Board Members Present: Sherman Tedford, Chairman; Roberta Fraser; Theresa Sepe; Gustave Ruth; and Kenneth Gardner. Also present Sharon Haley, Finance Supervisor; Amy Bond, Finance Assistant; Karey Miner, Deputy Tax Collector; and Ellen Cole, Executive Assistant. The meeting convenes at 10:00AM.
1st Order of Business: Current Fiscal Budget/Cash Flow Review
The Board held a work session with Sharon Haley-Finance Supervisor, Peg Tatro-Treasurer, and Karey Miner-Deputy Tax Collector on February 10, 2010 to discuss revenues, cash flow and accounts payable. The Board requested revisiting this financial overview to see where the numbers and percentages are today. The Board reviews the budget expenses, managed by Sharon, who points out the operating budget should be at 25%, but has 23% remaining with 13 weeks remaining of the fiscal year. The Water and Sewer budgets are separate enterprises, but are part of the operating budget. Sharon and the Board have a general discussion, and review the weekly, anticipated payments for payroll, payroll taxes, accounts payable, retirement, and health insurance. Amy Bond reviews the APs for the weeks of March 4-$45,000.00, March 11-$47,000.00, March 18-$15,000.00, and March 25-$32,000.00. Amy anticipates a return the second week of May of roughly $9,000.00 (7,300 gallons left) for unused, prepaid fuel. Other anticipated revenues include $23,000.00 from the Highway Block Grant and reimbursement of RERP. The Board has not put a freeze on spending, but the purchasing policy in place makes clear that anything over $3,000.00 must receive Board approval. Selectman Sepe asks Sharon for her professional opinion if we’ll meet the bottom line, to which Sharon estimates as of right now, we’ll be over budget with anticipated APs. Selectman Sepe makes a motion to freeze the budget, excluding the mandatory payments for payroll, etc. in order to keep our creditors up to date, and anything absolutely necessary, otherwise anything that comes up will go before the Board for approval.
Selectman Fraser seconds the motion and it passes 5-0. Selectman Gardner makes a motion to hold a budget work session on April 14, 2010 at 9:30AM. Selectman Ruth seconds the motion and it passes 5-0. At that time, these figures will be re-reviewed. Chairman Tedford asks Sharon to break down weekly figures of contractual obligations the Town needs to pay, excluding water and sewer. The Board asks Sharon to recalculate the projected expense figures to check for accuracy. Sharon suggests the Board consider ‘no spending’ after June 15 because outstanding invoices create a problem when closing the fiscal year. Sharon would prefer to not backdate and asks purchases be made early enough so Finance can cut the checks. Sharon and Amy completely understand, however, emergencies would be an exception to this request.
Karey makes the Board aware that yesterday she collected roughly $250,000.00. Since Karey last met with the Board, the Town has taken in over $400,000.00 in deposits. Karey gives a breakdown of unpaid taxes for: 2007-$84,240.00; 2008-$352,979.00; and 2009 balance-$635,520.00 for a grand total of $1,073,000.00. Karey did a year-to-year comparison of total outstanding taxes for March 2008-$681,000.00; and March 2009-$831,000.00. The total tax bill is over $7.6 million. Another factor Karey would like the Board to consider is in April she will tax deed for 2007 unpaid taxes. Karey anticipates a majority of property owners will pay before April 14, 2010. Overall, the cash flow seems fine.
The Board thanks the ladies for their input.
2nd Order of Business: Non-Public Session under RSA 91-A:3II (a)
Selectman Fraser makes a motion to enter non-public session under (a). Selectman Ruth seconds the motion. A role call vote is taken and all members vote “yes”, and the Board convenes in non-public session at 10:48AM.
3rd Order of Business: Reconvene Public Session
The Board reconvenes in public session at 11:45AM. The non-public minutes under (a) was sealed.
4th Order of Business: Adjournment
Selectman Tedford makes a motion to adjourn. Selectman Gardner seconds the motion and it passes 5-0. The meeting adjourns at 12:15PM.
Respectfully recorded,
Ellen A. Cole
Executive Assistant
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14 comments:
On a different subject of town debt - but National debt. By the end of this year, our National debt will be at $88 TRILLION.
To comprehend that staggering number. Lets say that your household brings in just $50,000 this year. Your debt at the end of the year would be $2 MILLION.
How could you justify or sleep at night knowing that you owed that much? And that's just for THIS year.
Obama's proposed cuts were an equivelent of just 2 cents. That's NOT enough!
After readind all these blogs that go back for some time I noticed you have asked for money support a few times from your followers. As Google blogs are free of charge, Im very curious what you needed this money for? I hope you take this opportunity to explain to your followers what their hard earned money was used for.
First off, learn to post in the proper forum, your question has nothing to do with the Selectman's meeting minutes. Secondly, unless you yourself have sent us a donation and we know for a fact you didn't, we take your post as another example of someone wishing to discredit us and our efforts to bring news to the community.
For someone who claims to be so knowledgeable and so concerned about others, domain names and renewals cost money as well as web space, above and beyond your allowed limits. Yes, this blog is hosted free of charge; but documents posted on it as well as other information we have provided isn't. Last warning.
What the hell are APs?
I believe the abbreviation stands for anticipated payment, money paid out from the operating budget.
Even though the blog site is free the winchesterinformer site is not. Weren't you asking for money for the hosting cost of the other site?
In accounting lingo AP's usually stand for Accounts Payable. It would be my understanding that some of this money should have been encumbered from taxes to cover these disbursements. Please remember that the town runs just like your home budget-they get bills on a monthly basis and have repairs done on equipment so they wait for an invoice before they cut a check. Sharon and the selectmen should have advance notice of these expenditures as someone should approve them before they are even done. Our funds come from our pay checks and their funds come from our taxes.
Have a great day!
The spending freeze lasted all of 8 hours....
6th Order of Business: Additional Business
The Board held a work session this morning to review the current fiscal budget, and voted to freeze the budget. As of this afternoon, new information came to light regarding the fiscal status of the Town. Selectman Gardner makes a motion to revisit the budget freeze discussion. Selectman Sepe seconds the motion and it passes 5-0. The Town’s Financial Supervisor re-reviewed the actual estimates previously made, and determined that after all mandated, contractual obligations are made, $237,738.50 will be available in the budget, and the Town will have $18,287.58 to spend weekly for the next 13 weeks. The Board still needs to watch these numbers very carefully. At the end of June 30, there should not be any money leftover to run the town in the operating budget. Selectman Sepe still wants Bob to oversee the purchases to avoid careless spending. Chairman Tedford makes a motion to rescind the spending freeze. Selectman Ruth seconds the motion and it passes 5-0.
They have to make sure that they spend every dime they take in or they're not happy, never mind that they could use the surplus to lower the tax rate a little more and give us some relief. Why people in town continue to vote such irresponsible people into office year after year makes absolutely no sense to me. It must be something in the town's water supply that prevents voters from acting intelligently.
Rueters article: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20100408/tpl-uk-financial-crisis-d1a0d5d.html
'In July 2007, the Financial Times quoted Prince as saying,
"As long as the music is playing, you've got to get up and dance ... We're still dancing." The quip became emblematic of bankers' failure to grasp the gravity of the crisis.'
Sound familiar?
re: BUDGET FREEZE
When I first read of the 5-0 vote to "freeze the budget" at the Selectboard work session,I felt a glimmer of hope of fiscal responsibility. And then, to learn that it only lasted 8 hours, how dared I to hope? PLEASE, PLEASE save us money where you can.
Budget freeze in Winchester
Take a look at the BOS work session minutes for 4/7. Employees cant get along, heck with boots that expensive everyone should have happy feet.I guess i should join a union, i didn't know i wasn't supposed to buy my own shoes.
Not to worry folks. The taser probe was successfully removed from the victim's chest. The probe removal procedure was recorded for evidentiary and litigation purposes. Stay tuned for further information.
Now let’s all play a guessing game. Who do you think the officer was who forgot to remove the taser probe?
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