Budgets continue to be reviewed
Published on March 24th, 1999
STOENHAM, MA - The crunching can be heard all over town as the Board of Selectmen and the Finance and Advisory Board muddle through a review of all FY2000 departmental budgets for Town Meeting presentation in May.
On Monday night, the Board of Selectmen granted budget approval to the requests of the Department of Public Works and the Police Department.
Highlights in the DPW's total budget request and subsequent approval of $2,871,264 includes an additional $20,000 in the cemetery budget for manpower needed to increase the number of graves by 1,000. This new area of Lindenwood Cemetery is slated to be open by spring of next year.
A $36,000 increase in the trash account is due in part, according to DPW Director Robert Grover, to Stoneham's increased output of tonnage. The growing number of condominiums in town, he explained, is largely responsible for this increase.
"We've already overspent the snow budget," said Grover, reporting that despite less than 30 inches of snow so far this season, the town is $13,000 in the red, without consideration of last week's storm.
The snow & ice budget is level funded from year to year and FY2000, likewise, calls for $175,000.
Appropriation for sidewalk installation and repair does not appear in the current proposed budget, explained Grover, since Town Meeting appropriated $120,000 for this work last October.
"A hundred thousand dollars is sitting there right now," he explained, referring to that account's balance, and stated that a detailed list of sidewalk priorities is expected from the School Department in the coming weeks and will be acted upon in the spring.
While Stoneham's Police Department could always benefit from additional officers, according to Police Chief Eugene Passaro, no formal request for such was made in its FY2000 budget request of $2,822,028.
Although the likelihood for an imminent retirement within the aging department is high, Passaro and Sergeant Herb Moore advised the board that the department will instead pursue a federal grant for an addition to its ranks for the upcoming year, rather than request more money in the budget.
Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting advised that a portion of the Police Department budget should be considered an estimate since the next fiscal year will be one of transition, with a move to interim quarters while the current station is renovated and enlarged.
As he has explained in the past, Passaro stated that the budgeted overtime figure, this year standing at $200,000, is likely a low number. Despite recent new hires, the standard 23-week academy training and subsequent 12-week in-house training currently stands in the way of cutting this account back in the near future.
Nutting advised that police hires in the last four years have totaled ten, and Passaro praised the work of all of the additional officers, most of whom hail from Stoneham.
"The employees we've been hiring have been excellent," Passaro said.
The Board unanimously approved the $2.8 million request.
A total cost of $128,200, which was also approved by the board, is expected to cover the expense of 23 Traffic Directors in the next fiscal year. While no decision has yet been made for the funding of school bus service throughout town, Passaro advised that this number of directors will be sufficient to address the safety needs when school begins in September.
The police dispatch account was the next budget to receive approval, totaling $215,301 for FY2000.
Nutting explained that the department's upcoming transition might impact this budget as well and may need to be supplemented during the year. Police dispatch will move its operation to the Fire Station during construction, making it more difficult for police officers to help out when needed.
After much discussion, the Public Health Services budget was tabled until further information could be obtained regarding the hiring of a public health nurse.
Of utmost concern to both the Board of Health, as stated by its chairman, Michael Rolli, is the continuity of the various programs and services that the town offers to its residents through the public health nurse. This, the board contended, would be in jeopardy if the selectmen approved Nutting's recommendation of hiring two part-time nurses for a total of 30 hours per week.
The board instead requested the hiring of one full-time nurse which it said would likely attract a more committed and qualified employee.
Public health nurse Marge Neylon, who currently works 20 hours per week, advised the board that since the recent retirement of fellow public health nurse and full-timer Jean O'Melia, she has not been able to address all of the demands made of with the department due to her current part-time status. In addition, she stated she is planning to retire in the near future.
"We're public health nurses but also we're community nurses...We offer things in this town that other towns don't," said Neyland.
Despite her imminent retirement, Neyland stated that she would not want to see service to the community diminish.
Nutting entertained the suggestion of increasing the part-time hours to a total of 36 between two nurses and suggested that the town advertise for such, review the qualifications of the respondents, and then decide whether or not the budgeted position should be changed to a full-time one.
The selectmen agreed on that course of action and will revisit the issue following response to the advertisement.
"Let's give it more time. The Board will make a decision, I assure you," stated Selectmen Chairman Albert Conti.
Without disregard to the selectmen's hard work, the Finance Board, last week, voted in favor of reducing the $3,000 yearly salaries paid to the high ranking officials.
As a result of a recent survey where members of the Finance Board compared various Stoneham salaries to those in surrounding towns, the five selectmen salaries were cut by $500 each.
According to Finance Board Chairman Richard Gregorio, of the dozen communities surveyed, only Arlington paid its selectmen a heftier salary of $3,500 per year.
He added that two of the other towns paid each of its selectmen $2,000 annually, one paid $1,500 and six paid nothing at all to its elected officials.
Although Stoneham voters approved $500 increases for its selectmen for each of the past two years, board member Joseph Vittiglio stated that the survey shows that last year's raise "may have been over the top."
"We as a Finance Board decided they needed $500 more two years ago and again last year...I felt they deserve the benefit of a gradual decrease. We can look at it again next year," said Vittiglio.
The total Board of Selectmen budget was unanimously approved for $83,942.
The town's Reserve Fund, typically used for unforeseen and extraordinary expenses, received Finance Board approval for $85,000.
While some surrounding towns keep a higher reserve and tend to apply their reserves differently, Stoneham relies on the fund for emergency disbursements or budget offsets.
"It's a fraction of your operating budget that you put aside in case things don't go the way you planned," explained Nutting.
"I think this is an appropriate level given the budget at this moment," stated Gregorio.
The board also approved the Town Administrator budget for $375,730, a reduction of approximately $6,500 from the current fiscal year. Cuts in part-time hours for DPW summer help is responsible for the savings.
Other budgets receiving Finance Board endorsement include unclassified at $1,756,000, the Finance Board account at $21,669, and non-departmental at $42,935.
With regard to those budgets that include salaries determined by the collective bargaining process, Nutting advised that such budgets will be adjusted accordingly once an agreement is reached.
With Town Meeting scheduled for May 3, budget review continues through the next few weeks.
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