Westport News

Present:    Warren Messier (WM), Tony Vieira (TV), Hugh Morton (HM), Lisa Arnold (LA), John Miller (JM), Bob McCarthy (BM), Jack Baughan (JB), Tracy Priestner (TP), Charles “Buzzy” Baron (BB)

1.    TV, Chair, opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. with the traditional salute to the flag.

2. JM asked for 1 or 2 volunteers for an audit subcommittee.  HM and JB volunteered.

3.    Treasurer:    George Foster, Treasurer, was in attendance to discuss the FY11 budget for the Treasurer’s Department.

4.    Town Clerk:    Marlene Samson, Town Clerk, was in attendance to discuss the FY11 budget for the Town Clerk’s Department.  

5.    Tax Collector:    Carol Borden, Collector, was in attendance to discuss the FY11 budget for the Tax Collector’s Department.  She spoke on the savings in her expenses by printing bills in-house, which she implemented a couple of years ago.  

6.    Accounting:    Terry Provencal, Town Accountant, was in attendance to discuss the FY11 budget for the Accounting Department.

7.    Reserve Fund:    TV discussed the reserve fund budget of $75,000, which is what has been budgeted in the past.  This fund is to aid departmental operating budgets in case of an emergency.  This is not the same as the stabilization fund, which requires a 2/3 town meeting vote.  

8.    Moderator:    JB presented the Moderator’s budget for FY11.  It is the same as last yr.

9.    Finance Committee:    TP presented the Fincom’s budget for FY11.  The increase from last year to this year is for the secretary’s salary due to the increase in meetings and the increase in the length of each meeting.

10.    Minutes:    The minutes for 2/16 and 2/23 were presented for approval.  JB made a motion and JM seconded the motion to accept the minutes as amended previously.  The vote was unanimous in favor of accepting the minutes.

Recess from 6:58 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for Special Town Meeting.  (See attached.)

11.    Elections & Registrars:    Dottie Silvia and Jean Clapin were in attendance to present the FY11 budget for the Election and Registrar Department.  She also had a request for a transfer of $8,175 from the Reserve Fund due to the extra election and special town meetings that occurred in FY10.  The vote was 9-0 in favor of approving the transfer.

12.    Council on Aging:    Mary Ellen Gomes, COA Director, and several members of the COA board were in attendance to present the FY11 budget for the COA.  She spoke on the many grants and revolving funds they use to supplement the budget and keep many programs for the seniors in town.  She also spoke about a new mini-bus that is being given to the COA that is funded 75% from the state and the remaining 25% from the Friends of the Westport Council on Aging.

13.    Legal:    BB spoke on this budget and said that he, Paul Schmid and Craig Dutra, Selectmen, are meeting with Kopelman & Paige, town counsel, on the 25th of March to discuss a short term and long term strategy to dealing with legal expenses going forward.  

14.    Appeals:    TV spoke on the FY11 for the Board of Appeals.  This budget is level funded.

15.    Town Reports:    BB discussed the FY11 budget for Town Reports.  He spoke with Denise Bouchard from the Selectman’s office regarding this.  She told him that the budget had been cut in half for FY10 and if she can keep the printing within that budget, she might be able to cut the budget for FY11.

16.    Town Farm:    BB presented the FY11 budget for the Town Farm.  He spoke to Geraldine Millham who said the budget should be $2,316 not $2,816 and would adjust it accordingly.  The rent for the Town Farm is around $1,000 per month.

17.    Data Processing:    JM spoke briefly on the FY11 budget for Data Processing.  He said he has been asking for a 3-year plan and has been very unsatisfied with the results.  Keith Novo told JM that he only had time for maintenance on the computers and very little time for new projects.  JM requested that either Michael Coughlin or a member of the Board of Selectmen meet with the Fincom to discuss this budget.

18.    Town Hall & Annex:    JB spoke on the FY11 budget for Town Hall & Annex.  This is a level funded budget.

19.    Life Insurance:    JB spoke on the FY11 budget for Life Insurance.

20.    Other:    TV spoke on the BOS meeting of March 8th.  He distributed a report done by the town accountant regarding the revenue projections for FY11.  (See attached.)  He said the BOS voted on the $1.5 million override for the April 13th ballot.  He informed them of the tight financial state we are in for FY11.  
        LA said that she and George Foster are working on an article that would put retirees on medicare instead of the town’s health insurance.
        TV went over the schedule going forward and said he would send out a new timeline once he updated it.

Adjournment and next meeting: There being no further business to come before this meeting, BB moved and TP seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:55pm.  The vote in favor was unanimous.  The next regular meeting will be on March 16th at 6:30 p.m. at the Westport Town Hall.
                            
Respectfully submitted,
Nicole Botelho, Recording Secretary