CALL TO ORDER.  The Chairman, Allen Ward, called the meeting to order and led the pledge of allegiance to the flag at 6:00 PM.

 

ROLL CALL.  Members present were Councilors Ward, Albert, Kolbe, Lunt, Larochelle, Ganong, and Fellows.  Also present were Diane Barnes, Town Manager; Kayla Tierney, Finance Director; Steve Aievoli; Sewer Superintendent; Ryan McGee, Police Chief; Randy Cyr, Public Works Director; Kathy Malloy, Assessor; Nate LeClair, Fire Chief; Mark Stevens, Parks and Recreation Director; William Alexander, Water Superintendent; Allen Ouellette, School Facilities Director; Finance Committee members-Heather Ward, Noly Lopez, Curtis Lunt, and Dan Leeman. Planning Board members William Kuhl and Chris Huston. 

 

 

BUDGET WORKSHOP

 

A.     CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN PRESENTATION (TO PLANNING BOARD)

 

Councilor Ward stated there was a question at the last meeting on the Charter and the specifics of the presentation of the town.  Mrs. Tierney shared the following information:

 

Sec. 6.02. - Submission of Budgets; Budget Messages.

 

     On or before the third Tuesday of March each year, the Town Manager and the School Committee shall submit to the Town Council line item budgets for the ensuing fiscal year. The budget messages accompanying the budgets shall explain the respective budgets both in fiscal terms and in terms of programs. They shall outline the proposed financial policies for the Town and the School Department respectively for the ensuing fiscal year, describe the important features of the respective budgets, indicate any major changes from the current year with respect to financial policies, expenditures, and revenues, and the reasons for the same, summarize the debt position of the Town and School Department respectively, and include such other information as the Town Manager and the School Committee believe to be desirable.

(C.O. of 9-16-2008, § 2008-152F, Ref. of 11-4-2008)

 

Councilor Ward pointed out the reference from the sentence as follows:  “They shall explain the respective budgets both in fiscal terms and in terms of programs.  They shall outline the proposed financial policies for the Town and the School Department respectively for the ensuing fiscal year, describe the important features of the respective budgets, indicate any major changes from the current year with respect to financial policies, expenditures, and revenues, and the reasons for the same, summarize the debt position of the Town and School Department respectively.”   He said that at the last meeting, in Mrs. Barnes’ presentation, she referenced the 7 % starting point is actually included as an understanding of last years revenues until better were known.  He asked that she send out those revenues to the Council members.  This meets the letter for a clear starting point associated with the Charter and that they are in compliance.

 

Mrs. Barnes stated that she did send out those revenues.  She said there are three major items, Parks and Recreation revenues, Revenue Sharing and Excise Tax.  Revenue sharing is still up in the air due to the fact that the Maine Revenue Service has not posted their expected Revenues for all the municipalities for the upcoming year.  She does not have the Excise Tax Revenues because the Governor allowed people to wait until July to register their vehicles and if they expired, they could still re-register, so part of the July revenues could be attributed to the prior fiscal year.  She said she will have the revenues for the Council as they go through the budget process and before they determine the budget.

 

Mrs. Tierney stated that the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a document that focuses on the implementation of community goals through detailed recommendations on capital spending and needs for the current and forecasted future fiscal years.

 

She said the CIP to be submitted to the Council is to be broken down by Town, presented here on a departmental level; by School Department; and lastly by the Water Department.  This plan is presented on a 5-year module and on a 10-year module.

 

She stated that the CIP demonstrates specific projects, amounts of those projects, and the sources of funding for those projects.  This document is a framework for making the best use of financial resources.

 

She pointed out that within the CIP report, a section of footnotes follows immediately after each department’s requests.  These footnotes go into more depth about the capital items being requested in the upcoming fiscal year.

 

She said in addition to the 5 and 10-year plan forecasts, this report includes estimated annual cost of operating and maintaining vehicles and equipment, as well as the current mileage of those vehicles.

 

The Debt Structure (Bonds and Leases) is also included in this report.

 

Each department has submitted their requests for capital needs.

 

Mrs. Tierney explained what the Capital Improvement is per the Capital Improvement Plan Program Policy:  It is a major fiscal expenditure which is made infrequently or which is not recurring and includes one or more of the following:

 

·   Acquisition of Land;

·   Construction or expansion of a public facility, street, or utility;

·   Non-recurring rehabilitation or construction of an asset provided the cost is more than $25,000 and extends the useful life of the asset;

·   Design or Programming related to an individual project; or

·   Any item or piece of equipment that will be bonded or budgeted in more than one fiscal year.

 

She said it also includes assets that would hold a useful life of 5 years or longer and includes machinery, equipment or vehicles that are greater than or equal to $10,000.  These may be one-time purchases or recurring based on the established useful life of the asset once it is placed into service.

 

She stated that the Town of Lisbon’s summary of the 5-year plan for 2022 is broken down by department totals and each fiscal year as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following documented chart explains the additional 5-year summary:

 

 

 

Mrs. Tierney spoke about the Debt Structure, which supports the plan for the 5-year and 10-year period as follows:

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Tierney listed the CIP Highlights by Department’s that meet the higher level threshold at the five year useful life or greater and $10,000 or more as follows (other CIP’s that are under the $10,000 threshold will be earmarked in the footnotes of the report):

 

POLICE:

·         (2) Cruisers as part of the cruiser replacement plan ($62,000 Total) 

·         Bullet proof vests ($14,000)

·         Portable Radios ($13,500)

·         Cruiser Equipment ($8,000)

FIRE:

·         Turnout Gear ($14,884)

·         Fire Station Study ($30,000)

·         Squad 3 refurbish ($10,000)

Parks & Rec

·         Miller Trail Fence ($10,000)

PUBLIC WORKS:

·         New plow truck ($50,000)

·         Refurb 2008 plow truck ($15,000)

·         20 ton Trailer ($24,000)

·         Excavator ($111,000)

·         Annual Paving ($475,000)

·         Street Light controls x2 ($40,000)

·         Guardrails ($10,000)

·         Sidewalk paving ($10,000)

SOLID WASTE:

·         Forklift ($35,000)

TOWN BUILDINGS

·         Library Heating/Cooling pumps ($17,200)

·         Re-pitch Roof – Transfer Station ($55,000)

·         Generator – PW Garage ($40,000)

·         Generator – Lisbon Falls Fire Station ($15,000)

·         Generator – ET Smith Fire Station ($15,000)

·         Boiler – Lisbon Falls Fire Station ($26,780)

·         Electrical Work – Lisbon Falls Fire Station ($14,000)

TOWN OFFICE ADMIN:

·         Clerk Records Restoration ($13,750)

ASSESSING – REVALUATION ($30,000)

TECHNOLOGY:

·         Server – Town Office ($19,000)

·         Cruiser Laptops – Police ($32,000)

WWTP:

·         Ford F-250 ($50,000)

·         Isco 5800 Samplers ($15,000)

·         Wemco Torque flowpumps ($70,000)

·         RACO auto dialers ($15,000)

·         Centrifuge ($500,000)

 

Mrs. Tierney stated that the amounts for CIP for each department coincides with the Department asks (Initial Budget) presented the previous week (3/16/2021).

 

ü The funding source of the Operations Budget is a reflection of this.

She said the difference between the Initial Budget and the Managerial Budget represents the change in funding source.

 

ü i.e. Unassigned Fund Balance

 

Department Heads will be discussing their capital needs further in depth during their individual budget presentations.

 

SCHOOL CIP

 

Mr. Ouellette spoke about the School’s capital improvements they have been able to do because of the stimulus money they received this year as follows:

 

Ø  Upgraded the Van Fleet for transporting students

Ø  Installed 02 Prime Air Cleansing Systems in all the schools

Ø  Installed outside Pavilions for learning and lunches at all of the schools

Ø  Installed Thermal Cameras at all the entrances of the schools to monitor temperatures of everyone that  enters the buildings

Ø  Installed new Uninvents and windows at the Middle School

Ø  Replaced Windows and some doors in the 300 wing at the High School

 

                          Mr. Ouellette spoke about the current facilities and transportation needs in the near future as follows:

 

Ø  In FY 22/23, they’re looking to replace three school buses.  State requires 10 years and 125,000 miles in order to qualify for replacement.  They have six buses that qualify.  They have been working on a three-year cycle, trying to purchase three new ones every three years

Ø  Replace the Middle School roof, which they are currently reviewing three bids for

Ø  Replace the Middle School, High School, and Gartley Street School parking lots and drive ways, which they are seeking bids for

Ø   Restripe Track, which they are currently reviewing.  It’s recommended it be done between five and seven years, depending upon the usage.  The track was completed in 2014, which puts it at the latter end of the recommendation time.

Ø   Rebuild Softball dugouts.  The current ones blew down in the last windstorm.

 

Mr. Ouellette spoke about other priorities as follows:

 

Ø  Upgrade kitchen and monitor the roof at Gartley Street School

Ø  Replace carpets in the classrooms with tiles and replace roof shingles at the Lisbon Community School

Ø  Renovate locker rooms and replace lunch room tables at the Middle School

Ø  Monitoring the health of the oak trees and removing them as needed in the front of the building and monitoring the roof at the High School

 

Councilor Ward, after speaking with Mr. Ouellette, shared that there’s a low bid for the Middle School Roof, which falls under the $250,000 threshold, so there is adequate funding there and it will not trigger a referendum.

 

WATER DEPARTMENT CIP

 

Mr. Alexander went over the Water Department CIP budget as follows:

 

Ø  $250,000 to Replace and improve mains, valves, and hydrant and services, specifically in the Merrill Avenue, Bonafide and Fillion Street areas.  Those mains are part of the original system and undersized, because they have hydrants on them.  On Bonafide Street, they can get domestic water from but not any fire flow through.

Ø  They budget every year for five hydrants and five gate valves.  They have had problems with the gate valves in the last couple of years.  They will have to replace some additional valves with the Route 125 restructure project.

Ø  They have started their automatic meter reading infrastructure project, completing around 900 installs, and have about 2,400 services to go.  They hope to have that completed entirely in 2021.

Ø  They have $25,000 to replace meters for a 20-year change out, which they are behind on.

Ø  They started construction of their corrosion control project.  Constructed the containment, have hung the pea pumps at the Moody plant, and are in the process of stripping out the Bower station. 

Ø  They are going to purchase a hydraulic pavement breaker to keep on their trucks.

Ø  They will spend $8,000 at the Moody plant to put a manifold system up with a vacuum release valve.

Ø  Must replace the 1978 generator at the power station since they cannot get parts for it anymore.

Ø  They will add a generator at the Water Department office due to the frequency of losing power. 

Ø  The aluminum tank cover at the Lisbon tank has to be resealed and the coupler has to be repaired; they plan to have a company come in to look at the cover to install a screen between the top of the aluminum cap and the top of the tank so nothing can get in there.

Ø  The altitude valve at the Lisbon Falls station has to be replaced.  

 

Curtis Lunt stated that the CIP was well done and wanted to suggest that in the future they include highways, road projects, major culverts, bridges and bond issues etc.  He also stated that the Lisbon trail system is so popular now that the parking lots are full all the time, specifically at Miller Park.  This could potentially become a safety hazard since people are now parking on the street.  He suggested the town find a solution.

 

Councilor Larochelle mentioned Mr. Richardson, the Economic and Community Development Director is working on signage for the trail system so people will be more aware of the parking areas that are along the trail system, which people may not be aware of.

 

 

G.     Assessing

Item taken out of order

 

Mrs. Malloy presented her budget as follows:

 

 

Assessor Budget: 12024000			FY22
ORG	OBJ	Account Description	FY22 Projected Budget Appropriation
12024000	50102	Department Head	-
12024000	50104	Non-supervisory wages	35,706.00
12024000	50201	Unemployment Costs	96.00
12024000	50202	Workers Comp Insurance	115.00
12024000	50210	MEPERS - Employer Share	3,678.00
12024000	50220	Health Insurance	3,045.00
12024000	50230	FICA Employer Costs	2,731.00
12024000	50301	Office Supplies	375.00
12024000	50306	Postage	250.00
12024000	50308	Printing	300.00
12024000	50401	Professional Development	500.00
12024000	50402	Dues and Memberships	150.00
12024000	50413	Mileage/ travel reimbursement	300.00
12024000	50451	Contracted Professional Services	35,000.00
12024000	50470	Registry Services	600.00
12024000	50536	R&M: Equipment	-
12024000	50624	Mapping & Microfilming	2,000.00
		Total 12024000 Assessor	84,846.00

 

 

Mrs. Malloy stated that she is proposing a new position for a Full-time Assessing clerk or Full-time Assistant with an Assessor on a contracted basis one day a week.  She said they did this five or six years ago, but did not have the Assessor coming in to the office on a set amount of day(s) per week, which became very frustrating to the public.  She suggested this is the perfect time to try this again since the current Assessing Clerk in the Assessing office is a good fit for this position.

 

B.      ELECTED OFFICIALS

 

Mrs. Barnes presented the Elected Officials Budget as follows:

               

 

Elected Officials Budget: 12020500			FY22
ORG	OBJ	Account Description	FY22 Projected Budget Appropriation
12020500	50108	Elected Officials	17,730.00
12020500	50202	Workers Comp Insurance	55.00
12020500	50230	FICA Employer Costs	1,357.00
12020500	50301	Office Supplies	500.00
12020500	50306	Postage	-
12020500	50307	Advertising	800.00
12020500	50308	Printing	-
12020500	50401	Professional Development	250.00
12020500	50960	Employee Recognition	5,000.00
		Total 12020500 Elected Officials	25,692.00

 

Mrs. Barnes stated one thing has changed, which is the Employee Recognition line.  The $5,000 there is a placeholder.  Prior events were held at Beaver Park, but a couple of councilors made a suggestion this year to maybe do something different.  Councilor Larochelle said Council needs to come up with a foolproof plan and not depend upon just one or two people to make this event happen. Councilor Albert said he is a strong proponent of this and would continue to support this budget line if the participation level is there.

 

Councilor Ward asked Mrs. Barnes to put this topic on the list for future discussion. 

 

C.      TOWN MANAGER

 

Mrs. Barnes stated that as they go through these budgets, in most cases, there would be a reduction in the health insurance line and the worker’s compensation line.  There was a 0% increase set by the Health Trust this calendar year that begins in July.  Last year they budgeted a 9% increase for the second half of the year not knowing what it was going to be, which put them in a position to be able to reduce this upcoming budget.  She said they have a really high experience MOD and we have a really bad year that is going to drop off starting January 2022.  The insurance company did a quick review of our experience MOD and it is going to drop down to .89, which is roughly a $100,000 savings in premiums. 

 

Mrs. Barnes presented her budget as follows:

 

Town Manager: 12021000			FY22
ORG	OBJ	Account Description	FY22 Projected Budget Appropriation
12021000	50101	Town Manager	102,991.00
12021000	50107	Administrative	60,000.00
12021000	50140	Overtime Wages	-
12021000	50201	Unemployment Costs	192.00
12021000	50202	Workers Comp Insurance	3,765.00
12021000	50210	MEPERS - Employer Share	16,790.00
12021000	50220	Health Insurance	40,697.00
12021000	50230	FICA Employer Costs	12,470.00
12021000	50301	Office Supplies	200.00
12021000	50306	Postage	250.00
12021000	50307	Advertising	1,000.00
12021000	50308	Printing	-
12021000	50352	Cell Phone/Allowances	840.00
12021000	50401	Professional Development	1,000.00
12021000	50402	Dues and Memberships	-
12021000	50413	Mileage/ travel reimbursement	2,900.00
12021000	50452	Audit services	9,850.00
		Total 12021000 Town Manager	252,945.00

 

 

Mrs. Barnes stated that the big increase is going to be in the Administrative Assistant line.  She proposed the Council elevate this employee to the Human Resources Director, which is currently held by Mrs. Barnes.  This employee is currently the Administrative Assistant and Deputy Tax Collector responsible for Tax and Sewer Liens, and all the Foreclosures, in addition to all her other responsibilities.  This position would go from an hourly position to a salary position.  The increase in salary will compensate her for the additional hours that she will be working.  She’ll be taking on independent judgement and management of all the HR operations, including recruitment, selection, orientation, training, coaching, counseling, planning, monitoring and appraising the staff and will support the other management teams by providing HR advice and developing and writing/updating policies, procedures, and job descriptions. She will also become part of the Labor Compliance/Relations. 

 

 

Mrs. Barnes mentioned the increase in the professional development line. She said this line was cut by $500.00 last year.  She recommended adding back in the $500 for educational opportunities. 

 

Heather Ward from the Finance Committee suggested looking at the total picture of all full-time employees changes in personnel comprehensively rather than by department.  Councilor Ward asked Mrs. Barnes to put together a list of those proposed changes for the FY21-22 budget year.  

 

D.     INSURANCE

 

Mrs. Barnes presented the Insurance Budget as follows:

 

Liability Insurance Budget: 12025500			FY22
ORG	OBJ	Account Description	FY22 Projected Budget Appropriation
12025500	50221	HRA Costs	23,000.00
12025500	50601	General Liability	15,100.00
12025500	50602	Vehicle Insurance	25,880.00
12025500	50603	Police Liability	16,240.00
12025500	50604	Property Insurance	16,370.00
1202550	50605	Fire Fighter Insurance	-
12025500	50606	Crime Insurance	1,260.00
12025500	50607	Public Officials	3,800.00
12025500	50608	Employment Liability	6,612.00
12025500	50609	Public Officials Bond Insurance	2,236.00
12025500	50610	Critical Incident Ins.	1,200.00
		Total 12025500 Liability Insurance	111,698.00

 

 

Mrs. Barnes stated that the reason the town had not spent much this year on health insurance is all COVID related.  People have not been going to their doctors or the hospital during this past year.  Claims are down at the health trust level, which is why there is a 0% increase.  People are now starting to go back to their doctors again, so they are using more of the HRA costs.  The town still has $17,000 to carry forward in case $23,000 is not enough. 

 

 

F.       TECHNOLOGY

Item taken out of order

Mrs. Barnes presented the Technology budget as follows:

 

           

Technology Budget: 12026500			FY22
ORG	OBJ	Account Description	FY22 Projected Budget Appropriation
12026500	50360	Minor equipment	87,800.00
12026500	50454	Internet and website hosting	7,025.00
12026500	50530	Software and Services	195,427.00
12026500	50536	R&M: Equipment	20,000.00
		Total 12026500 Technology	310,252.00

 

Mrs. Tierney said there were changes made in the Contracted Services line in this budget from the Council Meeting on 3-16-2021.

 

Mrs. Barnes said, as part of this budget, in the Capital Improvement Plan the town has $19,000 set aside for the Town Office server that was installed in 2014.  We are currently running Windows 2008, which should be upgraded.

 

Councilor Albert requested, when Burgess Technologies starts, that they implement Disaster Recovery Protocol in the event that this facility becomes no longer a safe working environment, so that the town is capable of operating all its basic functions remotely by staff. 

 

Chief McGee mentioned the old cruiser laptops/PCs date back to 2012-2013. They are a ruggedized computer and highly secured.  They are experiencing two major Windows failures due to the older operating systems.  The Police Department’s IT person recommended they be replaced. 

 

 

H.     ABATEMENTS

 

Mrs. Barnes presented the Abatement Budget as follows:

 

 

Abatements Budget: 12090100			FY22
ORG	OBJ	Account Description	FY22 Projected Budget Appropriation
12090100	50901	Tax abatements	10,000.00
		Total 12090100 Abatements	10,000.00

 

 

Mrs. Barnes stated this $10,000 is a placeholder for now until she finds out what the overlay will be.

 

Councilor Ward stated that they expended $61,804.48 in abatements last year.  Mrs. Barnes said that a large part of that was from the Farwell Mill abatement. 

 

 

E.      LEGAL

Item taken out of order

Mrs. Barnes presented the Legal Budget for legal services.  There were no changes as follows:

 

            

Legal Budget: 12022000			FY22
ORG	OBJ	Account Description	FY22 Projected Budget Appropriation
12022000	50450	Legal expense	40,000.00
		Total 12022000 Legal	40,000.00

 

 

I.        FINANCE

 

Mrs. Tierney presented the Finance budget as follows:

 

           

Finance Budget: 12023000			FY22
ORG	OBJ	Account Description	FY22 Projected Budget Appropriation
12023000	50102	Department Head	74,124.00
12023000	50104	Non-Supervisory	69,319.00
12023000	50201	Unemployment Costs	288.00
12023000	50202	Workers Comp Insurance	461.00
12023000	50210	MEPERS - Employer Share	14,775.00
12023000	50220	Health Insurance	45,730.00
12023000	50230	FICA Employer Costs	10,974.00
12023000	50301	Office Supplies	3,000.00
12023000	50306	Postage	800.00
12023000	50352	Cell Phone/Allowances	420.00
12023000	50401	Professional Development	1,400.00
12023000	50402	Dues and Memberships	500.00
12023000	50413	Mileage/ travel reimbursement	500.00
12023000	50451	Contracted Professional Services	1,500.00
		Total 12023000 Finance	223,791.00

 

J.        TAX

 

Mrs. Tierney presented the Tax Collection Budget as follows:

 

               

Tax Collection Budget: 12023500			FY22
ORG	OBJ	Account Description	FY22 Projected Budget Appropriation
12023500	50104	Non-Supervisory	116,529.00
12023500	50130	Temporary/seasonal	-
12023500	50140	Overtime	2,500.00
12023500	50201	Unemployment Costs	288.00
12023500	50202	Workers Comp Insurance	383.00
12023500	50210	MEPERS - Employer Share	12,260.00
12023500	50220	Health Insurance	35,230.00
12023500	50230	FICA Employer Costs	9,106.00
12023500	50301	Office Supplies	3,000.00
12023500	50306	Postage	7,500.00
12023500	50401	Professional Development	600.00
12023500	50402	Dues and Memberships	100.00
12023500	50413	Mileage/ travel reimbursement	500.00
		Total 12023500 Tax Collection	187,996.00

 

Mrs. Tierney stated that there would be some re-organization on the Tax Collector’s side.  The part-time position has been eliminated and will be replaced by a full time position so the health insurance line would need to be increased within the FY 21-22 budget. 

 

K.     DEBT SERVICE

 

Mrs. Tierney presented the Debt Service budget as follows:

 

Debt Service Budget: 38081000			FY22
ORG	OBJ	Account Description	FY22 Projected Budget Appropriation
38081000	53400	2005 Bond Principal	-
38081000	53401	2006 Bond Principal	36,000.00
38081000	53402	2009 Bond Principal	-
38081000	53403	2010 Bond Principal	53,040.00
38081000	53404	2011 Bond Principal	27,000.00
38081000	53405	2014 QECB Principal	42,320.00
38081000	53406	2017 Bond Principal	150,000.00
38081000	53409	2020 Bond Principal (Pinewoods Rd)	-
38081000	53600	2005 Bond Interest	-
38081000	53601	2006 Bond Inteest	-
38081000	53603	2010 Bond Interest	15,354.00
38081000	53604	2011 Bond Interest	68.00
38081000	53605	2014 QECB Interest	15,106.00
38081000	53607	2017 Bond Interest	22,455.00
38081000	53609	2020 Bond Interest (Pinewoods Rd)	-
38081000	53611	2020 TAN Interest	-
		Total 38081000 Debt Service-Bonds	361,343.00

                

 

Mrs. Tierney stated that there is a $57,761 reduction due to paying off bonds.  She said the town would be paying off two more bonds in FY 21-22.  She said they would be paying the principal and interest on the Pinewoods Road bond in 2022 from the proceeds that are remaining.  She said the TAN Interest line shows zero because the town did not draw on a TAN in the 2021 Fiscal Year and she proposed that they do not go forward with another TAN since the town is in a very good position now. 

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

VOTE (2021-68) Councilor Albert, seconded by Councilor Fellows moved to adjourn at 8:00 pm.

 

Roll Call Vote:  Yeas – Albert, Lunt, Larochelle, Ward, Kolbe, Ganong and Fellows.  Nays - None.  Order passed - Vote 7-0.

 

 

 

 

__________________________________

Lisa Smith, Deputy Clerk

Date Approved: April 6, 2021