Allenstown News : budget

Welfare services strained this year in Allenstown

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:41:00 GMT

Recent statewide budget cuts to welfare-related services could affect Allenstown hard.

The cuts include funding for funeral expenses for those supported by the Aid to the Totally and Permanently Disabled program; a 50 percent cut in an emergency assistance program that typically pays for emergency rent or utility bills for people supported by the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program; and the elimination of reimbursement funds to municipalities for supporting people while they wait for state assistance.

There is also a new waiting list for child care financial assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The cuts couldn’t have come at a worse time for Allenstown, where the number of people seeking welfare assistance from Town Hall has risen dramatically since last year. Most are first-time applicants, the town welfare director said.

“We’ve had three times as many applicants in October 2009 than we did in October 2008,” said Diane O’Callaghan, the welfare director.

Residents can seek welfare from the town on a monthly basis to help with basic needs, such as food, utilities and medicine.

Two years ago, when O’Callaghan began working as the welfare director, she said most of the applicants were young single mothers. That has changed in a big way. She said 72 percent of people who applied for welfare in 2009 were first-time applicants.

“The change in clientele is dramatic,” O’Callaghan said. “Most of them are families and what is commonly referred to as the working poor.” Home foreclosures, job lay-offs and cuts in work hours have forced families to seek welfare.

“A lot of times one or both parents have lost their job or have had their hours cut to the point that it’s like a job loss,” she said. “They can’t apply for unemployment and they’re caught in the middle.”

O’Callaghan said many of the applicants have no idea what programs are available and she often walks them through the process.

There are currently no demographics on the people who apply for welfare, but O’Callaghan said the New Hampshire Welfare Association is compiling a computer database to start keeping track in the near future.

Stimulus funds available for Allenstown sewer expansion

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:58:00 GMT

By Kathleen D. Bailey

Allenstown will hold a special Town Meeting on Saturday, June 13, to see if residents will approve a bond issue for $1,625,000 to upgrade the town’s aging wastewater treatment facility, with half the money to be reimbursed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the other half to be paid from the Suncook Wastewater Treatment Facility (SWTF) construction and improvement fund.

In back-to-back meetings Monday, May 18, selectmen and the Budget Committee gave their support to a proposed warrant article for the bond. The article needs a two-thirds majority to pass.

About 50 people attended the public hearings Monday, May 18, in Allenstown Elementary School. After a brief introduction by selectmen Chairman Tom Gilligan, Michael Trainque, an engineer with Hoyle, Tanner and Associates, presented the need for an upgrade of the facillity, followed by his company’s design for the upgrade.

The facility, built in the 1970s, is at capacity, Trainque said. It currently processes 1,050,000 gallons a day. While the Department of Environmental Services has placed a moratorium on new sewer construction in Allenstown, the upgrade would allow the facility to process an additional 300,000 gallons per day.

“For the time being, it would give us additional capacity,” Trainque said.

Representing the Sewer Commission, Dana Clement said the town had had an article on the warrant for “the past few years” asking voters to pay for a full upgrade. Those plans amounted to $15 million, and were defeated, Clement said.

“This is our Plan B -- it’s more modest,” he said.

How it works
“How many of you have ever used an Etch-A-Sketch?” Trainque asked the audience. The main ingredient for the drawing toy, magnetite, is also what makes BioMag, the process used in the proposed sewer upgrade, work.

The magnetite provides ballast, Trainque said. The wastewater materials stored in the feed tank are compressed, allowing the system to handle more waste.

“This allows us to have additional expansion without adding big concrete tanks,” Trainque said. The magnetite is cycled through the system and eventually recovered out of the “sludge,” he said.

The BioMag system is state of the art, Trainque said. It was piloted in Sturbridge, Mass., and was found to provide an increased flow of waste products, better treatment performance, better removal of nitrogen and phosphorus, and a smaller footprint for the entire system. It was eventually made part of Sturbridge’s full-scale upgrade, Trainque said.

The system would be housed in a 20-foot-by-20-foot building, he said.

Trainque also showed a video of two beakers filled with waste material, euphemistically called “mixed liquor.” The beaker on the left was filled to the brim, while in the one on the right, with the magnetite, the waste compacted to about a quarter of the other beaker’s. The crowd did not ask to see the video twice.

Stimulus funds
Clement pointed to the urgent need for this project. In 2002, DES told the town it was at 80 percent of its capacity, and in 2005 DES declared the moratorium.

Since the article was defeated this past March, the ARRA funds have become available, Clement said. Allenstown was approved, and its sewer project is 18th in priority on a DES statewide list of approved projects.

But it’s a number-one priority in Allenstown, and Clement, Sewer Commission Chairman James Rodger, and selectmen urged voters to take advantage of this money while it’s available.

“If we don’t take it, the money will go to someone else,” Clement said. “The taxpayer is not at risk for having to pay the bill.”

But community member Sandy McKenney wanted it in writing.

“I was at the last two meetings where you discussed this,” she told selectmen. “The residents can’t afford to spend the money, and I’m glad the Sewer Commssion found the money in the budget. But I’m still looking for the word ‘guarantee.’”

The wording is there, Rodger told her.

“The warrant article says it will be paid out of currently available sewer funds,” he said. “If the Sewer Commission double-crosses you, this deal will not go through.”

Eric Ranfos asked why the town even needed a bond, if half was paid for by stimulus and half by sewer funds. Clement told him the money is reimbursed through a system called “principal forgiveness,” and the town has to incur the entire debt first.

Barbara Bilodeau asked when the project would be completed, and Clement told her late spring or early summer of 2010. The commission first has to do a water quality study of both the town’s water and the Merrimack River, and they have to wait till the river is low enough and then take samples at least two weeks apart.

“We’ll be OK,” he quipped, “if the creek don’t rise.”

The selectmen’s public hearing was followed by the Budget Committee public hearing and approval of the warrant article. The special Town Meeting will take place Saturday, June 13, beginning at 9 a.m. at Allenstown Elementary School. For more information, call the Sewer Department at 485-5600.

Few changes made to town, school ballots

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:07:00 GMT

BY LAUREN SAUSSER

Allenstown voters will consider accepting a proposed $5.3 million town operating budget on the warrant March 10. Exactly 100 registered voters who attended the Jan. 31 deliberative session of Town Meeting rejected a proposed amendment that would have cut the bottom line of that budget by $250,000.

This budget represents an approximate 4 percent increase over the current year’s budget. Board of Selectmen Chairman Thomas Gilligan reminded the group that although times are tough, the departments still need adequate funding to function properly.

“What some people forget at these meetings is that we are all taxpayers, too,” Gilligan said. “We know it hurts.”

The town warrant this year will include 21 other articles as well as the proposed operating budget, including a proposal to finance $1.55 million in improvements for the wastewater treatment facility over a 10-year period. The cost of this project, if approved, would be equally shared with the town of Pembroke.

School
Later that afternoon, about twice as many residents participated in the school district’s deliberative session, several of whom praised school administrators for proposing a 2009-10 operating budget only $14,488 more than the default budget.

A proposed amendment to cut the bottom line of that proposed operating budget by another $150,000 failed.

The proposed budget, as it will appear on the ballot, represents a 1.5 percent increase over the current year’s approved budget.

“We’ve tried to be fiscally responsible to the taxpayers,” said Tom Irzyk, chairman of the School Board.

Only one article on the proposed warrant was amended during the session. Attendees voted in favor of increasing a deposit to the district’s building maintenance fund from $10,000 to $25,000 from any operating budget surplus that may exist at the end of the current school year.

Allenstown cuts town positions, hours

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:33:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Allenstown Board of Selectmen has decided to cut more than needed to create a buffer for possible upcoming costs which would include paying for the outside accounting help needed as well as possible spring flooding of the Suncook.

There was a $191,996 difference between the default and proposed budgets, but in two meetings held on March 17 and 18, selectmen decided to cut an extra $43,000 from the budget.

The town’s operating budget will now be $4,822,968.

Following the March 11 vote, hours for the town clerk/tax collector, assessing clerk and secretary have been cut, forcing the Town Hall to close on Fridays.

The Highway Department took the largest blow, losing $71,100 from what its proposed budget, including two part-time landfill attendants. The remaining Highway Department employees will have to rework their schedules for landfill coverage on Saturdays. That includes the road agent, Chris Roy, who is on salary with the town.

The town will also delay the repaving of Library Street for another year to realize savings in the highway and sewer department budgets.

The Police Department’s budget was cut by $20,407, forcing the layoff of the department’s evening help.

Police Chief Shaun Mulholland said he has laid off his evening secretary, cutting the administrative hours of the department to between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., something that he said will eventually cost more to the town in Bow Dispatch service costs.

He has also considered cutting an officer from the force, but is waiting until after the town’s accounting issues are cleared up before making that decision.

The department got a federal grant to fund three officer positions in the 1990s, Mulholland said, and removing an officer from the force could jeopardize the department’s chances for receiving grants in the future. “This is a painful process,” Mulholland said.

The Fire Department is in no better shape, having to shave more than $24,000 off its proposed operating budget.

The school district budget was also turned down at the polls, leaving a default of $9,838,008.

The School Board has yet to discuss what will come out of the operating budget for Allenstown Elementary and the Dupont School, according to School District Administrator Peter Warburton, to make up for the $116,845 difference from the proposed budget.

According to statistics from the 2006-07 school year, Warburton said, Allenstown spends about $11,609.34, slightly more than the statewide average.

Allenstown school warrants left unchanged

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:13:00 GMT

BY GINGER KOZLOWSKI

With few articles to consider and only 32 registered voters in attendance, the deliberative session of the Allenstown School District Meeting wrapped up in just a half hour.

No changes were made to the wording of any articles, so it will now go to residents to decide whether to follow the recommendations of the School Board or force them to make cuts under a default budget when voting takes place March 11.

The school district operating budget, warrant article 1, asks taxpayers for $9,954,853. If approved, it’s expected to raise the tax rate by $3.20 per $1,000 of property value. Voting no will result in a default budget of $9,838,008, which will still raise the tax rate, but by about $280 per $1,000 of property value.

School Board Chairman Tom Irzyk presented an explanation of the budget figures, pointing out that special education, certified staff, health insurance and other budget lines increased by $781,342.

Warrant Article 2 asks for approval by voters of a collective bargaining agreement between the Allenstown School Board and the Allenstown Paraprofessional Association for a four year-contract. Approval would raise the tax rate by about 20 cents.

Warrant Article 3 asks for $10,000 to be taken from surplus for a building maintenance fund, and Warrant Article 4 asks for $10,000 to be taken from surplus for the Facilities Acquisition Capital Reserve Fund. Neither would affect the tax rate since the money comes from surplus.

Voting will take place on these articles on Tuesday, March 11, at Allenstown Elementary School, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Allenstown tries to avoid default budget

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:24:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Allenstown voters will decide whether to accept a 11.4 percent increase in the town’s operating budget after being on a default budget this year.

“It’s a big increase, but it’s like we lost a year,” said Selectman Sandy McKenney, explaining the current year’s default budget was likely a result of the sliding economy. She said the community needs to understand the budget before they can make an informed decision to pass the increase and absorb the extra taxes.

Budget Committee Chairman David Eaton said the increases in department budgets are realistic, bringing the town’s total proposed operating budget to $5,055,264 from last year’s $4,541,936.

Voters will be able to weigh in on the budget and warrant articles at the deliberative session of Town Meeting on Thursday, Feb. 7, 7 p.m., at Allenstown Elementary School.

The Board of Selectmen and Budget Committee agreed on everything in the town operating budget aside from $2,500 the budget committee added to the fire department’s fuel line and salaries, bringing it to $335,019, about 12 percent higher than last year.

The Parks and Recreation Department accounts for one of the largest increases in the proposed budget, an almost 75 percent jump from last year’s default amount of $21,650 to the coming year’s proposed $37,811, which includes a summer program for the Concord Boys and Girls Club and improvements.

The proposed Tri-Town Ambulance service budget is a 70 percent jump over the default to $56,500 in preparation for Hooksett’s potential pullout from the intermunicipal agreement with Allenstown and Pembroke.

That increase reflects the costs associated with splitting the current service between just the two remaining towns.

Health insurance costs for 2008-09 also jumped 21 percent from the current year’s $44,000 to $53,500, an issue towns across the state are dealing with.

Both the selectmen and Budget Committee recommended a 17.8 percent increase over last year’s default Police Department budget, the proposed 2008-09 appropriation being $778,155.

The library, which recently went wireless and is in need of maintenance and repairs, got a 15 percent increase to $55,817 from this year’s $48,572.

Highways and streets, one of the larger appropriations in the overall budget, got a 19.7 percent increase in the wake of the second hundred-year flood in two years that washed out many of the streets in Allenstown and surrounding towns. Other costs included street signs and extra equipment.

Warrant articles The Budget Committee and selectmen were in accord on the majority of warrant article recommendations, with the only difference in the budget committee’s addition of $15,000 warrant article for the library facility fund.

The first warrant article voters will see is the most expensive, wordiest and arguably the most important, needing a 60 percent majority vote.

Allenstown sewer commissioners are once again going to voters for a $15 million bond to expand the Suncook Wastewater Treatment Facility. The state Department of Environmental Services issued a moratorium in 2001 preventing any future hook-ups in Allenstown and Pembroke.

Based on flow, Pembroke, the plant’s largest user, would pay 52 percent or $7.8 million and Allenstown the remaining $7.2 million. The article also asks to use $250,000 in fund balance to help offset the costs.

Presentations on the issue by Mike Trainque of Hoyle, Tanner and Associates, the engineering firm looking into the project, have explained the upgrades, which include two new clarifiers.

According to Trainque, the project qualifies for several federal and state grants the Sewer Commission will pursue should the bond pass, which could fund half of total project costs. This year, both the selectman and the Budget Committee recommended the warrant article.

The Fire Department seeks approval for a new 2,500-gallon pumper/tanker truck, a warrant article asking for $450,000 which both the Budget Committee and selectman recommended. The new truck would replace three of the town’s older trucks, the newest of which was made in 1981.

Warrant article 6, from the Police Department, asks voters to raise $47,750 for the town’s share of $191,000 in engineering and rebuilding costs for the culvert on Mount Delight Road that burst during the 2007 floods. The other 75 percent, or $143,250, would be funded through the state Department of Homeland Security’s Hazard Mitigation grant.

Allenstown Police Chief Shaun Mulholland said road closings in Epsom worsened the situation, and more than 130 residents were trapped in their homes – 50 in Epsom, nine in Allenstown and 74 in Deerfield. The town would seek state grants to help with the town’s portion of the costs, Mulholland said.

Another article from the Board of Selectmen asks to change the method of choosing a road agent from election to appointment.

McKenney said the position is more suited to appointment because the most qualified person might not get the job in an election. It was something the town didn’t worry about before because Road Agent James Boisvert was qualified and stayed in the position for 20 years.