Andover Budget Blog--Moderated By the Triboard Communications Subcommittee

Dog Licensing

2010-03-23T05:23:00.000-07:00

Q: Is it necessary for the Town to supply a new dog tag every year for each dog? Can we just change tags when we get a new rabies vaccination (every 3 years)?

A: The Acting Town Clerk checked the state law and, at this time, dog tags must be issued on an annual basis. This may change in the future.

Temperature of Town Buildings

2010-03-23T05:20:00.000-07:00

Q: I know that the schools have turned back their heat to 66 degrees. Have other municipal buildings done the same?

A: The Board of Selectmen voted on March 22nd, 2010, to turn back the heat to 66 degrees in all municipal facilities where feasible (concern about the Senior Center).

Payment in Lieu of Taxes

2010-02-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Q: What is the agreement between Phillips Academy and the Town of Andover regarding Phillips Academy's annual payment in lieu of taxes that it makes in return for services provided by the Town?

A: Phillips Academy, as a non-profit entity, does not have to pay property taxes. However, it does receive services from the Town, so in recognition of that it makes an annual payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) contribution. The current Phillips Academy donation agreement, which expires June 30, 2013, is for 5 years. In FY 2009, they paid $150,000 and will contribute $153,900 in FY 2010. The agreement has an escalation clause tied to the increase in the average single family tax bill, which increased 2.6% in FY2010. When the current agreement expires, it can be renegotiated.

Timetable of Budget Meetings

2010-02-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

FY2011 BOARD OF SELECTMEN, SCHOOL COMMITTEE & FINANCE COMMITTEE BUDGET MEETING SCHEDULE (As of 2/5/10)

All meetings except School Committee Meetings will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Offices, unless otherwise noted. School Committee Meetings are held in the School Committee Room, 36R Bartlet Street, second floor above the Senior Center.

February

Mon. 8th Joint Meeting – Town Manager to Present Recommended FY2011 Budget

Wed. 10th Joint Meeting – Library; Police (and capital projects)

Wed. 17th Joint Meeting – Public Works; Fire-Rescue (and capital projects)

Mon. 22nd Board of Selectmen’s Meeting – Warrant Article Review

Tue. 23rd School Committee Meeting/Budget Workshop

Wed. 24th Joint Meeting – Plant & Facilities (and capital projects)

March

Mon.1st Board of Selectmen’s Meeting – Sign Town Meeting Warrant

Tue. 2nd School Committee Budget Workshop @ 6:00 pm

Wed. 3rd Joint Meeting – Fixed Costs; General Government

Mon. 8th School Committee Budget Workshop

Wed. 10th Tri-Board Meeting – Schools – School Committee Room

Mon. 15th Board of Selectmen’s Meeting – Street Acceptances & Warrant Articles

Tue. 16th School Committee Meeting/Budget Hearing and FY2011 Budget Vote

Wed. 17th Joint Meeting – Youth, Elder, and Comm. Services; CD&P

Mon. 22nd Board of Selectmen’s Meeting – Warrant Articles & CIP

Tues. 23rd Town Election

Wed. 24th Tri-Board Meeting – Budget Issues Follow-up

Thurs. 25th Budget Forum – League of Women Voters – Memorial Hall Library

Mon. 29th Board of Selectmen’s Meeting – Budget, CIP & Article Votes

Wed. 31st Finance Committee Meeting – Budget, CIP & Article Votes

April

Fri. 2nd Finance Committee Report to the Printer

Collective Bargaining

2010-02-02T04:24:00.000-08:00

Q: Does the School Committee and Board of Selectmen meet on a regular basis to coordinate collective bargaining goals and approaches? It seems to me that the two boards should work together, and maybe even have a formal understanding that lays out their mutually agreed to ground rules, schedule, objectives, etc., which would keep them in sync and help ensure an acceptable and sustainable end result.

A: Yes, the School Committee and Board of Selectmen recently met in Executive Session on Tuesday, January 26th specifically to discuss town-wide collective bargaining strategy. They will meet again for the same purpose on Monday, February 8th. In addition, the Town Manager is a member of the School Committee's collective bargaining team throughout negotiations.

Town-Funded Vehicles

2010-01-27T10:21:00.000-08:00

Q: Can the town do away with town-funded vehicles for town employees and let the employees claim a 55 cent per mile deduction on their taxes like any other employee?

A: The town is doing away with vehicles being brought home whenever there is attrition. We are working with the employees to develop a policy for the future and will include the suggestion of the IRS rate of mileage reimbursement where appropriate. Also, we have consulted other towns where they gave a one-time payment to do away with this. It does require collective bargaining.

Auction of Surplus Town Land

2010-01-19T08:59:00.000-08:00

On Monday, January 4th, the Board of Selectmen voted to authorize the Town Manager to sell the following pieces of land that were originally acquired by the Town by foreclosure of tax titles:

138 Andover Street
71 Elm Street
0 Woburn Street
98 Andover Street
20 Iron Gate Drive
2 Pepperidge Circle
1 Shaw Drive

The total appraised value of all 7 lots is $250,000. Any income generated from the sale of the lots would go to the town. In addition, the properties sold would go back on the tax rolls.

Notice of the auction date will be made in the Andover Townsman.

Legislative Update

2009-12-22T04:33:00.000-08:00

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.

Budget Update

2009-12-18T03:59:00.000-08:00

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

What is the status of Town and School Department Efforts to Consolidate Shared Functions?

2009-12-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

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.

How Does Collective Bargaining Work and When Will It Begin?

2009-12-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

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.