March 10, 2008
Chairman Tom Galvin called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. The meeting was taped.
Members Present: Robert Doyon, Tom Galvin, Patricia Geary, Carl Graveline, Theresa Graveline @ 7:01 P.M, Stanley Pilat, Roger Kergaravat, Charles Mallon, and Douglas Merriman.
Members Absent: None.
Mayor Chatfield presented the proposed budget for fiscal year 2008-2009 along with a proposed schedule for budget workshops. Mayor Chatfield stated that the Assessor’s office will be adding hours to the work schedule. He also stated that there will be an increase from $1000.00 to $2000.00 to line item 5250-08 Personal Prop. Audit. The Mayor stated last year by spending this $1000.00 the Town gained $90,000 in assessment fees. The State Statute gives the Assessor the power to subpoena Federal records through an Auditor.
Mayor Chatfield stated there will be a decrease in Advertising and Printing because some of the legal notices will be on line. Also, rather than placing the Town Wide Tag Sale listing in the paper a small ad will be placed in the paper advising which stores will carry the listing.
Mayor Chatfield also stated that there will be an increase to Social Security in the amount of $7000.00.
Mayor Chatfield advised he increased the Water Pollution Authority by $17,488.00; most of which is for new water lines. He also advised of a cut back in the waste water plan from $50,000.00 to $15,000.00.
Mayor Chatfield advised that the heating cost contract currently for Town Hall Buildings is @ $2.30 a gallon but will probably go up to $3.25 per gallon or perhaps more.
The Mayor stated that on Saturday he will be meeting with State Representative Vickie Nardello regarding a grant to replace the roof at the Hotchkiss House.
The Fire Marshal budget, Mayor Chatfield advised of an increase of $903.00. He also stated that there is an increase in the Police budget of $55,462.00; while the Insurance budget increased by $2531.00 which the Mayor stated was not bad since the Town owns the insurance company being that the Town belongs to CIRMA.
Mayor Chatfield stated one of the biggest increases for Emergency Management was Code Red. There has been some talk that the State will be helping with the reimbursement once the contract has been signed. The Mayor also advised that if the state does help out and it is before budget season we could take this line item out. If this happens and State does give a reimbursement then the 1st year would be followed by a grant. The Mayor stated he will not be sending the contract to Florida until he has the check in hand or verification that they have accepted our request. Once it is sent to Florida, two weeks thereafter the Town will be online. Code Red does not include work numbers, cell phones numbers, or unpublished numbers.
For the Household Hazardous Waste: Mayor Chatfield advised that there is a new line item called E waste. The Town now has to start recycling parts of computers. Some of the cost will be picked up by the Town. The Town will notify the residents where a dumpster will be placed so that they could bring their old computers. The Mayor stated that some towns charge and some don’t for this service, but this will be looked into.
The Mayor stated for 911 Service it was only an estimate for an increase of 3 or 4%; they were not sure of how much the increase would actually be.
Mayor Chatfield also stated that for Solid Waste there is an increase of $13,628. Line items 6950-06 and 6950-07 are costs per tonnage. The town does not make money to recycle, the town pays for this service.
Town Roads: There is an increase of $7,944.00. By 2012 all street signs will need to be replaced. The Mayor is unsure if this will be paid for with federal and state money.
The Mayor advised that one of the biggest expenses is Ice and Snow, especially for labor and salt; which will need to be increased.
Mayor Chatfield also advised there is a $2000.00 decrease in street lighting. New lights have not been added in the past 3 or 4 years. Per CL&P, to take a street light down is $300.00.
Mayor Chatfield stated that for the Town Trucks he allotted $60,000.00 for fuel, but this may not be enough due to the price of fuel increasing almost on a daily basis.
Mayor Chatfield also advised of an additional $5000.00 for line item 7300-07 for Lawn Treatment under Parks and Recreation. The Algonquin children use Canfield Park, Long River uses the Town Hall Parks and the High School uses Hotchkiss field; because of this activity, the Town is now using an organic fertilizer that is more expensive.
Mayor Chatfield advised that the Library budget was increased by $11,857. He advised that the Librarian is trying to increase the salaries to what they were before they were cut last year.
The Mayor also stated for Recreation there was an overall cut in the amount of $82,496.00 which included $21,000.00 for a band shell, also a cut of $3000.00 for concerts because there is not enough parking and a cut for this year has been recommended in the amount of $75,000 for a new softball field at Hotchkiss field.
Mayor Chatfield stated for the Chesprocott budget he reduced the Visiting nurses which are not always used. He also stated for the Commission on Aging, the Senior Director has presented a good case and has increased her salary by $6537.50. The Mayor stated the Minibus driver who has been working for the Town for the past 20 years is not making as much as a new bus driver; therefore this line item has been increased by $2442.
Mayor Chatfield advised that the Prospect Animal Control budget has been reduced by $23,750. He stated he could now hire a few kids along with Alex, to do surveys of all the dogs out there.
The Mayor advised that there is a decrease in Debt Service in the amount of $45,478.25 in interest and Payment decrease of $5000.00.
In the Public Works budget line item 7850-01 an increase in the amount of $53,596.00 to replace a 24 year old truck that sat for approximately 1 ½ months this year due to repairs. Mayor Chatfield stated that he would need to re-bid for it.
Mayor Chatfield wanted to make a clarification that was stated in the Prospect Pages. He stated that out of every tax dollar .24, .25, or .26 goes to the Town of Prospect and .74, .75, or .76 goes to Region 16. There is no charge for budget packets.
For the first time in modern history, stated Mayor Chatfield, Beacon Falls’ amount of children has gone up; the Town of Prospect will be $150,000 to $170,000 less this year for Region 16 and they will have to make up that difference. Mayor Chatfield has advised that the overall increase for the budget for the Fiscal year 2008-2009 is in the amount of $284,847.26. T. Galvin stated that this is approximately a 4.4% increase over last year.
Motion made by D. Merriman to approve the budget meeting schedule (see Schedule A). Motion seconded by P. Geary. R. Kergaravat stated that the meeting scheduled for March 25, 2008 should not be held at the Senior Center but that all budget meetings should be at the Town Hall. R. Kergaravat also stated that our form of government takes place here; at Town Hall and any decisions that are made come from here. S. Pilat stated unless there is a particular reason, the meetings should be held in Town Hall. P. Geary advised that the Mayor may have a particular reason for changing the meeting spot, but did agree with R. Kergaravat. R. Kergaravat advised this should be advertised in the paper for the public, who would probably come to Town Hall for the meeting. T. Galvin stated that the meeting would be advertised. T. Galvin thanked the people that had attended this meeting and stated that he wished more people would come to the meetings so that the Council would get an idea as to what the public is thinking. D. Merriman made a motion as amended to change the location to Town Hall for the March 25th location for the Budget Workshop if there was not a conflict with the Zoning Board. Motion seconded by P. Geary. Unanimous.
P. Geary advised that there may be a need to add additional workshops; there are only four on the schedule including the Public Hearing.
Adjournment: Motion made by D. Merriman to adjourn the meeting. Ann Marie Burr requested the meeting dates. T. Galvin complied by giving Ann Marie the dates. T. Graveline stated that the complete budget information should be on the Town of Prospect’s website. T. Graveline also stated that on each page it should say this is a draft and has not, as of yet, been adopted. R. Kergaravat questioned if the Mayor has gotten an e-mail address as of yet. Lisa Degoes of Apple Hill Dr. stated that a sign should be posted to let the public know when the Town budget meetings are. R. Doyon advised that in the past there were 3 places that the sign was placed: Town Hall, Hotchkiss and possibly the Firehouse or further down Rte 69. P. Geary stated that there will be postings for the Public Hearing and the Town Meeting. Motion seconded by R. Doyon. Unanimous. Meeting adjourned @ 7:30 P.M.
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Thomas J. Galvin, Chairman
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Rosalyn B. Moffo, Clerk