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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-03-07-BOS-min 3764 SELECTMEN'S MEETING March 7, 1977 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, March 7, 1977 at 7 30 p m. Chairman Kessler, Mr Buse, Mrs Battin and Mrs Miley; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Hearing - Chairman Kessler opened the hearing to discuss a proposal sub- Revenue mitted by the Town Manager on the possible uses of General Revenue Sharing Sharing Funds The Town's proposed total operating budget for FY 78 Funds is $26,288,061, of which $16,262,350 is for education and $10,025,711 is for General Government ($4,500,737, Personal Services and $5,224,974, Expenses) Use of General Revenue Sharing is proposed in the following areas Article 4 - Council on Aging $ 17,240 Mystic Valley Mental Health 30,853 Community Services 33,350 Police Vehicles 25,000 Article 19 - Sewer Lateral Construction 237,615 Article 22 - DPW Equipment 125,945 Article 29 - Fire Truck 80,000 Total to be appropriated $550,000 Total available or anticipated 631,243 84 A representative of Interfaith was present and said that in the area of housing, it would not be the expectation of a private organi- zation to receive Town funds but they would be interested in exploring Town funds through the Housing Authority and whether they would collaborate with us Housing would be limited to low income people and our effort is aimed at moderate as well as low income, and the larger project would be mixed income If the Town were interested in building some family housing as well as elderly, perhaps some form of collaboration could be worked out where others in low in- come could be worked out by Interfaith Mr Hutchinson said that the Board is always interested and we might be able to work on it as we get into the whole area Mr Rooney, Housing Authority, said he felt that the hearing is a very good idea but after the fact; it is just grounds for educating us for another year Chairman Kessler asked if Mr Rooney, as an individual, would be open to working with Interfaith? Mr Rooney replied that he would if it is within the scope of the law Mr Hutchinson said that he was not familiar with the statutes but he thought it could be for low and moderate income Mrs Renee Cochin asked what was the basis for the decision on 377 Selectmen's Meeting March 7, 1977 having the Council on Aging and Mystic Valley Mental Health funds come out of Revenue Sharing Funds for this year and future years? Mr Hutchinson replied that there will be a growing allocation of these resources to human services, combined with equipment; they are both proper areas The reason is so that we could show serving the needs of people through all areas It is an opportunity to look at some other types of things; we will be looking at problems of the elderly The tax situation is driving out various segments of our society Mrs Cochin asked if M.V M H would be guaranteed? Also, whams about one-shot programs? Mr Hutchinson said that it would be about 4 1/2 years, as we have several years left. Working with citizens depends on how the program is expanded There has been a good indication that after 3 to 5 years experimentation it is going to be expanded Over $2 )0 is involved in our tax rate and if the money runs out, we are goin3 to have to look at these types of needs; plus it is subject to strong auditing Rather than go through a grant Dr Kassler said that there are concerns for human services aid, if somewhere down the line there was a sudden shift, they are thin_c- ing that we would not have the money for them. Mrs Cochin is saying that perhaps it is not a good idea to peg some each year but to shift around Mr Hutchinson said that the police question is valid By identifying programatical areas, we do address the programs If wa used it for all of the equipment, we would still be able to have tae funds for Re-place Dr Kassler said that we are not getting into a situation that these are only funded because we are getting money from revenue sharing Mr Hutchinson said that, here, you can really impact on how you would like to see the money expended Mrs Jackie Davison said that it is clearly demonstrated that human services are providing services, but we don't really know what we have or need She would like to see it for human services and, if we get a council going, you would need a Director and there would be funds She would like to see money for seed projects like a directory, the same way as the information and referral system at the Library Seed money for human services for the elderly or recreation; things you might hesitate to put on the tax rate Mrs Battin asked Mr Hutchinson what happens if we don't spend the $81,000 for human services? Mr Hutchinson replied that we will lump it in for next year; the law requires that the money must be spent within two years of receipt. Mrs Cochin said that she supports Mrs Davison's suggestion 111 for seed money and new things, to give an opportunity to try programs, but she also has concerns about long range projects going on revenue 311 8 Selectmen's Meeting March 7, 1977 sharing Chairman Kassler said that Mr Hutchinson has made sure that a lot of our enthusiasm is channeled well, by starting small In his opinion, it is the only way to go Mr Busa said that they should not lose sight of the fact that each dollar we give in seed money has to be appropriated on the tax rate and, just because there are revenue sharing funds, we shouldn't experiment He said that he didn't want to get into the philosophy of using seed money to start up this or that project but maybe they could be done by some other means rather than revenue sharing Mrs Cochin said that if used for seed money, we would not continue them on Anne Scigliano said that she was very happy with the list as it fulfills what revenue sharing is all about Chairman Kassler said that we will need input and we will wel- come any suggestions Hearing no further questions, Chairman Kassler declared the hearing closed at 8 00 p m. Auctioneer Chairman Kassler read applications for Auctioneer's licenses Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign Auctioneer's licenses for Mr Robert N Cann, 5 Castle Road, and Mr William A. Sennott, 10 Douglas Road, expiring March 31, 1977 Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's meetings held on December 13, 1976 and February 7, 1977 Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 by roll Session call vote to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the reputation of an individual, with no intention of coming out and resuming the open session After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session and adjourn Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 8 50 p m A true record, Attest ;?)12e, :))1 Executive Clerk, Selectmen I