Village of Harrisville Dissolution Study Committee Meeting Meeting #8
Village of Harrisville Dissolution Study Committee Meeting Meeting #8 – August 15 @ 6:00 p.m. @ the Joint Municipal Building Minutes Attendees: Committee Members: Jessica Jenack, Julie Malbeuf, Don Messer, David Parow, Autumn Stearne, Marianne Dicob, Gary Williams, Ray Gregory, John LaDuc. At 8:11 p.m. three committee members left (Jessica Jenack, Autumn Stearne, and Marianne Dicob). Public - Tom Best, Roger LaPlatney, Uta Parow, Ray Poulers, Kelly Ritz, Janet Taylor Consultants - Star Carter (DANC), Carrie Tuttle (DANC) 1. Review “Alternatives” Presentation with Committee. a. Alternatives Objectives – S. Carter explained that the purpose of this Committee meeting is to: 1) evaluate the alternatives for delivering services in the event of dissolution so that the impact on tax payers and change in the way the services are delivered can be determined; and 2) identify opportunities to improve efficiencies in the event the Village doesn’t dissolve. b. Committee recommendations for alternative service delivery: i. Wages and Benefits: 1. Village Mayor – if the Village dissolves then this elected position would be eliminated and the salary for the Mayor would be eliminated. 2. Village Board – if the Village dissolves then the board of trustees would be eliminated and the salary for these positions would be eliminated. 3. Zoning/Code Officer – The existing Village DPW Superintendent is paid $500 per year to perform Village-specific zoning/code enforcement duties. Since the Village has special zoning requirements in addition to the Town, this cost would be transferred to the Town in the event of dissolution. 4. Village Clerk – The current Village Clerk and Town Clerk functions are performed by the same person. The Town Clerk current wage is $19,245 and the Village Clerk wages are $13,560. The Clerk estimates between 25% - 50% of her time is spent working on water related tasks. This cost will be included in the Water Budget. There was some discussion about billing once a year instead of quarterly to save on postage, labor, etc. However, some Committee members thought annually billing with County taxes could present a hardship for some customers and decided to keep billing as is and to present a conservative estimate. 5. DPW Staff – a. Water: The Village Water fund pays the General Fund $25,000 annually to cover the cost of labor and use of equipment. Benefits are accounted for in the Water Fund budget. The Village doesn’t track these costs specifically; Page 1 of 4
instead they estimate that 23% of the total employee benefits are related to Water. The Committee agreed that $25,000 should be subtracted from the total wages for DPW to account for the cost of water services. The remainder of the costs for DPW wages should be transferred to the Town Highway expenses to cover the cost of delivering the current services that are provided by the DPW. b. Streets: The Town MEOs are in the Teamsters Union. The Town Committee members expressed that it would give them greater flexibility if the street work in the Village is performed by a MEO. MEOs are required to have their CDL and Village DPW staff do not have that certification and have not previously expressed interest in obtaining a CDL. One (1) additional MEO is anticipated to cover the Village Street work and that staff member would be given 6 months to complete their CDL; conversely the Town could contract for these services if adding a MEO proves to be infeasible. ii. Contractual - Expenses that would potentially be Eliminated: 1. Mayor – Contractual expenses for this position would be eliminated in the event of dissolution. 2. Board – Contractual expenses for this position would be eliminated in the event of dissolution. 3. Clerk - Contractual expenses for this position would be eliminated in the event of dissolution. 4. Tax Collection Software – tax collection software would not need to be maintained by the Village if dissolution proceeds. 5. Law – there are no ongoing legal expenditures. There could be some legal expenses that are not showing up in the legal line item related to the fire district issues. 6. Engineer – there are no ongoing routine engineering expenses. G. Williams reported that they have budgeted $2,000 in the current FY for unidentified engineering expenses. FYE16 engineering expenses were for water related tasks that should have been accounted for in the water fund; not general fund. iii. Contractual – Expenses that would be shifted to the Town. 1. Garbage Services for Village Municipal Waste - $750 of expenses would be transferred over the town for garbage collection. 2. Village Street Maintenance Expenses would be shifted to Town. 3. Buildings – The Village pays $600/month to the Town to cover their share of the utilities and expenses for the Village offices. The annual expense of $7,200 for the Village will go away and the annual revenue of $7,200 for the Town will also go away. Page 2 of 4
4. Central Garage – To estimate costs, use 5/31/17 costs of $6,204 and subtract out the heating costs to estimate the costs that will go away and the costs that will be transferred to the Town. [D. Parow will check to see if plow will fit in Village garage and if any Town Buildings could be eliminated if consolidation occurs.] a. BUILDING: The Town doesn’t think that the Village DPW garage would need to be heated but electricity would be kept on for lighting, etc. (repurpose as cold storage). b. EQUIPMENT: The Town doesn’t think that the Village’s dump truck would be needed by the Town. The Town would like to keep the backhoe and loader. c. TOOLS: Hand tools could be taken over by the Town. 5. Garage - $5,959 is spent for gas and oil for the DPW. Most of these costs are likely related to mowing or costs for backhoe expenses, so the Committee agreed that these costs should remain and be transferred to the Town. 6. Unallocated Insurance – Insurance covers buildings, vehicles, parks, property, and other municipal assets. The Village paid $8,416. Unless the Village sells some property, then these costs would need to be transferred to the Town; however there could be some savings by consolidating policies. [The Town will forward a copy of the Village’s policy to their insurance carrier to see if there would be any savings.] 7. Insect Control – The Village contracts for insect control two times per year for spraying only in the Village area. The Committee would like to keep this service. [DANC will show the impact as a Town-wide expense and also as an expense solely for the lighting district so the Committee can select a preferred alternative.] 8. Street Lighting – The Committee wants to establish a separate lighting district for the former Village. The estimated tax rate for this will be $0.39. 9. Youth Program – Annual cost of this program has been the same since the 1970s. Since the youth program has a surplus of $2,000 at the end of the year, dissolving the Village and eliminating $1,500 per year would not impact the program. 10. Celebrations – The Committee would like to transfer the costs of the V/Harrisville fireworks to the Town of Diana and not reduce the budget. 11. Adult Recreation – The Committee agreed that the Town of Diana will fully fund the portion of the expenses that the Village currently pays. iv. Water Services 1. Cost of water services – Labor costs in the amount of $25,000 and existing contractual and equipment costs will remain within the water budget. v. Fire Services 1. Options: 1) Fire District for former Village area; or 2) expand Town of Diana Fire protection district. Expanding the Town Fire Protection District would result in a decrease in the cost of services for Village tax payers of $0.08/$1,000 of assessed value and a $0.02/increase for existing Town-Outside-Village taxpayers. The Page 3 of 4
committee agreed that expanding the Town’s Fire Protection District would be the most efficient scenario. vi. Other Efficiencies? None identified at this time. vii. CETC Tax Credit – previously discussed and included in PowerPoint presentation. c. Next Steps: S. Carter will compile all the recommendations into a draft report and complete the Savings and Costs Spreadsheet and Tax Rate Calculation Spreadsheet. 2. Next Meeting – at the next meeting on September 19, 2017 the Committee will review the draft Alternatives Report which will summarize the impacts for Village and Town tax payers based on the recommendations for service delivery identified by the Committee. Meeting
Month
#1 Kickoff and Demographics
January 17
#2 What Exists: Municipal Financials
February 21
#3 What Exists: Dept. of Public Works, Water Dept., & Highway Dept.
March 21
#4 What Exists: Fire Department
April 18
#5 What Exists: Municipal Officials & Employees and Local Laws
May 16
#6 Draft Existing Conditions Report
June 20
#7 Public Meeting #1 - Existing Conditions
July 18
#8 Alternatives
August 15
#9 Draft Alternatives Report
September 19
#10 Public Meeting #2 - Alternatives
October 17
#11 Final Dissolution Report and Plan
November 21
#12 Public Hearing (if recommended by committee)
December 19
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instead they estimate that 23% of the total employee benefits are related to Water. The Committee agreed that $25,000 should be subtracted from the total wages for DPW to account for the cost of water services. The remainder of the costs for DPW wages should be transferred to the Town Highway expenses to cover the cost of delivering the current services that are provided by the DPW. b. Streets: The Town MEOs are in the Teamsters Union. The Town Committee members expressed that it would give them greater flexibility if the street work in the Village is performed by a MEO. MEOs are required to have their CDL and Village DPW staff do not have that certification and have not previously expressed interest in obtaining a CDL. One (1) additional MEO is anticipated to cover the Village Street work and that staff member would be given 6 months to complete their CDL; conversely the Town could contract for these services if adding a MEO proves to be infeasible. ii. Contractual - Expenses that would potentially be Eliminated: 1. Mayor – Contractual expenses for this position would be eliminated in the event of dissolution. 2. Board – Contractual expenses for this position would be eliminated in the event of dissolution. 3. Clerk - Contractual expenses for this position would be eliminated in the event of dissolution. 4. Tax Collection Software – tax collection software would not need to be maintained by the Village if dissolution proceeds. 5. Law – there are no ongoing legal expenditures. There could be some legal expenses that are not showing up in the legal line item related to the fire district issues. 6. Engineer – there are no ongoing routine engineering expenses. G. Williams reported that they have budgeted $2,000 in the current FY for unidentified engineering expenses. FYE16 engineering expenses were for water related tasks that should have been accounted for in the water fund; not general fund. iii. Contractual – Expenses that would be shifted to the Town. 1. Garbage Services for Village Municipal Waste - $750 of expenses would be transferred over the town for garbage collection. 2. Village Street Maintenance Expenses would be shifted to Town. 3. Buildings – The Village pays $600/month to the Town to cover their share of the utilities and expenses for the Village offices. The annual expense of $7,200 for the Village will go away and the annual revenue of $7,200 for the Town will also go away. Page 2 of 4
4. Central Garage – To estimate costs, use 5/31/17 costs of $6,204 and subtract out the heating costs to estimate the costs that will go away and the costs that will be transferred to the Town. [D. Parow will check to see if plow will fit in Village garage and if any Town Buildings could be eliminated if consolidation occurs.] a. BUILDING: The Town doesn’t think that the Village DPW garage would need to be heated but electricity would be kept on for lighting, etc. (repurpose as cold storage). b. EQUIPMENT: The Town doesn’t think that the Village’s dump truck would be needed by the Town. The Town would like to keep the backhoe and loader. c. TOOLS: Hand tools could be taken over by the Town. 5. Garage - $5,959 is spent for gas and oil for the DPW. Most of these costs are likely related to mowing or costs for backhoe expenses, so the Committee agreed that these costs should remain and be transferred to the Town. 6. Unallocated Insurance – Insurance covers buildings, vehicles, parks, property, and other municipal assets. The Village paid $8,416. Unless the Village sells some property, then these costs would need to be transferred to the Town; however there could be some savings by consolidating policies. [The Town will forward a copy of the Village’s policy to their insurance carrier to see if there would be any savings.] 7. Insect Control – The Village contracts for insect control two times per year for spraying only in the Village area. The Committee would like to keep this service. [DANC will show the impact as a Town-wide expense and also as an expense solely for the lighting district so the Committee can select a preferred alternative.] 8. Street Lighting – The Committee wants to establish a separate lighting district for the former Village. The estimated tax rate for this will be $0.39. 9. Youth Program – Annual cost of this program has been the same since the 1970s. Since the youth program has a surplus of $2,000 at the end of the year, dissolving the Village and eliminating $1,500 per year would not impact the program. 10. Celebrations – The Committee would like to transfer the costs of the V/Harrisville fireworks to the Town of Diana and not reduce the budget. 11. Adult Recreation – The Committee agreed that the Town of Diana will fully fund the portion of the expenses that the Village currently pays. iv. Water Services 1. Cost of water services – Labor costs in the amount of $25,000 and existing contractual and equipment costs will remain within the water budget. v. Fire Services 1. Options: 1) Fire District for former Village area; or 2) expand Town of Diana Fire protection district. Expanding the Town Fire Protection District would result in a decrease in the cost of services for Village tax payers of $0.08/$1,000 of assessed value and a $0.02/increase for existing Town-Outside-Village taxpayers. The Page 3 of 4
committee agreed that expanding the Town’s Fire Protection District would be the most efficient scenario. vi. Other Efficiencies? None identified at this time. vii. CETC Tax Credit – previously discussed and included in PowerPoint presentation. c. Next Steps: S. Carter will compile all the recommendations into a draft report and complete the Savings and Costs Spreadsheet and Tax Rate Calculation Spreadsheet. 2. Next Meeting – at the next meeting on September 19, 2017 the Committee will review the draft Alternatives Report which will summarize the impacts for Village and Town tax payers based on the recommendations for service delivery identified by the Committee. Meeting
Month
#1 Kickoff and Demographics
January 17
#2 What Exists: Municipal Financials
February 21
#3 What Exists: Dept. of Public Works, Water Dept., & Highway Dept.
March 21
#4 What Exists: Fire Department
April 18
#5 What Exists: Municipal Officials & Employees and Local Laws
May 16
#6 Draft Existing Conditions Report
June 20
#7 Public Meeting #1 - Existing Conditions
July 18
#8 Alternatives
August 15
#9 Draft Alternatives Report
September 19
#10 Public Meeting #2 - Alternatives
October 17
#11 Final Dissolution Report and Plan
November 21
#12 Public Hearing (if recommended by committee)
December 19
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