Board of Selectmen Minutes
Town Office Building
January 9, 2017
Selectmen’s Conference Room
6:30 P.M.
First Selectman Mailhos called the meeting to order at 6:35 P.M. with the following in attendance: Selectmen Kowalyshyn & Blessington, Business Manager Donna Latincsics and Town Historian Mark Palmer.
Budget Workshop
Donna presented the draft #1 for the Selectmen with the updates since Friday’s meeting. It is still a work in progress.
The Selectmen began with the Historian’s request for a line item to cover temporary part time help to handle historical documentation ($1,200). His thought would be to hire two interns over the summer and the line item would cover the salaries. The second request is for tolland county map of 1857 for display in the TOB; the cost of the map ranges between $900 and $2,400 (depending on the condition).
Selectman Kowalyshyn asked Mr. Palmer if the Historian has ever had a budget in the past? Mr. Palmer stated that he doesn’t believe the Historian has had a budget with the Town in the past; he stated it is sort of nebulous but in the past, the Historian was also the President of the Historical Society; noting that this was before the State Statute had created a Municipal Historian. He then clarified that the Historian would do genealogy work, and the money that was made went back into the Historical Society. The Historical Society maintained their own budget (in addition, they also generated revenue from book sales in the past as well). Selectman Kowalyshyn then asked Mr. Palmer if he has talked to the Historical Society about their budget and see if he can work with them.
Mr. Palmer then clarified that he sees the Historian position as being appointed by the Board of Selectmen; working for the Municipality. The Historical Society is a private organization and the things they do really have nothing to do with the town, if they did not want to. He then added that he is trying to set the framework for a municipally appointed position.
Selectman Kowalyshyn noted she is asking these questions because at the last meeting, we found out that the state is cutting our ECS funding by $30,000 and we are losing $58,000 from LoCIP funding and it is unknown how our grand list is going to be affected by the crumbling foundations and the thought of adding another expense is unnerving. She added the thought of hiring summer help is a great idea and would be in favor of it in better times. She then suggested having Mr. Palmer seek help through E.O. Smith who may have some seniors who might be able to do their senior project in conjunction with what he is looking for help. She said the Town would be happy to advertise for him to reach out to seek help.
Selectman Blessington stated that it seems as if Mr. Palmer is not working with the Historical Society as the past Historians have done; it seems more separate and that is concerning to him. Mr. Palmer clarified that he does work with them and wants to improve things even more. He then noted that the Historical Society’s focus seems to have changed since they acquired the Tavern and he wants to let them keep their focus on that and he will focus on the Town’s history.
Mr. Palmer then clarified that he understands budgets are tight and the request is more to get a line item going, noting that the town is going to have a tri-centennial coming up (2027) and it might be a good idea to begin adding funding towards it.
Selectman Blessington then discussed the map request; suggesting that perhaps he could set up a “go fund me” account or hold a fund-raiser towards the cost of the map. Mr. Palmer stated that the map would be a nice thing to have. The Towns of Ashford and Woodstock have them on display in their town office buildings. Selectman Blessington said he might contribute if a fundraiser were to be held.
The Selectmen thanked Mr. Palmer for attending.
Donna Latincsics stated that there is a line item in the Selectmen’s budget called “summer help salary” from several years ago when college students came in to help file and organize the attic. That line has not been used in quite some time. The Selectmen asked Donna to change the title to “Historian”. Donna added that there is also a fund which was used for the 275th anniversary which can be used for revenue. She will rename to “Tri-Centennial” and will check on the balance in the fund.
The Events newsletter has been flat lined and the number will not go over $3,500.
Donna increased the advertising line item by $400.00. This is to accommodate the legal notice postings for the annual budget which have become costly.
The Assessor is asking for an additional $4,000 for a personal property audit. Donna stated that we have never paid that in the past 10 years. First Selectman Mailhos will follow up to see the need for that.
First Selectman Mailhos stated that our neighbor, Mr. Prusak is asking for the fence on his property be replaced the town replaced it in the past. The estimate he got is $2,500. First Selectman Mailhos stated that she cannot find anywhere in the land records the history.
Custodial services will remain flat at this time. First Selectman Mailhos stated that we need to go out to bid in the spring, but would still like to explore options on splitting with the schools, where an extra employee would be hired (in custodial) to cover the Town Offices, Public Works, the Senior Center and perhaps the library, however we need to get buy-in from the library, senior center and custodial union to make it work
The Senior Center operations have an 11.4% increase. The Senior Center CIP Committee sent a letter requesting electrical mapping in the kitchen, a water faucet & electrical outlet in the front exterior and gutter cleaning. Donna has increased the maintenance by $2,000 to accommodate the request. First Selectman Mailhos noted that she believes Public Works might be able to handle a few things on the list to bring some of the expenses down.
First Selectman Mailhos noted that she saw a CIP request come in from the Seniors who are asking for an Administrator at the expense of $50,000 per year starting next year (2018). She thinks that they should at least discuss that with our Human Services Director, as she may be able to help them with what they need, to avoid creating a paid position. Selectman Blessington stated that the Senior Center has always been run by volunteers. The Selectmen would like to meet with the seniors to discuss their requests further.
Selectman Kowalyshyn moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:02 P.M.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote: 2 Yes (Mailhos & Blessington) 0 No.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Campbell
Administrative Assistant