Members Present: Carol Merrill, Mona McCready, Thomas Gilligan, Jennifer Morin, Henriette Girard, Gabby Daneault, and Tom Irzyk

Excused Absent: Robin McAfee, Robin Pelletier, William Barnett and Ben Fontaine

Unexcused Absent: David Baker and Brian Duchesne

Others Present: David Jodoin, Lou Conley, Evelyn Guilbeault, David Dzura, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, there were others present from the School, but no one stated their names, Jim Rodger, Cheryl Thayer, Zoning Secretary, Art Houle

Jennifer called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m.

Jennifer stated that the first order of business was to finish the School Budget from the meeting of November 20, 2003.

Tom I. made a motion to table the minutes of the 11/20/03 meeting because he had changed some of the figures and had forgotten to bring the minutes for all members, Tom G. seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Jennifer asked the School Board if they had discussed removing the bus from the budget ($33,000) to a warrant article. Lou Conley asked if this was the Pembroke Academy bus. Yes, he then stated that the Board had not met to discuss this issue. Lou then asked if there was any other issues that the Committee would like to see moved?

Carol stated that she would like to see the modular put on a warrant article. She stated that after much thought, our taxes this year have gone sky high and she feels it is not fair for the taxpayers not to know about the modular. She feels it is up to the School Board to let the taxpayers know why they want it and put this on a warrant article.

Tom I. stated that after listening to the Police Department present their budget and they presented a cruiser in the line as a necessity to do their job, he would use the same argument for the modular that it is a necessity to do the job of educating the kids in a proper way. This would get kids out of the hallway, and with that same notion that will be proposed for the building project. It is an operating necessity for the school at this point in time.

Carol stated that she knows it is needed, but the school taxes are so high, it is unreal. She is not saying that she would not vote for the module, but she feels that the taxpayers should have a say in this issue.

Jennifer asked for a consensus of the Committee on these two issues.

Tom G. stated that he agreed that the module should be a warrant article. He feels that if the budget, even with a $1 increase, will have a hard time in passing. He is also worried about defaulting to the default budget. He is also worried about the total budget for all the departments at this time, just based on the mood of the Town, based on the recent valuations, and how everyone is feeling about the taxes. When you look at the overall tax scheme for the Town, we are still on the low end of the taxes. It does not look that way when you get your tax bill and you have a jump in assessment. If we leave it in the School budget, we are running a risk of having them fail.

Tom I. stated that the Police Budget is all encompassed in the Town budget. Jennifer stated that is correct, but the Committee has to look at the possibility that the Town budget will also default.

Tom G. stated that it is a tough item, the Board made a great point, but the Committee also made allowance in the Fire Department review. The Committee made some allowance to let them get equipment that they needed in terms of new hoses, etc.

Tom I. stated that he did not know if people had read the articles in the paper about how the assessments came and how the schools were graded and how they lump special education as one group and how much this could impact what the Town gets for funding and how this will impact the Town in the future. If we are testing kids in the hallways and locker rooms, the whole Town will suffer. If you think the taxes on the school are high now, if we fail these assessment and things change due to the No Child Left Behind laws, our burden will be worse.

Henriette stated that one way we could cut some cost and maybe not need the modular is to cut classes. She stated that she had been looking at the chart and am not sure if it was last year or two years ago, but the School Board had agreed to have at least 15 kids per class, it does not mean there should not be more, but there should not be lower than 15. The first one that really stands out is that the Kindergarten will have 12 students per class in each of the four classes.

Tom I. stated that Kindergarten is not a factor when you are looking at what the school can do. Henriette stated that they could use grade 1, 2 and 3, there are classes of 14.5, 14.8, and 14.3. You can cut a class in each of those and then have a couple of extra classes. Jennifer stated that the problem is not at AES but at ARD.

Jennifer stated that the modular is needed at ARD not AES. Tom I. stated that they could not move the fifth grade to AES, there is no room. Lou stated that there are no standard classroom sizes at either school. Tom I. stated that some of the classes cannot fit 20 to 25 students in the class. Lou Conley stated that this year’s first grade has four classes, one of the classes is the art room that was added for the Kindergarten. It was not intended to be a classroom, it is very much undersized. We are making do with what we have, but there will be less kids in that classroom because of space, and we are putting more in the larger classrooms. He asked her not to confuse the average class size. There may be 17 or 18 in one to accommodate a classroom with less square footage.

Jennifer stated that by State guidelines, the actual size of the room can only fit a certain amount. Lou stated that classes are not standard 900 to 1000 foot classroom. They range from 1000 square feet to offices and the gym and changing rooms.

Lou stated that one class may have 14 or 13 students in it due to the classroom size, but the others may have 17 or 18 in another. Tom I. stated that it is physically impossible to put that many kids in some of these rooms. When the Board outlined the plans for the addition last year, all the rooms that were smaller were highlighted and there were at least five classrooms that were undersized.

Tom G. asked how many rooms were going to be added by the addition? Tom I. stated it was 9 or 10. Lou Conley stated that it was five new classrooms and there were going to be a certain size. David Dzura stated that this was going to be a net, because the modular was going to be torn down and some of the rooms that are now being used for instructions purposes, would then house art and music classes.

Tom G. stated he was trying to understand the difference between what the Town will get out of the modular versus the new construction. Lou stated that the modular is to handle the overflow coming to ARD next year. Tom I. stated that the modular will have two classrooms for two fifth grade classes. Tom G. asked if this will alleviate having any fifth grade at AES. Tom I. stated yes and this would presently put this year’s fifth grade back into four classrooms.

Jennifer stated that she thought that they had explained to people at last year’s hearing that if the building proposal did not go through that this was going to be an issue. That they would be looking to have the modular, it is really not new information. Tom I. stated that they had told people at the public meeting that if the building proposal was voted down that within the next couple of years, the school was going to be really in trouble. He stated that most of the people got that message since the article only failed by nine votes, it was just unfortunate.

Henriette asked about the Kindergarten rooms, they cannot use these rooms for anything but Kindergarten. Tom I. stated that it was the funding by the State. Henriette asked how many classrooms were in this wing, Tom I. stated there are two classrooms. He stated that Kindergarten numbers vary. The numbers are not always this low. Tom I. stated many people keep their children at the day care that offer Kindergarten, and then they come in for first grade. He feels that if there is new construction, then many new families will move into Town and then the school enrollment will change. One of the drawbacks of State funding is some of the rules.

Evelyn Guilbeault stated that at one point, we did not have enough children for the four kindergartens, so there were three classrooms and the extra teacher was doing other work.

Lou stated that with the building going on in Bear Brook, and proposal of Senior housing, if people are moving out of there homes into Senior Housing, the housing that are left and the ones being built will be able to accommodate a husband and wife and children.

Tom G. stated the other thing to consider is that, not that we can plan for 10 years down the road, but we have to but the Town not only financially but also educationally in a good position to be able to receive, accommodate and educate the youth effectively. He does not feel that putting this on a warrant means it will fail, but the Budget Committee should consider the fact, do we want to be a Town who turns young families with children away or do we want to encourage that type of growth in Town.

Education is not the only drain, the real drain on the school budget is special education. If you look at the type of housing that has been going in during the last year, and the type of housing that the Town has room for and is set up to receive, those types of families usually have children who are not special education. Jennifer stated that either way they must fit into a classroom.

Tom G. stated he did not know why they wanted to just add an addition, he felt they should have just gone for a whole new elementary school and planned for 20 years down the road. Jennifer stated she was on that committee and they did look into a new building and felt it would not pass. That is the problem we face with representing the Town here, do we just want to say no and make them take it out of the budget, or do we want then to make it a warrant article and then maybe come to a consensus of backing the warrant article.

Lou Conley stated that the modular was placed in the budget because at this point, it is critical for the teaching of the children. We do not have the facilities to test the children, they are learning in the hallway. Tom I. stated that they have made huge strides and he would hate to see them go backward. As we pointed out at the budget proposal that the high school tuition has gone up because we do not have the dropouts that we have had in the past. We are trying to keep the kids in school and keep going. When you begin to focus on learning in Kindergarten, this will drive them to stay in school through high school and then on through college.

Jennifer stated that she is comfortable in leaving the modular in the budget because it has failed so many times and in her opinion it is needed at this time. Tom I. stated that it is also his personal opinion. Also, he felt that the reason the modular failed so many times is because of the eye sore that was in front of the elementary school for 10 plus years. No one wants to see that again. That is why no one wants to buy the modular, once you purchase it, you are stuck with it.

Jennifer stated that the benefit to the modular is to a larger amount of people where the initiative to bus to PA is a very small group of people. So she would rather see the bus on a warrant article and if that group of people feel that strongly about having it then fine, come and vote for it. But it does not help the big picture, but the modular does, it helps the school system in general to be able to function.

Mona stated that she feels the School Board should be aware that the housing development that is going to be built off of Notre Dame Ave, will be elderly housing, there will be one person over 55, but that does mean that this person can’t be married to someone who is 22 and have three kids. Mona stated that it would be putting blinders on to think this development will be a 55 or over community, because it is not, because it means more kids.

Tom G. asked what the status of the addition of the building was. In September, the Board was talking about recontacting the engineers, contractors and etc, what was the progress? Also, do you have anything on paper that would help sell this?

Tom I. stated that the State Department of Education came to the meeting and gave the Board the number and figure of 60%. Lou Conley stated that last year the push was the bond rates because they were at an all time low. The facilities committee was going to try again this year until they received word of the new State plan coming through from the Department of Education that would help financially. So we decided to try to get by for one year with a modular and then look at double the construction. Lou stated that currently, the construction help from the State would be 30%, but if we wait another year, we would be looking at 60% construction aid from the State.

Tom G. asked if to move ahead with the engineering firm and to facilitate the project, is it hinging on the modular or are you going to do it anyway? Tom I. stated they will definitely move ahead with the project. We just need the modular now because of space needs now. We knew it was going to happen and that is why we are addressing it now. Because the problem is here just as we told everyone it would be.

Tom I. stated that they had estimated that it would be a year of upheaval while the construction went on, but once the addition was built, we would be in good shape. Now, it will be two more years of upheaval.

Henriette stated that she will agree with Carol about pulling out the modular and with Jennifer about pulling out the bus.

Lou asked for a recommendation from the budget committee on which way they want to go.

The committee voted on moving the bus to PA to a warrant article rather than the budget, 6 yes, 1 no.

The committee then voted on moving the modular to a warrant article rather than the budget, 4 yes, 3 no.

Lou asked if the School Board decides to keep one or both of these items in budget, does that mean then run the risk of the Committee not recommending the budget? Jennifer stated that she could not speak for all, since we are missing six people tonight. Tom I. stated that the thing that aggravates him is that the six people who are not here, how can they intelligently make a vote when they have not heard any of the discussion from the start. Jennifer stated that the four that are excused were here for the School Board presentation, but the unexcused members were also not here at the last meeting.

Tom I. stated that it makes it tough to make an informed vote when you miss the meetings and the information that is being passed on. Even when you read the minutes, you still do not get the entire conversation.

Lou asked if there were any other issues with the School Budget?

Henriette asked about the Social Worker under 2113-110. Is this a new position? Tom I. stated that this is an existing position that the funding from the State has been cut and we are looking to maintain this position.

Henriette asked what the difference was of the Attendant Social Worker and the Attendants? There is no money for a Truant Officer, but there is $15,000 for a Social Worker. Tom I. stated that the Social Worker enrolls people in the free lunch program, she does some legal work as far as getting paper work filled out, she goes out to houses and visits people and gets things done. This is a grant that is no longer available to us.

Someone explained that this is a part-time position, who works as a liaison between the home and the school and the courts and the school for a number of things. There are a number of parents whose children should have been enrolled in reduced lunch, and the amount of money that we get from Federal Grants depends upon how many people are enrolled in the program. She has raised the number of people who quality for this program and were not able to fill out the paperwork. She has been to their homes, she has brought children for dental care, for immunizations, she has arranged to have a roof built on the house of one of our students because their roof was leaking so badly, that they were sleeping in the rain. That it what she does and the children come to school better prepared to learn.

Henriette asked if the Social Worker had any thing to do with truancy? David Dzura stated that in terms of trying to stop truancy, she will work with students and parents on this matter.

Henriette read from an RSA that stated that "District shall appoint a Truant Officer for their districts" why then do we not have a Truant Officer? Tom I. stated that the Police Department takes care of this. Henriette stated that Chief McGonigle was the person who gave her the RSA. He stated that they are not Truant Officers, so why do we not have a Truant Officer? David stated that the last time we had a Truant Officer about six years ago. When this person died, the position was advertised, but we could not find anyone. While we were looking to fill this position, the Board requested assistance from the Police Department and they helped us out, and they have been doing it ever since.

David Dzura stated that it is not the Police Department’s job to be a Truant Officer, but it is there job to help the School Department comply with the law. Henriette asked if we should then have a Truant Officer? David Dzura stated yes, if we can find someone who is willing to take on the position. If no one is willing to take on the position, then we can’t appoint anyone. If we can’t appoint, then what is the alternative.

Tom G. asked Henriette if Chief McGonigle had stated that the Department would no longer help out the School? She stated no, but he did stated that there was no Truant Officer and the School had been calling on the Police Department to help them. Then he stated that each school district is supposed to have a Truant Office and then he gave me a copy of the RSA.

Jennifer asked if everyone could come back on December 18 to finish the School Budget. Jennifer then asked if after their December 11 meeting, Tom or Lou could send her an e-mail with the decision of the Board on these issues.

Tom I. asked if people could meet on another night instead of Thursday, December 18 so that he would be able to make this meeting. Jennifer asked if people were available on Tuesday, December 16. Tom G. stated that he was not available on Tuesday or Wednesday that week. Tom G. asked about Monday, December 15, Jennifer stated that the Department heads meeting that day at 7 p.m. David J. stated that meeting may be cancelled, because they are so far behind on the budgets. Tom I. stated that they could meet at the school on that day.

Jim Rodger stated that the December 17 Planning Board meeting has been cancelled. Therefore, the Budget Committee will meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 17 at the Town Hall to finish the School Board budget.

David Dzura asked if the Committee could schedule the public hearing tonight. David J. stated that the Town public hearing will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2004 at 7 p.m. at AES, the School public hearing could be held on January 13, 2004 at 7 p.m. at AES.

The Town deliberative session will be Saturday, January 31, 2004 at 9 a.m. at AES and the School deliberative session will be Thursday, February 5, 2004 at 7 p.m. at AES.

Cheryl Thayer then reviewed the Zoning budget.

Secretary budget was $500 the board is requesting $650, there have been many more applicants this year then in the past.

Advertising – Art Houle stated that most of the advertising budget is charged back to the applicant, but we have spend more for advertising and postage this year than in years past.

Dues and Training – this is the municipal law lecture that members go to, there were two new members of the Board who took some of these courses and Cheryl attended all four of them. Every year there are new courses so members attend them.

Postage – It costs $4.79 each time an abutters notice is sent out. There have been times when the Board has sent out 36 abutters notices per applicant.

Publications – notifications in the paper, this is the Concord Monitor fee.

The Central NH Regional Planning is $2,000. This is for consulting fees on difficult cases, they either come to our meetings or send them the minutes of meetings which they review and they charge per hour.

Jennifer asked if there was a separate budget for the Central NH Regional Planning, Art Houle stated that this is over and above that budget. He stated that the Town is using Central NH Regional Planning more now than ever before for both Zoning and Planning. A lot of this fee is charged back to the applicant. Zoning is also setting up a plan to recover these fees from the applicant. Planning has been doing this for quite some time. Their expertise has been very helpful. The money goes into the general fund.

Jennifer asked if in the future, it would be easier to see the revenues that come in on a particular budget, even if the money goes into the general fund. Art Houle stated that the Board really does not see the funds, because it goes back to the general fund. With Planning, the legal expense goes up a lot, but that gets all charged back to the applicant.

Henriette asked why there was no line for legal. Art Houle stated that Zoning does not use legal very much. Cheryl stated that they had used Byron a couple of times, but not much more than a couple of hours. David J. stated that the legal expense has been $1649 to date. He also stated that the larges expense will be the Regional Planning and Training, the Planning Board used this in the past and the Town would like to see the Zoning Board take this training also.

Tom G. stated there is a capital improvement program in the works right now which will be presented to the Budget Committee from the Planning Board. This takes all the capital expenditures from all the budgets for the next five years and they will be updated on a rolling schedule. This is a capital improvements plan for each one of the Departments in Town. This allows us to institute impact fees and from that we can draft an impact fee schedule that allows the Town to recuperate money when a developer comes in or someone puts on an addition, this is in addition to hook up fees for the sewer. Impact fees are tied into the capital improvement program and give the Town money to put toward the School, Fire, Ambulance, etc.

Tom I. asked if the revenue that is received is a complete wash for the budget. No, not completely. Tom G. stated that any lawyer fees, consulting to Central NH are all charged back to the applicants. The only thing that is not charge is the secretary time and the training.

Henriette asked if the Secretary salary included a 2.5%, Tom G. stated that it not a salary, she is paid a flat rate.

Gabby made a motion to accept the Zoning bottom line of $4,125, Tom I. seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Jim Rodger stated that the Planning Board did what they could to level fund the budget. The Secretary line did go up which is based on 8 hours a week, for the entire year.

The Board over spent its advertising budget again this year, so we went up to $600 on Advertising.

Dues and Publications we have only spent $41.60, so that remained the same.

Postage went down because we did not spend as much this year, there may have been less abutter notices. Jennifer stated that they had spent $500 this year and they had only budget $400 for next year. David J. stated that these figures are usually adjusted every year. Jim stated that at the time the Budget was prepared, we had not spent that much. Jennifer asked if $400 was going to be enough?

Tom G. (Vice Chair of the Planning Board) stated that the applicant refunds all the postage; this is really just money in hold to cover the cost. Jim stated that this amount is fairly close.

Training stayed the same.

Planning consultant is Central Planning. These funds are also paid by the applicants and we usually break even on this amount. Tom G. stated that in some cases when we contact Central Planning that is specific for the Town, there is no revenue on this. Tom I. asked if this why this is higher in the Zoning budget than in the Planning budget. Tom G. stated that it is different. The Zoning Board is actually going to have Central NH Planning here to do some training.

Jennifer asked David J. if this line could be changed to read Central NH Planning instead of Planning Consultants. Jim stated that the Planning Consultants are not always Central NH Planning.

Computer Maintenance – the Board went way over budget this year because they bought a printer for the computer and we had to replenish the ink for the printer and the Board also purchased a small copier. Tom G. stated that the copier is shared by the Health and Welfare agent and the Building Inspector (but this does not show up in their budgets). Jim stated this is a one shot deal and next year $200 should be enough.

Planning Engineer - $4,200 – this is probably the most unreal figure in the budget. That is because we were expecting a check for $25,000 from the people who are building Wood Ridge to put in escrow to pay for the Town engineer as well as a bond that was going to be placed on that. It changed hands a couple of times, so next year we will be spending a lot more, but it will be paid for by the developer. Tom G. stated that each time the Board uses Burt Engineering, the fee is charged back to the applicant.

The third page is a list of all the income the Planning Board receives. So if you take the income and subtract it from what has been spent by the Planning Board so far, we have made a profit of $115.38. So it has not cost the Town anything for the Planning Board.

Jim stated that what has also helped, is the volunteer work of the Secretary and the Board who have helped send mail, etc. Tom G. stated that the Board have been cutting down on its reliance on Byron and Central NH Planning, therefore, the expenditures have been going down.

Mona asked if the Board would be using the Police Department’s full-time prosecutor. Tom G. stated not initially, but as she picks up more, she is more criminal law, where most of these issues are State land use, RSA stuff. But when there are violations of zoning ordinances, or people are not applying for building permits, the Board could use the prosecutor. But as she gets more knowledge of the Land Use laws, definitely.

Tom I. made a motion to accept the bottom line of $12,900, Carol seconded. The motion passed with two abstaining votes (Tom G. and Art –sitting in for Ben).

Jim Rodger stated that last year’s budget had been reduced from $62,000 to $30,000, this was an experimental budget. The budget got messed up again this year because the Rec Center has been closed since the beginning of May. Much of this money was not spent because the facility was not being used as it was intended. He received a phone call today stating that the air quality test that had been performed was good, there were no contaminants. We should be able to use the building again hopefully by the end of December or the beginning of January.

So this budget being presented should be able to take care of the Recreation budget.

Jennifer asked how the summer program was going to work this year. Jim stated that the Boys and Girls Club is hoping to take it over. The Renaissance Program funding will expire, David J. stated that there may be funding for another year. Jim stated they have not made a decision on this yet. Jim stated that they would still use the Boys and Girls Club, actually the Club and the Renaissance Program met to discuss how they could work together.

Jennifer asked if he had a number of the children who have signed up for the summer program over the last couple of years. Jim did not have them, but the program has been expanding.

Henriette asked about the Summer Program line, who received the $6,000, Jim stated that is was the Renaissance Program. Were they using the Parks and Rec building, no they were using the school. Jim stated that the same amount of money has been in this line for at least 15 years. Tom G. asked if this amount will increase next year if the Renaissance Program loses funding. Art Houle stated that it all depended how much funding the Boys and Girls Club gets for the program. There is no way of knowing.

Jim stated that you get money from the Town, money from people who participate in the program, and funding from other areas, but it is all being paid for. Tom G. stated that he just wanted to make sure there is enough budget. Jennifer stated that you will not know that until the Renaissance program come back and state they are definitely doing the program next year and tell us if there will be an increase or not. If they want the families to come up with the extra money per child, would the Town subsidize a little more. David J. stated that they could also use this amount as matching funds for grants that they have.

Tom G. asked if this amount will still be needed if the Boys and Girls Club takes over the program? They get their funding from people who donate money to the Boys and Girls Club or the United Way, etc. There are also enrollment fees for the Boys and Girls Club.

Tom I. asked if the Maintenance Person is a new position. Jim stated yes, since we have had the facility, there is really no one to take care of it besides volunteers. It would be good to have someone who would be available for 8 hours per week, to just take care of that property.

Tom I. asked what this person would be responsible for doing in the winter, Jim stated they would be working of a checklist. There will be repairs to be made, shoveling/snow removal, janitorial work, cleaning, etc. Sometime the restrooms were not being cleaned and things were being left undone that should have been done.

Jennifer asked if everything was set with the leaking and ice build up, etc. Jim stated that we are going to purchase the supplies this year to do the roof, the roof is not leaking and it has not leaked for two years. Jennifer stated that it was good especially with all the snow last year, Jim stated that each time it had snowed last year, he shoveled off the roof. But the roof supplies will be purchased and the work will begin as soon as the good weather arrives. The labor for this project will be donated by volunteers.

Tom I. asked what encompassed the Landscape Maintenance, isn’t this the person who mows the lawn, etc. Jim stated that the Maintenance person is primarily for the building, to take care of different repairs, etc. The landscape person is to mow the lawn, which also includes mowing the lawn for the baseball park. We had money in this year’s budget for the baseball park mowing, but since the park was not ready, the money was not spent. Art stated that this line was for the baseball field, to seed and take care of the fields. Jim stated that the $3,000 is to maintain the lawn at the Rec Center as well as the baseball field.

Jim stated that the maintenance person will be doing repair work, painting, and janitorial work. The Landscape maintenance is for mowing the lawn. It may be the same person doing both jobs. Jennifer stated that she thought that the Little League and Soccer League would be taking care of the field. Art stated that we cannot count of that because it has been so long. Tom I. stated that if the fields are put in and the little league and soccer league are using them, then they should maintain them. Jennifer stated that if this all happens we will then get another agreement with both leagues on this matter.

Tom G. stated that they will only maintain the fields once they are ready for use. Jim stated that all the discussions have fallen by the way side and will have to be redone once the fields are ready.

Jim stated that he was against spending money if it is not needed. If someone is willing to do repairs on a volunteer basis, he would not pay someone for 8 hours a week just to hang around. A maintenance person would save the Rec Center a lot of money.

Henriette pointed out how much money has already been spent on building repairs and maintenance - $4,084.86 which was way over budget. Henriette asked how they could spend money they did not have. David J. stated that it was because they had purchased a storage trailer because they could not put anything in the Rec building anymore and the shed was overflowing.

Jennifer asked if there were any plans on skating this year, Jim stated no. We may be able to do this in the future.

Tom I. asked if we could not count of the leagues to maintain the ball fields, would it be a good idea to charge them a use fee. Jim stated it would be something they would consider.

Henriette asked what happens to the money that is not spent? It goes back to the general fund. Henriette asked if this money could be encumbered. David J. stated they would have to have a legitimate contract. We encumbered some money last year because of the on-going project with the ball field, so this money is still available.

Henriette asked how much the storage shed cost - $ 1,300.

Jennifer asked if there were still only two Recreation Commissioners, Jim stated yes. Jennifer asked this posed an issue, Jim stated not yet, but they are looking for a third commissioner.

Tom I. made a motion to accept the Parks and Recreation bottom line of $28,900, Carol seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Art stated that this committee has become much more active. There has been also a lot of training classes that the members have been taking. They are doing a great job. Mona asked who was on the committee, Laura Bonk, Phil Trobridge, Carol Martel, and Judy Silva.

Tom I. asked if we really had four major entries into Town. Art stated yes, two on Route 3 and 28 and two on Main Street. Art did not think that $1,000 for signs is going to cover all five locations. They may do only one or two. Art made a recommendation at the Selectmen’s meeting that they may want to look at other Towns similar to ours, like Swansey, to see what they have. If we are going to put up a sign, lets put up a nice one. Even if you have to buy one a year and it takes five years, it is worth it.

Art stated that the Natural Resource map was done to mark all the natural resources in Town. They saw one for the Town of Epsom that showed all the elevations, where the ponds were, so they want to do this.

David J. stated that a lot of the wetlands issues need to go through the Conservation commission. The commission reviews the applications, in the past, there was no committee so the selectmen reviewed the applications. There is money available at the State for a grant program. This committee is like the library, any money that is not spent they can be lapped over and put into a treasurers account to use as matching funds for the State program to buy large chunks of land and it helps to curb development.

Tom I. asked what the two regional groups were, David J. stated that the Friends of Suncook River clean up all the brush or stumps that have fallen into the river, David J. stated that he is not too sure what the Bear Paw Regional Greenway Association. Gabby stated that it has something to do with Bear Brook State Park, he thought that they cleaned the trails of trees, etc.

Tom G. stated that they are also political action committees. For example, with the ATV issue that comes up at Bear Brook, they will get their people together to come to meetings. Gabby stated that when he was in the Legislature, this group came to testify before the committee regarding the ATV and they had done a good job.

Tom I. asked what the two page Town Forest Pamphlet and Bear Brook Pamphlet, what information do they give? These pamphlets are handed out to vacationers and at campgrounds, showing the trails and natural resources areas. It will also show what types of activities are available in Town.

Henriette asked what the Suncook River Water shed was, Gabby stated that they clean up the river. Tom G. stated that it is the entire Suncook River and any main tributary that feeds out and into it. It is a defined area.

Tom G. explained about the Natural Resource Index and the mapping that gets done, these maps will actually show where the water shed is because we have the Merrimack River, the Suncook River, and the Soucook River. These are the watersheds, so when a water resource plan is developed, and the Zoning and Planning Board decided to update the zoning ordinances more stringent in those areas, we could limit development that way.

Gabby made a motion to accept the Conversation bottom line of $3,027, Tom I. seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Jennifer asked David when the warrant articles had to be in. He stated that they are starting to come in, he has 13 so far. Jennifer stated that she mentioned this because if someone wants to revisit any budget and suggest warrant articles, the department head needs to be invited back to speak with the Budget Committee.

Henriette asked if the Selectmen prepared warrant articles? Yes, they can if they want to.

Jennifer asked if once a budget is approved and someone wants to open it back up, what is the protocol. David J. stated that it is someone who had voted in the affirmative on that particular budget.

David J. stated that these are contracted prices. The VNA had stayed the same, the Community Action budget went up a little. They help out with fuel assistance, welfare assistance with additional programs, they are both worthwhile programs.

Henriette stated that Community Action is doing a Christmas program this year.

Tom I. made a motion to accept the VNA/Community Action bottom line of $28,322, Tom G. seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

David J. stated that the tax maps are updated every year, based on lot mergers, lot line adjustment or subdivisions. David J. stated that this was a warrant article last year so it does not show up as a line item. Last year it came in late so this amount was put on a warrant article.

Tom G. made a motion to accept the Tax Map bottom line of $1,900, Art seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Tom I. made a motion to accept the Health bottom line of $1,921, Carol seconded. The motion passed with one abstaining vote (Art).

Jennifer asked if they were just increasing the position to 20 hours, David J. stated yes for the same rate of pay - $10 and that they had put a little more money in the repair line. He suggested that they do not park in the front of the Town Hall because the chimney could fall.

Tom I. made a motion to accept the General Government Building bottom line of $29,900, Gabby seconded.

Henriette asked why they had increased the position to 20 hours. David J. stated that the person comes in the morning and then comes late at night to clean. He does the floors, carpets, does the upstairs, shovels etc. He will also mow the lawn at the fire station as well as the Town Hall. Henriette asked if this person was also responsible for the Library. David J. stated that they will hire someone because it is a bad area, they will have to get a contractor in to move the snow.

Mona asked why the electricity had gone up $1,000, David J. stated that was PSNH’s fault. Mona stated that tonight, every light was on in the building and no one could get in. Jim Rodger stated that he was upstairs. He had come in to get things ready for the meeting and the Building Inspector was also upstairs. She was coming downstairs to get something and had put on the lights. David J. stated that they leave the outside lights on all the time now. Art stated that we are using more electricity because the upstairs is now being used. The Town Hall is being used to the max.

The Committee then voted on the motion, the motion passed unanimously.

David J. stated that this is just a breakdown of payroll processing for ADP, which includes direct deposits, Section 125 (pretax program), the audit increase – this is a new three year contract, the amount is really $6,000 but we put in an additional $500 because we want to make sure there is enough. There is also a new regulation from the Governmental Standards Board, which will also effect the Sewer Department. We do get a portion of the money back from the Sewer Department toward the cost of the audit.

The Assessing Clerk is a 2.5% increase for half a year. The Assessing Contract, about $35,000 a year. Henriette asked how much had been spent this year, David J. stated that they had reserved and encumbered some money because there was an additional contract due to the computer conversion, so it was close to $45,000. The system is not perfect; every community is going through the same problem with the Statewide Property Tax. They help you on one end, then force regulations on you and you end up spent it on the other end.

Property rich communities will sue the State of New Hampshire if the equalization is not within a certain ratio. Tom I. asked if the value of his property will go up every year because of this program. Henriette stated it is based on sales, so yes.

David J. stated that state built homes have always taken the brunt, the other homes in Town fluctuate and depreciate at a much more rapid pace, so when those drop off it throws the ratio way out of wack. In 1997 our ration was 157% of the market value. The State required a revaluation, we told them we did not have the money, they did not care, do it.

Tom I. asked that since this has been done three years in a row, it will still be done every year? David J. stated that it does not have to be done every year, it depends on the sales. If a house is assessed at $150,000 and sells for $160,000 that is fine, but if a house is assessed for $150,000 and sells for $225,000 that is a problem.

David J. stated that it may taper off, but things are moving everywhere.

Henriette asked why Pembroke got away with this for 9 years? David J. stated that they do not as much affordable housing that fluctuates like Allenstown does.

Tom I. stated that since Holiday Acres was delinquent on there taxes for many years, didn’t the Town have a right to take over the trailer park? David J. stated that Holiday Acres went into bankruptcy and then the court was controlling everything. Art stated that all they had to do was pay the third year taxes, David J. stated that is why they gave the Town a balloon payment of around $270,000 when they sold the property.

Tom G. asked why the Assessing Contract had gone up. David J. stated that they had spent a lot this year. We are trying to get as many of the abatements in there as possible. Last year we only had 30 or 40, so far we have 105. Next year Penny will be going out with a digital camera to take pictures of the houses, then the Contractor will not have to be doing this – they charge around $40 per hour.

Tom G. made a motion to accept the Finance bottom line of $73,963, Carol seconded. The motion passed with one no vote (Tom I.) and one abstaining vote (Henriette).

Gabby asked who the tax collector was now – Diane Demers. Henriette is the Deputy Tax Collector. Art asked what the $14.18 was. This is the hourly rate for the Tax Collector, David J. stated that this is the rate for the entire year, we did not put in the 2.5% increase.

Henriette asked why the Deputy did not get a raise, David J. stated because it is not used. The Lien releases went up. Dues and Subscriptions went up so Diane could go to some conferences. There is a lot of good things that come out of the conference, new laws and regulations, etc. Postage went up due to tax bills and liens. Henriette asked if this was over spent, David J. stated that $3,056 has been spent so far. Henriette stated that they could take the Deputy Salary and put it in the postage line.

Tom G. made a motion to accept the Tax Collector bottom line of $31,773, Tom I. seconded. The motion passed with one abstaining vote (Henriette).

David J. stated that the Selectmen will be reviewing Election and Registration, Town Clerk, Cemetery, the Highway numbers are in and the Selectmen need to review it, Ambulance has been level funded – they are showing a potential $25,000 deficit. Since their expenses are fixed, their revenues need to come in or the deficit could be higher.

David J. stated that the committee could review all of these budgets on December 18, Building Inspector and Welfare will also be ready.

Jennifer asked if the zoning changes could be shorter and simpler, Tom G. stated that 11 of the 13 changes will fit on one page. The other two that are completely new ordinances and must be listed in its entirety, one is two pages and the other six pages.

Jennifer stated that the Committee will not meet next week. Tom I. stated he will send Jennifer an e-mail of the decision of the School Board on the two additional warrant articles.

Henriette asked if Tom G. and she should attend this meeting of the School Board. Tom I. stated it is just a regular School Board meeting and the only other thing the Board will discuss is what we want to break out as a warrant article.

The Committee will meet again on Wednesday, December 17 at the Town Hall at 6 p.m. to discuss and vote on the School Budget. The Committee will also meet on Thursday, December 18 at the Town Hall at 7 p.m. We will discuss Building Inspector, Ambulance, Personnel, Town Clerk, Supervisor, Executive, Highway and Welfare and maybe warrant articles.

David J. asked if the Committee was looking to do anything at the end of December. Jennifer stated that once these are done, then we can look at the bottom line and decide if anything needs to be reviewed. David J. suggested that if anything needs to be changed, they should be made before the public hearing.

David J. stated that they are probably going to have to meet on January 8, 2004 and notify the Department Heads that night. David J. stated that the Committee will know the bottom line when they are finished on December 18.

Henriette asked when the warrant articles will be ready, David J. stated he will give the Committee everything he has on the 18^th. He stated that they are waiting for a warrant article from the Highway Department, all the Fire and Police warrant articles are in.

Jennifer will double-check her e-mails to make sure she did not receive anything from David and Brian regarding not attending this meeting. They are currently not excused for two weeks in a row.

On December 17, the Committee will catch up on the meeting minutes. Jennifer will send out the corrected minutes from the School Board meeting.

Henriette made a motion to recess, Carol seconded.

The meeting recessed at 9:20.