants to get the scanning project up and running. The Board discussed the possibilities of this being a warrant article and incorporating all Town records.
The Board then summarized the missing budgets by liaison:
Dave – Elections & Registrations, Moderator
Paul – Highway, Recycling, Waste Disposal and Conservation
Fred T. – Cemetery
Mari Anne – Advertising, Street Lighting
Maggie – Animal Control, Cable TV
The Board then began scheduling the Department Head meetings:
Oct 16 – Police & Elderly
Oct 23 – Planning & Zoning (7:00 PM)/General Government Buildings (7:30 PM)/Highway, Recycling & Waste Disposal (8:00 PM)
Oct 30 – Fire (7:00 PM)/Recreation & Community Center (7:45 PM)
Nov 6 – Open
Nov 13 – Library (7:00 PM)/Town Clerk (8:00 PM)
Nov 20 – Open
Nov 27 – Town Administrator
The balance of the budgets will be filled in accordingly. The Board also determined that their Public Hearing will be January 15, 2008. All Warrant Articles are due by January 8, 2008. The Board will hold a meeting on January 10, 2008 to review the submitted warrant articles.
The Board established the next meeting to be October 16, 2007.
Fred T. motioned to adjourn the meeting/Seconded by Mari Anne/Unanimous (7-0). Jim adjourned the meeting at 8:32 PM.
Respectively submitted,
kjb
Enclosure
Agenda
7:00 PM – Town Hall
· Review Minutes from October 2, 2007 Meeting.
· Begin Scheduling Department Meetings
· Open Discussion