Selectmen Continue Working Through FY12 Departmental Budget Requests

The continued plowing through fiscal year 2012 departmental budget requests Monday night, hearing presentations from the and s. and the Council on Aging.

The Technology and Highway Depts. both met the Finance Committee's even budget guidline with the Highway Dept. coming in slightly under fiscal 2011's appropriation. Highway Superintendent Tom Smith asked for $1,178,887, about $25,000 less than FY11, due to "cuts across the board."

Smith trimmed police details, clerical, temporary labor, profesional services, road marking, repair/maintenance and lease/purchase to come in under the guideline.

For capital requests, Smith asked to replace a 13-year-old  sidewalk-clearing machine, a 15-year-old dump truck and a 16-year-old backhoe. The total for the new machines adds up to $346,973, but Smith pointed out that the town has a lease-to-own option.

Technology Director Chuck Corman also met the guideline, saying that money from last May's override allowed him to completely replace old computers in all the town's offices. Corman now has a stock of refurbished computers, which he "has never had."

Meanwhile, Director Lina Arena-DeRosa and Council on Aging member Henry Dellicker laid out two budgets, one that fits the guideline and another that requests and addidtional $59,000 to pay for salary bumps at the Senior Center.

Under the second budget, Arena-DeRosa would move from 30 to 40 hours a week and receive a raise to $65,000, a $20,898 bump from the FY11 appropriation. Outreach worker Linda Marshall would also move to a full work week and get a $12,436 raise to $40,000.

The pay rates, said DeRosa, are necessary to address "the new definition of the job requirements." Several employees, she said, are working longer hours and performing more tasks than laid out in their job descriptions.

"People are working beyond the hours they are paid for," said Arena-DeRosa.

The COA is also asking for a 20-hour-a-week administrative assistant for $15,000 and $5,000 for a nutrition program. Arena-DeRosa would also like to keep the Senior Center open an hour later until 3 p.m.

The budget requests reflect the rapid expansion of the Center and the growth of the town's senior population. According to Arena-DeRosa's budget, "the Center serves the needs of the 'sandwich generation' (adult children helping their aging parents), but this is not reflected in the (current) budget."

"I can write grants for a lot of things, but I can't write grants for salaries," said Arena-DeRosa.

For capital expenses, the COA wants to expand the parking lot and install a new garage. Those projects could total $110,00, though that cost could be mitigated depending on how much of that work could be done by the Highway Dept.

Selectmen Chairman Andy Porter called the work done at the Senior Center "a terrific cause," but recommended that the COA shave down the two biggest raises before going to the Finance Committee in March.

The COA's level-funded budget comes in at $146,761, slightly under the FY11 appropriation of $149,292. This budget only allows for slight raises for Arena-DeRosa's and Marshall's salaries and clerical. There would be cuts to bus/van drivers, custodian, energy and utilities and office supplies.

In other business:

• Marked Tree Rd. resident Christa Canavan, the sister-in-law of Acting Police Chief Keith Edison, asked selectmen to throw Edison back in the mix for the post. Edison, a 32-year veteran of the , was one of seven town public safety employees who applied for the job, but was not one of the two finalists.
  
  The board will interview the two finalists - Sgt. Craig Denman and Patrolman John Moore - in a special meeting Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Room 105 of the Town Hall. The meeting will be broadcast live on (Comcast Channel 11 and Verizon Chanel 34).
• Jenny McGee was appointed to the Cable Advisory Committe by a 2-0 vote.
• The Holliston Garden Club asked for permission to plant two dogwood trees at Town Hall and four more on the adjacent burial ground. The plan's execution is pending a meeting with the Holliston Historical Commission.