i' like to call the Wednesday May 29 2024 meeting of the Gardner city council finance committee to order the clerk will please call the role Council General present Council M present presens and there's announcement of open meeting recording any person may make a video or order recording of an open session of a meeting May transmit the meeting through any medium subject to reasonable requirements of the chair as the number placed an operational equipment used so as to not interfere with the conduct of the meeting any person intending to make such recording shall notify the chair forth with all documents and Exhibits used or reference that the meeting must be submitted in duplicate to the city clerk as to become part of the meeting minutes is anybody here recording none on to uh the first time on the agenda section uh item 11292 in order appropriating $320,000 from free cash to the DPW snow and ice removal expense account Arnold Mr Mayor thank you very much Mr chairman uh this is the annual back fill for the snow and ice account uh it's one of those things that we purposely budget a flat amount because under the state statute you have to budget the amount you budgeted the previous fiscal year uh in the original appropriation year after year however it's one of those that's allowed for us to go over uh in deficit spend in because you never know what's going to fall out out of the sky in a given year uh under the state statute this is something that can be amortized over a period of 5 years or if the city has free cash for remaining at the end of the fiscal year we can pay that off that way that's traditionally what Garder has chosen to do that way we don't carry an extra form of basically uninterest bearing debt on our uh books uh but it's one of those things that just cleans things up and closes the fiscal year completely at the end of the fiscal year uh it is substantially lower than last year's uh where last year we had about a million dollars over where this year we're around I believe it's close to $700,000 613 613 343 yep um so it's just closing out and this covers the cost of salt uh the overtime for the individuals who are uh driving the plows the uh Flex time if any of them choose to use their time that way all Personnel salary and expense cost with snow removal is covered in this line item anything to add direct R uh we had a really nice Saturday in March and we thought we were out of the woods and then winter started again uh so we were in pretty good shape but this I think we spent about 200 Grand since March yeah I take full responsibility for that cuz I asked him after that Saturday if we should put this appropriation up at that point uh and then two days later we got a snowstorm I I had a resident ask about street sweeping and uh director arold told me that was too early to be asking about such things so I don't know maybe it's my fault um any questions comments no I just actually think that we were very fortunate to have the mile winter we had with the lack of um contract plowing people the uh limited DPW workers we actually had um so I think we should all be pleasantly surpris it is as low as it is and um hopefully we can be more at full staff for next for next winter yeah I'm assuming relatively speaking obviously as every other year costs and expenses have gone up so that number is significantly low significantly low if we had the same kind of winter we had the previous year it would have been much higher than a few years ago we were paying 65 bucks a ton for salt we're paying $95 50% increase in the cost of salt with the new salt shed though we would should be able to buy it more bulk supply I would hope next year it's under a state um either a state contract or there's a bunch of cities and towns that do a municipal bid uh that actually turns out to be cheaper than state but we do try to buy it as a as a Consortium EXC so motion on the floor yeah I'll make a motion that we move the order to the council for approval second motion by Council ma seconded by Council General longwitz to uh move recommend the order to council all those in favor say I I all those oppos say no the motion carries next item item 11293 in order appropriating $35,000 from free cash to DPW repairs and maintenance expense account mayor this is mainly to cover the cost of overages that we had in uh repairs and maintenance to the vehicle equipment at the DPW uh just uh one of those end of the year back fills trying to get get all the accounts back up to where they need to be so we can close out the fiscal year uh we're currently at about a just over $199,000 deficit um I check just checked it yesterday so with the additional 35,000 we'll pay that off and we'll have about 15 grand to get us to the end of the fiscal year uh if we run into problems if with any large ticket um expens or repairs we'll just park the equipment until July 1st and then work on it after the new fiscal year uh all of these Appropriations that you have for the first time in the agenda section um do have buffers in them to not only get us to where we need to be as of today but through the end of the fiscal year and we can get you what those buffer amounts are as well questions Congress from the committee um so do you usually have your own maintenance repair person but currently don't because of the Staffing we typic we should have six mechanics we have three uh we did have four but there was just a retirement back in March um so we're down to three mechanics and they not only fix the all the DPW equipment which is probably 80 pieces of equipment they also rep uh repair police and City Hall equipment as well so there's probably well over 150 to 200 and that that also includes small repairs you know lawnmowers and things like that but they're never out of things to do yeah with the um the shortage there is this budget going forward for the next fiscal year to accommodate for these outside repairs or is this something continue to come back we're meeting with the Union to negotiate on Monday for both unions so I'm hoping that we can get a more marketable contract at that point so hopefully we'll have the staff at that point for next year nothing further is there a motion on the floor yeah I make a motion that we recommend the order to the city council for approval second motion made by councelor Ma seconded by councelor J lawitz to recommend passes the order to the full city council is there a discussion on the motion hearing none all those in favor say I I I those opposed say no motion carried item 11294 in order appropriating $24,000 from free cash DPW energy and utilities account Mr Mr chairman this is uh basically covering the cost the fuel and energy cost that the DPW undertakes the DPW does um again have the biggest Fleet in terms of number uh in the city so just one of those things uh again just closing out the fiscal year getting things back up to the black and the director can get into the fine tooth details of it just as as everyone's energy and utility bills have gone up um so we spend about $6,600 a month uh roughly depending on the you know on the month we're currently about 11 Grand in debt and we haven't covered um May and June so I figure if we got 13 $114,000 and then cover the cost that 24 grand should cover get us till July 1st questions comments yeah I just uh is there a breakdown of the difference between like Fuel and electricity I mean how much is gas and fuel fuel is for that's a separate account that would be for um this is for the lighting your heat uh not only for the DPW building at um at 416 West Broadway it also covers the fuel and gas at um me drive Mega Drive I say fuel I should say gas in um electri electricity heat so for next year was this budgeted higher I mean do we always know there going to be a deficit in this line item it's one of those that we hit i' have to see what the actual budget document has in it there too it's one of those the same thing with the city hall account or the public Building Maintenance account that we have with the fuel we guess what we're going to be paying for it every year but it's one of those that you you never really know what it's going to happen during the fiscal year too and this isn't part of the solar project these buildings uh again it's all to that engineering declared them Surplus for it but that doesn't mean that they'll have the stability for it I just think fuel I could understand knowing that there'd be an overage because the the fluctuation and cost I just figured for for energy and and utilities I think we you know be able to plan and advance than you with the sorry with the energy there's the new rate going that started in November right that should affect that amount as well and have it hopefully drop so that is correct I have nothing further is there motion for I make a motion that we recommend the order to the full Council for approval second motion made by councelor Ma seconded by councel Dar lard to recommend the order to the full councel Is there further discussion on the motion none all those in favor say I I those opposed say no the motion carries thank you very much thank you thank you director Arnold uh next item 11295 in order appropriating $50,000 from free cash to the mayor's unclassified termination leave expense account Mr Mayor thank you Mr chairman this is something that uh is in the mayor's and classified account as explained in the budget document we put a uh account of money in there based off of who we know is going to be retiring during that annual fiscal year um and then somewh of a buffer to put in if there's resignations along the way this account pays out anyone's acred time off benefits that they owed time so that's anything but sick time that we pay out uh for the city again we never know how many people are going to leave employment with the city during a given fiscal year so we go off of when we send the budget memorandum out we ask if we know of any retirements that are expected during the fiscal year and then we build in a couple you know handful of employees in case there's any resignations or stuff that come up during the uh through when the budget is passed on the end of the fiscal uh so this is to cover the cost associated with paying out those individuals who have left employment with the city during this fiscal year questions comments I have no questions just a quick question on it is it currently in the red and how is it paid for until this appropriation happens um John Richard can answer that one it's basically currently in the r 38 ,000 oh yeah 38,000 basically it was the HR director's um leaving that was unexpected um and then we have another one coming up that is unexpected and that's going to be$ 7,000 so right now that'll cover about $45,000 we have $55,000 to play with until the end of the year hopefully nobody leaves okay um but thank you yep nothing else is there a motion I recommend that we move the order to the full Council for approval second motion made by councelor Mac exective by councilor D lawitz to recommend the passage the order to the full Council Is there further discussion on the motion none Mr chairman this is uh clarification to the reason why we do these is free cash now rather than um I guess moving things around and just closing things out while that accounts in the rent even if the bottom line is uh in the black uh is because it does negatively impact our free cash amount next year if we don't go through and do processes like this the Department of Revenue when they clo when they review our close out of the fiscal year uh will actually deduct and overages from free cash until transfers like these are made on the local level and then we get it so it's basically a 2-year delay in free cash um in certain aspects of that so that's why we try to close things out like this and that's why so like you said the account's in the red now but we try to make it in the black as best as we can so it doesn't impact what we can do next year okay thank you for the further clarification um here no discussion further discussion all those in favor say I I all those oppos say no motion carries thank you thank you um next item is 11297 in order appropriating $77,000 from free cash to airport various expense accounts Mr did you skip 96 should I skip one I'm sorry order 11296 an order appropriating $4,000 from free cash to ambulance repairs and maintenance account thank you very much Mr chairman this is going with costs associated with repairs that need to be made to the current ambulance uh there's certain chassis work and rest issues that had to be covered up however I don't expect this to be a continuing expense as the ambulance is set to arrive imminently then within two weeks it'll be here it is in Massachusetts from where it was being constructed before um it's an adbor right now getting the final touches on it which is where the dealer that we bought it from is uh located the chief and uh some of the admin staff or the um over the lieutenant staff thank you uh went down to go look at the uh ambulance and it's looks like it's all set and ready to go so this is just getting us through where we need to be for the end of the fiscal or until that ambulance arrives saw some pictures online I didn't know if here yet or not but glad to hear it's going to be here soon um and the normal rotation is is the carrent ambulance becomes the reserve is that correct and then do the reserve do you um sell or scrap whatever you're able to do at at this point we're we're going to hold on to the the third one um just because we put some money into it this fiscal year to pass the state inspection which was in February we were not anticipating having to do that because we thought the new one was going to be here prior to that but where it was delayed we had to keep the reserve one going so we've put some money into it it's past inspection that state inspection is good for 2 years so at this point we're just going to maintain it as a backup to the backup which in recent history has been needed um because of Parts delays and the time it takes to complete repairs so it's it it'll be good to have it it's not really going to cost us anything and then you know it down the road a little bit will determine what we're going to do with it sell it or or there are other options too so possibly re chassing it in the future um as a as a full Reserve ambulance at that point cuz that's the only the box is good it's the chassis of the truck that needs updating okay um so it's one of those we'll see where we go in the future with it if it's something that we keep just to have on a reserve account or Reserve account reserve on the fleet that way I guess if we need it it's there and we don't have to scram to try to find something uh our partnership with Woods is a pretty is a very strong partnership uh but that doesn't mean that there's not times that all of the ambulances are out and we're left with something else that needs to be done in the city and we're calling for a mutual Aid try to F figure out what's going on um and it better helps us plan for the future if the department wants to grow or have any other changes to it thank you any further questions coms no I just think it's important for that this um expense is to still maintain the ambulance in in service so it's not like just because we're getting a new one you know we're we're putting money in something that we're not going to continue to use so and this was the cost of what was ordered for the ambulance to be able to be used from February to current as well that we didn't expect so this is the ambulance has been in use since this money was expended I have no further questions entertain a motion yeah I'll entertain a moment motion to recommend um passage of the order to the full councel motion made by councelor Mack and second second motion made by councelor Mac and second by councel D lawitz to recommend passes of the order to a full Council Is there further discussion on the motioning none all those in favor say I I those oppose say no the motion carries thank you thank you very much thank you now 11297 in order of appropriating $7,000 from free cash to airort various expense accounts Mr Mayor thank you very much Mr chairman as you are well aware uh the federal government has given a large amount of grant funding that uh for the airport in terms of the airport resurfacing project uh money for a new boiler money for a new apron uh at the airport um that should be starting very soon uh most of those projects you you know came before the council because some required City matches others did not uh but between the state and federal government we've probably had about $8 million in Grant funds expended at the airport this year or received for the airport this year uh just for clarification sake all of that money was from the Federal Aviation Administration could only be used at the airport itself um but while we were doing those upgrades uh and there was some grant money to fix up the building itself and you know paint and just general maintenance on the facility uh there were some overages that were there uh just to get you know complete the project and get it where it needed to be so that this is the funding used to cover the cost and get us back to where we needed to be because the cost is so associated with the maintenance and repair on the building overseen by director Davis thank you for questions or comments no questions I have none um I make a motion to recommend passage of this order to the full Council second motion made by councelor Ma exed by councel D to recommend passes this order to the full council is there appr discussion hearing none all those in favor say I I oppose say no the motion carries uh section under referred to finance 11256 a resolution to rename the city Council chamber the Ronald Fier Council chamber submitted by Council Judy mack more time on 416 2024 5224 and referred to Finance on 56 2024 I'm going to re request um Council return allow us for more time on this item if there's no objection I have no objection so there'll be count the committee will be granted more time item 11286 in order appropriating $30,000 from free cash to the May's unclassified es Graves the city lawsuit expense account and the city council referred to finance committee 520 24 more time thank you Mr chairman I have requested the redacted bills from attorney patrini going back to when this lawsuit was first filed to present uh those redacted bills have not yet been received the reason they have to be redacted is there's certain uh strategical information that's listed as the breakout in the number of hours that are on the bill uh so those items that are still ongoing are still part of attorney client privilege do need to be redacted once those are received I'll be sure to send those off to the council that way you can see the full amount that's been expended so far how many hours and what that cost breakdown is per hour as well thank you Mr Mayor I'm seeing we're we're getting those put together and if there's no objection from the rest of the committee uh think we should just ask for more time agreed there'll be more time on item 11286 and item 11289 an ordinance to amend the code of the city of Gardner part one therefore entitled administrative legislation in the city council referred to finance committee 5224 anything like this St this time yeah thank you very much Mr chairman this is something I expect may take a while before the city council just because it is a 45 page document um at my inaugural address this year I talked about updating the city code and going through and seeing if there was anything that was outdated anything that needed updating anything that hasn't been looked at in a long time uh and these this is the first part of that uh review that is being put forward uh this is everything and the the or the code right now is split up into part one and part two administrative and general legislation the administrative legislation oversees all of the aspects of how City Hall is run uh what the changes you'll mainly see in here is that uh we've gone through all the uh the controlling statutes of the boards and commissions so if a commission is overseen by some form of the general laws or other section of the city code and it says I'll use the um zba as an example because that's separately before the city council right now uh the state law says a zoning board of appeals can have up to seven members no less than three uh excuse me up to five members no less than three um so the code would now say up to five members or if there's another border commission that says you know the board could could have five members but uh minimum five members up to seven the ordinance would now say up to seven to mirror what's in the general laws right now so we're not further so it does allow us to stay at our current number but allows us some growth if we need it in the future additionally the largest section of it is actually the Personnel ordinances of the city our non-union employees in terms of time off benefits uh vacation sick uh all those types of things that would normally be for a union employee in a contract are actually in the ordinance code and those have uh largely accept for a small change here or there not been reviewed since 2004 per the records that we have on the city code uh so this is largely updating those to bring them up to date to one what our Union employees have uh but also to make those non-un positions more marketable uh there's a lot of things in the ordinance code right now that are out of date for our personnel um our non-union Personnel ordinances uh for instance right now we have what's called sick incentive time this was put in place in 2006 uh that's if an employee doesn't call out sick during a period of 1 month they currently get 3.5 hours of uh non- vacation nonpersonal time that they can earn it's basically a way to prevent abuse of sick time uh however our Union employees get four hours of that and they can use it on an hourly increment uh where for our non-unit employees vacation sick and incentive time and personal time must be used on a minimum halfday basis uh so if you going into a quick doctor's appointment and you're coming back by city code right now you have to use a full half day of time rather than just taking that hour to go over there so it's making things a lot more in line making things more manageable making things more marketable and making things more in line with what our private sector colleagues are doing that way we can actually get marketable positions additionally there's a lot of Provisions in the city ordinances for positions that are now Union positions uh that when they were adopted in the early 2000s were not Union employees uh for instance there is a dynamite siphon in the ordinances for the DPW if they ever had to use Dynamite one our insurance would never allow our DPW employees to use Dynamite right now and we contract that service out but two none of the Personnel ordinances apply to our DPW employees because now they're in two separate unions as well depending on if they're Foreman or just regular uh non foran DPW employees so it's it's just cleaning up a lot of the minutia that's in there and updating things that should have been updated a long time ago I know your office and all the department has put a lot of time um in the commissions to do these updates um you said it's 45 page just on this part um I agree you more time on this to allow the finance committee as well as the full Council to digest it all um and come up with any kind of recommendations or thoughts is the best idea yeah I expect this one to be largely a conversation rather than a review done in terms of yeah this was proposed but maybe this instead and that's something I'm fully open to with this just because it's something that we haven't looked at since I was in fifth grade uh so it's one of those that we just need to take the time and review it I'll let you know that the next one is actually uh the next set is a lot smaller it's only five pages and it's certain traffic ordinances and the traffic commission is going to be reviewing that at their next meeting before it comes to the Council next okay great so um I would recommend just asking for more time as long as there's no objection from the r committee no I definitely agree and I I and I think it's important to pull out that the mayor and the department has been doing the work for us to make the changes so it's it is the what needs to be done to miror or to represent the contracts and what um it needs to be is being presented to us so it is as the marison more of a conversation than recommendations because we have to go based on what has the Agreements are with the employees yeah I can it's largely just thinking off the top of my head it's an extra week's vacation I think an extra half day personal time um and making the year periods right now because it was different depending on police and fire chief had a quicker you earn your vacation time at a quicker rate than all the other department heads so putting those on the same time frame department heads earned time off senority quicker than non- department head employees so again evening out the time scales with what our Union employees are getting right now so that we can I guess just have more parity between our actual employees rather than one individual in an office having a different full scale completely than the other individual sitting at a desk next to them in the same office makes sense um get more time on item 11 1289 I'll instain a motion to adjourn so moved second motion made by councelor Mack seconded by councel General lawitz to adjourn all those in favor say I I all those opposed say no the meeting stands journ thank you