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Town
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The Official Website of Lamoine's Town Government |
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Lamoine Budget Committee
Minutes of October 19, 2009
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Chairman Henry Ashmore called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM
Present were: Budget Committee members Robin Veysey, Hubene Brodie, Henry Ashmore, Merle Bragdon; Secretary Stu Marckoon, Selectmen Gary McFarland and Cynthia Donaldson.
Meeting Notes Review The committee reviewed the meeting notes from the joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen on September 17, 2009. Stu said they were part of the Selectmen's minutes which have been approved by the Selectmen.
Administration Budget The committee reviewed the proposed budget line by line with the following discussions:
- Computation of the inflation index. It was noted there was no increase in Social Security payments. Stu said the calculation was based on the formula agreed upon previously.
- Calculation of the clerk/tax collectors salaries, and report preparation hours.
- The implications of the votes coming up on November 3rd and TABOR II
- Mileage reimbursement calculations and the policy of establishing a hybrid of the state and federal rates
- Tax mapping costs, and a suggestion to the Planning Board to explore possible fee increases for subdivisions
- Records preservation and the encumbering of funds to accomplish that.
- The audit contract. Merle suggested that the current auditor be retained as the cost is reasonable.
- The flag display program. Stu noted that many of the flags are in tough shape after this summer.
- Removing the tax bill line from the printed budget by utilizing the hide function in Excel.
- The insurance deductible fund. The committee asked to review how much the deductible is and how much is in the fund.
- The overall administrative budget figure. It was noted that the FICA/Medicare line adjusts as other salaries are plugged in.
Solid Waste Budget The Committee reviewed that budget line by line and discussed the following:
- Cell phone costs vs. trac phone
- Transfer station manager pay rate
Social Service Request Policy Merle suggested the board has a lot of experience with many of the agencies that request funds every year. He said he sees no reason for them to be required to physically meet with the board provided they submit a complete written application, unless there is some substantial change to the agency's mission or it is a new agency requesting funds. Robin agreed that new agencies or missions should meet with the board. She said she favored not taking up a long time with the existing agencies that have been funded previously. Henry said the Committee doesn't change those requests and generally puts the requests that meet the ordinance into the budget. Hubene said there sometimes are questions. She said she would like to meet with any agency that has a new request or a mission change.
The Committee reviewed a program used by the Town of Rockport where taxpayers mail in donations with an indication of where the money would be sent. Stu said that to implement such a program, the present ordinance would need to be changed. Henry said the key provisions of the Donation Review Ordinance had not been changed in many years. The Board asked that the Selectmen review the ordinance for possible changes, and that information on the Rockport program be obtained.
The Committee agreed that if applications from the previously funded agencies are complete, there would be no need for the agency to meet with the Budget Committee. The Committee said they would like to meet with the Library and the YMCA.
Other Business
There was a discussion about the excise tax referendum and its implications on the town budget.
Next Meeting The committee will meet next on November 9, 2009 to discuss the Roads, Cable TV, Code Enforcement and Planning Budgets. Stu said he would send out the schedule that he had sent to department heads via e-mail to the committee tomorrow.
There being no further business, Henry declared the meeting adjourned at 8:25 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Stu Marckoon, Secretary