(5/16/07) The Select Board continued its earlier meeting after the adjournment of the joint budget meeting. Gerry Weiss, Alisa Brewer, Hwei-Ling Greeney, Rob Kusner and Anne Awad were in attendance, as was Town Manager Larry Shaffer. It was determined that they would try to wrap up by 10:30 p.m.
Vince O'Connor asked if the Select Board members had received his letter regarding budget recommendations, and they said that that they had. He sought clarification on the fees taken in by the Inspection Services department. Mr. Shaffer said that Inspection Services raises more revenue than it has associated expenses. Mr. O'Connor asked if that included employee benefits, and Mr. Shaffer said he wasn't certain, but that the totals were close. Mr. Weiss said that Inspection Services raises $80,000 more than its expenses, including employee benefits.
Mr. O'Connor said his other concern was about the human services budget. He said he felt the Finance Committee's recommendation regarding that funding amounted to an attack on the Community Development Committee, and said that it has done a good job evaluating the funded agencies since it was formed, and suggested that the Board address that. He said he was also concerned about the Board's discussion about generalized rather than specific cuts.
Mr. Weiss reported on the Community Development Committee and his funding recommendation for human services. He said the committee had examined the human services budget and considered how the community is served by each agency and what each one's balance sheets look like. He said the result was that they have recommended eliminating funding to all but five of the agencies, and that they had sought to fund those remaining ones at half of last year's level because the committee believed no higher amount would be approved. He said he advised the committee that they should be less cooperative and ask for the amount they really want, not just the amount they expect to be approved. He said they now seek to have four of the agencies funded at the full amount they received last year, and one – the Amherst Survival Center – to be funded at half of last year's amount. He said that is because the Survival Center has money in the bank, and lack of money was one of the committee's funding criteria. He said each agency had 5% subtracted to make its cut comparable to other departments and that the resulting $79,000 recommendation is $54,000 above the original Shaffer budget total. He said that an additional $9,000 is sought to be added to the Survival Center's allotment because he said they need a social worker there at least part time, in order to hook people up with the services they need and deal with some of the emotional issues that occur there. He said that Community Services Director Roy Rosenblatt and the Community Development Committee approve of this plan and will make similar recommendations.
Ms. Brewer asked why there was no written report or position from the Community Development Committee. Mr. Weiss said he was offering the report right there. Ms. Brewer said there was no written description of the agencies and the recommendation as there usually is. Mr. Weiss said he thought they had sent one for the original $41,000 request, and said he hoped they would prepare more detail for Town Meeting. He said he wasn't going above their funding request, but rather that they hadn't understood that they could request more than they expected could be funded.
Mr. Kusner noted that a member of the public had said he would push for full restoration of last year's funding, and asked if Mr. Weiss' recommendation was the committee's highest and best option. Mr. Weiss said he agreed with the committee that funding should be reduced to the remaining five agencies. He said that the committee had taken the questions that he and Andy Steinberg had asked them very seriously, regarding each agency's service to Amherst and the state of its balance sheets. He said the conclusion is that these five are best serving the critical needs in the community. Mr. Kusner asked if that meant that the other agencies hadn't met the audit requirements, and Mr. Weiss said that was the case. Mr. Weiss said the committee needs to write up its conclusions and criteria, but their process found that the committee couldn't determine what some agencies were doing in Amherst and if they had any presence here. He said that he didn't have all the details, but that he applauded the committee for undertaking that process and said that if they can't figure out what an agency is doing in Amherst, then the Town shouldn't be funding them.
Ms. Brewer said she was troubled by the fact that the Board was supposed to be taking a position on something that another committee was responsible for reporting to them about, and that at this 11th hour the Select Board didn't have the committee's report. She said it is standard to have a report from them stating what the criteria were for recommending funding, which agencies met it, which didn't, how much they received last year, how much was being requested this year, and so forth. She said it wasn't unlike expecting to have the planning and zoning reports prior to making a recommendation. She said it was frustrating to be expected to make a decision without having that written report.
Mr. Weiss said he appreciates her frustration, and that he is reporting back as that committee's liaison, and presenting what their report would have been. Mr. Kusner said that he found Mr. Weiss' summary helpful, and often appreciates three or four good sentences from Mr. Weiss more than several written pages of a report. Mr. Weiss said he would try to summarize the report in writing but hadn't had time to do so yet, and Ms. Brewer noted that Mr. Rosenblatt is the staff person for the committee.
Ms. Greeney said that because of conflict of interest concerns, she would not comment on the human services budget, but would comment on the process. She said that she felt that the criteria the committee used and details of how it determined its recommendations would be helpful and necessary for Town Meeting. She also thought it would be beneficial to explain how the agencies are serving Amherst and the difference that funding from the Town has made in that effort.
Ms. Greeney said that she didn't remember the Select Board reaching consensus on Jonathan Nelms' proposal to fund a social worker for the Survival Center, and that she would prefer that the Town's contract with that agency specify that it hires such a position. She said she would prefer it to be a contract requirement and not be something for which the agency is given extra money. Mr. Weiss said that the Survival Center is the only agency not slotted to receive the full funding from last year, and that it didn't seem reasonable to make such a request while cutting their funds in half. He said that half plus the $9,000 is still less than the Survival Center received last year. Ms. Greeney said she would like to know the committee's position on the topic, and Mr. Weiss said he would expect that it would be similar to what he had said.
The Select Board discussed how it would proceed with its recommendations on the general government category. Mr. O'Connor noted that the Board would need to not just vote as individuals on the budget items, but prepare recommendations on each amount. Mr. Kusner noted that they would need to explain their recommendations to Town Meeting to help that body's members to make decisions.
Mr. Weiss said that cuts of $100,000 and $200,000 had been proposed. He said that there is an increase of 10.4% to employee pay and benefits, and a 1.2% increase to general government without that amount.
Mr. Kusner moved to recommend $5,655,139 for general government, a cut of $200,000. Ms. Brewer seconded. Mr. Weiss said he was concerned that it was a big cut. Mr. Kusner said he used the lowest number to start with. Mr. Weiss said he would have preferred $100,000 more. Mr. Kusner said there are disagreements about core services and some members will want to fund 50 Town police officers even with the 70 at UMass, and that money will need to be found here. Mr. Shaffer said he respects the Board's opinion but doesn't think that number represents enough money to do all that needs to be done, and called the figure “wishful thinking.”
The vote on $5,655,139 was two in favor (Kusner, Awad) and three opposed (Weiss, Brewer, Greeney.) The motion failed.
Ms. Greeney moved to recommend $5,755,139 and Mr. Kusner seconded.
Ms. Brewer said that while Town Meeting may consider each item line by line, it only votes the bottom line number and the Town Manager has discretion within that total. She asked if the lack of override meant there would be no economic development position, or if he might move money around to fund that. Mr. Shaffer said that he couldn't hope to consider that within this framework and at this amount, but that he might come back with a proposal in the fall.
There was talk about what the result would be if $50,000 were added to this total, and further confusion and attempted clarifications of the various iterations of the numbers at different budget and recommendation stages. The bottom line was that if $50,000 were added back in for the purpose of hiring an Economic Development Director, Mr. Shaffer said he would use the money for that intended purpose.
The vote on $5,755,139 was three in favor (Weiss, Kusner, Awad) and two opposed (Brewer, Greeney.) The motion passed.
Mr. Weiss said the public safety budget recommendation from the Finance Committee of $7,891,970 represents no increase over last year and the elimination of two police officer positions. Mr. Kusner said that given that the general government cut was $100,000 less than he had thought it might be, he suggested a compromise of restoring one police officer position.
Mr. O'Connor said that there is a turnover problem at the Police Department and that it is never actually fully staffed because some of the officers being paid for are in the academy or other training. He said this represents a management problem that needs to be solved, and that the department could function with two fewer officers. He said the Town is spending money to train the State Police. Mr. Weiss said the Board is aware of the situation.
Ms. Greeney said she would like to restore funding for both officers and was reluctant to vote without the Police Chief's recommendation. Mr. Kusner noted that there were additional police priorities on the original restoration list, but Mr. Weiss said that officers were the Chief's top priority. Mr. Shaffer agreed and said that the goal is to keep the force as close to 50 officers as possible and that new people continually need to be added to replace those at the academy, retiring or moving away.
Ms. Brewer moved to recommend $3,721,490, which she said was the Finance Committee's figure for the police line, plus half the cost of restoring two officers. Mr. Kusner seconded.
Ms. Awad said she opposed adding back funding for any officers and that she supported the Finance Committee's number. Mr. Kusner withdrew his second because he thought the figure had represented something else. Mr. Shaffer said the Finance Committee's number could be achieved by reallocating back a portion of the $100,000 general government cut to fund one police officer. Mr. Kusner said he was willing to stick with the Finance Committee's recommendation. Ms. Greeney suggested restoring funds for either zero or one officer, and using some of that $100,000 to fund the Economic Development Director. Mr. Weiss said that would require reconsidering their general government vote and adding that money back in. Mr. Kusner said there were many other things to talk about. Ms. Greeney mentioned her proposal to cut $160,000 from LSSE as part of an effort to phase out its tax support in three years. Mr. Kusner said that the Town Manager had explained that such a cut would kill LSSE. Ms. Greeney said that between her $160,000 cut and the $100,000 general government cut, funding for the economic development position could be found.
Mr. Musante reported on the now-adjourned Finance Committee meeting, saying they had found it helpful to hear the dialogue of the joint budget meeting and would await specific recommendations from the Select Board and the School Committee, and see if they differ from the Finance Committee's recommendations in its Report to Town Meeting. Ms. Brewer asked if that meant that they would consider the Select Board's and School Committee's recommendations and possibly revote on their own. Mr. Musante said he thinks the committee would consider that.
The vote on the motion to add $41,121 to the Finance Committee's recommendation on the police line was two in favor (Weiss, Brewer) and three opposed (Awad, Kusner, Greeney.) The motion failed.
Ms. Greeney moved to reconsider the general government vote. There was no second and she was advised to try again later.
Ms. Brewer moved to recommend $531,049 for Public works, an amount which includes the addition of $10,000 for line painting. It was multiply seconded. With no further discussion, the vote in support was unanimous.
The vote on the new public works bottom line of $1,700,501 was unanimous.
Planning, Conservation and Inspections
Mr. Kusner moved to recommend $221,452 for the Conservation line of Planning, Conservation and Inspections, an amount which includes the addition of $12,000 to fund a seasonal worker at Puffer's Pond. Mr. Weiss seconded. The vote in support was unanimous.
The vote to support the new bottom line number of $883,881 for Planning, Conservation and Inspections was unanimous.
Ms. Brewer asked if money were added to fund the pools, might that money get spent somewhere else at the Town Manager's discretion? Mr. Shaffer said that while he wouldn't abandon the authority given to him by the Town Government Act, he would respect Town Meeting's vote and follow Town Meeting's appropriation.
There was discussion of the Select Board's recommendations for restorations if the override had passed. Mr. Kusner mentioned the Health Department's Cambodian Outreach Worker and Ms. Awad's suggestion to conduct a needs assessment in the community. He asked if she wanted to put money toward that, but she said it might be a good project for grad students at UMass, and could be a discussion for another time.
Mr. Weiss mentioned that they hadn't looked to make changes to the Senior Center or Veteran Services lines. Mr. Shaffer said the Veterans' Agent position had been redefined and the salary adjusted accordingly. There was some discussion about how that position receives some reimbursement from the State for benefits to eligible veterans. Mr. Musante said that gross spending is budgeted for and the reimbursement revenue is accounted for in a different part of the budget.
Mr. Kusner said that they could trade money among the LSSE, pools and community service lines and still keep the same bottom line at the end. Mr. Weiss noted that “community services” is the name of the large budget area as well as the line item that includes human service agency funding.
Mr. Kusner moved to recommend $180,480 for the pools, which included adding money to fund the War Memorial Pool and wading pools. Mr. Weiss seconded. The vote in support was unanimous.
There was some discussion about the LSSE budget of $637,704. Mr. Weiss said that $297,099 of their support is from taxation. Ms. Awad said that was down from $400,000 a few years ago. Ms. Greeney asked how much the employee benefits add to the total. Mr. Musante said that figure was in the supplementary info at the back of the Finance Committee Report, and was $175,000. There was more discussion of these numbers, but no action was taken.
After assigning members to speak to the different budget recommendations, the meeting adjourned at 10:35 p.m. The next meeting will be at 6:00 p.m. in the music room at the Middle School on Wednesday, May 16th, prior to Town Meeting. If necessary, the Select Board will also meet at 7:15 p.m. in the Pole Room at the Bangs Center on Thursday, May 17th.
-- Stephanie O'Keeffe
