Salem Observer : Budget

Town faces budgeting in bad economy

Salem Editor — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:57:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Facing state funding reductions and revenue shortfalls in what the town manager described as the “worst economic climate in 70 years,” selectmen made their first review of the recommended $41.3 million town operating budget for 2010 on Aug. 31.

According to Town Manager Jonathan Sistare, officials were already looking at a roughly $1.35 million shortfall in expected revenues and state aid even before they began work on the budget.

Motor vehicle permit fees were down by approximately $500,000 in 2009, accounting for an adjustment of 2010 revenue estimates by the same figure, while interest income estimates were decreased by $267,000 due to a reduction in earned interest on the town’s cash holdings, according to Sistare. Coupled with a $371,000 cut in shared revenue from the state and a reduction in Concord’s retirement contributions to 25 percent by July 1, 2010, the loss in aid and revenue represented a 34 cent increase to the tax rate right off the bat, Sistare said.

“Even before we start, we have 34 cents added (to the tax rate) when we have not done a thing,” Sistare told selectmen. “We would have had to either cut expenses and reduce services, add burden to taxpayers or take a combination of both. We took a combination of both.”

According to Sistare, with the exception of ordering a set of new doors for the District Courthouse, all other supplemental items proposed were rejected. A request of $100,000 for replacement pay by the police department was also reduced by $50,000, putting that line item on par with the fire department, Sistare said.

Another roughly $150,000 was cut from annual contributions to outside agencies and events, including funding for human services and the Memorial and Veterans Day events, though selectmen indicated that they would restore some of those funds if it was requested by the veterans groups in town. Voters could also seek to restore the funding for the outside agencies through a citizens petition at the Town Meeting in March, Sistare said.

Overall, the general fund rose .48 percent over last year and expenditures increased 3.31 percent, according to Sistare. Heading into 2008, the proposed budget in its current form would represent a 28 cent increase to the tax rate at $5.08. Were selectmen to aim for a zero-based budget, they would have to cut a little more than $1 million further from the budget, according to Sistare.

“With the efforts of many, the town tax rate is quite reasonable and kept to a bare minimum increase,” Sistare said.

Though Selectman Patrick Hargreaves indicated he had found more areas where he believed reduction in costs could be made, Selectman Elizabeth Roth cautioned that cutting the budget to the bone could create problems down the road for the community.

“If (we’re) not flexible, we’re going to end up as a town that cannot recover from the cuts that are made today,” Roth said. “We cannot just be committed to slicing our budget to the bare bones without keeping our eye to the future. What might appear to be a good reduction on the budget today might not be something in the long term. This year is going to be more challenging than others.”

Salem Charter Commission discusses voter involvement

Salem Editor — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:04:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

The question of how to improve and possibly restructure municipal government while fostering a more active citizenry dominated a public discussion hosted by the Charter Commission on July 2.

The town’s newly formed commission took suggestions from about a dozen members of the public, listening to ideas including making it easier to pass big budget infrastructure items and increasing governmental transparency.

“I have seen this town grow from the time that the Market Basket supermarket was a cornfield. This town has really changed and grown by the topsy-turvy. It’s very discouraging to see that only 5 percent of our population is involved in the Town Meeting,” said Larry Levine. “That’s where I think the problems are, a lot of the decisions are made by just those few that attend the meetings.”

Levine spoke in favor of Salem adopting a different style of town government, switching from the Town Meeting to a town or city council. Allowing individuals with a greater grasp of the issues to make the decisions – rather than going before a Town Meeting for approval – would increase efficiency, he said.

Pamela Berry, a member of the School Board and a defeated candidate for the commission, said that elected officials for both the school district and the municipality currently spends too much time as “sales or marketing reps” when it comes to getting residents informed and involved for Town Meeting.

While she did not outline changes she would like to see the commission make in the way the town is governed – other than to keep the school district separate from any new form of municipal government – Berry did say the current charter forces officials to spend increasingly more time educating the public on the issues.

“I think we see less people less involved and less knowledgeable, but what we do see is more people voting. This charter committee needs to decide if the citizens of Salem are really participating in the government we have now,” Berry said.

Another defeated candidate for the commission, Tom Linehan, spoke out in favor of keeping the current twothirds super majority to pass bond issues.

“The people should decide the major issues, bond articles, contracts and anything that affects the long term … should probably be approved by a super majority,” he said. “It’s not just the people who are approving it at the time, they’re representing future generations and a simple majority is really not a fair way to do that.”

Linehan said Salem does not have a revenue stream problem, it has a spending problem. Switching to a different style of government would make it easier to spend, he told the commission.

Approved by voters in March, the commission has been charged with studying the town’s current form of municipal governance and recommending improvements, from changes to the town charter to overhauling the town government. Chairman Robert Campbell, also a member of the town’s planning board, said he planned on allowing residents to offer feedback through an online survey.

“We will provide continuing opportunities for input from (residents),” he said. “We will be filtering out some of these ideas and refining some of our direction. We want to hear from (residents) here … we will continue to seek (input).”

Selectmen consider possible loss of $1.3 million from state

Salem Editor — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:14:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Selectmen are preparing to take a hard look at the town’s finances as they face a potential loss of $1.3 million in state funding to the municipality at the start of July.

Budget Committee Chairman Peter Rayno urged selectmen to take a creative and radical approach to budgeting this year during a joint workshop between his committee and the board on June 8 amid rising concerns that the town will not receive an anticipated $1.3 million in funds from the rooms and meals tax. He called on the board to consider pursuing a zero-based budget as the budget process begins.

“The economic conditions right now ended up much worse than we expected. A lot of the decisions that we made (last year), if they had to be made in March or April, would have been made differently,” Rayno said. “We must act responsibly.”

Fellow committee member Stephen Campbell told selectmen that the situation called for a careful examination of every line of the operational budget for extra savings, from reconsidering paint jobs for police cruisers to possible layoffs at town hall.

“We have to make some fundamental changes regardless of whether the recession is going to last a year or two,” Campbell said. “We have to look at every single line and wring money out of the operational budget. That means fewer employees two years from now than we have now.”

Selectmen did not come to the table empty handed, indicating that the board would consider furloughs for town employees, pay cuts or a fourday work week to make up for possible shortfalls in state funding. Chairman Arthur Barnes pointed to potentially running differential shifts – keeping more municipal employees on the job during the day than at night – while Selectman Patrick Hargreaves pushed to replace the town’s fleet of Ford Crown Victorias with Chevrolet Impalas.

“We’re all in agreement that we’re in a bad situation,” Hargreaves said. “Every little bit is going to help us.”

The town is already grappling with a projected budget shortfall of roughly $400,000 when selectmen sit down to consider the tax rate in October. Officials have since implemented a hiring freeze for town employees, leaving four already vacant positions open for the foreseeable future with a savings to the town of roughly $317,000.

Though officials on both the budget committee and the board of selectmen indicated that they would prefer to avoid layoffs, the measure may become a reality depending on the state’s budget.

“The big thing is if we lose that $1.3 million on July 1. I don’t think there is any alternative than to lay people off. We have limited alternatives.

Salem DPW tries to keep up as budget becomes depleted

Salem Editor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:31:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

It’s been a long, cold winter for Public Works employees to weather as at least 14 different snowstorms have already melted through the entirety of the department’s $500,000 snow removal budget.

With spring in sight, officials have their fingers crossed in the hopes that the region stay free of snowfall until at least the second town deliberative session on March 14, when it will be up to voters to budget the department a further $500,000 for winter maintenance for the rest of this season and into November and December. Public Works Director Rick Russell is not concerned that voters would fail to approve his budget request for the next year – historically, residents have supported his department’s financial requests when it comes to public safety – but two tough winters in a row have been hard on his department.

In the meantime, Russell said the department could draw on money set aside in a trust fund to continue winter weather operations.

With 375 miles of road, 31 miles of sidewalk and 33 municipal parking lots that need to be cleared, Russell’s employees work up to 48 hour shifts with few breaks after each snow storm.

“Everybody is just out there from the start to the finish.They’ll have their breaks through the storm when we get a little lull. We got a couple of hours during the last storm when it wasn’t snowing too hard and the guys were able to take a lunch,” Russell said. “When it stops snowing, the thing is the contractors go home, but the town employees still have to treat the roads with salt and then we have the sidewalks that have to be cleared for school ... They just keep going. Sometimes it takes a couple of days after the storm. We could be working two or three days after the storm.”

According to David Wholley, Public Works operations manager, the department has gone through just over 8,000 tons of salt this season, spent about $800,000 in salt, sand and salt treatment, $250,000 in contracted plowing and is one snowstorm short of tying last years record high number of plowing operations.

What the figures do not reflect is the amount of extra work that goes into preparing for a snowstorm, from sharpening snowplow blades to maintenance work on the trucks, and cleaning up after them, Wholley said. Employees go out to help residents fix overturned mailboxes, clean off graves and shovel off walkways.

“It has been tough, it always is. (The staff) understand the incredible importance of providing public safety for the community that they work in,” Wholley said. “We do a good job, and I think the public demands that of us anyway.”

Still, with spring only weeks away, Wholley said there are some on his staff that are hoping for more snow. With the record for most plow operations within sight and with the coveted title of “Winter Warrior” – awarded annually to those employees who have worked through each and every snowstorm of the season – on the line, not every member of the staff is content for March to go out like a lamb.

“If it does snow again, and we’ve got to plow another operation, there’s actually probably over half the staff that’s actually hoping for two plow operations. They’re saying, ‘We’ve come this far, let’s at least tie it or break the record,’” Wholley said with a laugh. “Looking at the money we’re expending, I would rather just let the dogs lie and pull up anchor and leave it at that. I hope mother nature doesn’t accommodate them.”

Voters deny raises to Salem teachers, other school employees

Salem Editor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:19:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Voters approved the town’s proposed $32,950,575 operating budget for the 2009 by nearly a thousand votes in Tuesday’s balloting.

The budget passed 2,174 to 1,202. About 17.6 percent of registered voters turned out at the polls March 10.

School officials also won support for a $56,608,925 operating budget, 2,135 to 1,272. The budget includes funding for the district’s kindergarten program, set to start in the fall.

A proposal calling for the creation of a charter commission gained a thin margin of approval among voters, with a final tally of 1,657 to 1,521. The measure paves the way for a possible change in the way the town is governed.

Salem is currently the largest community in the state that operates with a five-member board of selectmen and town manager.

A bond article appropriating just over $2 million for the reconstruction of the Lawrence Road bridge and the Cluff Crossing bridge, both of which have been on the state’s municipal bridge red list since 2007 for structural deficiencies, gained the necessary two-thirds majority from voters as well – 2,628 yes votes vs. 794 against. According to town officials, about 80 percent of the funding for the project put up by the town will be reimbursed through the state.

A slew of zoning proposals met mixed results among voters. A change in the zoning ordinance aimed at the potential redevelopment of the Rockingham Park racetrack, which would allow large-scale developers more flexibility for commercial projects of 25 acres or more, gained approval from voters, while a proposed amendment allowing for the construction of buildings up to five stories in height was narrowly defeated.

Voters also rejected increases in salaries and benefits for the school district’s teachers, aides, secretaries, nurses, student specialists and custodians. An increase for the food service personnel – funded by the state – was passed narrowly by voters.

Incumbents received support among voters as Selectman Arthur Barnes (1,594) and Selectman Elizabeth Roth (1,858) both won re-election bids, defeating challengers Roland Thebage (1,097), Ronald Belanger (983) and Paul Welch (519).

School board members Robert Bryant (1,564) and Pamela Berry (1,894) also retained their seats, defeating rivals Janet Bruce (1,294) and Dane Hoover (931).

Money restored to budget for Salem kindergarten

Salem Editor — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:56:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Residents voted overwhelming to restore $1.6 million in funding to the Salem School District’s operating budget for a state-mandated kindergarten program at the district’s Feb. 5 deliberative session of School District Meeting.

The 492 to 76 vote in favor of the amendment to the district’s operating budget – the second secret ballot vote of the night – came without debate Thursday night. School Board member Bernard Campbell urged residents filling the seats inside the tightly packed high school auditorium to vote in favor of restoring the funding for the district’s kindergarten program.

“We believe it’s the law. The law says you will implement a kindergarten program,” Campbell told the just more than 500 residents in attendance. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Though the district – one of 11 statewide without a kindergarten program – has budgeted $1.6 million for the program, roughly $920,000 in funding for the district’s kindergarten will come from the state, including the costs of new portable classrooms for the first three years of the program.

School officials estimate the district will have roughly 300 kindergarten students at the start of the new school year and have proposed a half-day program, with two classes splitting up each day of the school week. Though the town is expected to have plans for a permanent kindergarten facility in place in three years, the state has offered to fund 75 percent of the costs of constructing a new building to house the program.

Salem’s school officials hoping to have a kindergarten program in place by the start of the 2009-10 school year ran into trouble last month after the Budget Committee stripped the funding from the district’s proposed $56 million operating budget in a 5-4 vote.

School officials had pinned their hopes of having the funding restored to the deliberative session rather than create a separate warrant article containing the necessary funding for the kindergarten program. Superintendent Michael Delahanty had warned that if the funds for kindergarten were not returned to the district’s proposed operating budget, the School Board would have had to face hard decisions on what other programs to cut in order to pay for the program.

Voters also restored $333,160 for four teaching positions to the district’s operating budget earlier in the night. The proposed operating budget for the district going before voters in March totals $56,608,925.

Salem schools could lose $5 million without kindergarten

Salem Editor — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:27:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Superintendent Michael Delahanty worries that the penalty for not starting a kindergarten program could come at the cost of financial aid, though state officials have not made a clear decision on what actions may be taken.

Any of the 11 districts in the state without a kindergarten program by the start of the new school year could potentially face a loss of school approval for failing to put a kindergarten program into place, according to New Hampshire Department of Education Commissioner Lyonel Tracy.

Although Tracy said the state board had not yet arrived at a decision as to whether that would translate into lost state funding for any district that openly defied the legislation mandating kindergarten, Delahanty believes that a partial loss of state adequacy aid – just over $5 million for Salem – is a possibility.

“I believe that the state would realize that the withholding (all) of the money would have devastating consequence in the district and therefore they would not do that. Will they withhold some percentage of the money just to send a message? That’s a more real possibility than the full amount,” Delahanty said. “In our case the law requires us to have kindergarten. It’s on the books. We are obligated to provide kindergarten.”

Another possibility facing the district is the potential for a lawsuit filed by the parents of kindergarten-aged children.Now that the state has included kindergarten in the definition of an adequate education, Delahanty said there is a concern that the district is legally obliged to provide the program and could face a dispute with parents seeking to recoup the costs of sending their children to a private facility.

Whether Salem would have a kindergarten program in place to meet the state’s deadline was called into question earlier this month after the Budget Committee voted 5-4 to remove the program’s funding from the district’s operating budget. The School Board is hoping that voters will restore the $1.6 million during a Feb. 5 deliberative session.

If the funding were not restored, Delahanty has warned that the board may have to make tough decisions as to what programs they would need to cut from the budget to start up the new class, not just to avoid sanctions from the state, but to do the right thing, he said.

“It’s unfortunate that it has come to this, and we’re now mandated by the state. I believe it’s simply the right thing to do,” Delahanty said. “I would prefer to have had the community support a public program many years ago.”

District considers other ways to fund Salem kindergarten

Salem Editor — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:21:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

With hopes of having funding restored for kindergarten pinned on a Feb. 5 deliberative session, school officials are examining what budget cuts could be made to ensure the program is in place come fall.

According to Superintendent Michael Delahanty, if the funding is not restored to the district’s operating budget, school officials would have to cut out other programs to make up for the $700,000 difference. While the state is offering $900,000 in aid to help start the $1.6 million program, the district will have to come up with the rest of the funding elsewhere.

Delahanty said he has been asked by the School Board to look into areas of the budget that can cut back without violating state requirements, including potentially ending bus service for high school students, not providing transportation of the high school band to away games, holding off on school repairs and imposing fees on student athletes.

According to Delahanty, eliminating busing for the town’s high school students could free up about $600,000 in the budget and taking the school band off away games could save a further $25,000.

“There is some talk among board members that it would be important to not fund something else and fund kindergarten instead,” Delahanty said. “There are programs that are affected if the board decided to have kindergarten even if the budget wasn’t restored.”

One of 11 communities affected statewide by the change in the state’s definition of an adequate education to include the kindergarten year, Salem is struggling to fund the program after a 5-4 vote by the Budget Committee last week removing the money set aside for kindergarten from the district’s operating budget.

According to Ed Murdough of the New Hampshire Department of Education, while state officials understand Salem’s situation, the district will still have to comply with the law. Unless the Legislature gives the district another extension – which is unlikely, according to Murdough – the law requires a kindergarten program in place by next year.

“We understand that everyone has got difficulties, particularly this year. School districts often don’t get the budget that they ask for, but that doesn’t relieve them of any of their requirements,” Murdough said. “They work with the resources they’re given and sometimes eliminate things that aren’t required.”

School Board member Bernard Campbell said the immediate challenge facing the district will be convincing voters before the Feb. 5 deliberative session that funding a kindergarten program is necessary and beneficial to the town. While the economic climate has made it tougher, Campbell is hopeful that the funding will be restored.

“How has the nation always sold the concept of a publicly funded education? The concept is that a better educated work force is more productive and it’s better for the community,” Campbell said. “It benefits the society in general.”

Critics say Salem board should fight kindergarten plan

Salem Editor — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:22:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

One member of the budget committee has criticized the Salem School Board for not following nearby Hudson in challenging the state’s public kindergarten mandate in court.

“It just annoys me that the School Board is ignoring the law,” said Stephen Campbell, a 14-year member of Salem’s Budget Committee. “The (state) constitution says no unfunded mandates and they’re just going along and not challenging the state. I’m happy that Hudson has decided to stand up and do what is right.”

Though Superintendent Michael Delahanty agreed that implementing the program following legislation that included kindergarten in the definition of an adequate education, he said he is grateful the School Board opted against taking the state to court. He called Hudson’s lawsuit a “no-win case.”

“State level educators are calling for statewide publicly supported kindergarten and to think that there are nine districts without public supported kindergarten is a sad commentary,” he said. “I understand that Hudson doesn’t want to incur this expense, but it’s going to come. Sooner or later, it’s going to have to be done.”

Though the state will be paying the housing costs associated with starting a public kindergarten for the first three years and giving school districts $1,200 per pupil, Delahanty said Salem would be paying for the operational costs, which include hiring 10 new new teachers, additional staff and purchasing books, supplies and other curriculum materials.

The state is also offering to fund 75 percent of the price tag of building a permanent kindergarten facility down the line, according to Delahanty.

Despite the cost – hiring new teachers alone will add about $280,000 to the budget – Delahanty described beginning a kindergarten program as a “social obligation.”

“I believe we have an obligation to provide kindergarten,” he said. “It is the fundamentally the right thing to do. It will make a difference for the kids academically, and I believe we have a social obligation to decide it.”

Campbell is faulting the School Board for not putting the kindergarten program in a separate warrant article, which would allow voters in March to decide whether the town would institute a public program. The program is being rolled into the district’s operational budget.

“For me its a matter of principle,” said Campbell. “It’s an unfunded mandate and we shouldn’t let the state get away with breaking the constitution. Whether you agree with kindergarten or not, the people should be allowed to vote on it,” he said.

“That’s the thing the school board members aren’t doing. Those two things are wrong.”

Voters still have a chance to challenge the school board’s position at a deliberative session for the district’s budget on Thursday, Feb. 5. If enough voters opt to take kindergarten out of the budget, then Salem may have to follow Hudson in taking the state to court, Campbell said. Otherwise, kindergarten-aged students will be heading to school come September of next year.

“What are they afraid of? Let the people vote,” Campbell said.

$33 Million budget proposed in Salem

Salem Editor — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:04:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Selectman reviewed for the first time the proposed $33 million operating budget that covers the cost of leasing five new vehicles, roadwork and bridgework in the 2009 fiscal year.

The proposed budget, reviewed Monday, Aug. 25, comes in at 5.22 percent higher than last year. The tax increase will be 13 cents per $1,000 assessed property valuation, a 2.79 percent across the board increase on the tax rate over the 2008 budget.

Sistare is asking for a 3.77 percent increase in the general fund, up from 3.42 percent in 2008. About 60 percent of the approximately $27 million general fund will go toward public safety, which includes the purchase of a fire engine and fire rescue vehicle. The town is also looking to purchase a vacuum truck, sweeper truck and a dump truck. By leasing all five vehicles, Sistare is hoping to shave 24 cents off the tax rate over the course of 2009.

Finance Director Jane Savastano also advised that the fire rescue vehicles will require another $15,000 in additional costs for equipment.

At just over $5 million, proposed work on the roads around Canobie Lake, including sewer and water installation as well as drainage and road work, is the most expensive item on the proposed budget. The second phase of improvements will spread over two years as a proposed bond. Without bonding, Sistare estimates the work would cost taxpayers 39 cents on the tax rate, and it would more than double water and sewer rates in town.

Also included in the budget is a second bond for three of the red-listed bridges in town – the Cluff Crossing, Lawrence Road and Pelham Road bridges – at a total of $1,991,000, but with no financial impact for the town until 2010. If the bridgework were to go ahead without being bonded, Sistare estimates taxpayers would feel a 43-cent increase.

Funding has also been set aside for a new $300,000 computer system for the Police Department, road improvement and drainage development, as well as engineering costs for the replacement of the North Main Street bridge in the coming year.

Savastano pointed to an annual savings of $225,000 in personnel changes, a figure reflected in the 2009 budget and due to what Sistare called a “pseudohiring freeze” that left town positions unfilled as they opened up over the past year.

Sistare has also proposed the town re-establish the recreation revolving fund at a sum of $100,000, which he said will allow recreation director Chris Dillon more flexibility to run programs in the future.

Salem police responsible for $80,000 budget shortfall

Salem Editor — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:37:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Salem financial officials have put the town’s departments on notice to tighten their belts as fuel prices dip deeply into municipal budgets.

After a budget shortfall from the increased cost of fuel of $150,000 already this year, town finance officials are asking the “big three” departments – fire, police and public works – to keep an eye on their spending in order to make up the deficit.

“Police, DPW, fire – they are all on top of it,” said Jane Savastano, finance director for Salem. “They understand completely. They’re doing their best not to spend on their other lines without interfering with public safety.”

About $80,000 of that shortfall has come from the Police Department. According to Capt. William Teuber, officers are taking steps to cut back on their own fuel consumption without putting public safety at risk.

“We have been told to watch how much gas we’re using,” Teuber said. “If we’re not using the car, we shut them off. Rarely do we have cars just sitting there being idle.”

While police officers have begun turning off the air conditioning of their vehicles to increase fuel efficiency when on patrol and no longer keep vehicles idling while filing reports, Teuber does not think there is much more that can be done short of placing mileage limits on officers out on the road.

“If the guys are parked on the side of the road, you can’t shut the car off, the radio doesn’t work,” he said. “The car has to be running if we’re on patrol; we’re out on the road. We’re a pretty big town. We have guys all over different routes in the town.”

Due to the weight of the vehicles and the amount of equipment inside, Salem’s police cruisers get around 15 miles for every gallon of gasoline. While the department is currently looking at Dodge or Chevrolet manufactured police cruisers for the future, the difference would only be a few extra miles per gallon.

The addition of two new Harley-Davidson motorcycles to the department in the fall should take some pressure off of the budget, according to Teuber. Until then, he said, the department had enough funds left unused to cover the added expense of high pump prices.

“We’re under budget right now. Looks like we’re going to have enough money to cover it,” he said, but warned that the department could go through as much as $10,000 in investigation costs if a serious crime was committed in the town.

The Police Department is already planning to ask for a $78,000 increase to offset fuel and heating costs next year.

According to Dave Wholley, operations manager at the Salem Department of Public Works, department resources have been better allocated to keep their operational costs down, but budget shortfalls have not kept them from keeping up on maintenance or completing repairs.

“Our work has to get done. Obviously, we understand that there is going to be a shortfall somewhere, but operationally, when there is a basin collapsed, we’ve got to fix it,” he said. “We are trying to be as efficient as possible.”

Unless a project presents a public safety hazard, the department may hold off on completing a job until they can do three or four other projects at the same time in the same area, Wholley said. The policy, designed to increase efficiency, has been practiced by the department in the past.

Looking toward the future, Savastano is budgeting for a little higher than the current cost of gasoline for next year. At the moment Savastano is estimating gasoline at $3.96 a gallon and diesel at $5.00 for the 2009 fiscal year. Her figures also incorporate the three or four cents extra per gallon the town pays above the consumer price index as per their contract with their supplier.

Savastano has also built an escalator into the budget – not a part of this year’s budget, which was unprepared for gas prices to jump nearly $1.50 more than estimated – in case fuel prices increase further.

“This is the first year that this (shortfall) has happened,” Savastano said. “We had budgeted really low – diesel was $2.61 a gallon in our budget (in FY ’08). We’re really conservative about our budget proposals this year.”

The rising cost of fuel in Salem, Pelham and Windham

Salem Editor — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:00:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Alice Campbell of Salem, retired and living alone in her home, said she’s not sure how she’s going to deal with heating oil expenses that add up to even more than what she paid last winter, which was about $2,000 total for her small cape home.

“As it is now, I shut off my dining room completely because I don’t use it much in the winter,” said Campbell. “I don’t know what I’m going to do this winter, but we’ll have to see.”

“It’s scary. My son and I were talking about this, and the situation is getting really scary,” she said. “I’m 80 years old and I’m trying very hard to hold on to the house.”

Al and Colleen Alfaro live in Pelham.

“I know we’re estimated to spend about $4,000, and we’ve decided to go on a budget plan,” said Colleen Alfaro, adding they use Rockingham Oil in Derry.

She added they would certainly be making greater use of their wood stove this winter.

With oil prices hovering around an average of $4.50 per gallon on the low end, about twice what most people were able to lock into last year, wood may become a hotter commodity this winter than ever before.

Local governments under stress, too

Salem finance director Jane Savastano said the town’s oil rate is going to more than double come July 1.

Most of the town’s buildings run on oil heat, Savastano said. Only six, including the library and senior center, run on gas.

The town is still under contract until June 30 to buy oil for $2.15 per gallon. The town had to go out for bidding on oil again a month ago, she said, and had to lock in a rate of $4.39.

Luckily, she said, the town has enough left in its 2008 budget to pay for the oil at that price and get them through the year.

The town budgeted $187,088 for the year, and has so far expended $88,624, she said.

“It won’t be as bad for Salem as it will be for other towns,” said Savastano, pointing out the Salem has an advantage by operating its budget around a calendar year rather than a fiscal year.

Most of Windham’s town buildings run on propane, the price of which is also increasing. The administrative offices, senior center, and Searles building all run on oil heat, said finance director Dana Call.

The town was able to prebuy their oil in 2007 at a price of $2.19 per gallon, Call said, having budgeted $57,380 for oil and actually spending $53,200. When the pre-purchased fuel ran out though, Call said, the town did have to buy some at around $4 per gallon.

“We did all right because we usually pre-buy at low prices. That’s probably not going to be the case this season,” Call said.

The town budgeted $51,890 for 2008, Call said, having developed the budget numbers back in fall 2007.

“We will be over budget,” said Call. “We didn’t know back in the fall that we’d be paying this amount of money,” she said, adding the town is looking at joint buying ventures for next year.

The situation is so dire, Pelham Town Administrator Tom Gaydos joked, “We’re looking at drilling our own wells.”

In Pelham, the municipal complex, senior center and barn, annex, historical society, dog pound, transfer station, recreation building and highway building all run on oil heat, Gaydos said.

Gaydos said Pelham used 23,700 gallons of oil in 2007 for a total cost of $52,351. So far in 2008, the town has used 12,984 gallons and has spent $28,500 out of the budget.

“We bid fuel costs with the school which provides a huge savings,” said Gaydos. “We will bid again in August.”

Even oil providers feel the pinch

While they are in the money- making business, several oil companies in the state have said the through-the-roof prices are not exactly good for business, and are going to pose a problem this winter as they try not to buy too much for deliveries.

“The biggest concerns are the elderly and people on fixed incomes,” said Bill West, manager of the Derry-based Rockingham Oil. “How are they going to come up with that money? They’re going to have to choose between heat and food, and that’s not a good place to be.”

Rockingham Oil’s price is hovering at $4.49 a gallon right now, up almost double from the $2.31 the company was selling a gallon for in March 2007.

West said they’re still doing pre-buy and budget plans, but won’t set a lock-in price until August.

“For anybody in this industry, the lower the price, the more fuel you sell. But it’s a commodity – everybody needs it,” said West, adding sales are currently down and collections are higher.

Ricky Barnard, manager of Contoocook Valley Fuel, said the oil prices aren’t good for anyone, oil companies included.

Right now, Barnard said his company, a family-owned and operated business since 1961, is selling 150 gallons of oil at a discounted price of $4.59 per gallon. The company has a 100- gallon purchase minimum, and is selling 100 to 149 gallons for $4.69 per gallon.

Like Rockingham, Contoocook Valley is still going to offer pre-buys and budget plans, but won’t set a price until the end of July or August.

“I’m hoping it will get better. Some people say it will go higher, and others say it will come down and the bubble will pop,” said Barnard.

He added the nation’s reliance on foreign oil sources should be actively diminished.

“I think we should be allowed to drill inside the United States, and we need to update the refineries,’ said Barnard.

Viking Oil, based in Candia, sold out of the oil it was selling at $4.49 a gallon in two days, according to owner John Mayland.

“We usually go out with a contract at a stated price based on next heating season buys,” said Mayland. “This year, we sent out a letter to customers saying we have only so much oil, and to call for a price and contract paperwork. We sold out in two days at $4.49 a gallon. Now we’re selling at a higher price, $4.74 a gallon,” Mayland said.

Mayland added the volatile market is making it hard to determine how much he should get for his customers. “We’ve been very careful about buying too much. We’re not sure how much people are going to use,” he said.

A lot of customers have told him they’re going to keep their thermostats set extremely low and use space heaters, Mayland said.

Fred Fuller Oil Co., one of the largest in the state, is selling oil at $4.59 a gallon right now. In June 2007, said general manager Bill Fuller, the price was $2.20 a gallon.

“People can’t afford to fill their tanks or afford to do any pre-buy or budget plans,” said Fuller, adding the company will still offer both, but has yet to lock in a rate.

Salem says charter doesn’t provide for Budget Committee

Salem Editor — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:58:00 GMT

BY JIM DEVINE

A look at the town’s charter by the new town manager has revealed the Municipal Budget Committee has no standing in the town’s government operations.

According to an interpretation of state laws, Salem Town Manager Jonathan Sistare said the town’s chosen charter was never approved at the state level to work with a budget committee.

“I came across the statute that is basically outdated,” said Sistare, an attorney who was hired as town manager last fall.

Sistare said Selectman Michael Lyons had asked about amending the town’s bond approval threshold from two-thirds to three-fifths after the town’s second police station proposal failed in four years.

Upon his research, Sistare found that state laws did not prescribe a Budget Committee for the current charter Salem uses, and four out of five attorneys the town consulted agreed, according to Selectman Chairman Elizabeth Roth.

Roth, also an attorney, said either the town has to change its charter or legislators have to change the state law to allow the committee to function as it has in annual budget approvals.

“No court is going to crawl into the skin of legislators and interpret this law for us,” she said.

The legislative oversight, according to Sistare and Roth, could cause problems for any Budget Committee that operates under a town charter without the typical Town Meeting and representative forms of government.

Since 1996, Salem has operated under an amended SB2 charter that calls for two deliberative sessions in addition to ballot voting in determining the budget each year.

Budget Committee member Stephen Campbell said the committee’s authority should be assumed to include Salem’s charter and that voters who ratified it in 1996 were told the change wouldn’t affect the nine-person committee’s power.

“If the town manager is right, that means that vote should be called in question and bring back the previous charter,” Campbell said.

The suggestion that the Budget Committee has no power, Campbell said, was a reaction among selectmen recouping from the failure of a $7 million bond for a new police station last month.

“It just sounds like sour grapes to make it easier in the future,” Campbell said. “The two-thirds majority is a problem, the Budget Committee is a problem, now letting people vote and decide is a problem.”

Sistare said the revelation isn’t going to be used to shut the committee out but instead show a need for a charter reform committee to consider changes.

“The way we’re looking at it, there is a problem with the law,” Sistare said.”What we need to do to fix it is work cooperatively rather than working adversely in the town.”

Failed Salem special ed warrant may affect school spending on other items

Salem Editor — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:04:00 GMT

BY JIM DEVINE

SALEM – Although the school district budget passed March 11, the failure of a deficit spending article for ballooning special education costs has put pressure on supply purchases, school officials said.

“It’s not necessarily a freeze, but it’s close to it,” Superintendent Michael Delahanty said, describing the loss of a $100,000 request taxpayers denied in a year fraught with “no” votes.

That $100,000 would have helped defray a $840,000 increase beyond the amount the school district budgeted for special education costs the school district is obligated to pay.

“If we had the deficit article we would have been able to overspend a little more than what we budgeted for catastrophic aid,” he said.

Due to an increase in students that require out-of-district placement for special education, the school district requested the additional money from taxpayers, Delahanty said.

The article failed as the last item on the school district ballot in a 2,458-to-2,340 vote, denying further funding to the operational budget.

According to school district business manager Linda MacDonald, special education in the current school year ran over the $2.9 million budgeted to cover out-of-district costs including tuition, transportation and any additional special needs.

Although the costs often vary from year to year due to the number of students and where they are placed, Mac- Donald said the costs have tripled since the 2003-04 budget of $1.3 million.

“It’s an obligation that we have to pay although it’s gone up significantly in the past years,” Delahanty said. “Increased students and increased costs of the programs bring up the cost. We generally try to look at the number of students that we have and we know what our past experience is, but unanticipated placements drive up costs.”

The shortfall will directly affect supplies and purchases at local schools, Delahanty said.

School-wide projects and new book purchases will likely see the most scrutiny as savings are considered throughout the school year to maintain the budget, Delahanty said.

“There generally wouldn’t be any concerns as long as there was enough money in the principal’s school supply account ... Now it’ll probably get a second or third look before approving or denying a request,” Delahanty said.

New police station tops town warrants

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:42:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

A proposed $32 million operating budget and a $7 million warrant article to construct a new police station top the list of warrant articles Salem voters will consider when they gather for the town’s first deliberative session of Town Meeting.

That first session will be held Saturday, Feb. 9, at Salem High School, and begins at 9 a.m.

Selectmen are asking voters to approve a $7,135,712 warrant article to construct a 26,000-square-foot police station behind the department’s current building.

The new facility is being requested to accommodate a police department that has outgrown its station, which was built in 1966 and has been added on to several times.

The article, if approved, would authorize the town to issue not more than $6,985,712 of bonds or notes and use up to $150,000 in interest earnings on the invested bond proceeds.

Asset forfeiture money and impact fees would also be used to cover some of the project’s $7.3 million total cost. The new station would cost the average homeowner $42 annually.

Officials are proposing an operating budget of $32,249,993. The property tax impact is $4, the water rate impact is $2.85 and the sewer rate impact is $2.80.

In addition, there are five warrant articles that each provide increased financial benefits to unionized workers. These include: $121,376 to firefighters; $101,366 to police employees; $43,614 to clerical and administrative employees; $50,092 to professional employees; and $45,851 to public works employees.

If the operating budget is rejected at the polls, voters will take it up again at the town’s second deliberative session on Saturday, March 15, when at least 19 other warrant articles, including requests for roadway improvements and hiring four new firefighters, will be debated and voted on.