Select Board Meeting Minutes 9/19/23
Minutes of the Select Board meeting 9/19/23
Meeting Date: Tuesday September 19, 2023
Meeting Opened at 6:01 pm
Select Board members present: Justin Makuc, chair; Susan Cooper, Frank Abbott
Also Present: Melissa Noe, Mickey Jervas
Also present remotely: Laurie McArthur (SB secretary), Peter Murkett, Don Coburn, Jeff Zimmerman, Lauren Behrman, Sheila Labarbera
Call to Order 6:01 pm
- 6:00pm: Peter Murkett, Chair of Renewable Energy Working Group, to discuss upcoming Special Town Meetings
Justin inquired about which Town Meeting this would be on and said that they were waiting for the Planning Board to review this prior to the Board making a decision about whether they would like to add anything to this warrant prior to the deadline. Justin said that he was concerned that if the REWG solar discussion was added to the school board town meeting, then there was the chance that the school board may receive more attention and discussion than the solar.
Peter M. said that they could receive additional proposals if the lease is in place sooner rather than later. He said that if they delayed adding this to a Warrant then it would delay the project by six months. Justin said that if there are three or four items then a second town meeting may be called. Peter M. said that the REWG has been focused on the landfill project for the past few months along with the META grant and have not focused on the rooftop solar for which the ARPA grant was being used. Peter said they proposed a first stage of the bylaw change to the Planning Board, to which they were receptive. Justin said it may be beneficial to address the solar at a later Town Meeting so the Planning Board will have enough time for review. Peter will also draft something for the Monterey News. Justin asked about ownership at the solar array at the capped landfill. Peter said the third party will be the developer. Peter said that they were still early in the process, and they needed additional information about scale and would need to engage with a solar developer and guidelines from the state regarding what constitutes a community solar array.
- 6:15pm: Sheila LaBarbera to discuss Berkshire Retirement assessment changes
Sheila said that the Berkshire County Retirement Board modified how their assessment is allocated to their member units. She said that at the end of every year the treasurer will send them the amount of pensionable wages that have been paid by the Town of Monterey. Then they take the aggregate total, and divide the Towns portion by the aggregate total with a percentage of their active member participation in the retirement system.
She said that the board looked at the total usage of the pension system in 2013, and now it is becoming more pronounced that some towns are using more of the pension system than others. Sheila said that the board has moved to an actuarial system, which will now include salary, retirees, disabilities, and group classifications. She described the changes with disabilities, where now an employee could claim a disability if injured on the first day of the job and could claim up to 72 percent of the benefit; and group classifications, which in Monterey would include the Police Officers. She said that the police and fire personnel max their benefit at age 55 and were therefore more expensive. She said that they were ensuring that individuals were allocated to the correct unit, and when the letters go out on July 1st, this will include additional information on this allocation. Sheila discussed the impact of covid on the system and reported that they just completed their evaluation for 2023 and found out that they are fully funded at 105 percent. Sheila said that there is a COLA increase on the first $14,000 of individuals’ pension. The board voted last month to increase this to $16,000 which will go into effect on July 1, 2024.
Justin inquired if small towns were paying more into the system but using it less. Sheila said that over the years there is less shared services between towns, and some towns had significant growth. Some towns are good at managing personnel and injuries, and others that are not as good at managing these, which increases costs with the system.
Justin said that Monterey is transitioning to a new payroll system, and asked where hourly reports would be needed, particularly for salaried individuals. He asked where Berkshire County would need documentation for this. Sheila said that with a municipal finance company there is not an actual treasurer for the Town, therefore Monterey is not able to vote at an advisory level due to not having a treasurer. Sheila suggested that someone be nominated to be the official treasurer and be able to attend a meeting once or twice a year for voting purposes. Justin said that they vote a town treasurer and were informed by Town Counsel to put the firm in that role. Sheila said that if the Select Board could forward her a legal document with this information, then she can pass this along to her legal counsel and provide the Town with a direction to have someone that could vote in their meetings.
Sheila said that the hours in payroll does have an effect on pension, and they need to work a minimum of 20 hours per week to be able to obtain their benefits, and if they drop below 20 hours, they will no longer be able to receive the full-time credible service. She explained that hourly employee’s wages should reflect hours worked. Sheila said that if anyone is elected then they are considered a full-time employee; whereas the salaried employee falls between a stipend (does not constitute enrollment in the retirement system) and a full-time employee who would receive the benefit. A stipend does not have any allotted hours, and therefore does not constitute an eligible position. Sheila said that hours count because a certain number of hours are required to meet the pension requirements, but do not affect the pension unless an individual falls below 20 hours a week. The pension reflects hours worked. Sheila said she could follow up with Sara in payroll. The Select Board and Town Administrator discussed the difference between salaried and a stipend-based employee and said that they would like to get more information, but recommended individuals keep track of their hours which is considered best practice.
- Review Town Administrator job description
Justin said that he reviewed the job description and made some grammatical changes and reorganized the responsibility section. Susan discussed some of the responsibilities that did not seem appropriate for the job description. Justin included another category that summarized other roles in the job description. Frank suggested sending this to Sophia. Justin discussed grouping the categories and responsibilities to help the job description flow better. Susan discussed reasoning for combining responsibilities vs having separate categories for each of the identified items. The members of the Select Board will send their comments and recommendations to Sophia.
- Treasurer contract
This item will be tabled until the next meeting.Melissa was asked to follow up with the Treasurer to see about the possibility of having a two year contract for consistency.
- Accountant contract
Justin said that this contract does not line up with the fiscal year, and when additional funds are requested due to inflation it does not line up with the traditional timeline, but rather would have to start on October 1st. Justin discussed two provisions in the contract, and Melissa said that it was removed because it did not apply to the current contract. Justin moved to approve the Accountant contract with (name not heard) which goes through September 30, 2024. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Justin-yes, Susan-yes, Frank-yes.
- Office space in Town Hall
Justin asked if the Board would like for Sophia to have a separate office space and how would this be able to happen.Susan said that partitioning off a section of the main meeting room would not provide privacy due to conversations being able to be heard.Justin said that it would make some sense to have a designated office space so the HR director could have a place to hold sensitive conversations when necessary.Justin will follow up with Sophia.
- Town Administrator Items:
- Draft documents reminder
Justin said that there is a lot of open meeting law review in the Draft Boards and Committees Handbook. Justin suggested, rather than reiterating the OML in the Guide, referring individuals to the open meeting law guide, email the state office, and refer to the Town Administrator. Justin said that there should be guidance on Town-specific processes related to the OML, such as how to post a meeting agenda or minutes.
- Update on proposed shared position for Community Compact
Melissa discussed this with Shawn, who said that this was strictly EMS.She said that they will use the buggy that Monterey currently has and can respond with one person.Melissa said that the person would respond to daytime calls and have a salary of $58,500 plus benefits.
In five years, the Fire Company will be losing three individuals who respond to daytime calls due to them aging out.Shawn will be putting in a request for full time staff over the next five years to ensure there are individuals who are EMS and Fire capable.
Susan expressed concerns about paying the same amount for 24-hour coverage vs having to pay close to the same amount for a Monday through Friday shift for 40 hours a week.
Susan said that there would need to be a plan for how this segways with the current service.The Select Board agreed to start writing the grant.
- Discussion of Regional School District Planning Board proposal
Justin said that the new school committee members would be elected by all eight towns, similar to the process in the current School District. However, Monterey has a smaller percentage of the vote in a larger district.
- Draft Town Report
Justin explained what he drafted a Select Board report for the annual Town Report.He primarily reviewed the information on the Department heads, ARPA, and the Hume lawsuit.Justin said that this could be further reviewed at a future meeting.
- Unanticipated business
Justin said that one of the abutters next to the cell tower service road raised concerns that it has not been properly maintained. Justin said that if the road is not maintained then the Town will be unable to get vehicles up that road. He said that if the drainage is poor, then the water may run into the primary roadway. Justin informed the Director of Operations and the Building Commissioner of the concern, as he thinks they are the appropriate officials to deal with the matter at this time.
- Comments & questions from the public
There were no comments or questions from the public.
- Approve minutes of 8/21/23, 9/11/23, 9/12/23
The Select Board reviewed the minutes from 9/11/2023. Justin made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Frank-yes, Justin-yes.
Justin made a motion to adjourn the Select Board meeting.Susan seconded.Call a vote: Susan-yes, Frank-yes, Justin-yes. Meeting adjourned at 8:05pm.
Documents used at the meeting:
- Draft Town Administrator Job Description
- Signed Accountant contract
- Draft Town Report