Salem Observer : Selectmen

Town to buy, demolish 9 Haigh Avenue homes

Salem Editor — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:02:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

After two decades of flooding, Norbert Pestana was awash with relief when he learned town officials want to buy and demolish his Haigh Avenue home.

Since 1983, Pestana has watched as the home where he and his wife Helen raised their family suffered seven 100-year floods. After Mother’s Day flooding in 2006 left his basement full of water yet again, Pestana banded together with neighbors and petitioned the town to buy them out.

With help from a $1.889 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant and $700,000 match from the state, selectmen are bringing an end to a 30-year-old problem.

Nine homes at the end of Haigh Avenue, including Pestana’s, will be purchased and demolished at no cost to the taxpayer. The state will then use the 5.4 acres as drainage for Interstate 93.

It’s a bittersweet end to a lengthy battle for Pestana, vice chairman of Salem’s Flood Mitigation Action Committee, who watched the value of his home sink with every inch of rising water.

“It’s somewhat of a relief, but it’s one of those things,” he said. “The problems that were here needed to be dealt with, but we’re saddened that we have to leave.”

Neighbor Louise Loguidice shared Pestana’s mixed emotions. Loguidice didn’t have any intention of leaving her home until after her children graduated from high school. But even then, how could she sell a house that was at times under water?

“Who would buy a home that floods every couple of years?” she asked. “Your home is worth what someone will pay for it.”

With one child still in high school, Loguidice wants to stay in Salem. Still, she supports what the town has done. Spending her golden years sandbagging her home was not Loguidice’s dream for retirement.

“Hopefully, I’ll find something on dry land I can afford,” she said.

Demolishing the homes is expected to start in the spring and officials plan to turn the land over to the state within 18 months of November.

With nine homes down, that leaves 14 more to go, said Selectman Everett McBride. He has been involved in the project since the 1987 floods. An application for another FEMA grant will be readied as the town moves ahead with the project’s first phase, he said.

Keeping promise, taxes stay steady

Salem Editor — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:47:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

To keep a promise made to voters last March, Salem selectmen will dip deeper into the town’s unreserved balance rather than raise taxes in December. But higher town taxes will be unavoidable in 2010.

The decision came Oct. 19 after Town Manager Jonathan Sistare presented options to the board: use reserves to maintain a level-funded budget or increase the tax rate between 3 and 11 cents per $1,000 assessed property value in December to offset shortfalls in 2009 and to anticipate what will be needed in 2010.

In a unanimous vote, the board gave Sistare the go-ahead to pull a total of $450,000 from reserve funds. That will keep the town portion of tax bills the same in December, but the bill will be up an estimated 17 cents per $1,000 assessed property value as the school and county portions of the bill each rose.

Last March, selectmen promised voters their budget would hold the line on taxes in 2009. It hasn’t been an easy promise to keep.

Feeling a cash crunch of its own, the state shorted Salem, leaving a $371,000 hole in anticipated revenue.

Sistare covered that shortfall with a hiring freeze and $300,000 from the town’s rainy day fund. But the rain kept coming, as money from motor vehicle permits and other revenue sources sank dramatically. That meant the town had to find another $150,000 to cover 2009 expenses or raise taxes, he said.

It’s not unusual for the town to draw on its rainy day fund to adjust the municipal portion of December’s tax bill, said Selectman Michael Lyons. But in a normal year, the difference is tens of thousands not hundreds of thousands, he said.

“Right at the time we were proposing our budget there was all this talk in Concord about massive cuts. We went into Town Meeting not knowing what our state aid was going to be,” Lyons said. “We had projected a number of $200,000 (in cuts), but what the state ended up taking away from us went well above that number.”

Sistare said rising health insurance costs alone mean the town will need another $450,000 in 2010. The operating budget proposed by selectmen for next year, already includes a 6.5 cent increase to the tax rate that doesn’t take into account the higher health premiums.

Given that and that more cuts in state aid are expected, Lyons and Selectman Everett McBride argued for raising the municipal tax rate in December above the $4.79 it’s been at since 2008.

That sparked heated debate among board members. Selectman Patrick Hargreaves said changing the tax rate at the final hour would be unfair to residents budgeting for the bill since March and put undue strain on taxpayers already struggling financially.

“If you’re going to tell me my taxes are going to go up 10 percent next year I know. If you tell me, ‘Pat, next year your taxes are going up (X) then I know I have to budget my family for (X),” he said. “You’re giving me the playing field. You’re telling me what I need to survive in this town for one more year. As long as you tell me the number I’m OK.”

Chairman Arthur Barnes said he felt honor-bound to maintain a level-funded tax rate.

No action taken in Hargreaves inquiry

Salem Editor — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:08:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Selectmen concluded a two-and-a-half hour public inquiry on July 13 into the alleged unethical conduct of Selectman Patrick Hargreaves without taking action against him.

Hargreaves had come under fire from Salem Police Chief Paul Donovan for allegedly violating RSA 49-D:4 – non-interference by the elected body – during a verbal exchange with officer Michael White at a volunteer project at a School Street residence on June 13. According to Donovan’s June 15 memo to Town Manager Jonathan Sistare, Hargreaves confronted White after the officer found a Stacey Tree Co. truck obstructing traffic and instructed volunteers to shut down the operation.

Hargreaves allegedly introduced himself as a selectman and told the officer that he would call the town manager and bring the matter up at the next board meeting.

Though Hargreaves admitted to referring to himself as a member of the board during his conversation with White and to telling the officer that he planned to contact the town manager over the incident, he remained adamant that he did not try use his influence as an elected official.

“I’m guilty, case closed. I said I was a selectman. I said I will call the town manager. I said I will talk about this Monday night. So why are we here?” he said. “Where did I influence him? He did his job. We left the premises within eight minutes of Mr. Stacey having to shut down the machine ... We never prevented this officer from doing his job.”

Donovan told the board he wanted to make sure the incident was not repeated in the future.

“I’m looking out for my organization. I’m looking out for my guys. How this is handled is up to you folks. I just reported an incident that happened to one of my guys. I don’t want to see it happen again,” he said. “We’re not interested in anything else. We’re not interested in the political part of this.”

Though the state statute calls for the elected official to forfeit their seat if found in violation of interfering with an officer performing their duty through the procedures outlined in the town charter, Salem’s town charter has no such procedure. Chairman Arthur Barnes ruled out any chance of Hargreaves losing his position on the board after the inquiry was challenged by Peter Solomon, Hargreaves’ legal representative for the proceedings.

“(State statutes) require you to follow the rules and regulations set forth in the charter. You have not set appropriate rules and regulation, you have not provided due process ... and that makes this resemble nothing else than a kangaroo court,” Solomon said.

His remarks drew cheers and applause from a packed audience – made up largely of Hargreaves’ supporters – inside town hall.

Speaking after the public inquiry had been concluded, Hargreaves said the matter was done and over. He described it as a lose-lose situation for the town.

“Nobody wanted this. Everybody loses, the board loses, the police department loses and the public loses,” he said. “I will never use the ‘S’ word again, but I’m not going to stop volunteering.”

Salem Selectman to be investigated for using influence

Salem Editor — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:24:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Selectman Patrick Hargreaves has come under fire for allegedly trying to use his position as a member of the board to influence a police officer during a June 13 confrontation with a patrolman.

In a letter written to Town Manager Jonathan Sistare on June 15, Chief of Police Paul Donovan accused Hargreaves of improper and unethical behavior after a verbal exchange with officer Michael White at 23 School St. According to Donovan, White was on patrol when he found a Stacey Tree Co. boom truck blocking the free flow of traffic without warning signs, with several workers in street clothes directing motorists around the vehicle.

According to Donovan, when White directed the workers to shut the job down he was approached by a man – later identified as Hargreaves by officer Eric Dugas, the second officer to arrive on the scene – who said he would call the town manager in regards to the incident. Donovan wrote that Hargreaves also told White that he would bring the matter up at the next selectmen meeting.

“Clearly, this was a threat and an improper attempt to influence the official act of a police officer in the performance of his sworn duty,” Donovan wrote. “Such an improper action is not only unethical, but in violation of RSA 49-D:4, Non-Interference by the Elected Body. Mr. Hargreaves has been trained in this RSA and has had other instances where this type of violation was brought to his attention, yet he continues to act in this illegal and unethical manner.”

Donovan also charged Hargreaves with contacting a local newspaper, the Salem Community Patriot, to tell them that the Police Department had shut down a volunteer project.

“Selectman Hargreaves’ outrageous conduct reflects poorly on the Town and Board of Selectmen. It ... should be investigated by the Board of Selectmen for action,” Donovan wrote. “We ... have been frequent victims of his improper and unethical conduct, as well as the disrespectful and negative barbs that he tosses out in public on a regular basis.”

At a Monday, June 22, board meeting, Hargreaves fired back, accusing the the department of lying about his contact with members of the press while defending his conduct during the incident.

“I am guilty as charged for volunteering my time. I am guilty as charged for saying I was a selectman. I should never have said I was a selectman ... I told everybody I would drop it. I did not want this to get that far. I don’t see where I was out of bounds,” Hargreaves said.

Hargreaves also maintains that he did not initiate contact with a newspaper and told the board that he had been called by a reporter in connection with the volunteer work being done on School Street.

Though the selectmen chose to table the matter until a public disciplinary hearing scheduled for the July 13 meeting, Chairman Arthur Barnes said the incident had broken new ground for the board.

Under state statute, a member of the elected body would forfeit their seat if found interfering with an officer performing their duty through procedures outlined in the town charter, but the Salem town charter has no such procedure.

“According to the RSA, we have to follow the procedure in town charter, but the town charter is silent. I guess the procedure that I intend to follow is adhering similarly to what used to be a discipline hearing back when I was in the Fire Department,” Barnes said. “We’re still in the fact finding mode. That will be concluded at our next meeting. Because this involves one of the five of us, under the RSA it must be public.”

According to Barnes, both sides will be able to present their accounts of the incident before the board arrives at a final decision. Given the lack of guidelines in the town charter, Barnes said there was no way of determining any of the possible outcomes from the hearing ahead of time.

Police officials confirmed yesterday that there had been an incident involving Hargreaves, but declined to comment until the matter had been settled by the board.

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.

Stimulus money now more likely to be available for Canobie project

Salem Editor — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:08:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Voters may be asked to weigh in on the Canobie Phase II water and sewer project for a second time after blocking an attempt to move forward with the $4.1 million project less then a month ago.

Selectmen voted on Monday, June 1, to give Town Manager Jonathan Sistare the authority to hold another special town meeting if funds for the project become available through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. According to Sistare, the town is now likely to receive $1.25 million from stimulus funds for the sewer portion of the project.

Officials originally filed with the state for possible stimulus funds separately for both the water and sewer aspects of the project, designed to improve the drainage around the lake while upgrading local roads and extending water and sewer piping into area neighborhoods. Though the water portion of the project remains too far down on the state’s priority list to receive any funding, the sewer portion has moved up as other municipalities around the state decide whether to go ahead with projects green-lighted for stimulus dollars.

Sistare told selectmen he expected to receive a confirmation from state officials by next month that the project would be eligible for the funding.

Though the town fell short of reaching the two-thirds majority to pass the combined water and sewer project at the May 19 special election, selectmen are hopeful that voters will support a warrant article limited to the sewer portion of the project. Selectmen indicated the town could pay for the water portion of the project through the water sewer unreserved balance.

Selectman Everett McBride attributed the defeat of the combined projects at last month’s polls to poor campaigning and a lack of certainty when it came to whether or not the project would receive any of the stimulus funds. With 62 percent of voters coming down in favor of moving ahead with the project if federal funds were involved, McBride said he would support asking the voters a second time for approval.

“We went to the voters two weeks ago and said we think we may get the funding. We probably didn’t do a good job of campaigning. We got 62 percent and that’s a positive vote,” McBride said. “I would support asking the voters again. Whatever they say, that’s the end of the story, but they need to know we have the grant in hand. We will get the funding.”

Selectman Patrick Hargreaves was the lone dissenting voice on the board, arguing that the issue was settled as voters had already decided on the project.

“We had 830 people take time off to vote on this item and they voted no ... We’re telling the 830 people that your vote didn’t count. We are going to go back to the well and bringing more water up,” Hargreaves said. “No means no, and when somebody tells me ‘no,’ I understand what the word means.”

Despite his opposition, the board voted 4-1 in favor of giving Sistare the go-ahead to begin preparing for the town’s fourth special election of the year if federal funds are authorized for the project.

Salem charter commission plans move ahead

Salem Editor — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:08:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Selectmen took another step toward making changes in the town’s form of government by making preparations for a May special election to determine the makeup of a charter commission.

Selectmen plan to officially set the date for the election – now tentatively schedule for May 26 – during a brief meeting on March 24. Candidates for the nine open positions on the commission are expected to begin filing for the election early in April.

Though the voting came down to the wire, residents gave selectmen permission to go ahead with the creation of the commission during last week’s elections.

The move may mean the end of the town’s current five-member Board of Selectmen, Town Meeting form of governance.

According to Town Manager Jonathan Sistare, the charter commission has several options to consider, including proposing Salem retain the annual Town Meeting for budgetary concerns while switching from a Board of Selectmen to a seven or nine person town council.

A second option could see the formation of a city council, which would bring an end to the institution of Town Meeting in Salem all together.

While the commission will have the authority to operate independently of the Board of Selectmen, any proposed changes to the town’s current charter will have to go before voters for approval at next year’s Town Meeting.

Though some selectmen have expressed reservations about the potential demise of the Town Meeting form of government in Salem, Sistare has been supportive of the commission as a periodic review of the town’s ability to govern effectively.

Communities that have changed as much as Salem has in the past 10 years should revisit their charter to ensure that the best type of government is in place to serve the needs of the residents, he said.

“Other towns turn toward town councils mostly because they can be more reactionary when there is a need to do so. They have an executive governing board’s powers and legislative powers,” Sistare said. “They can make changes quicker or just handle budgetary items. (For example) in response to the floods, if they need to appropriate more money they have a mechanism to do that instead of town meetings, which can be a bit cumbersome.”

Salem is the last remaining community with a population of more than 25,000 in the state to retain the Town Meeting form of government.

The move toward changing the town’s charter began picking up steam last year after selectmen authorized a charter reform commission to make suggestions on how the town could be governed more effectively.

Among other recommendations made to the board last September, the subcommittee proposed the creation of a charter commission, the first in 11 years.

One of three special elections to be held in the coming months, selectmen have estimated the price tag to be between $4,000 and $5,000, though the town is considering running a bare bones operation at the polling stations to minimize the overall cost.

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).

Salem selectmen vote to put charter question on March ballot

Salem Editor — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:37:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

In a unanimous vote in favor of putting a measure that could change town governance before voters in March, selectmen said they were acting on the will of the people.

The board endorsed a recommendation made by Charter Reform Committee in September to give voters the opportunity to decide whether or not to establish a charter reform commission at Town Meeting.

The commission, were the measure to pass in March, would be charged with revising the existing town charter or establishing a new municipal charter.

The decision came two weeks after the board first reviewed the recommendations made by the Charter Reform Committee – formed earlier in the year to look at Salem’s town government and ways to improve it – when it did not look likely that the measure would be put before voters.

At that time, selectmen Arthur Barnes, Patrick Hargreaves and Everett McBride – a majority of the five member board – indicated that they would vote against the measure. They cited the extra cost of holding a special election to determine members of the commission two months after Town Meeting were the proposal to pass.

The board held off on making a decision during their Nov. 17 meeting to allow Town Manager Jonathan Sistare to determine the cost to the town for holding a special election. Sistare told selectmen at their Monday, Dec. 1, meeting that at minimum, the special election would cost around $5,200 and at most just under $7,000.

“I felt that the cost (of a special election) is going to be to high. At this point, I’d be willing to put the question on the ballot as long as people at home know that if they vote for the charter commission, it’s a $6,983.50 cost,” McBride said on Monday. “I’m willing to give the option to the people.”

Barnes cited an informal straw poll of his constituents and said that town residents he had spoken to had overwhelmingly supported giving voters the chance to weigh in on whether to form a charter reform commission.

“Overwhelmingly, the response was, ‘Put it on a ballot and let us vote on it.’ I was opposed to it last time, but the people have spoken, so that’s the way I’ll vote,” he said.

Salem is currently the only community with a population over 25,000 in New Hampshire that retains the Town Meeting form of government. If residents vote to create a charter commission in March, the town would have several options going forward, including keeping the Town Meeting for the budget but replacing the board of selectmen with a seven or nine person town council.

The town could also potentially adopt a city council that would place the legislative and governmental authority of managing the town in the hands of a single body and do away with the Town Meeting all together.

“Most of the comments I received from the people who saw us debating this said, ‘Let us decide, put it on the ballot,’” said Elizabeth Roth, chairman of the Board of Selectmen. “I think that we’re voting with the will of the people on this.”

Salem board opposes special election for charter commission

Salem Editor — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:30:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

A proposal that would pave the way for changing town government may not be put before voters as selectmen mull over the cost of holding a special election to form a charter reform commission.

“I wouldn’t call a special town meeting because we don’t have the money,” said Selectmen Everett McBride. “To me its just a waste of taxpayers’ money.”

McBride, along with selectmen Patrick Hargreaves and Arthur Barnes, opposed holding a special election to determine the members of the commission because of what it might cost the town.

The decision to form a commission may be put before voters at Town Meeting in March.

On Monday, Nov. 17, selectmen agreed to hold off on making a decision until Town Manager Jonathan Sistare could determine the price tag of a special election.

Selectmen estimated the cost of holding an election at between $4,000 and $5,000.

The decision to move forward with the commission comes following the recommendations presented by the Charter Reform Committee to the board in September. The subcommittee was formed by selectmen earlier in the year to analyze Salem’s style of governance and look for possible improvements. Chairman Dan Norris told selectmen at the time that the current form of town government had limited the number of solutions his committee could consider.

Sistare expects to have an estimated cost for the special election – to be held about two months after Town Meeting if voters approve – in the coming days. Sistare said paying for election workers would constitute much of the costs, but other miscellaneous expenses like printing ballots and reprograming the voting machines could add up as well.

While selectmen may not be on board, Sistare said periodically reviewing the form of town government, especially in a town that has seen as much recent growth as Salem, is healthy.

“(You want) the type of government that best suits the town’s needs and has the most responsive service. Other towns turn towards town councils, mostly because they can be more reactionary when there is a need to do so,” he said. “They can make changes quicker or just budgetary items in response to floods (for example). If they need to appropriate more money they have a mechanism to do that instead of town meetings, which can be a bit cumbersome.”

Salem is currently the only town with a population over 25,000 in the state that uses the Town Meeting form of government.

Looking forward, Sistare said Salem has the options of retaining the Town Meeting for the budget, but switching from a board of selectmen to a seven or nine-person town council or form a town council that incorporates both governmental and legislative authority.

The town could also form a city council, which would remove the option of holding Town Meetings.

“When you get to a larger town – it seems contradictory perhaps – that by having a town council of seven or nine members, it’s more responsive as opposed to Town Meeting for 30,000 people when only 200 show up,” Sistare said. “Even though you’re having a smaller number of people, I think it may be more representative of the town when they have more authority than a Town Meeting. Those seven or nine people are more involved and know the issues more indepth because they’re meeting regularly.”

In the meantime, selectmen are considering adopting some of the committee’s other recommendations, such as streamlining the budgeting process and including an ethics clause in the town charter.

The board is planning to revisit the possibility of moving forward with the special election at its Nov. 24 meeting.

Collection agency called in for Salem ambulance bills

Salem Editor — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:57:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Fire and finance department officials are making a break with tradition by enlisting the services of a collection agency to help recoup some of the $132,000 owed to the town in outstanding ambulance bills.

In March, Director of Finance Jane Savastano began working with the town’s third-party billing agent Comstar to address what she called “pages and pages” of unpaid ambulance service accounts, some dating back to 2001. She has also put a temporary stop to writing off accounts in an attempt to catch up with large amount of outstanding debt owed to the town.

Coming before the board on Aug. 25, Savastano recommended writing off any account for less than $100 – some of them are for as little as a few cents, she said – and anything prior to 2005.

Unpaid ambulance bills dating from 2005 on would be handed over to a collection agency, in a break from the past. In previous years, those accounts that Comstar had been unable to recoup were presented to the Board of Selectmen to nullify on a monthly basis. Savastano said the write-offs had begun to distort the town’s revenue.

“This is kind of a catch-up time for the last couple of years, trying to write off this old noncollectable debt. Other (boards of selectmen) did not encourage going through collection agencies and with that, (the accounts) just went off on a write-off report,” Savastano said. “Hopefully, we’ll recover some debt. The hope will be to be on top of it once the old billings are cleaned up. It’ll be easier month to month.”

While the board has been supportive of Savastano and Fire Chief Kevin Breen’s move towards using a collection agency to address the loss of those funds, they did express reservations at the just over $76,000 in unpaid invoices the two are asking to be written off before moving forward.

Most of that amount comes from accounts dating back seven or eight years, or from those that only amount to under $100. According to Savastano, collection agencies consider any outstanding bill older than two years not feasible to pursue.

“Only up to two years (serves) as a guideline for the collection agencies,” Savastano said. “That’s really whats feasible and realistic to collect. We can send them everything, but the chances are very slim. As we get caught up, it would be easier, but this is a lot of old garbage sitting out there.”

Salem would continue to work with Comstar in the future – through a process of mailing collection letters to individuals indebted to the town before reporting to the credit companies – to serve as a liaison with a collection agency in the future at no cost to the town.

According to Savastano, for every bill collected by the agency, Salem will see roughly 66 percent of those funds. About 30 percent would remain with the agency as a commission. At the moment, Comstar charges 6.5 percent of the outstanding bill at the time of collection.

On average, use of the town’s ambulance service runs at about $700 a trip, depending on the equipment used and the distance to the hospital, according to Breen. Earlier this week, he stressed to selectmen that the service was not supported by taxes and depended on users to maintain. While some people suffer from financial hardships that might hold them back from reimbursing the town, others chose not to, he said.

“There (is) a large pool of citizens who believe the ambulance services is part of their taxes. We felt it would be appropriate to discuss it publicly before we go forward,” he said on Monday. “Some of the people in Salem get paid (by insurance companies) and chose not to pay their ambulance bill. There’s one thing when there is a hardship, it’s another when you’re receiving the funds and not paying. That’s unacceptable.”

Salem bridges too far gone

Salem Editor — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:03:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Selectmen held off on making a decision to petition for a special town meeting in the fall that would allow them to move toward rebuilding two bridges on the state’s red list.

During the Monday, June 23, meeting, selectmen discussed a possible special vote, which would allow the board to contract with an engineering firm to design replacements for the Lawrence Road and the Cluff Crossing bridges.

A seven-month window from a potential special meeting to the annual meeting would allow town officials to present a hard cost estimate to Salem residents at Town Meeting in March. Fire officials had asked the town to take action to repair the two bridges because weight limits for them could affect the response times of emergency vehicles if the bridges deteriorate further.

According to Town Manager Jonathan Sistare, the board would need to petition Superior Court to go set up a special town meeting. He estimated that from the date of the selectmen vote to go ahead with the petition, it could take up to two months until the vote could be held.

Sistare estimated the cost of a special meeting at a couple of hundred dollars.

Holding a special meeting in the fall would allow the town to move up the construction of two new bridges by a full year, according to Sistare.

“This is the only possibility to move this forward and get the town bridges built in 2009 rather than 2010,” he told the board.

Director of Engineering Robert Puff estimated the cost of contracting two new bridge designs to range from $200,000 to $225,000. Puff told selectmen that in a best-case scenario, the engineering firm could have a plan ready in six months. Variables like relocating utilities, such as power lines, could prolong the process, Puff said.

Were an article to pass through the annual Town Meeting in March, Puff said construction on the two bridges could begin within a short time, depending on the level of water run off in the spring.

Selectman Michael Lyons proposed creating a bridge fund using state funding to repair the two weight-restricted bridges as well as other municipal bridges declared structurally deficient or obsolete in the future.

“The board’s intention is to set up a bridge fund, much like we have for roads, with selectmen as agents to expend. We haven’t done that yet because they’re aren’t any funds,” he told fellow selectmen at the Monday, July. “In a sense we’re so far behind on our bridge reconstruction we need to jump start our ability to access the trust fund, even though it doesn’t exist yet.”

According to Lyons, the town could use funds to leverage against an equal amount of expected funding from the state to expedite the building of the two new bridges.

Currently there are five municipal bridges on the state’s red list in Salem. Both the Lawrence Road bridge and the Cluff Crossing Road bridge have had weight limitations placed upon them, restricting access by heavier town vehicles.

According to DOT officials,Lawrence Road has been on the red list since the state began tracking the condition of municipal bridges in 1996. A 1995 study initially recommended that the bridge be given a weight limit. Despite some damage suffered during more recent flooding events, the posted weight restriction remains accurate.

Cluff Crossing was added to the list in 2007, when state inspectors first recommended a weight limit be placed on the structure.

Last month the school district began rerouting buses around the Lawrence Road bridge and fire apparatus, like the 32-ton ladder truck located at the Fire Department’s South Salem station on Lawrence Road, were only recently granted emergency access to those bridges by the board.

Police began actively enforcing the weight limits on both bridges last week.

“I think this is the way to go,” Lyons said. “I think we’ve done our best to address it in the short term. We need to fix it in the long term as soon as possible.”

With only four out of five selectmen in attendance, the board opted wait on any decision until the next full board meeting in July.

Traffic solution for clogged intersection in Salem should be neighborhood effort

Salem Editor — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:02:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

A new plan for dealing with the town’s most central traffic problem at the Depot intersection may come through cooperation of businesses and abutters affected most by the regular traffic backup.

By working with abutters, community development director Bill Scott told selectmen that progress may come as transportation consultants work toward traffic solutions that businesses located at the intersection would contribute to.

“We’re looking at this from the property lines in to form a traffic solution,” Scott said.

During the Monday, May 12, community development presentation to selectmen on the Route 28 transportation corridor, transportation consultant Martin Kennedy of VHB, Inc. showed computer-generated traffic simulations with the lagging traffic that local commuters are familiar with: long lines of cars backed up without being able to take left turns.

Although there’s been talk of improving the intersection of routes 97 and 28 since the early 1990s, Kennedy said a comprehensive plan has been continually stalled and pushed back with ongoing state projects like the I-93 widening.

“We’re really trying to look at this as a clean slate,” Kennedy said. “The past is history and the future is open to ideas.”

Rockingham Park president Ed Callahan told selectmen that many of the abutters of the Depot intersection have walked away from the early information sessions with an open and cooperative mindset to a solution.

“I’ve heard an awful lot of plans, but I think it was the first time I was asked, ‘What do you think?’” Callahan said.

Scott said the plan is entering a second phase now as planners and abutters explore alternate roadways and zoning practices that could alleviate the problem. But the recommendations would likely not be put into place until spring 2009.

The challenge, some selectmen said, is planning the district’s economic revitalization so it doesn’t add additional traffic.

Selectman Michael Lyons said parking should be available on each corner of the intersection to make access to those businesses easier.

A prior state plan to make Route 28 an eight-lane road is not an ideal option, said selectman Everett McBride.

“A citizen cannot make their way across that intersection,” he said. “Maybe I could but not most people.” Lawrence Belair, owner of Victorian Park, told selectmen they should create zoning and planning regulations to show businesses what sort of downtown area they’d like to see.

“It’s probably a once-in-political- lifetime chance to have a lasting effect on the town,” Belair said.

Salem selectmen's meeting in Andover raises ire

Salem Editor — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:53:00 GMT

BY JIM DEVINE

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Although some Salem residents criticized the time and place, the selectmen’s goal-setting retreat set restoring Salem as the “Gateway City of New Hampshire” as a symbolic centerpiece among ongoing issues of infrastructure and the economy.

The meeting on Friday, May 9, prompted concerns from residents about the time it was held and its out-of-state location.

Budget Committee member Stephen Campbell stressed the fact that the meeting, held at the law office of Selectmen Chairman Beth Roth in North Andover, Mass., just gave those concerned with open government more to talk about.

“Why are they holding it out of state on a work day when no one can see them or hear them,” Campbell said. “What are their goals that they are so ashamed of?”

Roth said the meeting held at her law office saved money on conference fees while offering a relaxing atmosphere to discuss long-term goals.

Resident Ron Giordano sent a letter asking selectmen to change the venue to a location that could be televised while citing a legal opinion that the meeting circumvented the Right-to- Know Law.

Roth said legal opinions before the meeting began from the Local Government Center said the posted meeting, open to the public, was true to the intent of statutes.

“There is a group of people in Salem that will always criticize the group of selectmen no matter what they do to stay proactive,” Roth said. “The RSA is clear that we are operating within the law.”

During discussions, road maintenance remained a top priority, while placing the need for a new police station on the back burner.

“The police station has to wait,” said Selectman Everett McBride. “How long, I don’t know. It just can’t come back next year.”

While selectmen believed changing the location of the proposed police station would help it pass the second time around, it garnered less support this past March than in 2004.

“It must be the money because its location didn’t seem to matter,” said Roth.

Selectman Michael Lyons said his top priority in the coming year would be to calculate what amount of money is appropriate each year to work on roads.

“I don’t get a concept that $2.3 million we’re roughly spending — is it really making a difference?” Lyons said. “Are we keeping up?”

“The only people getting rich in Salem are mechanics with the springs and shocks they’re replacing,” Selectman Patrick Hargreaves said.

Selectmen agreed that a close look at the transfer station process may be overdue, as Roth found that $300,000 in budget savings could be recouped if the town took up a comprehensive approach to recycling, according to Public Works Director Rick Russell.

“I want it to be a big impactful thing that the town sees we want to get more green,” Roth said.

During discussions to encourage more recycling, Lyons said the time may have come to eliminate idling cars waiting in line each Saturday at the dump.

“With the price of gas, maybe people are interested in curbside pickup,” Lyons said. “People would be open to things that were automatically discounted 10 to 15 years ago.”

Charter reform may be in Salem’s future

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:52:00 GMT

BY JIM DEVINE

Selectmen voted to create a charter reform committee but plans for the panel have yet to be nailed down.

In a unanimous vote on Monday, April 14, selectmen approved a proposal by Selectman Michael Lyons to create a seven- person panel to investigate the town’s governing charter while assessing other possible options.

Four seats of the committee will be made up of representatives of the Board of Selectmen, the Budget Committee, the School Board and the Capital Improvement Plan Committee. Selectmen will appoint three citizens who are not currently serving on other major boards or committees to make up the remaining spots on the panel, selectmen said.

While the charter committee was originally proposed to have only five members with one citizen- at-large position, the number was boosted to assist in the large task of researching the town’s government to recommend improvements. The only decision put off by selectmen were the definitive directions in three areas where the Charter Reform Committee would investigate.

The first may be to correct the questioned status of the Municipal Budget Committee, which Town Manager Jonathan Sistare said may not be sanctioned under the state statute that provides Salem’s charter.

Sistare said he was awaiting further direction from the state Deptartment of Revenue Administration for recommendation on the Budget Committee clarification and any suggested areas to improve the charter.

The second purpose, supported by Lyons, is to lower the bond approval threshold from two-thirds to a three-fifths majority. Lyons said he would not hide his intentions to help the town address needed capital improvements and infrastructure demands. “We have serious infrastructure problems that we are not addressing. I’ll make no bones about it,” Lyons said.

In four years, two police station bond articles and a bond article for town-wide bridge repairs were rejected by voters because majority approval did not reach 67 percent.

Selectmen may also direct the charter reform committee to consider the presentation of formally elected charter commission that may take the town’s government in any direction.

Patrick McDougall, of 11 Tiffany Road, pleaded to selectmen to not direct the town to a city form of government.

A former resident of Methuen, Mass., McDougall said he moved to Salem five years ago to live in a town where voters had a greater say in the government.

“If this town becomes a city, I will pack up my things and move my family out of town and will encourage others to do so,” he said.

Final directions for the charter committee are to be determined at the board’s next meeting on April 28.