The Town Meeting That Wasn’t
Unfortunately, we did not establish a quorum for the Special Town Meeting (STM) scheduled for November 12. The requirement for a quorum is 100, and only 76 registered voters were checked in by 7:15. The main reason for scheduling the meeting was to address the condition of three Police vehicles. The Selectmen are still considering whether or not to re-schedule a Special Town Meeting, or to wait until the Annual Town Meeting (ATM) at the end of April to address the vehicles and other items on the warrant. It appears that the best solution might be to fold the articles into the ATM, with the proviso that funding be available within the current fiscal year. There has also been some discussion about lowering the quorum requirement for Special Town Meeting. The Selectmen asked me to estimate the cost of holding the STM, and my best “guestimate” is between $5,000 and $7,000, mostly staff time involved in preparation.
A Word About “Free Cash”
As you may know, the proposal for items on the STM warrant that would require funding was to pay for them from FY2014 Free Cash. Free Cash is made up of unexpended revenue and appropriations from the prior (FY/2013) fiscal year. Town Meeting approval is required to spend Free Cash, usually in the form of an article requesting a transfer from Free Cash to whatever you wish to fund or to a particular operating budget line item.
This particular year, we experienced a bit of a windfall due to $600,000 in back cell tower lease payments and careful and conservative spending within the operating budget. We ended up certified for $2.4 million, when in a normal year, we would expect to have $1 - $1.5 million. It is customary in Truro to put around $1 million of Free Cash toward the tax rate each year.
Funding the articles on the STM warrant would have cost about $200,000. That would leave us with $2.2 million. Town Accountant Trudi Brazil and I are recommending that a minimum of $600,000 of that balance be allocated for Post Employment Benefits (retirement and health insurance) and the Stabilization, or “Rainy Day” Fund. That would leave $1.6 million to pay for special projects and to put toward the tax rate.
What we don’t want to do is use this unexpected Free Cash to pay for anything that is an ongoing expense. For example, we would not recommend using the money to give employee’s cost of living raises or to cover overtime costs for the DPW or Police Department. We will most likely be asking for Free Cash to fund projects such as the East Harbor culvert investigation and Phase II of the Water Resources Plan.
Project Update
The last 310 feet of granite post and pipe fencing at the Old North Cemetery has been completed by South East Fence. Thanks to DPW Director Paul Morris and Cemetery Commissioner Bob Masson for all their work on this project. Look for the 50 cherry trees that were planted to bloom as one of the first harbingers of spring!
We have signed a contract with Annese Electrical Services for the Lightning Protection project at the Public Safety Building. You may recall that the building was hit by lightning several times as a result of the shared emergency generator with the cell tower behind the building. Part of this project will be to put the building on a stand alone generator and to beef up grounding throughout the building. We expect the project to be finished by the early spring.
Employees have completed an analysis questionnaire as the first phase of our Classification and Compensation study. The consultant, Human Resources Services, will review the questionnaires and existing job descriptions, and then hold face-to-face interviews with staff just after the new year. Job descriptions will be updated, and then employees will be classified and compensation ranges established. The project should take about six months to complete.
Early Closing on December 18
We will be closing all Town offices at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 18 to allow all our staff to attend a holiday luncheon at the Community Center.
As we enter the holiday season, I wish all of you a safe, happy and warm time with friends and family. After New Years, we will be back with more information on the FY2015 budget and what is coming up for the April Town Meeting.
Sincerely,
Rex Peterson
Town Administrator
townadm@truro-ma.gov
(508) 349-7004, ext 10