Board of Selectmen’s Meeting

November 30, 2006

 

A joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen, School Committee and Finance Committee was called to order by the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Charles Ampagoomian, Jr. at 7:00 PM, Northbridge Town Hall, 7 Main Street, Whitinsville, MA.  Present:  Messrs. Davis and Marzec.  Selectman William Audette was absent and it is duly noted.

 

Also Present:  Northbridge School Committee Members: Chairman Carroll Paine, Kristin Burns, Paula Grabowski, Leeann Hansson, Karen Kittredge, Susan Brouwer, Carrie Marzec, and Donald Lange.  Finance Committee Members: Chairman Mary Frances Powers, Mary Thompson, Salvatore D’Amato, Andrew Todd, Jr., and Plato Adams.  School Personnel:  Superintendent Paul Soojian and George Murray.  Town Hall Staff:  Sharon Susienka, Acting Town Manager, and Neil Vaidya, Town Accountant.

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by those present.

 

Selectman Davis took issue with an editorial that appeared in the Telegram & Gazette this date with respect to the recent ruling by the Assistant District Attorney concerning violations of the Open Meeting Law by some Selectmen.  He felt the editorial was not accurate and then proceeded to read portions of Attorney Lauren Goldberg's [Town Counsel] letter to the Assistant District Attorney stating that in her opinion, the Selectmen hadn't violated the Open Meeting Law—pointing out that Attorney Goldberg was an expert on the Open Meeting Law.  Selectman Davis then asked for Chairman Ampagoomian's resignation as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen on or before Monday, December 4, 2006.

 

Chairman Ampagoomian responded that he would not resign his position as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen.  He reminded everyone that he publicly announced he would not respond to any emails that were being circulated to various people because of his concern that it was in violation of the Open Meeting Law.  Mr. Ampagoomian further pointed out that he felt the agreement to fire former Town Manager Michael J. Coughlin, Jr. by several Selectmen was carried out illegally because it was never discussed in an Executive Session, as it should have been.  Once again, Chairman Ampagoomian passionately stated that he would not resign his post as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen.

 

Selectman Marzec fervently stated that he was not involved in any discussion whatsoever pertaining to the dismissal of the former Town Manager.  He further indicated he purposely stayed out of it and never made his decision until the night of the meeting at which the vote to oust the Town Manager was taken.

 

Continuing, School Committee Chairman Carroll Paine advised that the purpose of tonight's meeting was not to discuss such matters but to remedy the deficit the Town is facing.

 

That said, Finance Committee Chairman Mary F. Powers talked about the previous night's meeting and the proposal they developed to deal with the current deficit.  As a result of that meeting, their numbers indicated the town was facing a deficit of $351,172.  Among other things, the Finance Committee also contemplated going to a 4-day workweek for Town Hall, however, they decided it wasn't feasible because it wouldn’t amount to much of a savings.  Ms. Powers advised that the Board of Health offered to further reduce their budget an additional $4,345.  At this time, she asked for feedback from the School Department.

 

Superintendent Paul Soojian reviewed a proposal that he prepared and explained where his numbers came from.  Based on his proposal and with corrections, the deficit was estimated to be $75,913.

 

Selectman Davis asked Ms. Powers whether her committee liked the numbers offered by Mr. Soojian.  She responded that because a $300,000 error was found in the Health Insurance budget that she was not prepared to vote on any proposal.

 

That said, Mr. Sal D’Amato provided an in-depth review of the Health Insurance numbers to show where the error occurred.  Apparently, Medex ($360,000) and Medicare ($250,000) were not included in the budget leaving a $100,000 deficit.  He also noted that the Town has had an IBNR (Incurred but Not Received) problem for several years.

 

After a re-examination of all numbers accepted by all three Boards, it was determined that the deficit stood at $324,226.

 

John Phelan, Playground & Recreation, asked for consideration to keep $9,000 in one of their funds so that in the spring they could install a safety fence at Vail Field (Balmer School) between the baseball and soccer fields.  He advised that estimates have been received in the range of $9,000 and $15,000.

 

 

 

School Committee member Susan Brouwer inquired about the Overlay Surplus Account and requested clarification.  Mr. Vaidya responded that the Overlay Surplus was money set aside by the Assessor’s Office to issue rebates for excise and real estate abatements.  He explained that the amount to be spent/released is determined by the Assessors and that they can vote to release prior year funds for a specific purpose.

 

Selectman Davis suggested that the School and Town take one more look at their budgets to see whether there were any additional reductions that could be made.  He said that the Board of Selectmen should be prepared to make a decision at their meeting on Monday, December 4, 2006, as to which way they wished to proceed and whether that should involve instituting a 4-day workweek for Town Hall.  In closing, Selectman Davis thanked Mr. D’Amato for his hard work regarding the Health Insurance information.  He also thanked everyone present for their participation.

 

Meeting Adjourned:  8:40 P.M.

 

 

                                                            Respectfully submitted,

 

 

                                                            James Marzec, Clerk

 

 

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