|
Hancock Advisory Committee Meeting Tuesday, December 6, 2011 Minutes
The meeting convened at 6 p.m. at the Town Office. Present: Ben Billings, Matthew Hale, Marsha Kono (Secretary), Ron Mack, and Pat Payne (Chair). Invitee: Town Administrator Barbara Caverly. The primary goals of the meeting were to get an update on the status of the budget process and discuss Barbara's preliminary budget for general town administration. TOWN ADMINISTRATION – Acct. # 4130 The proposed budget is $176,704 -- up $8,281 or +4.9% (before potential wage increases). Tentative estimated Wage/Salary increases from an 11/22/11 report would add about $1500 increasing the total Acct. # 4130 to $178,204, an increase of $9,781 or 5.8%. Notable proposed changes from the 2011 budget include:
The "cyclical" method has two significant advantages: a) More accurate recording and correcting of data on physical features and specifications due to a less rushed and compressed physical review, and b) Spreading the costs (typically around $100,000 for a full revaluation) over five years – allowing smoother budgeting. The proposed budget for 2012 is $16,000 which included $12,000 for the first year of a "cyclical" process. The Select Board expects that, after the first 5-year cycle the Town would have two options: The first would be to skip four years and do a "statistical update" in the fifth year (as was done in 20ll at a cost of $34,000 from the Unreserved Fund Balance); the second would be to start in on a new 5-year "cyclical valuation" cycle.
Barbara said she wants to work out an overall equipment strategy that would include a scheduled maintenance plan, equipment replacement schedules, and software upgrade strategy, in order to smooth out budget impacts as well as minimize costly and disruptive breakdowns. Barbara did not review the other administration budgets with us (e.g., Election Administration, Accounting/Auditing, Legal Expense, Employee Benefits, Insurances, Planning & Zoning). While the Advisory Committee has some preliminary numbers for these accounts, there are some gaps and we do not know if they have changed since the mid-November versions. Also, as of December 6, the Advisory Committee has not received a complete preliminary budget for 2012 (with ––totals and $ and % comparisons -- by department -- to the 2011 budget). Nor have we received a complete list of Warrant Articles, including supporting rationales, requested dollars and proposed Warrant wording. Members of the Committee thanked Barbara for her time, openness, and willingness to discuss issues with us. However, the Committee also expressed frustration over the format, usefulness and timeliness of reports on actual 2011 revenue & spending, as well as 2012 budget materials. Members asked whether efforts are under way to come up with more "management-friendly" formats (including $ increases/decreases and percentage comparisons) both for actual financial reporting and the budget development process. We also asked whether the Select Board, Barbara, and the bookkeeper need to tap into the expertise of perhaps the Town Treasurer or others with financial management expertise and experience to develop more useful formats for a family of regular management reports. Some members also expressed their opinion that – while some Department/Committee budget proposals show serious and creative evidence of efforts to contain costs and trim spending where possible in order to offset unavoidable increases and revenue losses – others appear to be "business as usual" without apparent sensitivity to revenue challenges facing the Town and financial challenges facing many households. The numbers the Committee has seen so far (and we have yet to see complete & totaled numbers) appear to point to an increase in total Town spending in 2012 (Operating Budget plus Warrant Articles) that will be in excess of 5% for the second year in a row – at a time when: a) Cutbacks of State of NH funding are likely to persist, if not worsen; b) Town revenues show no real signs of recovering; and c) Many residents continue to suffer from reduced or stagnant incomes. We continue to hope we will receive completed Budgets, Revenue Forecasts and Warrants, so that it will be possible to take a broader view look at the whole picture in time to make a Committee report. The meeting adjourned at about 8 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marsha Kono, Secretary
|