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Warner Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes December 11, 2007 Meeting opened at In Attendance:
Selectman David E. Hartman – Chairman Selectman
Richard A. Cook Selectman
Wayne Eigabroadt Absent:
None Recorder of the minutes is Mary Whalen Others Present: Laura Buono – Town Administrator Paul Henle – Christine Hamm – State Representative Victor Kumin - Resident 1. Mr. Henle explained that Coalition is a
non-profit organization that is about 1½ years old and was formed in
order to try to do something about property taxes in Selectman Eigabroadt asked what the
Coalition sees as a fair tax. Mr.
Henle explained there are three things the Coalition looks at, is it
based on someone’s ability to pay, does it create any undo hardship
and is it spread evenly over the tax base.
Selectman Eigabroadt agrees and believes the revenues need to be
looked at; there is an obvious problem with the rising taxes.
The up and coming political people take the tax pledge (to oppose
any broad based State taxes) not knowing if the pledge can be kept.
One example the State may look at is an income tax.
Mr. Henle is in favor of the State looking at an income tax as
well as a sales tax, gambling, raising the cigarette tax etc. everything
should be looked at. Representative Christine Hamm said when
the word taxes are said she would say revenue, Ms. Hamm supports the
Coalition. Of what she knows
of the people in the legislature that also support the Coalition they
run the gamut for what they feel the solution should be.
Those that support the Coalition believe that if somebody takes
the pledge, (to oppose any broad based State taxes) it cripples the
ability to do things, even to talk about it.
This year there were many retained bills which included income
tax, sales tax, luxury tax etc. Ms.
Hamm went on to say the State of Mr. Henle explained the Coalition is not
out to soak the rich nor are they for more spending.
The Coalition is saying no matter how much money the State spends
they must raise the revenue in a fair way.
Chairman Hartman said back when the
Legislature grappled with finding a solution to the court order (to find
a revenue source that will produce the money), the State discovered they
have the authority to tax property on a State-wide basis.
All of the pledge takers at that time created a new tax which was
unfair. Chairman Hartman is
in favor of the Coalition’s campaign.
The Board of Selectmen as a whole is in favor of putting the
resolution on the warrant. Chairman Hartman asked Ms. Hamm if it is
daunting a proposition this year as it was last year to think there
would be a coalition of legislators that would actually support a change
of taxation of revenue producing capabilities.
Is it only Governor Lynch who is standing in the way; it is known
that the Governor has taken the pledge as strongly as any previous
Governor. Governor Shaheen
had a majority of the legislature that was in favor of a new tax,
believed to be an income tax, but the Governor said no.
Ms. Hamm said the reality is if the Governor had a different
attitude then the Legislature would, as well as the Senate.
It is believed that it is the will of the people; that they
don’t want the Legislature to look at other options.
Ms. Hamm is not hearing that, and feels people in office should
be educating the people on what needs to be spent on government and what
the alternatives are. Ms.
Hamm feels that step one needs to be taken, talking about the
alternatives. Victor Kumin asked to what extent the
property tax inflames pressure on the development of the towns, because
of the need for increasing incomes to support the school systems.
The only alternative is to increase commercial property.
Chairman Hartman answered locally that has been one of the things
voiced several times for the development of Exit 9.
If developed, the Town would have more property value and more
income for running town and school.
Selectman Cook said there have been a number of studies about the
impact of residential development and feels the people involved in
government, there is a realization that you can’t build your way out
of funding issues by building residential development.
Selectman Cook added that it depends on where you look for
information, because there information that says if you are going to
have growth it’s better to have commercial growth because it does not
add to education costs. But
there is information that says if you have commercial growth you will
have residential growth to service the commercial growth. Ms. Hamm asked once the resolution is on
the warrant what would be a good avenue to get the word out the voters.
The Coalition is developing a short film.
Mainstreet Bookends was recommended as well as local cable. Selectman Eigabroadt made the motion
to see that the Selectmen place on the 2008 warrant the We the citizens of the Town of Selectman Cook seconded the motion.
All were in favor. The
motion passed. 2. Local Government
Center Representative Tom Dunn – Property Liability and Workers Comp. Mr. Dunn met with the Selectmen to discuss
a multi-year option renewal. Mr.
Dunn explained that the Town has had multi-year agreements for property
liability for about 12 years. The
Town joined the LGC workers comp. agreement about 2 years ago which was
also a multi-year agreement. Property
Liability expires June 2008; workers comp. expires at the end of
December 2007. LGC has
created a new pricing program as an option.
LGC has not increased the property liability rates in over 12
years, workers comp. rates have increased since 2000.
Mr. Dunn said the Town is due for an adjustment.
The Selectman Eigabroadt asked what caused the
9% increase. Mr. Dunn
explained rate insurance costs for the two pools.
LGC buys re-insurance every year, the costs keep rising, the size
of the pool has grown especially workers comp. and the cost of claims
has increased. Selectman
Eigabroadt added that tripling membership creates more administrative
costs which are also spread throughout the membership plan.
Mr. Dunn explained LGC is a non-profit pool.
Selectman Eigabroadt asked how their rates compare to others.
Mr. Dunn said LGC is very competitive even after the three-year
period. Mr. Dunn said LGC
represents 340 local governments on the property liability; workers
comp. began in 2000 and there are about 150 municipalities.
Selectman Cook asked if Mr. Dunn has any literature available,
Mr. Dunn will send the literature to the Selectmen’s office.
Selectman Cook confirmed the 3 year contract affects property,
workers comp. and health and asked if there are any limits on the growth
of health insurance if a multi-year contract is signed.
Mr. Dunn said no. Chairman Hartman asked what the current
costs are (2007): Property Liability - $32,500
Projected increase to $35,400 Workers Comp. - $22,100
Projected increase to $25,091 (workers comp. is based on payroll
& experience) Selectman Eigabroadt asked what the
prerequisite is for a training program to get on LGC’s list.
Some employees received training from various sources that should
be recognized. Chairman Hartman asked if the Town is
considering any other options. Ms.
Buono explained that the majority of municipalities are with LGC or
Primex. There is an
advantage in having all the insurances together.
Chairman Hartman also feels based on LGC obtaining more customers
that should keep the cost from escalating.
Mr. Dunn agrees it does help to have a larger pool as well as
committing to a multi-year period. Chairman
Hartman asked how the re-insurance works.
Mr. Dunn said LGC has a municipal broker that goes out to the
commercial market every year. Selectman
Eigabroadt asked if LGC groups with any other entities.
Mr. Dunn explained because LGC is set up as a risk pool per
statute, LGC can only offer the program in the State of 3. Committee Appointments Selectman Eigabroadt made the motion
to appoint Christiana Connors as full member to the Conservation
Commission. Selectman
Cook seconded the motion. Selectman
Eigabroadt asked if there was a resolution to the Board’s concern
regarding board members approaching the State with allegations before
meeting with the Selectmen. Ms.
Buono said the concern was addressed at the last Conservation Commission
meeting. All were in favor
of the motion. The motion
passed. Selectman Eigabroadt made the motion
to appoint Russ St. Pierre as alternate member to the Conservation
Commission in place of Christiana Connors.
Selectman Cook seconded the motion.
All were in favor. The
motion passed. Selectman Eigabroadt made the motion
to appoint Harold French as an alternate member to the Planning Board
until 2008. Selectman
Cook seconded the motion. All
were in favor. The motion
passed. Chairman Hartman said to the Planning
Board Chair that at one time there was a representative from the
Conservation Commission and the Zoning Board that sat on the Planning
Board and asked about the history and why that no longer is so.
Ms. Annis said the statute says that a member of the Planning
Board can also be representative on the Conservation Commission and that
was so up until 2 years ago. Selectman
Eigabroadt recommended reconsidering having a representative from the
Planning Board also consider being a member on the Conservation
Commission in March during all the other appointments to Boards. 4. Deputy Warden and Warden Appointments Selectmen Cook made the motion
to appoint L. Ernest Nichols as 5. Tax Collector Refund Request Selectman Eigabroadt made a motion
to allow the Tax Collector to issue the following refunds: Map 17 Map 10 Map 03 Map 03 Selectman Cook seconded the motion.
All were in favor. The
motion passed. 6. Manifest Selectman Cook made a motion
to authorize the Selectmen to sign the manifest and order the Treasurer
to sign payroll check numbers 40442-40531 dated 7. Administrator’s Report Highway Department – The clean up of the demolition debris
that was noted in the Department of Environmental Services report was
90% completed prior to the snowfall.
The few items that remain will be removed once it is possible but
may not happen until the spring. Once
this is done, Ms. Buono will contact DES and ask if they would like to
revisit the site. Transfer Station – Paul Fouliard has informed Ms. Buono
that at least one trailer for oil storage will be received by this week.
Mr. Fouliard is planning on placing the trailer next to the open
lean-to where the plastic is stored.
Once in place, the oil drums that were noted in the same DES
report as the highway demolition debris will be placed inside so that
the town is in compliance with the concerns noted within that report. Town Computers – Earlier in the year, Ms. Buono mentioned
to the Selectmen that she was planning on looking into a way to handle
disaster recovery with regard to computer generated information.
On the evening of December 4th, Ms. Buono met with Dan
Watts (IT Tech.) to discuss this issue. Although the town currently has
a mirror backup system in place at the Town Hall, if there was a fire or
flood or any other type of disaster which destroyed the Town’s
computers completely, valuable information would be lost.
If the disaster affected hard copies as well, the Town would be
in serious trouble trying to get up and running within a reasonable
amount of time. With this in
mind, Ms. Buono ordered two servers to be used for back up and disaster
recovery. One will be placed at the Town Hall and one at the Police
Station. As the Town Hall
staff does their daily work, the information will be stored on the
server which is in the Town Hall. The
information will then transfer to the server at the Police Station so
that if something should happen at the Town Hall, offices can set up
temporarily at the PD and access information.
The Police can also reverse the process and have their
information stored at the Town Hall.
The information can be scrambled so that only the police can read
it. Selectman Eigabroadt
brought up the need for a computer usage policy, Ms. Buono has samples
available. Recycling Committee – Two memorandums were received from
the Chairman of the Recycling Committee at the last Selectmen’s
Meeting. One dealt with DSL
service for the Transfer Station.
Ms. Buono had previously adjusted Mr. Fouliard’s 2008 budget to
include DSL service and the standard contract has been received to
implement this. The service
will begin either in December or January. The second memorandum dealt
with a reconfiguration of the various areas at the Transfer Station.
Ms. Buono had forwarded a copy to the T.S. Facilities Committee
since Mr. Fouliard is a member of that Committee and it seemed to be in
line with their function. Selectman Eigabroadt spoke to Mr. Fouliard
who said he was confused about his extension phone and the fact he may
not be able to use the extension after the DSL is installed.
Selectman Eigabroadt feels the extension should be fine.
Town Report – quotes have been received as well as samples
from the lowest bidder for the Selectmen to review. 8. Sign Permit Selectman Cook made the motion
to approve a Sign Permit for Map 30 9. Meeting Minutes Selectman Cook made the motion
to approve meeting minutes dated October 30 & November 13 meeting
minutes. Selectman
Eigabroadt seconded the motion. All
were in favor. The motion
passed. 10. General Business Next scheduled Selectmen’s meeting is
December 18th. January
schedule is Wednesday January 9 and Tuesday January 22.
Selectman Cook made a motion
to accept the resignation of Stacey Cooper as a Planning Board alternate
effective Selectman Eigabroadt mentioned during a
previous conversation with the Fire Chief he was tasked with gathering
information for the Selectmen and he was to meet with Ms. Buono to
determine if a specific topic met RSA 91A requirements.
Ms. Buono said the RSA 91A would apply because the topic deals
with an individual. Selectman
Eigabroadt said the Fire Chief was to explain in detail so that Ms.
Buono could make the determination.
Selectman Eigabroadt does not want to enter into a non-public and
find out in the middle that the topic does not meet the RSA 91A
requirement. Ms. Buono said
the Fire Chief did not go into detail with her.
Selectman Cook said the other information the Fire Chief was to
report back on was potential sites for a fire station, the site could be
completed in memo form. The
Selectmen questions funding the Fire Dept. Building Renovation Capital
Reserve when it is unclear what the fire department is thinking.
Selectman Eigabroadt added the re-tones is a dead issue, which
was clarified during the October 16th meeting.
Ms. Buono will contact the Fire Chief and address the
Selectmen’s concerns. Selectman Eigabroadt added that if Ms.
Buono feels comfortable that the Fire Chief has given her enough
information in regards to a specific topic to enter into non-public he
would entertain that with the proviso once into the non-public if he
strongly disagrees 91-a applies the session could be closed.
Ms. Buono feels when names are stated it falls under 91-a
regarding reputation. What
is said may not be fact and yet that is what will be stated in the
meeting minutes and if that is the case you don’t want anyone’s
reputation to be affected by something which may or may not be correct.
Selectman Eigabroadt recommended researching meeting minutes from
Town Meeting because he clearly remembers the on-call position being
sold to the Town for specific benefits having nothing to do with an
individual. Ms. Buono
has looked back on the minutes in the Town Report which are not in
detail. Selectman
Eigabroadt is focused on the on-call position that was sold to the Town
for specific benefits that were out- lined.
Selectman Eigabroadt strongly disagrees with the Fire Chief that
there is no longer a need for the position and he is interested in the
position only, the benefits to the Town and why the Fire Chief wants to
do away with the position. Selectman
Eigabroadt feels the position is necessary and should be filled.
Ms. Buono added that Selectman Eigabroadt’s questions do not
require a non-public session. Ms.
Buono explained that the Fire Chief said that he has new members that
now cover the calls which are the department’s reasoning for not
filling the on-call position. Ms.
Buono will look back on the warrant articles.
Selectman Cook recommended obtaining a copy of the detailed Town
Meeting minutes. Selectman
Eigabroadt added one more question, why the new personnel that has been
added to the fire department have not come before the Board of Selectmen
who is the hiring agent for the Town.
Ms. Buono clarified that there are new personnel; since the last
Town Meeting she said she spoke to the Fire Chief about hiring personnel
and to make sure his recommendations are brought before the Board of
Selectmen first before they are hired.
Ms. Buono will contact the Fire Chief.
Chairman Hartman presented a report
created by the Concord Regional Co-op, in the report the Town of The Odd Fellows Building Committee asked
if the Selectmen have any thoughts for specific needs for the Chairman Hartman recommends the Board
visit the site of the new concrete culvert on Chairman Hartman has been elected to the
Northeast Resource Recovery Association Board of Directors for a
three-year term. Barbara Annis asked Paul Violette to draft
a letter to communities that have roundabouts about the pros and cons.
The letters have been sent to various communities and responses
have begun to be received. Motion to adjourn at Board of Selectmen
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