Our State delegation recently presented an update to the Town outlining their priorities in assisting Andover through these challenging times. Progress has been made on a number of issues brought to their attention in a recent letter crafted by the chairs of the Board of Selectmen, School Committee and Finance Committee.
See the letter here: http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AYDybAa5lil0ZGNuaHNnYjNfMGhmN2JtY2du&hl=en
The legislators reported that:
1. Communities now have the option of instituting a meals tax as a revenue source. Andover voted in October to adopt the meals tax which is estimated to generate an additional $206,000 for FY10.
2. Communities also have the option of increasing the hotel tax which Andover adopted in August. This will generate an estimated $320,588 in new revenue for FYlO.
3. The micro-purchasing threshold for building related maintenance work has been increased from $1 to $5,000. Prior to this legislation, all repairs/maintenance items required three bids which added an unnecessary burden for all jobs.
The legislators are working on the following issues that will help Andover in the future:
1. Regarding health insurance benefits for part-time employees (currently employees working 20+ hours per week), a bill has been filed to raise the threshold to 30 hours or more. Health insurance has a major impact on the budget with $12,440,000 to be spent in the current fiscal year.
2. Pension funding is another area of considerable concern for municipal budgets. The current funding schedule requiring communities to be fully funded by 2030 is not realistic in this time of fiscal crisis. Andover's obligation for 2010 is $4,635,498 with 2015 having a projected obligation of $5,356,611, an increase of over 11% over 5 years. The legislators are working on extending the funding schedule by 10 years, to 2040.
3. Municipalities are urging the legislature to end the telecom personal property tax loophole on equipment which would generate extra local revenue.
4. With regard to the issue of prevailing wage, a bill has been filed to exempt municipal capital projects under $200,000 and for public-private partnerships that benefit the community. The proposed Youth Center, for example, could be a beneficiary in the latter case.
5. The Quinn Bill, a police career incentive program, is mandated by the State but has experienced a cut in State funding which now has to be borne by the town. The legislature is urged to pass legislation clarifying that municipalities are NOT responsible for paying the State's share of the program.
6. Regarding health insurance plan design, a bill has been filed that would allow municipalities to update their health insurance plans outside of collective bargaining. This could help us to achieve significant cost savings. Currently, no changes can be made to health insurance plans without bargaining.
Andover has been severely impacted by the reduction in State Aid over the past several years. This has led to employee layoffs, service cuts, deferred maintenance and the adoption of local option taxes. The most recent cuts have affected the library, transportation and special education funding. The circuit breaker (special education funding), for instance, is now at 40% reimbursement, down from a high of 75%.
The three Boards will continue to work with our legislators in the coming months to ensure the success of these critical municipal relief and reform issues.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Budget Update
The Approved Budget for the Town of Andover for Fiscal 2010 is $130,817,866 which reflects an increase of .07% over 2009.
Where are the monies spent?
Town Departments: $33,228,923
School Department: $59,728,158
Fixed Costs: $31,623,304, covers health insurance, debt service, general insurance, unemployment compensation, retirement fund.
Water & Sewer: $6,237,481
To view this breakdown as a pie chart, copy and paste this link into your browser: http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4DybAa5lil0YzhiNzJiYjQtNDBjYy00NWNlLTg2YzItMmQxNmNlOTM5YjRj&hl=en
The challenge moving forward is how to balance our budget responsibly while the ongoing costs continue to exceed revenues.
The three Boards are diligently working with our local & State representatives to explore every option for efficiencies and/or avenues for fiscal reform. It is important to recognize that we are taxing to the levy limit and that the bulk of our cost structure relates to employee compensation. At some stage, we will need to either raise taxes/increase revenues or further reduce services. At the local level, much progress has been made involving some union concessions in the form of forgoing pay increases previously agreed to and/or furloughs.
Copy the link below and paste it into your browser to view a timeline of the budget process:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4DybAa5lil0Nzg1OTRjYTMtZWZjYy00ZmIzLWEyYTEtM2E0ZDM1OTNmOGE3&hl=en
Where are the monies spent?
Town Departments: $33,228,923
School Department: $59,728,158
Fixed Costs: $31,623,304, covers health insurance, debt service, general insurance, unemployment compensation, retirement fund.
Water & Sewer: $6,237,481
To view this breakdown as a pie chart, copy and paste this link into your browser: http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4DybAa5lil0YzhiNzJiYjQtNDBjYy00NWNlLTg2YzItMmQxNmNlOTM5YjRj&hl=en
The challenge moving forward is how to balance our budget responsibly while the ongoing costs continue to exceed revenues.
The three Boards are diligently working with our local & State representatives to explore every option for efficiencies and/or avenues for fiscal reform. It is important to recognize that we are taxing to the levy limit and that the bulk of our cost structure relates to employee compensation. At some stage, we will need to either raise taxes/increase revenues or further reduce services. At the local level, much progress has been made involving some union concessions in the form of forgoing pay increases previously agreed to and/or furloughs.
Copy the link below and paste it into your browser to view a timeline of the budget process:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4DybAa5lil0Nzg1OTRjYTMtZWZjYy00ZmIzLWEyYTEtM2E0ZDM1OTNmOGE3&hl=en
Monday, December 7, 2009
What is the status of Town and School Department Efforts to Consolidate Shared Functions?
Currently, there are two consolidation initiatives actively underway in Andover: the integration of all Town and School IT (information technology) departments, and the consolidation of the Town and School Finance/Business departments.
IT Integration: After an in-depth study by a Town-appointed technology committee, the consulting firm Blum Shapiro was retained in November to develop a Town-wide Strategic Information Technology Plan, a process which will take approximately four months. The first step will be to develop a comprehensive inventory and assessment of the existing technology infrastructure and related organizational structure of all Town departments, including Andover Public Schools. Further objectives will include the following:
• Assess each department’s current and future technology related needs, identifying various challenges, emerging issues, and potential approaches
• Review the current IT organizational structure(s) and recommend structure(s) and staffing requirements for effective and efficient operations
• Recommend process improvements for departments listed within the request for proposal
• Develop a five-year strategic implementation plan based on the above assessments and reviews, including projected costs and recommendations on various options for capital and operational funding.
Town and School Finance/Business Functions: On November 4th, the Town Manager and Superintendent of Schools submitted a letter on behalf of the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee to the Department of Revenue requesting that they conduct a Consolidation Study of Town and School Finance/Business Functions. This consulting assistance is provided free of charge by the Department of Revenue, and is part of the Commonwealth’s effort to encourage municipalities to seek efficiencies wherever possible. On December 4th, Department of Revenue responded by letter that they anticipate starting a three-month project beginning in mid-January 2010 that will result in a report focusing on potential options and opportunities for achieving operational efficiencies, process improvements, and cost-savings. The analysis will include accounting, payroll, accounts payable, and purchasing, and will evaluate organization, management, staffing, policies, procedures, and physical location of the finance functions.
IT Integration: After an in-depth study by a Town-appointed technology committee, the consulting firm Blum Shapiro was retained in November to develop a Town-wide Strategic Information Technology Plan, a process which will take approximately four months. The first step will be to develop a comprehensive inventory and assessment of the existing technology infrastructure and related organizational structure of all Town departments, including Andover Public Schools. Further objectives will include the following:
• Assess each department’s current and future technology related needs, identifying various challenges, emerging issues, and potential approaches
• Review the current IT organizational structure(s) and recommend structure(s) and staffing requirements for effective and efficient operations
• Recommend process improvements for departments listed within the request for proposal
• Develop a five-year strategic implementation plan based on the above assessments and reviews, including projected costs and recommendations on various options for capital and operational funding.
Town and School Finance/Business Functions: On November 4th, the Town Manager and Superintendent of Schools submitted a letter on behalf of the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee to the Department of Revenue requesting that they conduct a Consolidation Study of Town and School Finance/Business Functions. This consulting assistance is provided free of charge by the Department of Revenue, and is part of the Commonwealth’s effort to encourage municipalities to seek efficiencies wherever possible. On December 4th, Department of Revenue responded by letter that they anticipate starting a three-month project beginning in mid-January 2010 that will result in a report focusing on potential options and opportunities for achieving operational efficiencies, process improvements, and cost-savings. The analysis will include accounting, payroll, accounts payable, and purchasing, and will evaluate organization, management, staffing, policies, procedures, and physical location of the finance functions.
How Does Collective Bargaining Work and When Will It Begin?
Collective bargaining is handled differently in the Town departments as compared to the School department. Town unions meet with the Town Manager and often labor counsel and can negotiate on a one to three year contract. Any proposed settlement is brought to the Board of Selectmen for review. The units include police, fire, dispatchers, Independent employees (including library and town hall), department heads, municipal maintenance and the department of public works.
School union employees meet with a subcommittee of two members of the School Committee and labor counsel. They also work on a l to 3 year agreement and the School Committee reviews it for approval. The school bargaining units include teachers, instructional assistants, secretaries, nurses, food service, custodians, administrators and central office employees.
Both town and school negotiations do not include any members of either committee or board that may have a conflict of interest due to a family member being employed by the town or school.
Topics for bargaining may include cost of living pay increases, sick leave, vacation leave, personal leave, holidays, hours, overtime rate of pay, hiring, firing, lay-off procedures and working conditions such as teacher planning time. Step and track increases are also a matter for negotiation; “step” increases are tied to longevity, and “track” increases are tied to professional status changes such as when an employee earns an advanced degree.
Any changes in employee health insurance must also be negotiated. Mass. General Laws Chapter 32 outlines that any employee working 20 hours or more will receive health insurance. Town and school employees receive the same health insurance benefits.
Current collective bargaining agreements for all Town and School unions may be viewed on the School Department’s website: www.aps1.net. Click on Human Resources, and then click on collective bargaining agreements.
Collective bargaining with both Town and School unions is scheduled to begin after January 1st.
School union employees meet with a subcommittee of two members of the School Committee and labor counsel. They also work on a l to 3 year agreement and the School Committee reviews it for approval. The school bargaining units include teachers, instructional assistants, secretaries, nurses, food service, custodians, administrators and central office employees.
Both town and school negotiations do not include any members of either committee or board that may have a conflict of interest due to a family member being employed by the town or school.
Topics for bargaining may include cost of living pay increases, sick leave, vacation leave, personal leave, holidays, hours, overtime rate of pay, hiring, firing, lay-off procedures and working conditions such as teacher planning time. Step and track increases are also a matter for negotiation; “step” increases are tied to longevity, and “track” increases are tied to professional status changes such as when an employee earns an advanced degree.
Any changes in employee health insurance must also be negotiated. Mass. General Laws Chapter 32 outlines that any employee working 20 hours or more will receive health insurance. Town and school employees receive the same health insurance benefits.
Current collective bargaining agreements for all Town and School unions may be viewed on the School Department’s website: www.aps1.net. Click on Human Resources, and then click on collective bargaining agreements.
Collective bargaining with both Town and School unions is scheduled to begin after January 1st.
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