Special Meeting of the Board of Finance, Selectmen

001[Music] [Applause] [Music] all right good evening everybody this is 8 p.m. Monday May 21st 2018 I called this special meeting of the Board of Finance to order at the same time I call the Board of Selectmen meeting to order ok please rise and join me okay thank you everyone for coming and thank you folks who are seated around the room we do have a fair number of folks here tonight as well as it looks like a small agenda however this is one of the biggest agendas this board has had since its longest standing members have been on the board so I do ask that folks do keep their comments to three minutes again there is public comment at the the front right now when I'm done speaking and there's also public comment at the end

002after the board wraps up discussions and the couple votes that we have okay I will ask that folks do keep their comments relative and relevant to the discussion tonight so this meeting we're calling it in the public comment I will preface this meeting the Board of Finance does need to convene after the let's say a regular operating referendum does get voted down the Board of Finance does need to reconvene to set a new not only a new budget which when some folks did send an e mails today and over the past couple days I did mention that that new budget can be the same or it can be different okay so the board does need to reconvene to set a new budget and also the next referendum date which per our Charter is two weeks

003from the initial date should the next referendum go the way of the first one then we will set another date and another budget for two weeks after that okay the the capital portion will not be discussed the results will be discussed tonight however that process cannot be begun tonight over again that needs to take place over the next couple of days or weeks or about a month and a half because we do need to kick off another Town Meeting set another referendum date for capital so although that is important that will not be one of our primary focuses tonight okay so with that I invite members of the public who do want to give comment what anyone like to go first sir if you would please approach the podium name and address and I will

004be there will be a hard stop it's not me wanting to be rude or mean to anyone but again we do have a lot of folks here I want to make sure everyone gets a chance my name is Bob Emrich twelve stillwater circle and the field to begin I would like to call attention to the mailer which was sent out prior to the recent budget vote I take you septic exception to the comment relating to the first elections mortgage situation that has nothing to do with the budget vote and is totally out of order it reminds me of the tweets coming from our so-called president I found it most offensive and unrelated to the current budget vote that being said may I express my opposition to the proposed budget as a senior citizen on FEX

005fixed retirement and Social Security this current budget proposal is above expectations I am a retired teacher and always look to support public education but I find the increases in special education above and beyond acceptability it is my understanding that the special ed outsourcing costs failed to file correctly for reimbursement through Medicare reimbursement the cost may be minimal but who accepts the responsibility for not applying for reimbursements the reimbursement budgets I'm sorry the recent budget vote indicated the public's disapproval listen to your electric thank you sir okay we do have a sign-up sheet folks if you would like to sign up it's right there next to mrs. Brooks if not Victor Lupe's 40202 throw it South I'd like to also echo the sickening mailer completely out of line I don't understand why I was ever sent

006and gets the details of what was wrong outside of the unnecessary is that better just speak loudly I would like to also echo that I completely disagree with the mailer I can't even understand where something like that came from especially a group labeling themselves concerned citizens from Brookfield up is on it's on okay anyway on to the matter at hand I don't know if it was discussed or I don't know what the protocol is I'd love to get a ruling on that from the lawyers I don't understand how the vote could be valid when what what happened happened my wife did not get to vote she was home taking care of my children making sure they were safe as well as two other friends that were visiting our house when I got home my mission

007excuse me was to get those two children home to their families and that's what we focused on how anyone would be expected to vote and how we would expect to find a vote valid when that's I don't know maybe a third of the town probably votes after work I don't know what the numbers are what the historic precedent is it's just it's appalling to me that we're going to accept that vote outside of that I also seems just perplexed constantly that every year we come to this conversation and where everything else in the world year-over-year prices go up we don't like it it's just the way that it is outside whether I want more or someone else wants more for this community just the general cost of what it takes to run a family to

008run a school to run a municipality any of these things they all go up we don't like it but it's reality so how we can ever expect the Board of Ed the point of Finance to keep coming up here with these zero costs or minimal cost increases you know I'm trying to be respectful to folks who are on limited incomes I understand that's challenging but the reality is this is the way the world is and the only way for this town to move forward is to keep investing in the town people will not move here if we don't invest in municipal resources and most especially we don't invest in the schools I mean I've said it before I moved here from Danbury I grew up in Danbury I've lived all around the Northeast the physical

009play of these schools is just I mean I don't even know what to say you know Dave raised the city of sixty something thousand people when I was living there at you know and we were always challenged and stretched as a budget yet somehow those facilities were better than books I mean what's the median income of this town it's embarrassing and I also take sort of you know I I find it very frustrating to know that the generations before me all had great schools for their children everything was new everything was brand-new everything was supported and now for some reason you know the last 10 years or so everyone is all hell-bent on making sure that my kids won't get what they want now to be honest with you I've said this before I've spoken

010before I'm very happy that the education that my kids have gone on I know I'm probably over time we're close to it the education level if they've got have been great so the teachers the administrators the faculty which is ultimately the most important piece of it awesome but it's so embarrassing to me that we can't keep investing thank you I can address for everyone that wants to know counsel was sought on whether or not the results of the the referendum were valid as it turns out there is no legislation on the books to invalidate and nullify the results due to weather occurrence like that so therefore again there's no current legislation that makes the referendum null and void due to let's say a state of emergency or a certain weather event prohibitive or not so

011if anyone else wanted to know that that is the answer that we received from Council and there's no there's no more or no less to that answer than what we received in writing so okay next netsy McIlvain 1 to 7 Longmeadow Hill Road I'm here to I disappointed that the referendum was considered legal but that aside I would urge you then simply to say let's take the budget we had and have a new referendum on it because whether it's legal or not it's morally disturbing that people could not vote in in a very tragic incident of weather for this town so I hope that you will consider saying we will vote we will vote on you the same budget we put up before and give everyone in town the right to come out and vote

012and have their say and let the let their results show them thank you thank you was there anyone else who wanted to go logo 32 great hair and lean while it's not on the agenda I wanted the first expect gratitude and compliments to the people and the emergency responders and all the volunteers that helped out residents that helped neighbors it's been a real joy to see Brookfield working together and their faith to this catastrophe so I just wanted to say nice going with respect to the budget I think the issue of many people voted is a specious argument because if you look at the number of voted over the last four or five years we've had as many people voting this week this year even actually even more this year than in the past years

013it was basically a 60/40 vote so those people who say well there would have been more people coming out after five o'clock sure and it would have been a 60/40 vote among them as well statistically that's the case so I think that's a real specious argument to say let's put out the the same budget I think as the first speaker said you need to listen to the electorate the electorate made it clear both in the library vote and in this vote that you need to cut spending and there's a lot of ways you can do that without as some people try to frighten the population here that you're going to curtail some needed services that's simply not true and I'll give you one example what a lot of people don't know is the library has

014a five to six hundred thousand dollar endowment you could cut fifty thousand a hundred thousand dollars from the library budget have them use the endowment that could tell us no services at all because they apparently are not doing anything with the endowment so let them use that I've left before and I offer it again I'll sit with you and go through the board of education budget identify at least a half a million to a million dollars in savings it won't affect class size won't affect a staff member it won't affect a student there's that much there that you can take out this raises that were given to non-contractual raises to town please that you can evaluate and possibly either eliminate or reduce in the face of the vote that was taken so there's a lot

015of things you can do again it's all about choices and I hope that you follow the electorate and reduce the budget significantly that's what the electorate is calling for thank you thank you Ron javelin white pine Drive thank you again for all your work thank I would also like to thank the the members of the town and members would come to the town to to help us it is heartwarming to see even working together I will note that in terms of what has been called a specious argument the fact of the matter is that registration prior to the presidential election and participation in this state in votes since the presidential election has been astronomical is probably not too too hard a term people have been involved in ways they haven't been before and so to

016look just at the history and not look at the curve of where we've been most is the point completely we have no idea what the vote would have been but I think it's fair to it would be for to say that it would have been far greater than than before you all know based on my email to you that I am in favor of not decimating the budget moving forward I don't think there's a mandate to do that I will reiterate what I've said many many times going back to the days when I was on the Board of Ed that you know Johnny or Jane only are in third grade once and so while I can't drive on roads that are on you know not particularly well taken care of and I can deal with

017that the school is a different situation altogether and continuing to put things off year after year after year really becomes a problem no the the previous speaker indicated excuse me indicated that the library endowment could be used to offset operational costs in fact that's not legal in fact the endowment is separate from operational costs and should not be considered at all and so even though there is money there the endowment is there for very specific things there were more restrictions on the school endowment even than the student funds for the schools and say and so I understand it may be look like a pot of gold it really isn't then it really should not be part of the conversation so I encourage you to forward a budget that if not is the same at least

018represents most of what you know the good work you did before thank you thank you is there anyone else that would like to give a comment before we move into new business once twice we will have to wait for the end yeah okay three times okay great so let's move on to a discussion I'll have the results of the the budget referendum that was last week and we'll go over the advisory questions first um let's let's do that so you didn't see a time constraint five minutes okay do you have it do you have a time that you have to leave yeah let's do that now then so in the context of costs for next year we thought it would be fitting to have mr. Dombrowski come and give us an update on where those

019costs sit in consideration of the new budget that we need to set forth and up Steve would you be able to give a couple words about why mr. Dombrowski is prime Zulu something so very early on we declared an emergency last Tuesday night at 7:10 p.m. it became very clear that we were going to have some very large expenses in managing the cleanup of this disaster so we were talking to the various state officials and the people who are down and they said one of the things we could do if possible once we declare a disaster is to get them Malloy to declare a disaster which we got them to do on Wednesday and then president term would also have to declare a disaster in order to receive FEMA funding to help clean up to

020fix things to repair things to get the town back there are a lot of requirements I won't go into all the detail on that but the net-net is we realized immediately once we started looking at these FEMA funds and how to do it incredibly complicated incredibly detailed literally you were going to be collecting hundreds and hundreds of pages of data and greg has agreed to be the coordinator for that because it is so complex and he's done a great job on another project so I asked the Thursday morning to step up and he's been working nonstop since then perfect thank you thanks Greg okay so with that authorization from the governor there were a lot of emergency declarations that were approved by various agencies across the state and we've been assigned and a person from

021Homeland Security the Division of Emergency Management on the header' you can see that title his name is Tom Venini and we wish we spent all day Thursday with him and he's a great resource and there's other resources from the governor's office that we're talking to all the time and where we are now is at a point where and it's the most important point are the next two lines on your handout we are required it is not negotiable if we want to be considered for FEMA to complete all the required documents no later than midnight May 30th so that's nine days from now so to do that we've spent a lot of time learning what FEMA requires and we have all that information and in front of you are a list of 20 departments in town

022that one way or another are impacted of cost wise cost we would have not spent if the storm hasn't happened so we and the next column is over you can see the FEMA forms that they are all filling out and working with me on so we've had training sessions starting Saturday Sunday and this morning for every one of the names you see on this sheet to complete the forms and get them into the state by that date so here's what here's how its explained to us so before week before the governor can go to the president to request FEMA authorization or approval there's three levels of there's three steps that have to be taken the first is at the county level we have to reach the county has to reach a certain dollar level before

023it'll go to the next level the next level is a district level we're in district five in Homeland Security that's a higher donnell level and then after that there's a state level and that level has to reach a certain dollar level before the governor can take it to Washington so that's kind of the big picture at the county level in our county level is four there's four counties now doing what we're doing Fairfield New Haven Litchfield in Middlesex and I'm working with my counterparts and those counties to make sure we all do this the same way and get it to the homeland security folks by the 30th again a lot of emergency authorizations have been granted it's allowing Ralph Tedesco and the Public Works people to do some things that otherwise couldn't do so those

024are all important documents to keep us legal and all the things we do to clean up our town we're also working we met this afternoon with our insurance carrier and we are working with them and FEMA to make sure that we understand the damage what's covered what's not covered what's deductible and that work started today and there's meetings tomorrow on that so we're going to work together with insurance the state folks in our outer parts to meet this May 30th deadline so we can go to the district level and then the state level I don't know I could talk about I can go on for hours but I won't what are your questions you have any questions yep Greg do you have any idea as far as the requirements at the three levels the state

025the district in the county where we are and what the requirements are is this something that you feel that we are going to be able to meet I am I have something to say I know Steve goes to Steve you want to start yeah we did this once before with town-wide cleanup where we went around to each Street and help people clean up they brought their stuff to the street that costs the last time we did at one point almost 1.7 million dollars to do we are gonna have some we already have some significant expense now I don't know where we'll end up on this but one comment I did want to make is there have been I've gotten like 10 calls today people wanting to know where they could fill out their FEMA forms

026and get money from FEMA there is no forum right now for residents to fill out what we are asking people to do is to document all the damage to their property to their house I hope sheds whatever it is documented picture it and send it we set up an email address at Town Hall storm 2018 at Brookfield CT gov send your name your address the description of the damage and pictures if you have it that will make a much stronger argument when we go to FEMA's and we can start to show them some of the damage that's occurred so let me add a few things just some closer comments I get those emails those are those like emails come to me we're matching it up with what we're doing with the building department you can

027see there are name listed here three times to match up the forms the information the pictures as best we can to complete the required information you may have noticed a lot of helicopters flying around I think Saturday and Friday a lot of those were state and federal helicopters and they were taking high-resolution pictures of our roads so when we supply all this information with all the damaged home addresses they're going to match it up against this these camera these video pictures and it's all at once assuming we get FEMA funding this is all we're gonna have a female person assigned to us and this is all going to be reconciled and audited as we go forward one important comment I'd like to make is the FEMA match is only 75 percent so let's just say

028let's pick a number of two million dollars 25 percent of that still going to be on the town but in that 25 percent we get to include volunteer hours at a current market rate so we know that our fire departments volunteer we know that some departments in town have volunteer workers the HR department is creating hourly rates that FEMA we know will approve for even volunteer hours so the fire department as you can imagine we spent tons of hours and that those hours will be part of our 25% match even the use of our equipment there's a FEMA rate sheet every piece of equipment every piece of equipment equipment bigger than a hand tool is reimbursable and for every size air compressor there's a certain hourly rate so every department that's one of the things

029they're doing is not only reporting to us the hours that they've worked outside of their normal job but every hour every piece of equipment was used that's one of five forms there's another one for anything they had to buy that the otherwise wouldn't have there's another one for any contracts that they have a sign within the first 72 hours fully reimbursable those kind of things that's all being compiled now that's what's due on May 30th so anything else the public's asking I don't know if you want to take a public question Shawn I'll leave it up to you is it a quick one yeah but is it very quick what about individual homeowners very good question so one of the one of the obvious one the first obvious questions was well what's covered what's not

030by FEMA we asked very specific questions and I'll give you the one I'll give you almost a verbatim we asked the question how about businesses and homes they have uninsured losses either with a deductible or something may not be covered by your home policy and the question is when we file this FEMA paperwork should we include all home owner damage and what will the homeowners be reimbursed for and the answer I got back is and I'll quote it depends so I do not have a firm answer what they did here's what they did say though the best thing you can do now Brookfield is report everything take pictures save receipts record and save everything so what we're going to do that's exactly what we're doing we're collecting everything we can we're going to throw it

031up on the wall and we'll see what sticks that's that's the attitude we're taking so that's why we created that email address for people to send pictures of their house damage the building department has been through hundreds of homes since Thursday with hundreds of more to go we brought back retired employees and other contractors that help do this and we meet we need to get to every house that we can by that deadline for those that we can't we are going to make an estimate if you look on this form you'll see the acronym PDA preliminary damage assessment this is preliminary if we get through the FEMA hurdle we're going to go do this again before reimbursement dollars come in so we've been told to include everything be comprehensive I there's no guarantees on what

032will and won't be covered but we are doing our best to be comprehensive and include all twenty departments any dollar they spend even a salary person if it's over forty hours in their regular job there's probably compensation for that so that's the attitude we're taking and just if we can everyone can help us by asking your neighbors to send that information in it will really help us in our application FEMA because people say no you don't have big bad storms in the Northeast people don't believe it but it is true this is 110 mile an hour winds alright great you need that information by well the the email that went out said just get it to as soon as you can I don't want to give a deadline well I'll take it as long as

033you give it to us but we have to be we have to have our four-hour forms in by midnight May 30th the department heads as you look on your sheet the third line down the department heads have all been asked to give me what they have by Friday at noon that gives me my world a weekend to compile it and we have to do an overlay report and I've been told today that if I get them a preliminary preliminary Sunday or Monday they'll look at it and they'll have to give us a couple more days to get our final preliminary in so we're kind of taking this in steps and I got to tell you you all have said it but I I gotta tell you everybody at townhall police fire staff they were out

034here Sunday morning Saturday Friday and everybody's all in on this and I got to tell you it's really really I'm proud to be in this town I got to tell you you talk to the eversource guys emergency response guys they're phenomenal they're here from Canada from New Hampshire there's 57 eversource crews out there today we're putting over put up 350 poles it's a phenomenal effort in we're we're damn lucky Davina stone is this information on the town website Stephanie yes it is we're sending it out to both our mailing lists and the school's mailing list and we're sending out a daily update right good field matters but if we can at least put on our Facebook pages are spread yeah you can take it right off of Brooklyn matters I put on Facebook today okay

035okay so so great first of all you know edit to the list of people who are just jumping right in and thank you so much first of all in the context of the discussion we're having today a question that and an assumption the assumption is that it's way too early to even begin to think about numbers and how much it's going to cost how much we might get so it's in terms of you know figuring out in a budget assumption it seems like it's too early that's what that's an assumption if you were to ask me that for a number if I can give you one see if we've talked about a number I don't know okay so but I'm going to qualify the number yeah you want the number first or the qualifications you

036go for I'm gonna give you the qualification here now the person that has done this more than anybody in town is Ralph Tedesco Ralph Tedesco did this for sanity and every other storm he knows the number of cubic yards that of debris that were removed he based on what he sees after driving around town for four days has a gut feeling well he knows it's going to be more and he has a gut feeling on what that number may be if you take a three to four percent inflation factor on just what Ralph did assuming he assuming this board approves what Steve's going to be getting to on what we would like to do for this storm I could talk about that if you not want or Steven talk about it and you give that

037the the factor up for the the perceived increase in debris and a few years of inflation you add what we think the police and fire are going to come in answer if rough numbers now know that because we don't have one piece of paper yet that we have gone to contract by the way with one refuse company if you were to ask me to pick a number two and a half million nights that does not include now let me talk about what that doesn't doesn't include okay that does not that does not include mutual aid well mutual aid means our National Guard was here Red Cross was here there were utility crews from the Northeast and Canada none of that's in our number that's in the state number now this is just town of grid

038field out-of-pocket cost from the storm okay thank you yeah and then the FEMA match assuming we get or the FEMA of the FEMA portion of that the 75% whose discretion is that under in in terms of allocation allocation by who by those we get if it's 75% at 2.5 million dollars we get you know a couple of cup of 120 million dollars who decides how dispersed that maybe just don't a are expensive someone know what those expenses are it's all either by Department so whatever we submit there it's gonna be audited so you know we're doing the best we can so say yeah I think that's it but if you have a total bill and we're gonna get a check for one and they're also gonna try to get FEMA to help pay for the

039cleanup and then we'll just suit by the whole town got I personally think that is the right thing to do about 70 percent of our residents have been affected by this a lot of them don't have a way to get brush to the brush yard some of the older retired you know this is a massive problem across the entire town and we need to clean this up but we're applying for that for FEMA to whatever the qualifier that this number does not include it does not include any personal property we may be eligible for some reimbursement on that so that is just town cost for town property and town roads it does include doesn't include state roads it doesn't include any private property restoration about 1.7 million there was a snowstorm remember the snowstorm where

040we used to sell new trees that cleanup was about 1.7 million in total what we reimbursed yeah we did get all of it I don't think we got all of it I can I think it was like 75% and then how to towards the money come out of I don't know to pay for we'd have to find a general fund obviously yeah probably had a general fund so we're looking at a possible general fund hit of $800,000 right here could be great we have one quick question but the question that most people are asking me are is about the debris left on on the roads if we do is is there any timeframe as to when it would start to play the take place now I know that there's no definite answers but I would

041like something to be able to say to people we are just I don't know we hired under my emergency powers we hired a company to come in and they're going to clean the town right away of town debris if and I've already seen as people are dragging brush to the street we ask that you not do that until the utility companies are completely finished we don't want to block them from doing work but we are clearing a town right away right now the second effort would be if we get the FEMA money or as a town decide let's have a cleanup for all the residential properties that's a decision we still have to make and with that but can I jump in so that was that second thing Steve said what that means is everybody

042would have to drag their debris to the curb you're not going to go into everybody's property they're gone prosper oh that don't want you to do it right now you're talking to residents police don't do it until we're finished with right the utility hookups any other questions or comments from another yes keep a list of it and if you can send it a text or 2018 we don't know if we're gonna get that aid but we'd like to have the records absolutely tell everyone else to do the same thing okay good all right thank you Greg yep thanks Thank You Craig all right I'd like to review the results just the flat-out results of the referendum before we get into a discussion of them okay I know we have board members that do want to

043share prepared thoughts on that thank you new computer assisted barely any connections okay okay I know one second so what this is is I just took the numbers from the official results provided by the town clerk and put them on a spreadsheet for easier discussion that that PDF the certified PDF isn't the most fun thing to read that's all handwritten so the first question was shall the town appropriate the 43 million for the school portions board that portion of the town budget I'll go with the majority's first 1458 no votes to 895 yes votes now for those of you keeping track or tabulating at home there's really no check here throughout the questions they don't add up to the same thing per that sheet in any one of these so my guess is folks took

044the liberty of choosing which questions to answer okay now the advisory question on the school operating budget was the 43 million too high adequate or too low 1374 voters said it was too high coming in second adequate 579 and too low of 339 question 3 this has to do with the town government portion right which covers the town expenses and debt service and capital unbonded capital costs okay 1390 votes against and 952 votes for the majority for the advisory question on the town port an operating budget was 1297 voters felt it was too high while 820 voters felt it was adequate and then we had 149 voters voting too low okay and the last question has to do with the bonded projects or the capital improvements project for the coming year there were 1307 votes

045against the capital improvements project and 1020 votes for the capital improvements project okay so given these results again this is why we are having this discussion because the results of the referendum were that all three questions of the majority voted no okay so that's that's that and now we can move into a discussion of the results Glenn you had a presentation that you wanted to go through on the memory stick there's two files on there is anything else you know this one okay so vice chair of the Board of Finance Glenn rune had prepared this presentation for us to go over tonight yes and we can't really tilt that over so I apologize if things fall off this was put together by me and only me just so the town knows and mr. Jaffee spoke

046proper and we don't know what the outcome was is what it would have been but we do know what we know so let's take a walk you can click go ahead so first of all obviously to all of our neighbors and friends heartfelt and prayers we went through a powerful storm and we came through it we're gonna come through it better so wishes to everyone who I doesn't have power still and hope you get it soon so what do we know I've heard so many numbers five hundred voters missed out seven hundred voters missed out a thousand voters are missed out in one of the letters analysis let's look at the analysis in 2015 2190 people came out to vote on a referendum in 2016 23:51 came out in 2017 1846 came out if you

047use those three years as a baseline average you come out with twenty one twenty nine votes as a referendum vote for the town historical we've had twenty this year we had twenty two hundred and fifty nine voters come out that's a good-sized majority to come out and to vote then I keep hearing the hours what hours were down what hours you know the last three hours were gonna yield if you take the averages across yes the last three hours yielded an average less above the baseline of 785 votes nobody talked about the first eleven hours when we had a thousand more voters come out to the polls of the first eleven hours people knew the storm was coming yes some people didn't come out to vote but we do know if you look at our

048or just pick our twelve to one a hundred more people came out to vote if you look at hours two to three one hundred and fifty one more people or I mean a two hundred twenty one that's 117 in less time I apologize 117 110 their hourly rate was much heavier during the normal voting hours so yes some people didn't get the vote but the voting lines are well within the bands of the averages are well within the lows so the next so if you look a turned out over the previous three years 21 29 the voter range range from the previous three votes from 1846 to 23 51 and in 2018 we produced 2259 votes well within the range of an acceptable vote process if you take the the hourly turnouts I discussed in

049the last three hours only produced 24 votes historically they produced 809 the first eleven hours produced 2195 votes which historically only produced 1294 so people came out earlier so now take away some of the voters did it make it to the polls but it seems like the majority came out early if this was not the case and what mr. Jaffe had spoke about earlier is the voters came out in larger than expected volumes to express their displeasure in the of the vote in the budget that we put forth because overwhelmingly the numbers spoke not within a hundred not within 50 now within two hundred five hundred vote differentials so this wasn't a fifty votes this wasn't thirty votes this was a large number that people came but a lot of the letters we got stated

050in the news times five hundred more voters would have come out I don't know how we can extrapolate these votes I don't know if you take historical vote levels of two thousand votes every year how you can extrapolate out you were gonna get five hundred more voters we could I don't can't see the math behind it statistically I don't see it so again if it was a passionate vote where we had speakers had yes and no signs I could say maybe you could have had a higher turnout we had six speakers at our Town Meeting we didn't have sixty we didn't have six hundred we had six speakers at the Town Meeting if you take we had fewer we had very few yes or no vote signs in our but our lawns this year so

051that it's not a passionate driven vote from the point of view of we're going to expect three thousand voters instead of two thousand voters the you know in years past when you had people come speak I can I could say maybe you would get three thousand voters you know it's possible if you look we've received today fifty about fifty letters I would say maybe sixty letters to rivo sixty-five but before that we only received about twenty five letters supporting the budget now we've put forth the budget as a group saying we're gonna listen to the people we're gonna put it to the people we're gonna let the people come back to us and tell us what the results are alright next slide so now let's go to historic district votes historically district one up will

052bury votes down budgets and district two votes in budgets its historical it's been with us forever so let's go to district two votes our district one votes 2015 at 730 2016 yet 791 2017 you had 615 2018 yet 759 those numbers are all in line with the normal referendum vote they're not out of line there's not one clunker in the group it's what we would have expected had we said that it's what we would have drawn out and expected as a group for turnout if you go to district 2 which generally passes the budgets 1460 voted in 2015 1560 voted in 2016 12 31 and 7 2017 1,500 voted in 2018 so the district that carries budgets and carries you know basically cares had the same amount of people come out the same amount of

053voters came out so where are we going to get these extra votes from that we're talking about the five hundreds the 700s and the letters one person wrote in a thousand votes for us to consider I don't know where your pool of voters you're drawing from to get that number yes there may be 200 yes there may be 300 voters that didn't get out to vote however the data shows you need 700 more voters all to vote YES to pass these referendums failed by 560 so let's go the next one so again Board of Education failed by 563 votes so we're saying we needed 563 more people that come out and vote yes versus 0 people voting no in that same time frame again we keep saying the whole mantra of our Board of Finance

054was let the people speak and listen to the people we did not take any money out of the the print very little money out of the proposed budgets to this group we put it out said let the voters vote so again Steve had said 500 voters didn't get a chance to vote in the news times that's a lot of the things I'm getting from the people letters that I got people that I'm talk about well we had 500 voters coming out we don't know the number that could have come out histo that they wouldn't our historically that's what we've gotten between 5 and but historically the first 11 hours we didn't get a thousand extra voters no one looked at the first 11 we chose the data we wanted to look at and said the

055last three hours produce X voters people voting now I agree but to extrapolate out to the point to change this budget this is my thing not to whether it passed failed whatever it's to change the budget or to put it to a revote these numbers are too big to overcome the gap between the two highs and the two lows is too big to overcome by the historical data we would have had to have an historical vote to meet the numbers so yes you have the demography of the times of the votes yeah it was the first slide no no do you actually have like the absolutely demographics age groups things like that because I myself it's not available now look put can ask a question want me real quick yeah who the Board of Finance

056actually got to vote I walked out while the storm was hitting okay I filed an absolutely no half a half of the Board of Finance couldn't even vote except that and we don't have a thing but Ricky are you telling me that you were gonna get 800 voters out there all I'm saying is I don't know and I can't use the past to say that it was even you said a thousand more voters came out in the beginning hours how do we know that eight hundred nine hundred more could have come out in the last three hours we just don't know I think it's tough to say that we just don't know the next vote we would know I just think right now we wouldn't know we just don't know we can't use historical they

057said would you use that's sort of that's what we're talking slowly to use historically votes have gone completely different just in other general elections the things if things have changed the tide has changed a lot of people didn't get a chance to vote I don't think using this data yeah I get what you're trying to use this data as a majority and we got letters from 50 people to a hundred people we had 2,200 people vote which is well in line with the average they came out and spoke their minds and we're gonna say we're gonna do a revote votes are done in a day for a reason they're not done over two days they're done over three days they're done for a reason because the vote starts in the morning it ends in the

058night yes we had catastrophic disaster but the votes stand you can't know the result we didn't produce the results of this vote and nobody knew the numbers then we could say a revote and this is my opinion now we're in my opinion section here right now we know the outcome at a vote mm-hmm now to turn it the other way and say we're gonna revote on the other numbers we had 200 people that couldn't make it due to the storm we might have 200 people that had to relocate out of town they can't come back in two weeks to vote so you could turn the storm the same way on its head you could say hey 200 people are displaced because of power they're living with their children their children are living with their parents

059they can't come back and vote we have a good enough sampling by a major majority not as majority not fifty votes not one hundred five hundred and thirty books said that these budgets were too high we are out of line with the other towns now I agreed with the budget I was on board with the budget every town around us they had these high votes got voted down as well and what I'm saying is our mantra has been listened to the people we put it to the people we're not gonna cut we're not gonna do this and when we get a vote back that shows 1,500 to set 800 votes that's not a close vote to me and we sort of gotta listen we can't change the results of the votes we are the the

060score keepers or the umpires the umpire can't change the result I agree with you but you kind of beaten us with to the dead horse the beat we have we see the results here we get the we get the Blood Moon event but we talk about the first 11 hours and everything that's been discussed at all it is maybe and all it is letters but that takes one slide I mean what's I totally get it but this is the third sly now about the numbers of the the vote for what are those though they're numbers I am sorry numbers I understand that and I'm on board with reviewing them do you through no I'm good I need to we need to yeah let's get past the the vote split and get to the meat and

061potatoes of this presentation please and these potatoes are sorry whether we stand with what we got and we redo the vote or we make the cuts that the people voted for but I don't think this represents the town well enough and we have the kids vote that's advertised for all the schools that starts at four o'clock so parents deliberately wait to vote for four o'clock so their kids can decide their play day event so that's a demographic that's immediately being left out and I I keep going in my head if this flipped in the other direction and the vote had passed I feel like to be fair we should we would still be having this conversation because I'm pretty sure that the peak members of town who would have voted no that couldn't get out

062to the vote we pretty ticked off that their voice wasn't hurt and I don't think we can ignore that see I would be totally on board with that if it was less than the norms by a lot and a bigger closer difference we try to change the outcome we're trying to change the outcome of the vote it is compared who normally votes in the last election ant-like specifically who and you can see I mean I know lots of people who normally show up to vote that are anomalies and they didn't get their vote in and I don't think I can accept that and I know there's people out there but do we have 600 votes that change the vote plus the every hundred that vote no you need to double it on the back side

063of that so do you have enough numbers to change the outcome of what we have and listen to the people if you're confident that it will go down that it will fail again though because again are you gonna again this is my thing are you gonna get the same know of odors to come out are they displaced are they gonna be able to get to the polls votes are in a day and they're in a day for a reason they're not over two days you don't get to see the outcome of a vote and then redo a vote if the outcome hadn't been produced to me that's a different thing had the results never been declared worried about the no voters but not the yes voters I'm worried about the no voters were the ones

064that won if it was reversed at CES voters it's the it's what we what I bought into and this budget was I bought into listening to the people I didn't make cuts that I thought maybe could have been done because I took the the mantra of we're gonna listen to the people and let the people decide that's what we're gonna do and that's what I spoke to this whole board about the whole process now the results came out overwhelmingly in one direction and I'm sticking with the mantra of we're listening to the majority of the piece but now they're saying to all of the few I'm personally and we've discussed this I'm willing to draw any conclusions from a vote that lasted two-thirds to three-quarters of the time it's out there it might be it

065might be a specious argument it might be a perfectly legitimate argument we don't know and it has nothing to do with the outcome to me III and I look at what is what is fair or more less fair asking people to come out and vote again or telling people who weren't unable to vote you don't get a voice and to me the more fair option is to allow 100 percent of the people who want to vote to be able to vote and then we'll make a decision we don't know what the outcome that perhaps perhaps it does it doesn't change the result but perhaps the margin is smaller that might change our our outcome are our decisions perhaps it's perhaps the the the spread increases that'll change our thought process but to me every its

066regardless of the Optima I was actually in we talked about I was disappointed that the numbers came out I was hoping it was gonna be thrown out but a process that allows 100 percent of the people who want to be able to vote to be able to vote is the only the only fair way to do it for me can we come in - yeah I don't I also voted yes we had a unanimous vote and there were I had questions about parts of the budget that I did not agree with but is going to saying I agreed to put it out to the voters regardless of what you say this is a legal vote and it got it got hammered okay so that's a fact so if you were to look at the budget

067and decide that you are going to reduce the budget if you looked at it that way that you weren't going to present the same budget but you are going to make cuts to the budget the yes vote would have the opportunity to speak and and and vote against that so that we would come you would come together and to a third referendum and get them get it hopefully to a budget that would pass if you don't change the budget and you present the same budget and it gets hammered again now you've had it you've not listened to the people and and I'm on the fence here you know I got a brown shaking his head I don't really care because Ron and we work together for years but my point is now you're now you've

068got the course of a third referendum when you haven't listened to the people so that's something that I think this board of finance needs to think about if you were to reduce it and the yes vote was that pop that powerful toward it would have made a difference and it will have a chance to make that difference but I think that that is the prudent action to take and again I have a very strong tie with the Board of Education I am Pro education even though I voted against certain budgets I am very Pro education but I think that is the prudent thing to do that would be my thought to you know to to look at it if you feel that there are cuts that can be made then that makes I'm not saying

069the win and slash this budget I'm saying make adjustments to the budget don't just pass back the same the same budget along the same lines we know that our grants are $200,000 higher our volunteer firemen were just two weeks ago got the Nam we're gonna be paying them a hundred just over $100,000 there's 49,500 we can remove from the budget without really affecting us and I think that's something you should consider 149 to 49 those types of adjustments I'm completely for but to head into this and assuming that that that the number says we should start slashing nobody knows no I guess they slashed I said we gotta assume we didn't you have any carefully area to use we will get to there was less that we want to make working through a spreadsheet this

070was simply given Glenn and put the time into this analysis a chance in a voice to walk through it you do have to be careful when you say because when you have people at the table talking and then you come back with what you know things are using words they slash it's it's not fair to the people at the table so please be careful with and this is what my thing was about the amount of voters coming out what we miss we don't know the number and it's being broadcast 500 seven hundred a thousand and it's the same thing with slide I never used the word slash anything out I said we need to listen to the people the people voted we need to look at reducing budgets is there anything else you wanted to

071go Tom good I just wanted to comment on everyone everyone's statements it says it's a split of 563 votes so that means even if there were another 600 voters to appear in those last final hours and I am very sorry that those individuals that didn't want to vote and had every intention to did not get to the polls it is a hardship and I am very sympathetic today but as I look at it you know from a mathematical perspective I think to myself if it's 563 people that voted against that margin that means that even if I had 600 or 700 voters walk through the door in those final hours that means 5 out of 6 or 6 out of 7 would have had to vote for to pull this over I think that from

072a statistical perspective is unlikely but does your opinion of what the reactionary change if the spread is 700 against versus 100 against does that change your response we don't like how you would adjust the budget going forward does the fact that it would does a there's a budget vote that is 22,000 for 1,000 against does that would that action be different if it was 1,600 against 1,400 if the spread was smaller would that change how you would then react to what the next budget should be yeah I think so I think if a spread in a specific circumstance I don't know that we ever expect the circumstance quite like this it is unprecedented but I think if the spread was narrower then yes I think this spread of course has to be taken in the

073context that there are people perhaps right in this audience get a chance to voice their point of view and they would have supported it possibly but I think it's not a mandate for us to take aggressive action we looked over the budget so carefully and made sure that every objective that we had for the town was solid that it was well-intentioned and purposeful and some of those things I know folks in town have been waiting to happen for years so I would not at all if we go and we make adjustments and we do agree as a team to do so I would not at all recommend that we make any radical adjustments I think we do as our Board of Selectmen member mentioned I think we do need to make a good-faith effort to

074make some adjustments to represent that large number of voters that told us that they expected us to and I think in good faith that's what I would recommend make just one comment following up on yours Glen thank you for doing this analysis the rate of voting was much higher this time for the first 11 hours then it was in the last one so you could probably assume if you had the same rate of growth you would have a significant number of people falling between five and eight how they would vote would they make it pass that's a tough one a call what so this of this budget went down significantly we can all agree to margins they're gonna get a lot smaller yeah I'm not gonna dispute that the margins aren't gonna be 560 margins

075are gonna be a lot smaller absolutely I can but the dance point if I'm not looking to aggressively cut anything I'm saying the spoke was to reduce the budget not aggressively and if it was lost by a hundred votes or 700 votes that's not changing the percentage I'm looking at as a reduction the the the school can't take the pain of a big reduction okay but in 43 million dollars there could be a little room to do a little reduction at forty two million dollars so whether it failed by a hundred votes or five hundred votes to me it you're not gonna take four percent from the school is a very serious question do you think it was the forty three million dollars that number or was it the five point six four percent increase

076in Mill rate because I think there are definitely cuts we there's obvious because that we know that we can make right now to reduce that mill rate and you know what's advertised is the mill rate increase is that you know five point six percent increase in mill rate what if the if it was forty three million with no increase that nobody would care that there was an increase to to the school budget obviously been increased to the schools creates an increase in the mill rate but there are things like the government revenue and then the other fifty nine thousand you guys just mentioned right and probably some other areas where we could make cuts and I think that we should look into that right now and see where we can get to from the mill

077rate perspective before we look at cutting any departments at least at least get those those low hanging fruits first and then query to your point that fourteen hundred and fifty eight that number those folks are definitely reactants are they we have a ninth I answer your question your key please you can't protocol and please you asked I'm answering if you pose the query you have to give you teammates in those fourteen hundred and fifty eight votes you asked I'm answering I believe it's a response to the percentage increase I think folks are concerned that we're taking too big of a bite in one fiscal year that's my thought you ask that every answer and I agree with you and then I'll ask what do you do with that 1549 votes Ricky I mean you're you're

078sort of on a different path I mean what do you say to those fourteen hundred fifty nine people that said to hi I say we have an opportunity right now to take into consideration new knowledge that we didn't have when the previous budget was proposed to at least adjust down the mill rate based on all the information and from there we can see as a board for comfortable with what that new mill rate ends up becoming what that increase is there's gonna be an increase and go from there to see okay is there more that we could reduce well again I agree with with Dan that we didn't get a hundred percent of the motive but we still should we still should you know I agree we should take into consideration this new knowledge that

079we have then how do you differentiate between the 1459 on the education vote and the twelve hundred on the telephone how do you differentiate between some people made a conscious decision to say the Board of Ed budget was too high the town budget was not as high how do you make that differential date what the people again they could see I don't know 100% what they're thinking that's what their thought is but again it's a null ray is what's driving that but if the all end mill rate if the mill rate was driving that don't you think 1,450 people would have said to the town side the same thing to the board of that side I want to understand your logic of mill rate because again the three budgets got voted down by different numbers

080thirteen hundred fifteen hundred and sixty-four what the numbers were okay if your logic was the Miller II I think you would see the same response on the questions of the mill rates too high so I'm gonna vote too high on every question the way the questions were specifically answer was the Board of Ed was the highest budget that was too high and the town was a second in the capital one was the third and the numbers don't work again that close so what is the logic of the mill rate I'm trying to understand I think you're looking at the I think if we can get the overall mill rate down on both the town side and on the school side all in I believe that we can get about that passes but we again we

081need to see what those numbers become I have some proposals here everybody I'm sure you do and that's what I was hoping we can get to in your presentation I mean we didn't you know it was in another slide but it was going nowhere because I already had what Steve said I knew the fire department had the money I knew that the grants the grants also the grants don't move the needle very much I mean right they move it but they don't move into the what the vote said but do we have did you have more information on this like that that's the more important thing that's what I wanted to get at see my third slide about the votes play didn't you know we knew that you guys ready to actually move on and

082discuss the budget now I think we've belaboured at this point so I'm gonna flip to another spreadsheet here being that we knew some of those low hanging fruits that ricky mentioned and steve mentioned i incorporated those into the last last iteration of the Board of Finance approved budget that the town voted on last week okay and when you consider what what those changes were and we'll go through them in detail here so everyone's on the same page okay you do get to kind of a reset of a four point nine four point nine one percent or a increase in the Miller rate of one point three four and that is different from what we saw before right that's less than a five percent increase can you walk through we did absolutely can and I will

083well thanks yeah I wanted to give everyone that high level first so you know we're what we've just been talking about that actually gets us and now we're gonna go through and we're gonna walk through how we actually get there okay so nothing on this front page has been changed I just highlighted those so we know where to look okay so town operations I'll go through that first we'll go through these in order now the expenditures which are the town operations okay we have simply taken into account the fact that the certified numbers from both fire houses yield a volunteer stipend of a hundred thousand five hundred or a reduction from our initial estimate about forty nine thousand five hundred so that's awesome now for any of these I will family disagree if anyone uses

084the word wrong that we had it wrong because we didn't we went on best estimates and now with the circumstance of the initial referendum not passing we have the benefit of having updated figures and updated estimates okay so that's the change that you saw up here okay and then we get to the contingency now we weren't shy about what two hundred thousand dollars was in that contingency we even added it as a note that got published with with this back on the town website with the town clerk okay so we had reduced estimated funding from the state based on what we've received in the past and based on a lack of the legislation or the actions of the legislature that just went through I think it was last week or the week before well after

085the Board of Finance had approved the budget and we had pushed it to referendum okay so we had put in two hundred fifty thousand dollars in there okay which was a reduction already of what the Board of Selectmen had approved okay but based on the fact that we now have it written that we will get funded fully and we'll get to that revenue amount for this proposal or this round of discussion right now that's reduced further by 200,000 which leaves a general contingency of 50,000 okay so I'll flip back to that mill rate tab so now you can see there alright so that does I mean that contingency that's 200 grand it does make a difference there so that's good and then we get into the intergovernmental which is part of our revenues okay now

086I highlighted in yellow where we had made a change before that I had basically reversed the impact of and you could see that over here so the initial proposal which we got from the Board of Selectmen from the governor or the legislature was one point one four four one eight three million okay now being that the legislature has said that there will be no cuts to this I added that back for this presentation okay so now that educational cost sharing is in fully funded okay we had increased the low sip grant however I put that back down to the initial proposal from the governor as it was approved in total funding so the guidance that we got was a total one point nine six six eight eight eight there so I adjusted the low sit

087back down to where it was just to be consistent with initial budgeting and then the municipal stabilization grant we had reduced it okay based on some estimates but now in an effort to get back again to the total that we got from the state that was increased back that okay so now when I flip back to that mill rate tab you'll notice that instead of about one point seven in intergovernmental revenue we now have the one point nine six seven which is right here and then in order to have a properly balanced budget for those that were following on at home as we're going through our deliberations where we get to balance the budget is in this general property taxes okay so what then I did there was I took away okay so this is

088I think the cumulative effect which is yes the good guy if you will of all these changes not only in the state my primarily state revenue in the reduction of the contingency okay to get to the level of services that dictate the level of taxes we plug in to this here in this current taxes so we actually reduced the current taxes line by that four hundred four hundred forty eight thousand okay so when I flip back to here you see that this is now generating 63 million in tax revenue in addition to the other funding sources okay and that with that low-hanging fruit gives us then without further consideration which we will have four point nine one percent o the burden of screen sharing yeah four point nine one percent increase or one point three

089four which optically is a lot different than what we had before okay now again these are changes based on updated information okay that would in essence not have been there had we had the information when we set the budget before okay so now just a quick poll are we okay with those assumptions as a base to have further discussion yes or not good okay then the quick poll says that yes okay we will have this as a basis which does not mean that voices will not be heard at all voices will be heard if there other considerations okay I'm sorry I missed that all right so then I said that all voices will be heard okay so who would like to open discussion on proposals and of course we will do this as a majority

090okay so if there's anyone who would like to make additional proposals searly can get I'm more than happy to entertain those so we can have a discussion on them Glenn I am interested in our other ones it's don't hold back this is the part that I wanted to hear from him right now I really have nothing to say how's that we we we took low-hanging fruit yes but I don't think we listened at all to the voices we haven't discussed the voices so we haven't gotten to that point yet I wanted to just state that we have things that don't impact that we could possibly put action on now last question is four point nine one percent a number that you think the town will pass I think that people are gonna say five percent

091increase correct are they getting that's my personal opinion is I'm talking to people in town also people heard was five and a half percent index five and a half percent increase and they don't want to hear why we have a vibrant adversaries site a lot of people just don't want to hear it so it's something we have to address but we have to do it really sensitively beautiful I think the Board of Ed is where it should be right now and the town were only going up one hundred and eighty five thousand dollars on a twenty million dollar budget okay well then I'll open up some things right let's just let's just jump right in I'll go to the capital tab okay we have items of capital which if we really want to consider ways

092of cutting let's say a current increase there are things that we didn't want to do which I'm not recommending that we do but yet making proposals for discussion okay right now one of the biggest things that's driving our non-bonded capital right right on that front tab is this $850,000 in roads with cash that's one of the things that if we wanted to I'll say because now we're in the op-ed portion inappropriately pass off in bonding pallets right there nope if we took that out of cash that would get it below for we was saying we went through we went through the presentation I want to make sure I want to make sure that we go down all hand-washed yep so if we if we pop out and 850,000 okay and that does go to wait

093a minute hang on don't move show them before you do that oh yeah sure the agreement that was made between this Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance was two changes by a hundred thousand each year we even missed it this year we didn't even change it to 950 and down to the 750 lake was proposed and agreed to by the boards before us so that number that 850 really is a hundred thousand behind the times in my opinion is we leave the roads in work our way to that one and a half million you know our streets treat the street sweeper that we have right now works but we were gonna bond that you know if you take that out it's not going to change this budget you know we could put that

094off to next year and hope that the street sweeper works fine season we probably get it through but it's not gonna change that number drastically Steve Greg mentioned the cash items that are going to change Greg mentioned earlier maybe some equipment that you had to acquire to deal with the storm oh absolutely we spend money so do any of those items appear in the budget that we might consider being reimbursed for no they don't so let's let's just based on Ricky's question right or my my opening salvo there for this discussion you know what happens if we kick that can down the road well yeah we do get and just based on that change because it's a lunker three point five two percent right is that more dismountable hundred thousand less however it doesn't it

095doesn't address what Glenn I think one of the points he was making where that's on the town side that doesn't address anything with the education budget right but that's the kind of that's the kind of impact that drops it down and that drastically that's not a reduce and expense though that's a push of expense that's exactly what it is but when we're talking about all the range optics that's what it does that's a shell optic moved um all you're doing is moving it down the road so then if you just that's not an expense cut that's that's bad policy in there management in terms of the capital budgets what about the the boys locker members that's something that can be postponed because I know that was part of our capital I took a shower over

096there I'm sorry is ice-cold only the girls showers work the girl showers are in the horrible condition and the boys are worse I don't think we look to make a point on that those girls showers are brand new so if they're a deplorable I mean when was the school how long is when is the school renovation 8 years now 10 years well 12 years I mean they shouldn't be deplorable so man maybe something take up with school these are really there's there's nothing in this capital budget in my opinion that we don't really really need but here we are so we had the discussion with the apparatus reserve for the fire stations and saying that when they need when they need a new vehicle that we will agree to so we have 75 thousand dollars

097in each of the fire department reserve apparatus reserves we're I mean if we're agreeing to finance that through the town is that something mean it's it's not a reduction in expenses all your dote is saying we're not paying this year we're gonna pay it three years down the road well look that's true pretty much across the board no no no there's management that can be done that you're not gonna do that we got pay raises in the town above two percent we could say pay raises a two percent flat rate it just two percent across the court there are cuts we can make and I'm sure even in 43 million dollars there's cuts that we can make not drastic that would not affect the service nor the supply said forty three million dollars if we

098can't find a quarter of a percent that's not a lot of money and the same thing on the town side we could find above and beyond the low-hanging fruit the pay raises the technical support lines that we raise the travel lines that we raise five and six percent there are line items that we can reduce that can get us to true reductions of expenses not taking money and put taking the roads and binding it not taking money out of the capital apparatus that we got to pay the bill down the road we put forth a pretty big budget it was a big number we all knew it was a big number it came back to us and in that just a brookfield other counts came back around us in their voted down referendums of the

099votes the numbers and wise was the highest now if it had passed you know I'd be okay and we go with it you know if you do the analysis of surrounding towns like Bethel they actually had a little over 5% increase but they did have some massive development come on board so they came out with them too something percent okay that's a fair assessment so you have to really look at all those budgets to see where they were and how they have arrived at them to understand what the true cost increases are I did a study last week that I was gonna share with you guys probably got the disaster with our taxes in Brookfield I know this doesn't help work for residents make it feel more comfortable over the years the town of Brookfield

100a son of an outstanding job in keeping budgets low every surrounding town taxes are higher than ours New Milford is 2% Denver is 8% Newtown for the same house 21% higher so we have done of I think not just in our administration in our work over the years we've done that but we have done it in ways that have harmed the town because we weren't doing capital maintenance with weren't taking care of our buildings properly they're our equipment we have 21 year old vehicles people are driving around that are dangerous at some point look like when you look at the schools the average age is 60 years at some point you need to bite the bullet and do things now to save money in the future it's really tough three vehicles were coming off of

101these vehicles that we can use elsewhere yeah absolutely perhaps vehicles we don't yes Sean can you go back to the cover page one or the memory page right here you scroll down yeah please so last year the elderly tax relief was not funded know that four hundred and eighty five thousand dollars now I'm not saying to remove it so don't don't misconstrue what I'm trying to say but what's the impact of just having to include that back in that's about three quarters of one percent exactly yeah that's none of what will increase it so how did we we funded that last year obviously when it wasn't in the budget and we still came out with a general fund increase and just at the end of the year yep that's correct how's that something we even

102need to budget for them if we can still come out yeah I think I think cases and roses I think it is unless you want to think that's a real expense that we're going to get it might even be a little higher than that but it was a real expense last year - yeah and we came out of them we're not in the results yet we don't know it was the Prairie I'm sorry okay prior to was in it was in 184 wasn't it yes yes we haven't reached this one yet we don't know correct Steve will your expenses due to the storm be under this year's budget are they going to kick over oh they would be this year's expenses and it's going to come out of your general fund at this point in

103time we're gonna have to come to the board of financing once we know those numbers and get your permission it's the fund that my authority has expired to expend money I can only do that during the first 72 hours so anything we're doing going forward I'm gonna be coming to you guys keep the board Selectmen tend to you to approve that authorization and we don't know what those expenses are but let's hope and pray that FEMA does come through for us so yeah so then we don't want anything else to go against the general fund if that's going to we really don't want to give it to the general fund if we don't have I mean if you have an extraordinary expense like this disaster the rating agencies understand that that's why you have an

104honest line general fund balance but I would prefer to stay out of that as much as possible although I agree with Sean on his magic on that the general fund if we need to do it we're not going to strangle the taxpayers if Elijah and I know that's been your thought process a lot and I agree with that I mean I don't want to touch a general fund but in a case like this it's not strong but the back so there's if we don't have to okay Shawn I know that we had we had talked about the two command vehicles and we had not questions whether we need them but whether they could fit into this budget and I didn't know if that would be a consideration again you know now that we've had this

105disaster I don't know how much better oftenly would be if we had those but those were two items that we again we didn't question the need we question whether we can do this well you know we have I just talked to the J Purcell a couple of weeks ago and we will have three police vehicles like explorers coming off police patrol because you know we need those incredibly reliable they're usually three or four years old and we could probably they've already got lights they've already got radio that they got a lot of the stuff give those two of those to the fire departments as incident command vehicles after this disaster there's no doubt in my mind that we need them because many roads were only passable by a car Tuesday night and Wednesday so we

106absolutely need us they need a but I'm saying we need the two vehicles but we could use two of the police cars that are coming over to the town as we you know researcher them for the fire department no they have been actually out a big short-term our know me there are there are things library computer insulate the second act at Canada with a fire I'm gonna leave in a sham and say that we declare in this is my opinion and where I am that this is mandatory we've yeah I know we clarified and improved the what we're presenting based upon new knowledge and I think that is the right thing to do aside from that I will in any class right now and until you know the results of what I consider to be

107a valid boat anything at allé vote go Illini line I have some ideas well it could be not because things like that but until there's an article that allows 100% of people wanted you to be able to be voting for that for point I understand not long so that how do we ensure that a hundred percent of the people who had to vote I think if you have this approach to the vote out you said I'm you know two weeks yeah sure it comes out 1,900 people come out though what are we really sure you're where you can never be true at all that everybody wants to vote me evil and how many people are gonna be impacted that way 80% of the number of people who were impacted the past Tuesday maybe talk about

108this that's why the chance the chance of us getting the absentee ballots actually in people's hands I told Ryan Murphy today is very so they asked tease I guess and again a number could have increased because people play around boats so travel schedules and everything else about 4550 a little machine so I'm gonna pose that we move forward to the town with the budget this I make sure that there are thoughts their feelings on the budget you can cry Karen on the ceilings but just let me know what's going on with with the project your thoughts feelings on where we should end up here before we close the session and call for of updating the numbers well you know our solid numbers and that it does move the needle below 5% and that's gonna be

109a difference and you know I'm sure it's not what a lot of people wanted the original about it but getting them circumstances and people Allah to people not get any chance to vote I just think that it doesn't the see any better job in it but it's close enough of the Athenian numbers and get an equal chance and come back let me go back and we started looking at and I I would agree I'd be awful putting this budget forward [Music] should what is the expense to the put the boat have we're probably gonna have primaries money all right we're putting that in there $1,000 I think we've got a trend let's look whatever data so bad that it yeah so let's change size 70 mm Allah to eat bones very hey the Benetton variety

110the toast and applause right so it was put forward in the Mazda process so if there's an update on that as well that's 4,000 of savings times 8 votes 30 draft so we have two primaries another referendum a capital referendum and a regular election right and the schools referendum in November right you're off the six if they are tentative both outs although that number then you're going to be right at the 70 mm so Glen's talking about so then I'll ask the question what looking to be barely cut this is smoke that we got and again you can dispute the numbers whatever we didn't make a cop there's no caught that is whatsoever the contingency was base I need two hundred thousand for the plopping wasn't a cop so again basically we were pulling for

111the same budget to get a town and we're ignoring the people that did boat that keep got the boat and overwhelmingly chose the questions too high again and I understand I'm arguing with shrink again but we as a group right now we're saying we're dis filing fourteen hundred votes the two highs and we're not taking into account the levels of the two eyes so saying we're saying we're gonna put it out of the boat which changes to the dynamics the boat dynamics change because the numbers may not wear any of us wanting we're changing in a dynamic so vote right now they had enough numbers to be valid say considered valid the question is were overwhelmingly too high and we as a board right now we're saying we're not making any cost any budgets all

112we did was take think that's low information is four hundred forty nine thousand see because over budget 150,000 firemen we did not make a cut we throw away money that what is it going to be used I agree with everything you said that we get a minute angry we well yeah what I'm suggesting is not now and not not ignoring the people who voted yes no but asking then again that's all this is it is asking them to the boat again the only problem is said this is illegal you are saying no any well because you you're ignoring what you're saying but you know you are telling the people who voted so this might be this might be a little unfair but we started the first you know 15m history and talked with Greg out

113of town came together with each other and people were need and he need the people who didn't have there's a lot of people who didn't have the ability vote so we're asking the whole town to allow the people who didn't have the opportunity to vote to come together and let us do it again no this is way out there to the poll all the people who didn't vote right so then we're again we're so not getting the same boat you are not getting the same boat we're just changing the results you know we pay for one and a half percent and it's fun and I could be enough to the flips the no bows because it could yes why are the advisory questions even on the ballot Jesus alone hath the fifty percent ninety percent

114of the residents needs to go but a common the people out there really need something to go after four lakh and you just couldn't make it not only was a sudden in fact over to seven and a half hours I mean there's a lot of Evil's it's just the opportunity okay so we're at three-quarters a 3/4 doesn't use to vote I said I'm gonna keep trying to say I mean it doesn't move the needle on a used point is that you know they're a bit apparent and that's because they do wait till the afternoon I'm not gonna dispute the demographics are they enough to the main for the change where we're ignoring the questions that are on the ballot that's my heart will never know and what we're doing is we're changing to the boat

115we retained we didn't like the bottle we change it into the hole I would have felt bad for anybody was know that it didn't get in offices you know and I buddy but I think it is actually past we're gonna call it and we would have nailed it sure like my concern at me for people my economy tsunami to direct it for people to hotel mine is that the Board of Finance due to the proper file the proper procedure and listening and making adjustments if they think they are warranted and then letting the ESPO Kathir chana so my my comments are not but against the budget or against education - that the de Board of Finance is responsible and how to handle that that's my own that those were my greatest snap to remote novo

116not in any way just want to be sure that let's just say they don't know if he did but agree to the Purnima to vote again in this fashion with this calculation you just made if it is voted down again are we pushing up against a deadline if we had a two weeks no any final deadline to get so to dance and then if it does not pass by the start of next fiscal the Board of Finance and levy tax and debates on roll over the budget I'm you just say it's basically the same thing Thank You Glenn that is not adequate I'm sure particularly because we have all these overages with a special and a predicament gonna push it into that to that point so the best my concern if we get at the

117same outcome giving everyone who didn't get a chance to develop an opportunity to vote and we try to do it in that democratic fashion if we get ever the same outcome then what do we do as a board I just wanted a feel of people saw us about that this hypothetical so we go when we go through I promise you I would probably I want to have your pants today I'm just gonna say to declare 20 you know people maybe any tiny homes gonna be here so there's you know it's the kindness of I mean so regardless what it is it's gonna need a depositor by tomorrow midnight first of all I think I our individual homes right we're the whole sweet guitar but there's something wrong with the power to that house understand there

118was another boat that a people are actually they have internet [Music] an evaluation of what what they wanted to do but they have them already decide these guys have done a phenomenal job we had a 50 72 totally gross 29 Cruz just put it in balls damn right I don't know the black curve they came from all over all [Music] we gave a lot of careful thought but yeah I think the quarter of a percentage dimension would be $100,000 right now take a formal vote is there any appetite over the work to discuss that just a show of yes is there an appetite of this world to discuss a let us say a quarter percent reduction on town and education services we take a day we haven't taken anything from that just a fatality yeah

119so we can we can just like that the city we have ages they got they got the hundred fifty thousand from you know cash a rose do we want to see whatever and I was like or not this is not and Walker not gonna be the ruler of the world we can see her alright let's see after doing that I'm just curious into the people who do Oh know where they would like to see the money come out of what reductions would like to see educated but there was something else as well I mean do they how ideas were me you know hey we made of roads well I don't see tonight that he was you know that's why I was sitting a disabled I mean there are certain things we can at a cut

120and I anything to the one of my heroes you want to listen to the residence but I mean you know to steve's credit and you know others credit you know we were finally starting to make headway with rose you know we didn't upset it back so hey you know i think it would be great to hear comments from some people it's where do you wanna do it the disagrees if you look at a quarter of a percent off of vegetation goes from four point nine four point seven three but that is $100,000 eateries seeing that I think there were items that we could push off and cash on from even if we look at let's say travel edges right for the town and knock that off it is a hard year to get raises a

121little 2% sorry you know maybe some of those cat items we just can do use the crash to limit at the tennis court is that this is a safe use your trip I know but if I'd say there's a safety issue all right yeah you know make up some of that is letting attic you know the door there are things there are at music next were these are hard students and so I wanted to know control-z and me you know just right on soon absolutely raging either hee hee how serious whether I am interested in knowing that bit of information to see this those are reasonable yeah I mean it would be rather difficult if we would invite Colette to get our thoughts on that cut I mean are you even prepared to discuss refined

122100 come on I think it's Alec after you mr. Harry because again I would like to evaluate everyone's ideas I want them to stand or not stand based on discussion of the board the board is yet to identify $84,000 two cuts from the $100,000 reduction I'm gonna tell the police all I hesitate to even mention one of all because it hasn't been discussed with for the world about yet and that is where it needs to start with and discuss I can say that there is a fairly good chance that would involve a reduction of a position at least and if we were to go a hundred thousand of all that we're definitely talking position reductions as well collectin is it possible that some or one of the new initiatives that I know you very carefully

123laid-out the superintendent is it possible that maybe one of those an initiative is gonna be postponed here over here something that you might be able to implement later I mean rather than sooner the only new initiative I mean even did it at first is the consultant brother Mazzilli distribute that's $30,000 that doesn't get us anywhere near that amount so um my recollection is not as good as it should be well there are any program initiatives you also proved well I just want to you're saying that that if you don't approve to the program that's at the border that's love you yeah to to have control over the budget but if you're talking about what we had presented as initiatives - correct yes yes um we have the resilient I mean there is like K through

124eight science programming that must happen for the next generation science standards there's a science teacher that must happen because we have the bubble classes till the end yes one of the areas that we need to for ocean relations and safeties is our science classes program school enrichment works on addressing the strengths and talents of every single student in the class so it's not a talented adjudicated program per se that is something we also must develop a couple of years down the road this is a consultant that starts us putting any merchants in all the schools with all the students okay so is that a program that could possibly begin not this coming fiscal year but the next um again it's been kicked out of the I mean we have we have been not serving our

125student as well wins an administration is for a very long time long time so yeah I'm just thinking and wanting to get it a feel for where there may be some way I can sit here and it's time you 100,000 to confirm it as a discussion that rightly needs to start we look at the Board of Education with with the really good feedback from the administration I can tell you that it wouldn't involve positions and I can tell you that it wouldn't involve it wouldn't involve things is one of the factors students you know you can't make those cuts without affecting programming student education are the lowest funding of students in order Derby be our lowest on understanding her table well actually if you won't even look at the state average tour two thousand dollars

126less than in the state completely state average but we're one thousand dollars less than the second-to-the-last school spending over what's the graduation rate spot lesson refills well it's the second of highs the orange Guilford we ranked the lowest to the suspend any but we're in the top five graduation so then we do the best for our table we do have a great job but I didn't tell me we brandished fast $21,000 student we spend 13,000 and we produce better results so where does money come into the player performance cuz I got sizes and graphs that I'll show you that that's that all of the shows yes we do a great job does a great job but I throw me $3,000 a stupid it's not necessarily gonna increase our test scores because if you look at

127the grindage is their their test scores are lower than ours graduation rates that are lower than ours so every time we throw that statistic to the taxpayers but I cringe and say throwing dollars at the education just to say this is going to increase programs in the collab mentioned it's time salutely I agree with you know what we're putting in into the place but if you use that one graph of the 15 graphs that are associated with that graph only shows as a portion of the picture so that graph you know creates a grand is $21,000 is assuming we do perform better so what does that 13,000 really need your graduation test scores test scores the standardized test scores we did it better than wrench so we were hired where we do very well I'm

128not our uniform you don't do well but to say throw more dollars at the after that the dartboard doesn't necessarily programs cost about thus yes I did a lot of work on that I'll send you to the grass yeah I do I sit here and I struggle with 43 million dollars a budget and we asked for a hundred thousand a purse thing that comes out as a position top supplies travel they all could yield some cities line 118 we increase the gate attendant see $28,000 gave the tendinous people to take tickets eight thousand dollars every time we make a mention of cutting a board of the bed line item it automatically goes to a position it doesn't go to G the supply lines lining 118 118 from 12,000 18,000 6,000 there I know there's nickels

129and dimes you judge me to us was it involves the position and I'm saying I'm not so sure has to involve now we combine wrong to to curriculum mouse know how do we how do we remove the administrator from of the budget this year so we moved an administrator from the budget we made combining some kind of two petitions and we made it seems correct or not correct that was a reduction that it was to the budget that we presented to the Board of Finance but it wasn't a position it was well no we didn't really someone left the district we will be removing yes we are we are taking we're taking a department share of science department chair of mathematics combined minute to the cinema Department sure so we will only have one share

130where we had to remove it we um the police'll sans I just want to say we didn't this is a initiative for last year interviews are ongoing there will only be one minute Australian where were to do the ministers but we have two women police I can't answer that yet we'll have two employees so we didn't this is my heart should always is that when you take the 43 million dollar budget and in a town Sean asks for $100,000 and we immediately go to a position cut and get people on this offensive position we combine two chairs and see me the $150,000 savings and we didn't lose as a position it sounds like we'll see the next year's budget what I'm saying is we have I believe there's travel for some dishes and $40,000 no

131189 account this year again there's Kate attendance there was a lot I won 89 and up to 30 or 45 thousand so that we let go this year again we listen to the people that monster listen to the people vote and we immediately the first words out of your mouth was position cut and annex what bothers me when we were trying to be transparent at the town is why would we go to a petition cut the first thing out or not why would we say look at it and see if we even gave you the way of travel supply that's what I get a little bit hung up with when we go to located a reduction at the border there's always a position we will look at everything I will tell you and you know

132this is what we had a hard spending release this year of travel a PD of supplies or furniture we can't we can't continue to come back after setting increases here as well can we make some exemptions yes will it involve positions it doesn't probably yes and again yeah I do wanna marry we still have eighty four thousand dollars three doshas you have to take thank you we follow thank you I would imagine that $100,000 in the education budget wouldn't guarantee no votes for the DSOs right can't can't guarantee something like that I think it's a bit of a gesture for the both Senate did say that they thought that of the budget it was too high I think it may only be that much to encourage people to have it set up where I was

133talking the problem because it's a good-faith gesture to rip these points earlier but I think this is already better than do and I think that Lisa's right another gonna fake gesture and I think if you go the other way you don't be the good faith that gesture you don't flip some of these folks you're gonna look a little much drastically better over the passes you're again holding a lot if we don't make a good-faith gesture on someone who's going to experience seriously inevitable negligible changed in their taxes from stripping out that hundred thousand to that four point nine eleven percent increase right there and it's gonna cost someone these two hundred dollars right now and if I remove a hundred thousand is gonna cost someone another one hundred ninety six dollars come on I'm not

134so sure that someone that's enough that I put uh somebody taking out 850 I'm sure right and that'll be the whole bottom line or a but I don't have enough faith that taking out let's say a hundred and seven thousand from education would flip enough of those noes to yeses based on how it ended up getting so we they're gonna see a reduction of milleri currently by a three-quarters of a percent we could probably get much closer to a full percent but it is that enough to the cell the town is the resistivity fibers are a point seven fibers as 3/4 represent and enough to solve the question okay but we said that on the original you know you put a forward that's what keeps coming back that was our mantra on your original sitting

135around the state we're gonna difference and you know you don't like it there's a lot of folks out there that said we missed the mark I mean they're harder boats they're not possible boats there that could of would've showed us their hard boats because the questioning backside it's the same market so I think the good faith is something that we need interaction to say we think more than this would be catastrophic listening to the votes that were happened I really don't want people to push us that God's honest truth there is I don't think they deserve that guy hot but I'm saying we should have put a for some kind of good faith and you know in the end let's be real in the end if at the border that goes over strength or budget

136of the year they can go to Steve and say we ran out of money we need a hundred thousand dollars to pay the bills that we in the end in this town that says that the Board of Ed it's running out of money at the end of the year whatever time they didn't go to the board of sort of act within an ask for special appropriation in which to the board of the finding is tenable so there's the truth phone-a-thon I louder is that $100,000 enough to swing and he goes anyway okay so what are we gonna do what are you gonna do if it's ounces and we will have barring another catastrophic event a full population on next Tuesday right and we did increase and then yes I know you are ignoring I agree

137with Lenin in looking into that deep hundred thousand iron so we're seeing everyone shake their head in the back room say decision you're going to guesstimate the decision you've got people in here because they are very concerned very concerned and I'm not saying I'm unwilling to the caught something it's still not going to matter that a little bit of something that could really do me I'm sure they're still gonna see there's a round of fire set you're not gonna see it before happens not right but sees to the favor that's my bit I would hope I would fig as we're listening we heard good faith three million dollars just without the top it's not I want the other the time - I told you I want to take it down 2% pay raises I want

138to do a lot of things I'm saying good faith 43 million dollars covert operations but take that 15,000 overcomes of the 2% appearances so that's to defeat the third partner you saying no I'm saying everybody is super I was 15,000 oh we had we went through this there's four positions in firing position thousand dollars above so I'm saying there's 15,000 pounds right there we could take this money out and make good effect that we listen to do the boat now is it gonna change the deal I don't know Ricky what middle rate is changing it's also how its presented if we say you know what we did in this is an Altima novo we don't care how to pet a 1,400 but we're gonna put forward the zero budget is that really let us see

139the 1,400 of the people you also have a $40,000 person agency twelve and a half percent that's a seven to say before my hands when they were able to reduce the middle rate increase oh and a half percent this is a longer five point six four percent but it is yes I didn't have yourself yeah good a think moves make me know lots of us they go a long ways sometimes a little goes a long way do you want to be proactive or reactive I guess is the question if you're reactive rather than events proactive in your on the office we really did it to the budget is we took money out of the budget that's all but that's exactly how I started a recession and we know about there was only a reset but

140according to new information that was it that's how we open this vault in and we thank the intent of the fogers of the $50 of orders was to just reset the take the the costs out that were low-hanging fruit really heck we're gonna go to the general fund or are they looking for true expense weird options do they think our governance spending too much money on its operations that's the question we didn't answer that question we took out contingency fund which was really money that we put in there to cover the the state funding we really didn't make any super reductions and expenses per se and this I would that 49er voters said because even if it was 1400 1400 that means to the P percent of our town that 3 mm sighs oh wow

14150% of our town saying and that's been a large increase of boss [Music] because anything to be really listen to and that's it I'll go back I know you're tired here but that's what we discussed as this board when we decided not to go through my I am i lying I am really I mean we went through it we didn't get it crazy we said let the people that's what we said now you're right we did alright so I accept that but a lot of people live by a small reduction it's just interesting any you brought this history earlier but the interesting thing is last year that I budgeted the school budget passed to one 1866 people turned out and twelve hundred and twenty one of those voted for it it was much more of

142palatable increased circles oh I feel exactly the reason I am surely know for sure but I'm just just in terms of turnout it was eighteen hundred and sixty-six folks folks coming out and it was a 2-1 [Music] yes we gave the schools four hundred seventy thousand dollars this year because their budget was incorrect if you meant $170,000 to their last year's budget and made that your baseline they don't have a five percent increase correct and that's the way I look at it there a budget it was wrong in the first bus and they cut how much seven hundred thousand in part freezes get here so here's that for sure see I agree that's that's the dilemma we know we know as a forward how we got to these numbers because of everything that has taken

143place we know why are the percentages as high as it is and I think it's just hard within the town to get comfortable with it sure you know we'll be on a five-minute recess for administrative purposes [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] okay thank you everyone we are back from that brief and administrative intermission now that we're back I will call for another round of discussion should anyone have any okay Steve - no I my biggest concern is to ensure that the budget passes on so around that's really why I'm going little I don't want to see us go through the same process where whatever the reasons are people over the time that they so I'm just playing

144my peers colleagues respected colleagues know that that's the reasoning behind my position is there anything you like to propose further discussion that's a lot of were signs I think from the peanut gallery a good suggestion from one of our residents that if we were to do any reductions I of course don't want to get it but I've really were to do so on a percentage basis that if we didn't do an equal percentage reduction to the school as to that it sounds gonna make it affair with the understanding of the difficult that it is to run into town and in how much of a a great energy that a school board and all of the administrators have put into running a very fine school so we don't want to see anything too deep or wide

145and for certain we'd want to try and make it as active as possible really is is it if we were to do considered a quarter percent decrease will it just be a blanketed quarter percent from education quarter percent from town with them thinking around with us or are we to actually as the Borgo and see what could have potentially be reduced yes education it would be other percent right but at the time you have to be lying behind I mean you're willing welcome to put a motion on bail I think you consider it's not it's not significant but it could potentially be enough to get a $1 before she could quarter percent away from the town operations okay which is really where this is super common problem that we see six thousand that we did

146because we're not gonna change service no one has financed right seems really down they read that so it would be percent off of that eighty nine six and forty nine thousand in which we would have to go through that expenditures tab and earmark some lines something else see just came to my mind if we did it finally all Italy tasks or leave last year I don't have to take it a double hit this year why aren't we going back and saying hey we have we have this lost flashy about makeup for this guy's in this year's budget that we're missing that money so we do walking our bus just really carefully to stay under our all right is that have to say then that we have $45,000 room in the current budget but we are

147going to manage this series let's get to the point where we're not taking an additional hit the 45 Pascal by pushing his offer by I mean how can you manage it tightly I mean another very good question when he said imagine if I be able to say anything you're gonna imagine just to play he makes your eyes soon but be a little more it I think we need to recognize that a sense it's coming out across the board in departments where we'll have some savings I can't guarantee that that would be a disaster right and I can't even guarantee it this year until we finally get it to the end budget but you've seen all the additional expenses already had this year and usually contingency funds so I think that for anybody that's even could

148be in a low number right all the eligible people is that 570,000 not all of them take an intro so we might hire the best management it's sweet very office manager so it could be $30,000 off of that 45 this year if we wanted to it will only go higher we wanted rissalah he could do say you could do it for Vizier if you if you wanted riffs on a certain I do he's a little bit off about they're surrounded by oh we gotta hurry quotas not vote for yourself yep yes so that it works happen it is pretty close 42,500 downside and seven thousand two hundred fifty five hundred four thousand all in with you know those reductions and we were to say bring it on and we're said every suit percentages and Heather

149brought it down to about four percent yeah 700 I got a tie for talking pattern around I would rather seriously consider gone backwards here through Sweden Peter and Paul will have you because you know they share for Bacchus it's not gonna impact services it's not ready to do it by Dodie it would be a concession or concerns out man taking away from sources before we did hat was it reported a degree and then it would affect the military and a boy grows my prayer today if you reduce I was losing the cash for the fennec awkward right so what what it does Harry is it takes out from this capital positive sign instance yes it has a direct impact on the notary for the pushing that is fenced out right romantic Lyman project that occasionally

150I think will be the focus on out is that for twenty seven hundred thousand even say I take it out of Rose isn't going to go to what's gonna be one of these fish nets but I understand both around our way and I'm saying that all right doesn't have any motions they like to put a frog you're not we make the motion to see if and anyone on the board isn't agreeing that about doing that quarter of a percent on both sides I'm going to town and suicide gotta stated a little more for me you know I you know move for about $20 you get star ball it was horrible to sample it okay struggle we didn't want to go down the Avenue of a quarter percent off of time operations and education No well

151yeah but right throwable 104 through those talks so I just wonder for here's the young John Gotti on you okay a quarter percent reduction on either side on either side right okay we just took a straw poll to do the quarter percent - I'm not happy with it but we want to get about your past and it's not a good situation all right so we're at those moves quick and although we have to figure out yeah it's a cupcake and a sort of month he said it'd be about 57,000 if there's 570 46,500 will be but at worst he's mentioned earlier that at mine eighty five hundred seventy thousand but I still you you're looking at philippi seven you know that probably the simplest way for them from other my personal brand is ovc take

152a part of that and a part of the contagion is Tdap just all the guy that we can't think on it the only yeah we have to get to the beetle yeah there's no question about that we're not taking money away from the elderly we'll just get a budget that will work yeah it's gonna be either all right twenty-two sealer we happy to give this fan of them to our residents gave it [Music] divided it down the middle that's 23,000 off a little tax and 23000 off of personality personality you want to get out of something the second out advocate and would now III have a personally preferred agency then we need to back up to the board and say listen this expense team these priority budgets mr. minister spoken for the last year in

153the first lecture this year saying we were going to get less money grants this time we work in our favor we got to learn to have some more on grass right of all the environment economy where we thought so did you manage it yeah that's the the particular humanity look at these and we're gonna go all the way to tell you where over would receive correct me I but wasn't there a position behind him decide this budget was still in flux look at the time he did it no exact reduction there is exacts there dear was the position that it was a potential savings to realize it was included in me oh no married not was promoted to the director of Parks and Rec the own grass anyway so we have hired somebody we have

154about 12,000 I'm sorry that's very good about $12,000 it's saving so we can redesign yes but if we take it out of the one line and I'm gonna see just gonna manage the whole budget right and the end balances out yes the pockets to the pole from 12,000 he said there's other pockets there let's well that right the lugging around an artist partner is that an idea Steve I'm sorry that I ain't that's not yes what's the total I'm sorry let's read the expenditure or non-use hours 161 2004 yeah thank you we'd prefer to first out personal contingency or Guerra so we take the 12,000 parts in fact at least thirty four or five what I don't understand if you know what the real owners from non-union we just as 12,000 how's that that's like

155even suggesting the state right yeah that but so that's but that's a new number like we just we just suggested the state revenue so I don't see this heating 25 orders you're using my logic against me [Music] yeah yeah we went through all these times to sit on you guys parce decease out weeks right now we believe this budget then we have saving you guys well thousand here right it just so happens we have savings and does affect my ability to run the dam as far as she was taking it absolutely but silver sent us money where you get it you know cutting these senators on salaries and that line it's one of God that guy's supposed to guess we have a really well that's over Elian you're right I'm out of date out of

156the personality agency yeah especially if we see another actually the commander and authority I saw her other options many people a vibrator before I hope everyone deserves a blast then we have the 12000 from arsenic thousands of our snack 3634 I'm sorry I don't thirty four five in there and rulers who are overseas tied which represents a quarter of a percent of the time operating motives not including that service kind of project peanuts yeah yeah and then the more dad 407,000 that in Greece or winces divers and that's changed an already said would anybody be posted full of satified for hillary increase remainder over the mutant see the difference head percent just cold I need to do this at 5:00 okay be nervous and I want you to do without means to be need to

157women and it just gave us a little bit of cushion will in terms of handling matters I think this is much more a little too if they reduced it a full a full percent I think excuse yourself that is very sorrowful on to the high school you make a move get it over to Friday okay the making of this ocean does not mean us it's certainly human process and move that the water finance approved to bring to the referendum a town operations budget of twenty four million one hundred seventeen thousand one hundred seventy four dollars and a school operations budget of forty two thousand nine hundred eighty four million nine hundred fifteen thousand five hundred nine health reality to referendum on May 29 2008 as part of that are we second discussion I just wondered

158if we needed it whether the record of what that resonance Shadowman in terms of percentage decrease ER for a year over year or the to be part of it it's how we moved last time hello amend my motion to include a an increase of four points six lasted or not though when I said that we're not sending but it's part of the notion that migos name again this was three it's represent the referendum any piece of 4.6% or an increase in the rate proposed normally at one point II to understand further discussion all those in favor of the motion on the floor indicate by saying aye aye okay post I motion carries 43 as if for new business do we have any nerves of the game Connor yes please energy great irony couple quick points

159early speaker talked about a state law I find a little hard to understand since most of the libraries in in a safe if you look at city library website are you sitting down and mining for their operating budget with all due respect again Dean misspoke comment about if if the devote went at the other way we still be having a conversation I just spoke we've got a lot of you voted yes the budget and I guess in that very question not one of them said he was disappointed in I vote we got the budget answer so it's gonna be two quotes from 2016 when they vote about it basically by the same margin 6040 vote the first I think that people in town so ever that these budgets were things we needed to do they

160saw that they were reasonably flat out and in a reasonable way to set a budget for the year the formative and chairperson at at the time is to development and said it goes to show that everybody's working in a come up with a rational spending plan the town supports it so the question I would have it it's just using those clothes since the boat is the other way that would seem to indicate that the town is not supporting irrational but you might think is a rational spending plan and it's not thinking that in a reasonable way so I think you really have to work hard right coming up with sanity cuts Thanks may I make one clarifying point there are two different types of libraries into the saving netiquette house is owned by the town

161there are others that are private have no money down as funded a lot of their own we're gonna do get donations from the down work on fusion look at that so you had to clarify we can't use the libraries and down about its can do it I would not in either way thank you for your work in deliberation tonight I have sat in your chair it's not easy making these decisions just just an observation about numbers mr. Rooney earlier on talked about the small number of people who send emails in I talked to mr. Belden who was chair of water Finance time I was on the board we never got 65 emails anything that is a landslide in terms of public comments and so to take the number like that out of the air and

162just talk about in the abstract is a great story but boy doesn't represent the feelings of the town if did that end people to look at a time to do something that they've never done before to let you know that's something to pay attention to victory I actually saw it I guess I people do for about five years now and one of the United somewhat unproductive is that their CBD camps and a lot of sort of you know my seven people over forty two of your friends salty or resulted to see or whatever right but um I think you want us all to find a better method of communication personally I've sworn off Facebook I find it a deplorable platform for communication and gather but I think it's very pious and just just a lot

163of it's real and it's not productive so as part of town leaders I have been implore you all regardless what a party affiliation you are to define it a better mechanism to get into the real pulse to the town because if I call the gentleman back there that you know I think we can all find common ground and anyway that we all here at common ground somewhere you may be hearing where a lot of tennis I can worry about kids we all care about certain things together you don't care about you know we all have to prioritize depending on where we are I think I just think it's you know you can all benefit from a better and proper information getting you know not last-minute hashed out mailers whatever said oh not just general misinformation

164the library should have been voted out in the mirror while I've got loaded down because it's a soccer field and you know cloud over or not because people all sudden became HVAC engineers were too big I mean it's you know there's a lot of productive but I can come from people in town I think as a town clearly we've all come together you know in adversity we need to find a better way to each other that is my whole thing of this whole process and that's where you might see me scale my whole process is exactly what you're saying is there are so many myths numbers they put out on Facebook it's so many things that sway so many people good bad it's just like the folks 500 700 to the thousand was put out

165there but we don't know the number at the library there's different numbers put out by both sides so we're completely wrong anymore for library some of those did quite a lot of people who are against the library I totally agree a hundred percent of what you're saying is we need to find a way to get out to the facts strictly to the facts not gases not and that's exactly where I love border comment ten times over all right I'm sorry working groups are the board's the members of the public have got to show up or watch this is already here you have three members of the Board of Selectmen and six on board of Finance and then you have the members of the Board of Education a lot of ways to work here are here

166tonight so people just have to show up and inherit and it's not the easiest thing to do when you even have facebook on your phone you get the facts from the meetings it is Thank You Betty McIlwain 127 Longmeadow hill chairman of the library board the library board has had an endowment for a very long time I say occasionally that there is no taxpayer money involved but its own nations donations by taxpayers what we mean is that not one cent of the endowment has come from the money approved to operate the library or do capital funds it's all private donations the library board controls the spending of it because it's donations and we have decided that it will not be spent on operating expenses by which we mean the amount of money that the taxpayers

167give it us to operate the building and to keep the building up with improvements we do use the endowment we've tried to save it primarily for a new building and it would have been contributed in part to that we also use it occasionally to buy furniture and capital capital equipment inside the building all look at the projection and equipment in a community room if you know that all of the new computer furniture not computers computers or an operating expense so we do use it to promote the use of the library we said we would use it to promote to buy things that could be moved to a new library some of that I may not get there in the end now with the rate we're going but that's our intent is to buy the hard

168stuff and not after to burden the town with some of that so I we appreciate donations to that endowment which helps us keep going and we do think we've been a steward of that fund over the long time that it is spinning around thank you hi my name is Steve Hackman I lived in London long in Fairlane and I just want to speak as a resident and a builder the results of the one is I know they vote in the afternoon but I heard about the storm so those people who actually went early just in case and just in case happening so I think the poem is important the other thing is that I give information from the new science immediately you know and all of the story of he was when I came I

169don't care about education we just these bottom line numbers and concern is is that because the boat was very against whenever we're supposed to get about that my concern is our good faith gesture I'm talking about my just a nobody and think the team is thinking in the same and be unhappy so my fear and concern is that what we're talking about might not be enough thank you don't you get a comment once twice three times okay I'll comment is closed did you have anything else in your you know as we move along with this damage control we may be as important as to me but you know we'll communicate or the police of getting in here all right - drew order finance I was there I [Music] thank you [Music]