TOWN OF CLARENDON BOARD OF SELECTMEN
FY 24 BUDGET MEETING
November 28, 2022
Attendees:
Select Board
Mike Klopchin, Chair
Bob Bixby, Clerk
Robert Congdon
Cash Ruane
Art Menard
Heidi Congdon, Treasurer
Katie Nop, Secretary
Gloria Menard, Town Clerk
William Chmielewski, PEG-TV
Kevin Peck
Call to Order
Chairman Klopchin called the workshop to order at 5:04PM.
Kevin Peck wanted to quickly talk to the Board about the Cemetery Rules and Regs. He would like some guidance on how much change they should make to the policy. Selectman Congdon suggested making a clause to the section about perennial plants, whether they are maintained, and also add a line about the Cemetery Committee making the judgement call. The Board discussed further in their Regular Meeting that followed.
Agenda additions/deletions
N/A
Budget discussion
The Board started going through Revenue line items to start with. Selectman Ruane questioned the line item on “voted articles.” So far, budget requests are at $44,055. Rutland Natural Conservation District, and Big Heavy World had submitted requests. RNCD was voted down; and Big Heavy World the Board had turned down because they were not in Clarendon and were not local to Rutland County. Heidi had noted that there was a discussion about requiring signatures for budget requests and suggested that if the Board wanted to do that, she would ask that they have that kind of policy ready for next budget cycle. Art suggested that for the initial time someone wants to be on the ballot they have to get signatures, but if they pass, then they do not have to the following year. The Board decided against putting Big Heavy World as an article on the ballot. Heidi searched when the last time RNCD had passed. It had been fiscal 2017. Selectman Congdon said throw it on the ballot and let the voters decide. The Sheriff’s Department budget request is up 4%. Transfer Station revenue continues to decline. Heidi said they’re on track to do $10,500 this year if they continue with the trend. The Board discussed how they have had this conversation the last 3 years. The issue is that cards do not get punched, it’s not a matter of raising the price of the punch card. The Board discussed how Community Center revenue was lagging a bit, probably due to Covid. Selectman Congdon said he realizes that it’s an External Audit request to not budget Delinquent Taxes, and asked if that’s why Heidi left it at $0. She responded; they normally work that number through a couple of workshops. Under Selectmen Salaries- they decided to level fund at $1,800. The Board would like to see the comparative reports for salaries for office ladies. Assistant Treasurer was level funded at $3,000. Auditors receive stipends. Treasurer expenses, Heidi has level funded. The Board discussed not budgeting for an External Audit because FY22 was audited. They liked the idea of having an external audit done every 3 years. Town Hall expenses continue to climb- postage has gone up so Heidi put in $4,000. They bumped up Town Hall utilities to $10k. The Board asked Katie to get quotes for vinyl siding for the Town Hall.
The Board decided the next budget workshop would be in 2 weeks, December 12 at 5PM.
Public Comments
N/A
Recess
Selectman Congdon motioned to recess until December 12th at 5pm, Selectman Bixby seconded, and all approved.
December 12, 2022
Attendees:
Select Board
Mike Klopchin, Chair
Bob Bixby, Clerk
Robert Congdon
Cash Ruane
Art Menard
Heidi Congdon, Treasurer
Katie Nop, Secretary
Gloria Menard, Town Clerk
William Chmielewski, PEG-TV
Call to Order
Chairman Klopchin called the workshop to order at 5:04PM.
Agenda additions/deletions
N/A
Budget discussion
Treasurer, Heidi, picked up with the Town Hall maintenance line item. The Board had asked Katie to get ballpark figures for siding the Town Hall. Katie explained she reached out to 4 contractors- 3 had not been willing to give her a quote because they were booked through next year. The one estimate that came in was around $110,000. The Board discussed the creation of a Clarendon Buildings Fund so they could save for that kind of project. For now, Town Hall maintenance will be budgeted at $10,000; Town Hall Office maintenance will be $3,000; and Town Hall contract services will be $5,500.
The Listers compensation budget increased from $14,000 to $19,000. The increase was probably caused by the addition of a 3rd lister. The listers get paid $15/hr and the average around the state is $19/hr. The Board left it as is and will revisit it if need be. They took out $2,500 for mapping maintenance because the Listers have paid for their maps but have not received them from last year.
The Zoning budget was level funded. The Solid Waste expenses figure stayed the same. The Transfer Station attendants’ compensation will be discussed at the next budget workshop.
For the Public Safety budget, there was an increase with the Sheriff’s Dept, all other Public Safety line items were level funded.
Heidi has not received a figure for County Tax yet. She will figure out the Industrial Park tax for the next workshop. Contingency funds will remain the same. Legal fees will remain at $3,000. Legal notices and forms will be left at $2,000.
The Board level funded Cemetery Maintenance as well. The Clarendon Fire Truck and Association line items have been level funded. The Regional Ambulance had a slight decrease.
Rec Committee asked for an increase of $1,000 for a total of $11,000 for their budget. The request for an increase is because they would like to finish the back parking lot at the 7b fields. The Board decided to level fund at $10k.
Bailey Memorial requested a slight increase from $31,500 to $32,800; the reason being because minimum wage went up. The question was raised as to whether they do any fund raising.
The Clarendon Community Center budget will remain the same as last year.
The Board decided to take the Housing Trust of Rutland County off of the appropriations list since they had not requested any money in the last 3 years. Rutland Restorative Justice requested again so they decided to leave it on the list.
The Board then moved onto the Highway budget. Salt was left at $95k. Winter gravel will be increased to $15k. Regular gravel was left at $70,000. Sand was level funded. The Board decided to level fund the Resurfacing and Reconstruction line item at $175k. Garage utilities will remain at $6,000. Garage maintenance will be left at $6k. Vehicle maintenance is budgeted at $25,000. It ran over last year because of the extensive grader repairs. Hopefully, with the purchase of a new grader, the town can stay within the budget. The Board increased equipment maintenance to $45,000 because the price of fuel continues to rise. Contract Services will have to be revisited when Cash has figures for that. The Teer Road project will likely be contracted out so Heidi would need a figure to add to Contract Services. Heidi asked if legal fees should be upped as well because of the Teer Road project. The Board decided to go with $5,000 instead for legal fees. Heidi and Katie will figure out the budget for MRGP for the next workshop.
The next budget workshop will be at 4 o’clock on December 19.
Public Comments
N/A
Recess
Selectman Congdon motioned to recess until 4 o’clock on December 19th, Selectman Bixby seconded, all approved.
December 19, 2022
Attendees:
Select Board
Mike Klopchin, Chair
Bob Bixby, Clerk
Robert Congdon
Cash Ruane
Art Menard
Heidi Congdon, Treasurer
Katie Nop, Secretary
Gloria Menard, Clerk
Joe Parker Jr.
Call To Order
Chairman Klopchin called the meeting to order at 4:10PM.
Agenda additions/deletions
Selectman Ruane motioned to add a discussion about the plowing of the Transfer Station, Selectman Bixby seconded, all approved.
Transfer Station Plowing
There was a conversation about compensation with the Transfer Station attendants.
Budget Discussion
The Board finalized the budget by discussing salaries. Heidi requested that the Board do whole numbers. Selectman Menard had suggested 6% across the Board. There were comparative reports presented to the Board for each position. The figures were based on what other Town’s reported through VLCT. The cost-of-living adjustment for this year is predicated to be an 8.7% increase. Selectman Congdon suggested seeing what the budget does with 6.5% raises across the Board. While Heidi was figuring out numbers, the Board also decided to budget $25k on the revenue side for what the grader may bring in. They also added $2,400 in revenue for records restoration.
Heidi plugged in all these figures and explained that if the current taxes line item was increased by $50,001.55 and if the fund balance was reduced by $65,000 then that would be around 2 cent increase, give or take.
The Board was pleased with the final budget presented.
Public Comments
N/A
Recess
Selectman Congdon motioned to adjourn the budget workshops for the FY24 budget at 5:54PM, Selectman Ruane seconded, and all approved.
