Fire Replacement Pay, Police Clerk Returned to Budget
Keeps mosquito control and 4th of July fireworks at full funding.
During final votes of the Salem Budget Committee Wednesday night, a split 5-4 vote passed on to deliberative session an increase in Fire Department replacement pay of $115,000, a decision that gets the department "closer" to maintaining minimum shifts of 15 firefighters.
The original proposed amount for replacement pay in the budget was approximately $895,000, which was reduced in the proposed budget by Town Manager Keith Hickey to $545,000.
The Board of Selectmen made additions and cuts in their version of the budget to bring that total up to $751,000 as presented to the Budget Committee.
Under that amount, the Fire Department would be unable to maintain minimum shifts of 15 firefighters at all times and would take one of the town's four ambulances out of service during those times.
Committee member Barry Pietrantonio proposed the $115,000 increase, which after discussion was passed by a 5-4 vote, with Patrick McDougall, Everett McBride Jr., Russ Frydryck and Bernie Campbell voting against.
McBride said he would have proposed a lesser amount of about $78,000 to be added back in had Pietrantonio's motion failed.
Fire Chief Kevin Breen said the decision gets the department "a lot closer" to being able to provide the full 15-person shifts but said benefits and retirement costs also need to be factored in to get them all the way back.
When voters go to deliberative session next year, the amount in that line will be about $866,000.
Elsewhere in discussions, a Police Department investigative clerk was added to the budget in the amount of just over $71,000 following a motion by Jim Ribaudo.
Deputy Police Chief Shawn Patten explained to the board that this position enters "pawn slips" into a data base of every item pawned in Salem and checks those against items reported stolen. Patten said this position routinely solves crimes related to thefts and burglaries.
The motion was passed by a 6-3 vote with McDougall, Campbell and Frydryck opposing.
Some other notes from the meeting:
- The committee voted 8-1 to place the $115,000 needed for paying six months worth of School Resource Officers in the previously zeroed out Community Services budget for the Police Department. This was done because committee members were concerned about making a motion at deliberative session that could be voted down. McDougall opposed saying the committee was not acting appropriately by doing this.
- The only member of the public to speak at the budget public hearing was Selectman Stephen Campbell, who asked the board to reconsider their previous additions of $42,000 for mosquito control and $16,000 for 4th of July fireworks. Campbell also said the Budget Committee had the ability to affect town policy with their votes, speaking from his own and the experiences of others on the Budget Committee.
- A motion by McDougall to remove the $42,000 for mosquito control failed by a 7-2 vote with McBride the other member in support.
- McBride moved to remove the 4th of July fireworks contribution of $16,000, saying taxpayers would understand if the town went a year without the celebration given the state of the economy. Ribaudo said he'd been thanked by many residents for making his original motion to restore the funding and felt the money was necessary to the town. The motion failed 6-3 with McDougall, McBride and Diana Siefert in the minority.
The Budget Committee was able to complete all of its final votes on the budget Wednesday night. It will receive a presentation on the School District budget in December. The Salem municipal budget will go before voters at the first 2012 deliberative session in February.
Patrick
10:54 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
With all the unnessary spending and greed that happened last night i recommend to the voters of this community that you please get involved with our delibrative session starting next february and come out and oppose all these increases to the budget that this budget committee approved last night. And if nessesary on election day in march vote no on the operating budget itself, that will automaticly go to the default budget which i believe is lower then the budget passed last night!
Patrick McDougall
Budget committee
Patrick
12:21 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Sorry I was wrong we dont have a default budget right now, so just say no to the operation budget on election day!
Patrick McDougall
Budget Committee Member
AJ
2:12 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Last night budget committee meeting was just like all the other meetings. The scare tactics used allowed the needed funds to be put back into the budget. Let’s face it the Fire Dept. was going to get their replacement pay and the Police Dept, were going to keep their staff. They are fundamental for the operation of the town of Salem NH. The part that no one can understand is why do all the elected people haggle over nickel and dime costs like publications and memberships when they allow the town to select an outsourcing company for all its data and technical infrastructure based on a recommendation from peers? When both the board of selectmen and the budget committee asked how the new out sourcing company was selected without any RFP process no one ever questioned to see any paperwork showing how the selection was made. No one is questioning the funds being spent in 2011 and no one is questioning how unethical it is to circumvent the RFP process in selecting any company that will engage in a multiyear contract with the Town of Salem NH allocating almost 250,000.00 dollars per year for just limited support with no one to be accountable for it except the town manager. When you factor in the expenditures given to Neoscope in 2011 and you take into consideration all the employee separation pay for the IT Dept and combine that with what is budgeted funds for 2012 you will find that the bottom line is higher and the town saved nothing.
Dianne Paquette
4:16 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
The costs that we as a town are saving are benefits. We agree that the coverage is limited but that is all the town can afford. I believe you spoke before are you presently in IT for the town?
AJ
7:34 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Hi Dianne, any costs that the town can save are truly a benefit; however the town is spending more than the savings it is showing. Out sourcing is a cost saving practice when it is feasible and if it was there would be no arguing the point; however in this case the town is not ready for out sourcing the management failed to do any of the preliminary steps, they failed to get quotes from different companies to establish a baseline to see if the town would save money by out sourcing. None of that was done, no impact study was done, and the company selected was chosen by the town manager as a recommendation from board members that used the company in the past. Had the proper procedures been followed and a request for proposal was issued the town would have multiple bids which would have shown the average costs, instead one company was selected with no discussion from either the budget committee or the board of selectmen. Ask yourself, should the town blindly spend the residents tax funds on a decision made with no foundation other then the company was recommended by members of the board of selectmen? Almost 40% of the total amount for the 2012 budget has been spent already from the 2011 budget which you will not see. So the out sourcing company will receive approx. 340K by the end of next year and they are just getting started, not a dime of that money is to improve anything for the town it’s only for support and control and that support is limited at best.
Dianne Paquette
7:34 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
I don't believe the feelings have changed.
Dianne Paquette
7:40 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
AJ I understand that the decision to outsource has ramifications down the road, I think at this point the town is trying to survive a turbulent economical time. I have worked for companies with in house IT and remote IT and as a user I never noticed a difference, that said I work in Finance so as long as my system powers up, I notice no difference. I can only believe that the town will experience savings based upon this decision but we must be prepared for changes that remote IT brings, scary.
AJ
9:04 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Dianne, it would be so naive to think that the IT Dept just makes sure everything powers up. They do so much more like assist managers with technical requests for proper equipment and manage many CIP projects. They manage communications, phones, new technology. Maintain all the software ensure that the town systems remain functioning during emergencies and they make sure the towns Emergency Operations Center has communications and connectivity during an emergency. They request improvements like rewiring buildings for voice and data all these projects now will have no one working for the town just a consultant. The number one reason for becoming an out sourcing company is to up sell your clients in other words make as much money as possible to benefit their company not the town of Salem. Time will tell and the town will pay the price in the long run. The town has embarked on a plan with irreversible repercussions; they terminated a department and replaced them before the town could even vote on it. When the residents are complaining or the costs far exceed the budget who will the town turn to? It’s not that out sourcing is a bad thing it needs to be done in steps and all the steps have been neglected. I’m am very surprised that the NH State Ethics committee has not been involved because it is obvious that the town is taking a personal plan of action and not a professional one.
Dianne Paquette
9:10 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
perhaps you misunderstood, my comments were from the perspective of what type of work I do, not to downplay the many aspects of IT. It is not easy to accept the change but we have to give it the opportunity to play out and see if we can function and save money at the same time.
James Gill
6:42 pm on Thursday, November 17, 2011
if you watch the budget board members vote you walk away with the feeling there all in line like ducks there voteing self intrest meaning the town employes are a voteing block that a lot of board members tink of at casting a vote for the tax payer or the town employes i also dont like how money is spent with no back up data on costing or bids on a given item ,i watch steven campbell ask this very question ,why know back up data ,in my work you have to show why you need it and the cost savings on the item in 1 year and the bids to buy it this dont happen in this town run by Roth and friends
James Gill
6:47 pm on Thursday, November 17, 2011
I like to see new canidates run for Slectmen in march .The bunch we have now must go As well as the Budget Board .
Dawn Mastrogiacomo
7:38 pm on Thursday, November 17, 2011
I think they've done a great job - it's nice to see them not sweeping these issues aside. Now we can progress and come out of the dark ages
Dianne Paquette
7:58 pm on Thursday, November 17, 2011
Dawn, I do not believe anyone wants to be in the "dark ages" that said, if we can find people who spend money more wisely that will be a start. Sometimes problems cannot be fixed by spending more money but rather by spending money wisely. We all appreciate progress and want the best, but we must face the fact that we cannot afford to have it all, and with the money we have available, we have to determine the best way to spend it. I could have survived without fireworks especially if someone would be able to keep their job or keep their job fulltime for the same 16k.
Bill Gielazauskas
7:53 pm on Thursday, November 17, 2011
To repeat myself. My taxes have gone up by close to 25% over Roth time in office. The Town has not provided any additional services nor has there been an increase inn the number of Teachers, who actually teach.
We do have the best dang road to the DUMP. That is magnificent and am sure better than any in the whole state.
Dawn Mastrogiacomo
10:59 pm on Thursday, November 17, 2011
At least you have a sense of humor regarding the road to the dump...I have to admit, that is a pretty smooth ride!