Hopkinton News : budget

Teacher, support staff contract voted down in Hopkinton

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:26:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Hopkinton residents voted down raises for the district’s educators and support staff before approving a budget lowered by the School Board during the annual School District Meeting.

After seeing voters deny two collective bargaining agreements that would have resulted in a total of about $330,000 in increases, board members decided to back the Budget Committee’s proposed operating budget during the Saturday, March 7, meeting.

Despite a motion to trim the budget even more, residents approved the Budget Committee and School Board’s recommendation of about $15.6 million by a 371-106 vote.

In total, the meeting lasted about five hours, with the majority of the discussion centering on the teacher and support staff contracts.

Resident Ian Tewksbury said during the debate that he does not believe voting down the contracts was in the school’s best interest.

“If we don’t support this contract, I won’t be surprised if we lose some teachers. There’s nothing to stop them from going to other districts if we do,” said Tewksbury.

“I’m very disappointed in the Budget Committee.”

Alan Bloomquist was against the articles because of the current level of pay for educators and the state of the economy.

“I just think this is the time to say, ‘Hey, if you’re a teacher, be happy you’re employed because your neighbors are losing their jobs,’” Bloomquist said. “Let’s just try to take a breather here.”

School Board Chairman David Luneau told residents that the contract was a key part in continuing the highquality education that Hopkinton provides.

“As we pay our teachers, we’re investing in our teachers,” said Luneau. “We need the contract to attract the best teachers to Hopkinton, and also to keep them here.”

Voters did approve a new contract for the custodial staff that will result in a 1.94 percent increase in salary and benefits during a five-year contract.

Hopkinton educators are currently paid at an above-average rate, board members said during the meeting, with 59 percent making more than $60,000 and 19 percent coming in above $70,000.

When it came time to discuss the operating budget, Luneau said the board was willing to support the Budget Committee’s suggested increase of $98,691, an increase of less than 1 percent over last year’s figure.

“We have seen today that voters are not in favor of increase, so we are willing to move ahead with the Budget Committee’s figure,” said Luneau.

Hopkinton residents call for selectman to resign

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:31:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Seventy-nine Hopkinton residents have signed a petition asking for the resignation of Board of Selectmen Chairman Scott Flood.

It is the third petition that has been filed with the town with the request, and Flood said he believes the disagreement centers on his desire to lower the budget.

“I think I’ve always been respectful. You have to do what the board feels is in the best interest in the town,” said Flood. “It is a result of two special interest groups in town objecting to the fact that I’m trying to cut costs.”

Some residents have expressed disagreement with Flood in the past regarding his stance on the Slusser Senior Center.

Flood has previously said that selectmen should consider the idea of making the facility a community building.

The petition says Flood has not listened to the voice of the town.

“He has not followed the will of the people, but used his position for his own agenda,” the petition reads. “In these trying times, the Town needs a leader to put forth every effort to unite the voters and the employees in a common purpose, not to divide. We realize there is not a legal course of action to achieve this, but we hope you will take the best interest of the Town to heart and comply.”

When asked if he felt the frustration of some residents is a result of frustration with the current state of the economy, Flood said he thought it was more than that. “It’s not just frustration, it’s survival,” said Flood. “I know a family where both parents have lost their jobs, and they have no income. I know a lot of people whose houses have been foreclosed on. We’re past frustrated. This is serious survival mode for people.”

Flood also said financial times will get more difficult in the upcoming years for Hopkinton residents with revenues down and the proposed school budget coming in with an approximately $850,000 increase compared to last year.

“There’s no question that I feel this next year will be even worse economically than this year,” said Flood. “If you assume revenue being equal, it’ll be about a $1.10 increase (per $1,000). Couple that with expecting the revenue going down and the reassessment will be done in December, we could end up with an increase of almost $2 (on the tax bill) in the fall.”

220 kids participate in Hopkinton day camp program

Bow Editor — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:27:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Within a small area near Kimball Pond in Hopkinton, children kayak, color, fish, and play hide and seek. Hopkinton’s summer day camp wrapped up another successful season after providing about 220 children the chance to take part in a variety of trips and activities over a seven-week span.

“I would guess that kids definitely like being here better than being at home doing nothing,” said camper Aimee Echelberger, 11. “I like going on field trips and hanging out with my friends the most.”

Hopkinton Recreation Director Justin La Vigne said he can tell the camp is a success just by standing nearby and watching.

“The best part is just seeing the kids enjoying the camp,” he said. “I really love to see when the parents come to pick them up and they are just so excited to tell them all of the things they did during the day.”

During Hopkinton’s annual Town Meeting, the camp came under some scrutiny, with some residents believing the program should not be funded by the taxpayers. After lengthy discussion during the March 15 meeting, voters decided to support the budget and pay for the camp.

La Vigne said he remains cognizant of how some voters feel, and has a plan to eventually get the camp to be self-supported.

“Getting the funding allowed to us to keep the camp the same as before,” said La Vigne. “I’m working toward getting to phase three of my plan, which is to pay for more counselors out of the profits from the camp, which would reduce the line-item budget for the camp.”

Each week of camp consists of a variety of activities for the children ages 6 to 12. Every Tuesday the group of children, which has ranged from 30 to 42 campers, goes to the Kimball Cabins to take part in a variety of activities. Twice a week, the children go to swim at the pond and Fridays they go to state parks.

One of the more popular aspects of the camp has been the field trips, which are to places such as Funspot in Weirs Beach and the Boston Children’s Museum.

Rachel Dabuliewicz, 22, of Warner just finished her first summer as a counselor. She recently graduated from Keene State, where she studied education.

“I got to do a lot of the things that’ll work when I am in a classroom, and also got to see some of the things that I probably won’t do in the future,” she said.

La Vigne said the children get an experience at the camp that helps keep them from sitting at home during the normally bright summer weather.

“It’s great. It opens up lots of different things for the kids, and it gives them the experience to do things they haven’t done before,” said La Vigne.

287 Hopkinton voters pass $15.5 M school budget

Bow Editor — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:57:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Residents filled about half of Hopkinton High School’s gymnasium during the annual School District Meeting, passing all of the articles after about a three-hour discussion.

The Saturday, March 8, meeting went by with only a small amount of debate as the $15.5 million operating budget passed.

Of the town’s 4,508 registered voters, only 287 were in attendance for the morning meeting, with a large group leaving after the operating budget passed with only a scattering of votes opposing it.

One concern raised at the microphone came from resident Tom Zlotucha.

“The main reason I am here today is because I am concerned about budgets and how they affect my taxes and well-being,” he said. “Taxes are increasing, and I don’t know where that ends. I’m not concerned about the quality of education, because I think we have something we can be proud of.”

Several residents praised the School Board and Budget Committee for working well together, saying it was one of the better budgets in recent memory.

The only ballot vote of the day came after discussion of Article 4, which asked voters to make the School Board agents for the repair and maintenance expendable trust fund.

“The goal is so that we can respond in real-time replacing things when they need to be replaced, not before they need to be. In terms of efficiency, this is the best way to go,” said School Board member Larry Donahue about the article.

Those in attendance lined up at the four ballot boxes and dropped their neon pink ballots in, passing the budget, 179-92.

Residents also voted to add $50,000 to the general contingency fund for unanticipated expenses, as well as up to $25,000 to the maintenance trust fund and the educating educationally disabled children trust fund. The two trust fund additions will come out of surplus money available on June 30.

The only heated exchanges during the meeting came after all the articles had passed as residents turned their discussion to whether the town should switch to SB2, or official ballot voting form of government.Although the vote on the issue came during the Tuesday, March 11, election, many residents voiced their opinions during the district meeting.

The operating budget increased about $551,000, or 3.68 percent, although board member Marshall Rowe said 77 percent of the increases are tied to salary and contractual agreements.

Budgets trimmed

Bow Editor — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 22:04:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

The Hopkinton Budget Committee has recommended several changes in both the town and school budgets.

About 50 residents came out to hear the discussion on Thursday, Feb. 7, when the committee slimmed the budgets, with the recreation department taking the biggest hit – the elimination of a requested $17,500 to hire summer camp employees.

With the adjustment, the committee’s recommended budget for the Recreation Department is $113,619, compared to selectmen’s recommendation of $131,119.

“The summer camp is a very important thing for this community,” said recreation director Justin La Vigne. “We would bring in more money with two more counselors, and we’d be able to offset those costs.”

Another major difference between the selectmen and the Budget Committee recommendations was in the Highway Department. Budget committee members were in favor of reducing the highway administration budget by $6,000, which would have been used to hire additional part-time help, if necessary, for heavy snow years.

The recommended highways and streets budget was reduced by $5,000, which was allotted to lease paving equipment and occasional plowing trucks.

In total, the town budget proposed at the Feb. 7, public hearing was $5,815,013, a difference of $57,000 from the selectmen’s proposed budget.

In the school budget, the committee recommended cutting about $200,000 from the budget to bring the total amount to $15,689,949.

“We’ve been successful in sustaining the quality of education we provide to our kids,” said Hopkinton School Board member Marshall Rowe. “The advancement comes from the faculty we have. It’s best to sustain that education with the least impact on our taxes.”

Despite a high number of teachers at the lower class levels, the board did not recommend cutting any current faculty members, something resident Beth Taylor asked the board about during the hearing.

“It was a topic of consideration as last year. We eliminated one staff member due to small class sizes,” said Rowe.

“We believe it is important to maintain the current number of teachers we have. We believe that grade 1 and 2 are most important because the rate of learning is the greatest.”

During his explanation of the town budget, Selectman TomCongoran said despite the difference between the two boards, selectmen are prepared to go forward with whatever the voters decide.

“We work for you,” said Congoran. “If you, our bosses, said we should listen to the budget committee, then we will.”

Budget increase less than 1 percent

Bow Editor — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:30:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY
Hopkinton’s Board of Selectmen set the proposed town budget, with an increase of less than 1 percent from last year’s budget.
Hopkinton’s Board of Selectmen set the proposed town budget, with an increase of less than 1 percent from last year’s budget.

The proposed budget now goes to the Budget Committee for review.

At a special Wednesday, Dec. 19, meeting, selectmen approved the proposed budget of about $5.7 million – a .71 percent increase.

“Factoring in inflation at about 2 to 3 percent, and to still come in at an increase of less than 1 percent, that is pretty good,” said interim Town Administrator Bob Veloski. “The department heads worked very hard to attain that number.”

Veloski said the budget had an increase of about 2 percent, but warrant articles and other factors reduced the increase to its current proposed rate. Selectman Don Lane said the board was set on keeping any increase to a minimum throughout the process.

“We are very happy that we could keep it in line,” said Lane. “That was our goal, and we achieved it. We wanted to get as close to a zero increase as possible.”

Lane said the process includes factoring in personnel issues, though the town’s employees did not suffer any cuts to keep the budget from spiking.

“That (personnel issues) can cause an increase. We were able to give appropriate raises and maintain our position in terms of benefits,” said Lane. “At the same time, we were able to address certain things like increased responsibilities in the Recreation Department and Public Works.”

One concern Lane said the board has is increasing the tax base, and improve the commercial appeal of Hopkinton.

“Hopkinton is solely dependent on the single-family home, with very little commercial development,” said Lane, who added that board member Scott Flood has been working with the Economic Development Committee on the issue. “We have to begin thinking of commercial development. They’ll come through with something.

It’s not easy.”

Overall, Lane is pleased with the financial direction of the town.

“There are lots of things you’d like to do, but you can’t. You have to keep taxes in a place where they’re stable,” he said. “We’re doing pretty well.”

Field talks set

Bow Editor — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:37:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

A dispute over whether to build a baseball field or return a $40,000 investment will come before the Board of Selectmen.

A portion of land Hopkinton purchased several years ago sparked a debate during the board’s recent meeting, when Selectman Don Lane brought up an agenda item for the Monday, Oct. 15, meeting. The discussion will focus on the potential building of a baseball field on Park Avenue near the high school and fairgrounds.

The town had purchased the land in conjunction with the Hopkinton Youth Sports Association and Conservation Committee about three years ago.

However, after years without any progress on the field, the groups involved have now asked the town to either go ahead and build the field or refund their half of the $80,000 investment.

Dan Coen, a member of the Budget Committee who attended the Oct. 8 selectmen’s meeting, questioned whether the private groups have given the town money because he said he has not seen any records to indicate they paid.

Lane assured Coen the groups have, and agreed to bring the record for proof to the Oct. 15 meeting.

“He’s wrong and we need to get the list and show that they have contributed,” said Lane.

Another concern of those in attendence was whether tax dollars would be used to fund the new practice baseball field. Lane said he has spoken with people who have agreed to build the field if the town decides to do so on a volunteer or at low cost.

When it comes to the decision to build the field or sell the land, Lane does not see the benefit of the latter.

“Particularly because we’re dealing with some people who are so irrational when it comes to fields that they’d rather give the money back,” said Lane. “They’d rather sell it and take the hit because of decline in property values. Why would you do that? You’re going to have to buy land sooner or later, so why would you want to sell?”

This is not the first field project Lane has been involved with, as he was also an intricate part of the building of Houston Fields.

The item was placed on the Monday, Oct. 15, agenda and board members will look to make a decision on the future of the land.

Budget, SB2 to be discussed at School District Meeting

Bow Editor — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 01:36:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Though the Hopkinton School District is uneasy over recent tax increases and the possibility of losing more than $500,000 in anticipated state aid, the school board will go before the public and make its case for further increases in spending.

At School District Meeting on Saturday, March 10, officials will recommend a $15,110,755 operating budget.

The town budget committee is recommending an operating budget of $14,970,359.

Should the school board’s budget be approved, the district will see a 3 percent increase over last year’s budget of $14,622,548.

The board will also ask residents to approve a warrant article for $372,000 for repairs and upgrades to Harold Martin Elementary School and Hopkinton/Middle High School.

If approved, the article will finance a new HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system, 48 new single-pane windows, and additional parking for Harold Martin Elementary School; and one modular, two-classroom unit and a new security system for Hopkinton/Middle High School.

There is also a petition warrant article that will restrict the school district from hiring any new employees and hold the number of personnel to the amount employed as of Jan. 1, 2007.

It further explains that should the district’s budget be reduced at School District Meeting, positions be eliminated or reduced to meet the new budget.

Hopkinton School District Meeting will take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 10, in the Hopkinton/Middle High School gymnasium.

Budget cuts – Article seeks to eliminate recreation department

Bow Editor — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 01:33:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Robert Mattes was shocked and dismayed when he first heard that a group of Hopkinton residents proposed a petition warrant article to eliminate his department and his job.

“I’m disappointed, but I think that this town needs to vote on whether they want us or not,” said Mattes. “I hope they want to support recreation and that this warrant article is defeated.

“Most people I talk to are appalled by the notion,” he continued. “I think there are a lot of things that happen that go through the recreation department, and if that’s not there, I think it will be sorely missed.”

The Hopkinton Recreation Department currently handles sports management responsibilities such as field organization and scheduling, staffs the town beaches such as Kimball Pond, runs summer day camps, and organizes several activities throughout the year, such as the annual Easter egg hunt, haunted house and breakfast with Santa, among many other programs, said Mattes.

The vote, he said, will be telling.

“I love working in this community and it would be really disappointing if the town didn’t want to support this department and it would be hard to be in a town that doesn’t want to support recreation,” he said. “But if they do want to support recreation, that’s absolutely wonderful. It would essentially say to those who don’t support us that something good is happening and the town really wants this in the community.”

If the department is eliminated, Columbia Hall would no longer be open for recreational use, and the town would have to find someone else to run the Slusser Senior Center when it opens in the fall.

But Mattes said he is confident, once several misconceptions are put to rest, that the town will support his department.

“One huge misunderstanding is that the recreation department is costing this town a lot of money,” he said. “People think it’s this huge amount of money, when in all actuality, it’s really not that much. It’s not the recreation department that hikes our taxes.”

This year, the recreation department is budgeted for $123,634, which is without a new part-time position that the budget committee cut at the cost of $12,480.

At that number, the recreation department will cost residents roughly 9 cents per $1,000 assessed property value, or $27 on a $300,000 home.

At Town Meeting, Mattes said he will ask the town to add the assistant position back into the budget.

Should his proposal be accepted, the total increase will be $29,000 over last year’s recreation budget.

“It’s to keep up with all the programs that are being requested of the town,” said Mattes.

Should the position be reinstated, the annual cost of the recreation department would go up to 10 cents per $1,000 assessed property value.

But Romeo Dubreuil, who started the petition, said he would rather save the money.

“What happened was they created this five or six years ago, and I didn’t agree with it from the onset,” said Dubreuil, who said he has had to fight to get a building inspector approved for town, while the residents are spending tax dollars on the recreation department.

“It’s a frivolous department and it’s not really doing anything. Ninety percent of the things going on down there were already in place before the town created a recreation department and are self-sustaining.”

Resident Bernard Pike said he is not in favor of eliminating the recreation department, but does see selling Columbia Hall as an opportunity to both save tax dollars and create additional revenue.

“I’m in favor of shutting down Columbia Hall, said resident Bernard Pike. “We’ve ben talking about doing that for years. We’ve been wanting to build a new one, and once that senior center is up, I think that will be sufficient, but there are a lot of things they do at the recreation department that are quite good, and I would like to see that continued.”

Columbia Hall

Pike and like-minded residents may have their opportunity to shut Columbia Hall down as a separate petition warrant article requests the town sell the building, which the recreation department recently renovated for its own use, once the Slusser Center opens.

Mattes, however, said he will fight for the senior center as well.

“The people who proposed that aren’t aware of what actually goes on here and that the programs that are taking place aren’t senior center programs. There simply isn’t enough space in the senior center for all that to occur,” said Mattes. “If that is approved, we would either have to cut all programs but senior center programs in town because we don’t have the space to run them or tell the seniors that they can’t always use their own building, which is unfair to them.”

Mattes said, if approved, the warrant article would be a suggestion, not an obligation.