Mattapoisett Town Administrator Michael Gagne met with the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen on April 7 to present the Fiscal Year 2016 budget and to answer their questions and flush out areas of concern in advance of Town Meeting.
Gagne and the Finance Committee had been plugging away for weeks, meeting with department heads and reviewing line-by-line departmental budgets expenses and revenues.
Their conversations focused on the larger departments such as schools, highways, and emergency services. They also found themselves talking about some issues that potentially could pose grave consequences for the town if unaddressed.
During their review of the Highway (FY16 $533,932 versus FY15 $536,292) and Sewer (FY16 $2,202,504 versus FY15 $2,246,917) budgets, the conversation turned to concerns regarding the sewer pipe crossing the Eel Pond breach.
Gagne told board members that the Town may engage a firm from Maine to discuss replacing the existing pipe using a boring method for $450,000 and explained how the technology would work.
“I think you’re throwing money away,” said Selectman Tyler Macallister. Macallister proposed that instead of spending money on replacing the sewer line in sensitive ecological conditions, it should be used to explore sending the line up to Route 6 via Depot Street.
Selectman Jordan Collyer concurred that the current location of the pipe was like a ticking time bomb saying, “If they are to open up that pipe … if anything happened, we are in a world of hurt.” He continued, “Soils under a new pipe will be loosened and that may cause the pipe to settle and crack…”
And that wasn’t the only troubling location for the town’s public sewer lines. Collyer said an even bigger concern was the sewer line running along the railroad bridge near the YMCA camp.
Selectman Paul Silva asked Gagne if the town would be eligible for federal funds, and Gagne’s said yes. Gagne said he would pursue that option before exploring repairs to what all considered a very poor location for raw sewer transport.
Getting back to the budgets, Gagne walked the board members through several cost centers.
For the Planning Board, Gagne pointed out that a small increase of $3,704 was called for to increase the part-time hours presently worked by the secretary from 14 hours per week to just under 19. The selectmen felt the additional hours were necessary. The Planning Board’s total FY16 budget stands at $20,914.
The Police Department budget for FY16 is $1,949,954 versus FY15 $1,887,133. The lion’s share of the increase is wage step increases.
The Fire Department budget for FY16 is $402,784 versus FY15 $384,549. Here, Gagne explained the need to increase the on-call personnel line item from $122,000 to $140,000, saying daytime coverage is a problem and he hoped that an increase would encourage young members of the department to come forward when needed. But Gagne also said that younger volunteer fire personnel work out of town or can’t simply leave their jobs. He suggested looking into encouraging people who live in town and either work in town or very nearby to consider becoming a volunteer firefighter.
In the inspectional services category, Gagne discussed the $10,000 increase needed for the combination of an outside inspection professional to assist the Town and a third of the money going towards services provided by the conservation agent.
Collyer asked how much money the department brought in last fiscal year and Gagne said approximately $295,000. The total budget for this department for FY16 is pegged at $198,351 versus FY15 $185,377.
Gagne shared with the selectmen that the school committee had agreed to use an adjusted state figure instead of relying on the governor’s number for budgeting purposes.
“This has been an historic battle,” said Collyer. “Everyone’s using the governor’s numbers.”
The school budget is 2.9% greater than FY15, which was $11,747,395.
There was a candid discussion regarding manpower at the Highway Department with all agreeing there was a need to increase part-time hours and look at other staffing solutions. The FY16 budget comes in at $533,932 versus FY15 at $536,292 – a savings of $2,360 unless those monies are moved to wages before Town Meeting vote.
The big whopper of the night was SEMASS. With the closure of the multi-decade contract comes a higher solid waste cost, Gagne told the selectmen.
For FY16, the number is $123,000 versus $68,000 in FY15. On the bad news front, that number will continue to climb unless competitive sources could be found, Gagne said. On the good news side was the hope that more recycled solid waste would equate to savings for the town.
“The public needs to understand that the more they recycle, the more money the town will save on solid waste removal,” said Silva. He said that every time people use the ‘orange lid’ containers, they are helping save tax dollars. Solid waste removal is anticipated to be $165,000 in FY17.
The notion of adding a new staff position for the library met with some raised eyebrows as the selectmen wondered at the need to increase part-time hours and also hire a new part-time person. They agreed with one another that it should be either/or, but not both. FY15 was at $358,966 versus the FY16 request of $391,317.
Gagne said that the selectmen would be meeting with Highway Surveyor Barry Denham and the Town’s engineering consultant, Field Engineering, at the next Selectmen’s meeting. At that time, the board will have a chance to discuss in greater detail roadway and sidewalk repair planning and associated costs, priorities and timelines. The selectmen felt that with the Town’s debt service standing at -$99,808, the Town was in a good position to secure funding for much needed repairs.
Wharf repairs were touched on with Silva asking if a professional grant writer should be hired to help the Town articulate its need for federal assistance of these valuable assets. Gagne agreed and more to follow on this was assured.
The selectmen will look at the FY16 budget again before signing the document for Town Meeting, but that date has not been set.
By Marilou Newell
