Office of the Select Board
Town of Orange, New Hampshire
Select Board Minutes and Joint Meeting with the Budget Committee
January 23, 2018
Present: Dorothy Heinrichs, Chair; Robert Ells, Skip Smith, and Sandi Pierson (clerical)
Budget Committee: Dave Stacy, Chair; Bob Proulx, and Sophie Seace
Others present: Bev Ells, Sharon Proulx, Scott Sanborn, Judith Lindahl, and Tamara Fairbank.
Select Board meeting opened at 6 PM. Attendance taken by the secretary.
Minutes: The minutes of January 9, 2017 were unanimously approved.
Highway fuel: The Board signed a credit application to Jakes Market (d/b/a Papa Z’s) so the road agent can continue to get highway vehicle fuel there.
Attorney retainer: The Board reviewed and signed the 2018 retainer for Gardner, Fulton, and Waugh. The cost remains at $2,000.00.
Intent to Cut: The Board reviewed and signed an Intent to Cut for Paul and Jacqueline Dick/616 Tuttle Hill Road/Map 4, Lot 8. Logger is Dana Hazen of Redstart Forestry Consulting in Corinth, Vermont.
Elderly Exemption: The Board revisited the discussion on a warrant article that would ask the voters to increase the elderly exemption income limits. Presently it is $17,000 per year for a single person and $29,000 for a married couple, amounts set in 2005. Dorothy stated that a couple of residents inquired about the elderly exemption but their social security income surpassed the present scale After reviewing a directory showing the income limit in other towns around the State, Skip motioned set the Orange elderly exemption income limit at $24,000 for a single person and $36,000 for a married couple. Asset limit remains at $70,000. Answering a question from Judith Lindahl, Dorothy stated that an applicant’s primary residence is not included in the asset limit. Bob Proulx said he thought that the Board could modify the elderly exemption income limits at a public hearing instead of a warrant article. The Board will check on how the process has been historically carried out.
Thanks! Dorothy expressed appreciation from the Board to Sharon Proulx and Trish Weekes for taking the time to bring their respective computers to Systems Plus to be fixed. The timely duties of both offices continued without delay thanks to the extra time and effort they gave. Page 2 of 5
Other:
A pole petition from NH Electric Co-op and Fairpoint Communications for a single pole on Cardigan Mountain Road was received. This will be forwarded to the town clerk’s office for her records.
A notice was received from the NH Department of Revenue Administration that the assessment ratio of Orange is 96.5% and the sales ratio is 95.3%.
Secretary’s report:
A letter was forwarded to the Budget Committee from the Red Cross asking for a level funded contribution of $152.00 for 2018.
A resident inquired about the FEMA process for damages to her driveway resulting from the rainstorm of late October 2017. She was under the impression that residents could put in claims for damage on private property and asked if the Board was working with the Emergency Management Department on the process. Paul Hatch from NH Homeland Security visited the office to get contact information for the road agent and stated that the disaster declaration on January 9 for the October storm was for municipal roads only and no funds are being allocated for private property, private access roads, or Class 6 roads. Paul said he would follow up with the resident. Paul said the town was on target with their FEMA application for damages done to town roads. Emergency Management Deputy Director Don Pfaefflin told Sandi that this FEMA incident does not involve his office thus there is no reason for him to meet with the Select Board.
Reports from other Boards and Committees:
Historical Commission Chair Sharon Proulx outlined the ideas that people have come up with for the town’s 2019 celebration of the 250th anniversary of the town’s 1769 charter. The Historical Commission asked the Board to consider putting an article on the warrant that would create a capital reserve fund of $2000 for the purpose of helping with the 250th anniversary expenses, especially the publishing of the town’s history book. After discussion, Bob Ells motioned for the Board to put an article on the warrant that would create a new capital reserve called the Orange 250th Anniversary Capital Reserve Fund, with the amount of $2000 to be placed in that fund, and to have the Select Board as agents to expend. Skip seconded. Motion passed unanimously in favor.
Dorothy stated that the Conservation Commission’s Natural Resource Inventory should be out at the same time.
Public comment: n/a
Bills and vouchers were reviewed and signed.
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JOINT MEETING WITH THE BUDGET COMMITTEE
TO DRAFT THE PROPOSED 2018 BUDGET
Officer nominations:
Bob motioned for Dave Stacy to continue as Chair of the Budget Committee for 2018. Sophie Seace seconded. Motion passed unanimously in favor.
Dave motioned for Bob Proulx to continue as Secretary of the Budget Committee for 2018. Sophie Seace seconded. Motion passed unanimously in favor.
Municipal operating budget:
The Select Board and Budget Committee unanimously concurred on all recommendations.
Salaries: $27,000 (level funded).
Elections and Registrations: $3,200.
Financial Administration (Registering deeds): $200. Level funded.
Revaluation of Property: $4500 (level funded).
Legal Expense: $3,000. The 2018 retainer fee is level funded at $2,000 and $1,000 is included for the ongoing Fairpoint litigation. (This is Orange’s shared cost of Fairpoint v. Alstead of which the outcome of how Fairpoint will be assessed will affect all municipalities served by them.)
FICA: $2,500. Level funded.
Planning and Zoning: $500 (level funded).
General Government Buildings: $6,000 (level funded)
Cemeteries: $3,000 (level funded). Cemetery Trustee Tamara Fairbank said they will be purchasing new signs for the cemeteries and will work with the Historical Society to have them reflect the town’s historical essence.
Insurance: $1,794. This is based on the actual quote from the Primex.
Memberships: $1,500. This is based on actual requests.
Officer Expenses: $7,500. This is substantially decreased from last year because it does not include the $5,250 start-up cost of the online registration software. The annual maintenance fee is $950.
Police: $0.00
Ambulance: $6,620. This is based on the actual quote from Canaan FAST.
Fire: $12,932. This is based on the actual quote from the Town of Canaan.
Building inspection: $1,500. This was raised $500 from last year due to the 2017 budget being over-expended.
Emergency Management: $300 (level funded).
Highway: $100,000. The $2000 increase over 2017 was requested by Road Agent Scott Sanborn. A letter was received from Kathy Stacy asking the highway department to implement recommendations by the NH Municipal Association for road safety including the prompt removal of hazardous trees and a tree maintenance policy. She would also like the road department to address the ongoing condition of Orange’s section of Razor Hill Road. She would like to see the road ditched and the replacement of a stop sign. Scott said that he will address Kathy’s concerns. He stated that the water that causes the Razor Hill washouts is from a culvert in Grafton. He will speak to the Grafton road agent to see if they will replace the culvert to provide proper water run-off. Regarding tree hazards, Scott will talk to Fox Tree Service to set up a plan. Regarding the present FEMA declaration from the October 2017 storm, Scott expects the town to get between $8,000 and $12,000 reimbursement for road repairs.
Solid waste: $14,045. This is a significant decrease from $34,000 in 2017 because the town discontinued their contract with Casella and now uses the Canaan transfer station. Casella was expected to increase their fees in 2018 to $52,000.
Health agencies: $4,200. This is based on actual requests. Answering a question from Judith about the town making a $152 contribution to the Red Cross, Bob Proulx talked about their assistance on a local level, especially in the event of a fire.
Direct Assistance (Welfare): $3000 (level funded).
Library (contribution to Canaan Library): $4000 (level funded).
Culture and Recreation: $350 (level funded).
Timber Harvest Monitor: $1.00. This basically keeps the line item open for possible expenditures, though they are not anticipated at this time.
Conservation Commission: $500. Increased by $185 because they no longer belong to the NH Association of Conservation Commission which removed that amount from the membership line item category.
Interest on Tax Anticipation Note: $3,500 (level funded).
Buildings Capital Outlay: $1,000.00 (level funded). Bob Proulx said he would like to install exterior protective sheathes for the cellar windows. The Board will follow up with a pressure washing of the exterior of the Town House, especially in the area where dead insects have accumulated at the lighted areas. Alternative exterior lighting was discussed to mitigate the attraction of nighttime insects. It was noted that funds for the job could come from the Town House Capital Reserve. Sharon felt that an annual cleaning was suffice and that alternative lighting set up apart from the building was not necessary.
Total proposed 2018 budget: $212,662.00
Capital Reserves:
After discussion, the Board and Committee voted to fund the following capital reserves which will be placed on the warrant:
Highway Equipment Capital Reserve Fund: $6,000
Revaluation Capital Reserve Fund: $4,000
Town Roads Improvement Capital Reserve Fund: $10,000
Orange 250th Anniversary Capital Reserve Fund: $2,000 (proposed warrant article).
The bulk of discussion was on the Town Roads Capital Reserve Fund. Scott explained the need to address the necessity of repaving the roads lest they eventually revert to gravel roads. He will get a quote for next year’s town meeting and projects the cost to be about $120,000. It was agreed that at some point this would be a warrant article bond issue (bank loan) and that the more money that is available from the Town Road Capital Reserve Fund, the less the bond would be. Due to the substantial savings from the sanitation line item, the Budget Committee and Board concurred they would recommend increasing the contribution to Road Improvement Capital Reserve to $10,000. Scott said the town truck is presently in fairly good shape but given the cost Page 5 of 5
of an eventual replacement, that capital reserve should also be funded adequately. The Committee and Board concurred on $6,000.
Total proposed 2018 capital reserve contributions: $22,000.00
Anticipated revenue (offsets municipal budget):
Land Use Change Taxes: $2,000
Yield taxes: $3,000
Interest and penalties on delinquent taxes: $5,000
Inventory penalties: $1,300
Business licenses, permits and fees (UCC): $30
Motor vehicle permit fees: $55,000
Building permits: $200
Other licenses, permits and fees: $1,000
Meals and Rooms Tax distribution: $17,000
Highway Block Grant: $30,000
State Forest reimbursement: $3,000
Statewide voter checklist: $300
Interest on investments: $30
Municipal fees: $900
Total estimated revenues: $118,760.00
|
BUDGET SUMMARY 2017 |
2018 |
|
|
Operating budget |
$234,291.00 |
$212,662.00 |
|
Capital reserves |
$12,000.00 |
$22,000.00 |
|
Total Appropriations |
$246,291.00 |
$234,662.00 |
|
Less Estimated Revenues |
$107,660.00 |
$118,760.00 |
|
Estimated amt, to be raised by taxes |
$138,631.00 |
$115,902.00 |