BRATTLEBORO — Town Manager Barbara Sondag said voters at this year's Representative Town Meeting will make decisions in the context of constraining the town's budget without cutting essential services during tough economic times.
Sondag called the recent budget decisions “tricky.”
“We didn't want to come in with unacceptable cuts,” she said. “You need to prioritize services because people need them. It's important that financial resources and human resources go toward services that are the right priorities.”
“From the town's perspective, I think we'll have some good discussions,” said Sondag about the Saturday, March 20 Annual Representative Town Meeting. The meeting, which begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Brattleboro Union High School gymnasium, will be broadcast on Brattleboro Community Television.
Residents can view the town Web site, www.brattleboro.org, for the meeting warning (on the Elections page) and contact information for district representatives (linked to the home page).
Sondag said she doesn't anticipate any contentious issues this year, although the budget reflects some operational changes.
“We have to continue to get better at looking at the numbers. Cost savings require we change our operations. Don't see things getting much better much quicker,” says Sondag about changes to the budget.
Pay as you throw
One addition is $20,000 to fund a one-year recycling coordinator position.
“The position is the result of the Selectboard listening to the community and trying to meet some of those needs,” says Sondag.
According to Sondag, the new position was created in response to a survey conducted by the Solid Waste Department last year. According to Sondag, the survey revealed that voters felt the town needed to hire someone to oversee the pay-as-you-throw policy approved by the Selectboard Jan. 6, 2009. The Recycling Coordinator position was discussed but not approved at last year's Selectboard meetings and 2009 Representative Annual Town Meeting.
Brattleboro has received guidance from Windham Solid Waste Management District Program Director Cindy Sterling but, as Sondag explains, Sterling's mandate is to assist towns of fewer than 10,000 residents. Brattleboro has a population of 16,444, according to figures from the 2000 U.S. Census.
According to Sondag, the revenue from the mandatory pay-as-you-throw trash bags will cover the $328,000 annual cost of disposing of the town's solid waste. Taxes will cover the $500,000-plus operating costs of the program, including trash collection and maintenance.
Budget reflects staffing shuffle
This year, some of the operational changes involve staffing.
Weekly hours at Brooks Memorial Library have been cut by eight hours. The stock clerk position in the public works department has been eliminated. The highway and utilities departments will share one employee who will work half time in each department.
According to Finance Director John Leisenring, “The overall budget in the Finance Department will be reduced by half a person.” After Treasurer Emilie Thomas leaves her position this summer for personal reasons, Leisenring will take over many of the treasurer's duties. A clerk will be hired to perform clerical duties in the office. “We're not losing a body but downgrading the position,” he said.
Personnel decisions do not need approval at Town Meeting. Representatives approve the budget amount to be raised by taxes, and individual departments decide how to use the approved funds, Leisenring explained.
A police officer position that had been frozen will be eliminated. “This [cutting the officer position] comes at a time when we're seeing increased crimes that are a little more violent. It's a change I prefer we didn't have to make,” Sondag said.
Residents can voice their concerns at two public pre-town-meeting informational sessions.
Town issues, budget, and changes will be discussed at an informational session Wednesday, March 10; the school portion of the agenda, Thursday, March 18. Both meetings will take place in the gymnasium at the Academy School, 860 Western Ave.
During the meeting, voters will also:
• Debate the sale of the former Chestnut Hill Reservoir property “upon terms and conditions approved by the Selectboard.”
• Debate authorizing the purchase of 6.7 acres adjacent to the Wastewater Treatment Plant from Boston & Maine Railroad “at a cost not to exceed $25,000.”
• Borrow $175,000 at a rate no higher than 6 percent, for a term of at most 20 years so the town can resurface the parking lot and drive at Living Memorial Park. Voters will decide this capital improvement question by Australian ballot.
• See if the Town School District will lease a portion of the Crowell Lot on Green Street to the town for a skateboard park.