Hooksett Banner : Highway Department

Fuel prices hit Hooksett hard

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:02:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Hooksett department heads are going to have a tough time staying within their fuel budgets in the coming year given the default budget they got in March.

With both gasoline and diesel fuel topping $4 a gallon right now, fire, police and highway departments are going to have to spend almost double what their fuel budgets will allow for 2008-09.

The current budget number for gasoline assumes a price of about $2.60 per gallon, far less than what the current purchase price is.

“The numbers are much higher than what we have budgeted,” said Hooksett Town Administrator David Jodoin. “Everyone is going to have to monitor their budget accordingly.”

The Town Council recently voted to take $82,000 in funds raised through taxes in the 2007- 08 budget year and apply them towards the gas contract for the 2008-09 year rather than using them to offset the tax rate, said Finance Director Christine Soucie, adding that there would be additional funds from other revenue sources to offset the 2008- 09 rate. Towns are permitted to do that under New Hampshire law only to pay for contractual obligations, she said.

“We could only get them to guarantee the fuel, not a price. The market is too volatile. All we could get them to lock in was the delivery fees. No one would lock in (to a set price),” Jodoin said.

The encumbered funds are not going to come close to covering all the anticipated budget overages from fuel costs, however. “I’m looking at being about $200,000 in the hole before I get going,” said Dale Hemeon, head of the Highway Department, adding he’s already had a conversation with his employees warning them about the very real possibility of layoffs. Hooksett Highway Department vehicles run primarily on diesel, which is selling at a higher price than regular gasoline right now.

Hemeon said his fuel line for 2008-09 is $50,000, and he’s anticipating having to spend more than $200,000 in the coming year if the department uses about the same amount of fuel it did last year, about 40,000 gallons.

Hemeon said he’s been trying to put more workers in the same vehicles to cut down on driving, but pointed out the dump trucks at the department only get about 4 miles to the gallon.

“I’m not going to be able to do any paving at all. I may not be able to pay for fireworks for Old Home Day,” Hemeon, also the Parks and Recreation director, said.

The Police Department is anticipating using about 30,000 gallons of gasoline to run its cruisers in the coming year. Police Chief Stephen Agrafiotis said he’s still worried about this year’s budget numbers, which have yet to be finalized, and predicts the police department will have gone about $30,000 over budget because of fuel this year.

“If it gets any worse, we may very well have to look at eliminating positions,” Agrafiotis said, adding the department just came up to state and national standards for a town with Hooksett’s size and population by having 29 positions filled.

With the town’s growth, it gets harder every year to maintain services without expanding patrols.

The department has tried to save on gas in other ways, he said, such as stretching the time between oil changes for the cruisers and switching to synthetic oil; cutting back on training and overtime; and constantly maintaining the optimum air pressure in cruiser tires.

“The whole goal is to keep a reasonable level of service,” said Agrafiotis. “If the citizens don’t or can’t pay for certain levels, we’ve given it the best bang for our buck we can.”

Fire Chief Michael Williams was not available for comment by press time, but Assistant Fire Chief Dean Jore said the department is struggling with diesel costs, and there are not many ways for the department to save on fuel when an engine has to respond to most calls.

The department has done things such as using their smaller vehicles as much as possible, particularly for less important calls, including trouble alarms indicating a low battery in someone’s fire alarm control panel, as well as condensing errands. “It’s tough because all we can really do is say, ‘Guys, stay in the station,’” Jore said. “There wasn’t a whole lot that we could change that we haven’t already tried to address.”

Town Council Chairman Paul Loiselle said being stuck with last year’s energy budget lines will have a trickle-down effect to other areas of the town’s budget, and said there is no latitude in the budget to cover shortfalls.

“It’s going to be a tough year from the overall picture of the finances of the town. You have to deal with the neccessary things first, and the things you need versus the things you want,” said Loiselle. “The largest part of any town budget is salaries, when you get right down to it. Hopefully, it won’t come to fruition, but if it does, there’s going to be some very hard decisions made by the council.”

Hooksett to consider sewer plant expansion

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:52:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Among the items Hooksett voters will discuss at Town Meeting on Saturday, April 5, are a $1.5 million bond for sewer plant upgrades, two new trucks for the Highway Department, raises for nonunionized town employees, additional staff for the Highway and Fire Departments, and starting up a public access TV station.

They will also weigh in on a proposed budget of $15,786,795, more than $400,000 higher than the default budget, which would project the tax rate at around $6.60 per $1,000 of assessed value. For a home assessed at $300,000, the proposed town budget alone would comprise $1,980 on the tax bill.

Sewer expansion According to Sewer Commissioner Sid Baines, the $14 million plant expansion needs the $1.5 million from voters to add to $6 million the plant has already raised to fund the second phase of the project, which would add a second clarifier and increase the plant’s capacity by 10 percent.

About half of the $6 million raised came from a state revolving loan fund and the other half through developers. Sewer rates increased in the past year to help pay back the loan, Baines said.

The $1.5 million was originally built into the plans for Cabela’s, which have been put on hold due to reduced profits. The bond would increase the tax rate by about 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. For a Hooksett home assessed at $300,000, that’s an increase of between $45 and $51 on the tax bill.

At the Budget Committee’s public hearing on the warrant, the idea of comitting 30 percent of the plant’s flow to commercial business to foster growth was discussed.

“I think it would be much more appealing and guarantee it to pass,” said Budget Committee member Gerald Kearney about including such a promise in the warrant article.

Town Administrator David Jodoin said the idea was discussed with town attorney Bart Mayer, who said that would only “murky up” the language. Baines agrees with that advice. “Anything more that you put in an article muddies it up when it goes to the bond bank,” he said.

Town Council Chairman Paul Loiselle said the town cannot continue to say “no” to prospective developers because there is no more sewer capacity. “I definitely am adamant about the voters getting behind this 100 percent,” he said.

More firefighters
While the Town Council and Budget Committee were in agreement on the majority of warrant items, they differed when it came to Article 24, which asks for $129,548 to fund two additional firefighter/EMT positions in the Fire Department.

While the Town Council voted 6-1 to recommend the article, the Budget Committee voted 2-6 against recommending it. Passing this article would reduce the operating budget by $99,672 in overtime, leaving the town with a net increase for the coming year of $29,876 should voters pass the article.

Assistant Fire Chief Dean Jore said the department has saved the town money by doing its own vehicle maintenance and repairs, and plowing out the town’s hydrants and cisterns. “I don’t think firefighters should be plowing cisterns,” said Budget Committee member John Pieroni.

The two additional employees would also bring the department closer to state standards for staffing levels, Jore said. Currently, at least one officer and two firefighter/EMTs staff both the Central Station at the Hooksett Safety Center and Station 1 by the Town Hall 24 hours per day, seven days a week.

More highway workers and trucks
The Highway Department is asking voters to approve a total of $324,294 to purchase two trucks and hire two more employees.

Passing Article 16 would grant the Highway Department permission to enter into a 5-year lease for $151,000 for a plowdump truck, and would further collect $30,205 from Hooksett taxpayers for the first year’s payment.

Article 17 seeks $55,000 for a one-time purchase of a backhoe for the Highway Department.

Unlike the Fire Department’s endeavors to get two more firefighters, the Highway Department’s request for $118,294 to hire two full-time truck drivers went to the warrant with recommendations from both the Town Council and Budget Committee.

Public access cable TV At the public hearing, the Budget Committee also heard from resident David Pearl on a petitioned warrant article to bring public access television to Hooksett.

The program would be paid for through franchise fees the town currently collects from Comcast customers, which is currently about three percent of the total bill.

Right now, the money collected from those fees goes into the town’s general fund, and it would more than cover the estimated start-up costs for the station.

The total amount needed for the first year could approach $100,000, which would pay for a typical set up for the station and fiber optic cables.

Hooksett Town Meeting takes place Saturday, April 5, at 1 p.m., at Cawley Middle School.