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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1963-12-07-min 594 0. C SELECTMEN'S MEETING December 7, 1963 A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Saturday morning, Decmmber 7, 1963, at 9 :00 A.M. for the purpose of discussing 1964 budgets . Chairman Cole, Messrs. Cataldo, Burnell, Sheldon were present Mr . Gray, Executive Assistant , and Miss Murray, Executive Clerk, were also present. Mr. Ethel U. Rich, Tax Collector, met with the Board. She said the girls in her department were listed just es Senior Clerks but she felt they should be Senior Account Clerks The Chairman said the budget, as presented, was basically raising them both from S-3 to S-4. Mrs . Rich said she did not know what to do about raises . The Chairman explained that they are at the maxi- mum at S-3. Mrs . Rich said they were at the maximum as Senior Clerks. Mr. Cataldo asked about the dassification for Senior Clerk, dutywise Mrs. Rich said she could never see the difference They have a Senior Account Clerk over at the Assessors ' office and she was sure that Clerk's ability and her Clerks ' was equal. Mr. Gray said a Senior Account Clerk has more to do with accounting. The S-5 is a general secretary where there is a great reliance on shorthand. The emphasis on a Senior Account Clerk is primarily on ac- counting procedures . The Siior Clerk is a general overall clerk who might do some of this . Mr. Burnell asked if these clerks were doing account- ing work. He said the difference hese is one has a greater area of responsibility and asked if that was correct. Mr Gray replied in the affirmative. Mrs . Rich said the clerks have to get balances besides taking in the money, writing it up, posting and balancing with the Accountant every month and to her that would be Senior Account Clerk' s work Mr. Cataldo asked what Mr Evans said. The Chairman explained that Mr. Evans had classified them as S-3. Mr. Gray explained that Mr. Evans felt the work was repetitive operations. Mr. Burnell said repetitive means straight clerical. He asked if one of the three girls was a Senior Clerk. 59rm I Mrs. Rich replied thet they are both the same and both do practically the same type of work. She said at times they have as many as seven liens a day Mr. Gray read the Evans ' job classification de- scription for a Senior Account Clerk and said it would not fit what these girls are doing Mr. Burnell asked if it would be advisable to have Mr. Gray look into this the next couple of weeks and then give the Board a briefing The Chairman said Mr Gray might be able to give the Board more information, but he did not want him to make _ a decision Mr. Burnell said the Senior Account Clerk description just read is not applicable Mr. Gray said he thought this should be looked into, and stated that there is a difference between Senior Clerk and Senior Account Clerk Mr. Sheldon said the Board would have to reserve decision anyway. The Chairman said he thought he understood Mrs. Rich's position. Mrs. Rich retired at 9 :25 A.M. Mr . Grush and Mr. McCurdy, Assessors , met with the Board. The Chairman said that , with reference to Mrs. Sullivan, there is a request to change the classification from an S-3 to S-4 and asked if there was a particular reason. He asked if she did the same work as Eyrs. Gauthier. Mr. Grush replied that either one is interchangeable with the other They both have about the same amount of time in the Assessors ' Office Mr. McCurdy said he understood Mrs . Sullivan was in Assessors ' and left to be married and then returned. He said from budget his observation in the work, they may not do exactly the same work, but the work load is the same Mr Cataldo said under the conditions , and the way the Board is tninking, he felt the reorganization of the Assessors ' Office is a move in the right direction The Chairman asked if this had anything to do with the reorganization of the office Mr. Grush replied in the affirmative . He said they plan to have Mr Cronin out in the field more and give the routine work to the girls; one or the other will be on the counter or telephone He said they both have been there2 about thirteen years The Chairman said the Board has to be sure they are both doing approximately the same job and make sure they fit into the S-4 classification He said he thought this was in the same category as Mrs . Rich 's. i96 ac Mr . Cataldo said this covers operating an accounting machine. Mr Gray said the job description more closely fits these girls then it does the Collector' s Mr. Burnell said this is specialized work The Chairman said the next one the Board has a question on is for a Junior Clerk, a new girl He explained that many departments are looking for a girl who would not be full time If a qualified girl can be hired, she could help department de artment that needed help at a particular time and by doing this, it may be possible to cut the request of four or five girls down to one girl He explained that the Board is trying to get a secretary pool and thinks it is a good idea Mr . Grush agreed Mr Gray said it is difficult to justify a girl in these departments for the whole year . Mr. Burnell said there would be a floating clerical staff Mr Cataldo s&id the Board should see the results of the IBM service first Mr Grush said the next six months will be the Assessors ' peak period Mr. Cataldo said the extra girl would not be of any help to the Assessors because she could not be employed until April Mr. Grush stated that the Assessors feel it would be advantageous to the Town to have another girl in the office so work could be done He said this girl could be posting sales ' information so the Assessors could more easily keep track of the trend of relative prices in any given neighborhood She would also be put on maintenance of personal property tax rolls which have been sadly neglected for years Mr. Cataldo asked if the Board could start out on this basis and if the girl is needed all the time, the Board could make the move next year He said once a new girl is employed, she is never taken off Mr. Burnell said the Board wants to make sure the Assessors have enough help to get the bills out on time, but did not want to have full-time employees who might be working 75% of the year Mr. Cataldo asked if the Assessors felt there is 100% efficiency in the office now, and Mr. Grush replied that it is hard for him to tell Mr McCurdy stated that the time he has been in there he has never seen them sitting around doing nothing He stated that there is a terrific amount of counter work In the matter of half an hour the other day, Mrs. Sullivan was at the counter half an hour. He explained that if 597 the dlerical records were up to date, these people, who are certainly entitled to the information, could look it up themselves Mr. Crush said his Board feels that with a street file and an atlas, the counter work would be cut down The Chairman said if there are two or three girls in the pool, the Assessors might know which one would be better for their department . Mr. Crush asked if ther is any possibility of get- ting a girl before Town Meeting. The Chairman replied that he did not see how it could be done. Mr. Gray said he would check with the Appropriation Committee and also discuss this with Town Counsel. Mr . Burnell said the Board 's thinking is that it will provide the Assessors with another girl on a pa-t-time basis, and if Mr Gray finds they need a full-time girl, then the Board will give them enough effort to provide for the full-time operati-n. Mr. Gray said the Assessors want a girl for Janusry, February and March. Messrs. Crush and McCurdy retired at 10 :05 A.M. Mr. Raymond L. White, Town Accountant, met with the Board. Mr. Gray explained that Mr. White is requesting that the Senior Account Clerk be raised to strap four. Mr White said last year a few girls reached step four and there was a lot of dissension. He said he Town Ac- thought she should be up there. countant 's The Chairman asked how long she has been in this budget particular job, and Mr. white replied she was doing the same type of work when Mrs. Boleyn was there Mr. Burnell asked, if something such as this ex- isted last year, why it wasn't corrected last year The Chairman explained that according to Mr. Evans , she should be a step down. Mr. Gray said she was in the department, but not in this particular job for six years. Mr. Burnell said when a policy has been set up, the Board does not want any variations, and the policy should apply to the whole operation Mr. White said he was trying to befir as far as the Town and the individual is concerned. s'/The Chairman said Mr. white ha done what he could for his help, the Board would decide and let him know. The Chairman explained that, in reference to a new clerk, the Board has in mind the creation of a labor pool under the Board' s jurisdiction and the clerk would be 598 placed where she is needed when she is needed the most . He said by doing this, they hope to cut down the request for four or five girls to one or two Mr. white said that would work out in some cases In his department, he has the Appropriation Committee, the Accounting and Retirement. Mr. White retired at 10 :15 A M. Mr. Raymond Barnes , Chairman of the Town Cele- Town Celgb brations Committee, met with the Board. The budget brations Committee was discussed and the various items explained. budget Mr. Barnes retired at 10 :25 A.M. Mr. Irving Mabee, Chairman of the Planning Board, met with the Selectmen Mr. Burnell asked if some of the functions of the Planning Board could be taken care of by a secretary Planning labor pool He asked if much of Mr. Snow 's time was Board not spent on high grade clerical work. budget Mr. Mabee said thst Mrs Macomber is doing a lot of work Mr. Snow was doing. The Chairman asked if Mrs. Macomber was doing twice as much work now as she was before and not getting paid for it . Mr Mabee said when Mr Snow left, her work was away down Mr. Burnell asked if Senior Clerk Stenographer was her proper rating, and Mr. Gray replied in the affirma- tive Mr. Mabee retired at 10 45 A.M Mr. Irwin, Building Inspector , and Mr Byrne, Plumb- ing and Gas Inspector, met with the Board. Inspection The Chairman asked how many plumbing inspections budget were made. Mr. Byrne replied 619 plumbing and gas combined. The Chairman asked what is entailed in the gas inspections. Mr. Byrne replied about two hours a day. The Chairman asked about the time per inspection and Mr. Byrne replied the minimum is five minutes Mr. Byrne said if he were an individual gas in- spector, the minimum charge would be $7.00. Mr. Cataldo asked if he hao many call backs, and Mr. Byrne replied quite frequently Mr. Sheldon asked if gas heating installation were included, and Mr. Byrne replied in the affirmative. Mr. Sheldon said the Fire Department has nothing to do with gas, and Mr. Byrne said that was correct. A FJ .p Mr. Burnell asked if much of his work was on new buildings, and he said there are a lot of replacements. Mr. Cataldo asked about the qualifications for a Gas Inspector Mr Byrne explained that it just says in the Leneral Laws that the Gas Inspector shall be a licensed Gas fitter. Mr. Irwin suggested that the Gas Inspector and the Plumbing Inspector be considered together and not separate Mr. Byrne said he wants to be raised to My-7 Mr. Irwin Mentioned tht the help in his department has all arrived at the maximum salary The Board advised that it was aware of this fact, and following a discussion on the subject, Messrs. Irwin and Byrne retired at 11:!5 ; .M. Messrs . Graham, Winlock and Healy met with the Board relative to the Cemetery budgets . Mr. Gray explained that the salary rate for the Cemetery Superintendent was set and the rate for 1964 should be budgets the same as 1963, according to the Evans ' report There was some discussion concerning the $2,000 request for shrubs, seeds, fertilizer and loam. Mr Healy is to prepare more definite information. The meeting adjourned at 1 :05 P.M. A true record, Attest y%� / xbiveClerSelec en