The Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee will be presenting a single budget at Town Meeting this year. Many hours over several meetings were spent presenting information, discussing priorities, and working out, line by line, a budget that both groups could support and recommend to the voters.
Salaries and Benefits
The Selectmen and Budget Committee are recommending a 3% increase for the full-time police officer. This amounts to a $1,389 increase. Both groups recognize the importance of keeping salaries commensurate with skill level and competitive with other towns in our area for this position. No other wage increases are being proposed for 2013.
The Town’s required contribution to the state retirement system has gone up significantly, from 19.95% to 25.3%, resulting in an approximate increase of $900.
The Police Department has added a part-time officer to cover an additional eight hours a week. A new regulation limits the number of hours our part-time officers can work, and the extra officer will provide the coverage we need at a cost of $5,824.
For the Fourth of July, an additional officer has been recommended, which will bring the total police coverage to six officers for the day. The officers are hired at $25/ hour for 12 hours.
The Town Office
Accounting: The Town Office has, over the past two years, experienced a series of events which have impacted the work load, resulting in a need for additional staff and resources:
1) new state regulations impacting the Town Clerk/Tax Collector’s Office
2) searching for and replacing information lost in the computer crash of 2011
3) insufficient bookkeeping software and practices
We hired a part-time bookkeeper/accountant to set up and maintain an improved and more efficient bookkeeping system, and we are working to reorganize our resources to deal with a larger scope of work, which includes bookkeeping for the Emergency Medical Services department established in 2011. The combined line of secretary/clerk and bookkeeper/accountant is $34,840, an increase of $14,840.
Technology: Part of the reorganization is represented with a new line in the budget of $14,295 for technology service and support. Our technology service agreement with Mainstay Technologies includes computer and software upgrades, remote system support, and assistance with Web site development. Also included in this line is software and support for property taxes, a new municipal accounting package, and software for Town Clerk and assessing.
Emergency Management Support: A new standby generator is recommended to ensure that the Town Office has uninterrupted power for daily operations (to protect the computers) and for the Emergency Operations Center. The estimated cost for equipment and installation is $10,000.
Highways and Bridges
We have cut $5,000 from the Winter Materials line, since we have started using sand from the property off Route 4, which we refer to as “the White Oak sand pit.”
The Safety Equipment line was also reduced by $5,000, as only $2,000 is needed this year to replace damaged equipment and to purchase more jersey barriers.
The Special Projects line is $30,000 and will be used for repairing Sam Hill Road, removing dangerous trees, and purchasing and applying liquid calcium chloride to our gravel roads. Being more aggressive in applying calcium chloride will protect the surface of the gravel roads, reducing the need for grading and controlling the dust.
Overall, the highway budget proposal is a $2,400 increase over last year.
Transfer Station
Since 2013 will be a “pilot year” for the Transfer Station, few changes are being added or reduced from the current budget except for a $4,000 reduction due to lower costs in trucking to Penacook and for monitoring and maintaining the old landfill.
The Board has plans to move ahead on single-stream recycling (SSR), using local companies and haulers to provide containers and transportation. As we change over to SSR, we will be able to determine how many containers are necessary and what the transportation needs are for trash versus recycling. Each town we have visited is different in the way they implement SSR, and we would like to take a year (or less) to look at what might work best for Andover.
Health and Welfare
The Town turns to several local organizations for help and support of our citizens. We are increasing our contributions to the Lake Sunapee VNA and to the Community Action Program by $1,000 each. These programs help with in-home care, transportation, and heat assistance, as well as many other services. The General Assistance line has been reduced by $2,000 to reflect the actual expenditures.
Culture and Recreation
The proposed warrant article to create a revolving fund for the Recreation Committee will allow us to reduce the recreation budget by approximately $5,000. Instead of the cost for programs such as skiing and swim lessons being raised by taxes, the fees will be collected and placed into the revolving fund directly.
The Library’s budget has increased by $4,500 to cover actual hours worked outside of the regular operating hours.
Total Proposed Budget
The Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee are recommending a total budget (without warrant articles) of $1,311,436. This is 3.8% increase ($48,382) over the 2012 appropriation.