Back to Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes 2008
December 2, 2008
Regular Meeting @ 7:00 PM
Mr. Riley, Ms. Burns, Mr. Rabuffo
Tax Classification Public Hearing. Lane Partridge, Assessor Director, pointed out this hearing is intended as a way for taxpayers to express their views and to ask questions about whether the town should adopt different tax rates for different classes or property. He explained that the history of Hingham has been a single tax rate for residential and commercial property. Mr. Partridge said that shifting the tax rate would place a burden on commercial properties and residential properties would only gain a small benefit. If the shift went to give the commercial properties a higher tax rate, there would be a savings on the residential rate, but because there is a small commercial tax base, at its maximum shifting to the higher rate, would only save on the average tax bill the amount of $500.00 and increase the commercial properties by $7,820. Mr. Partridge did not want to express an opinion whether or not this should change as it is up to the Board of Selectmen. However, he mentioned that the issue needs to be studied quite a bit before a decision is made to make a shift. In response to Mr. Riley’s question, Mr. Partridge, said that the majority of the town’’s that are comparable to Hingham have a single rate.
Voted - to continue to tax all classes of properties at a single rate with a minimal residential factor of one.
Establish an Ad-Hoc Committee - Mr. Rabuffo suggested that the Board explore how other towns generate sources of revenue and what they do with the money raised. He would like to find new revenue sources and ways to decrease the property tax burden on residents. Ms. Burns had suggested that there be a specific proposal for the creation of an Ad-Hoc Committee to take a look at the tax levy in general. Mr. Rabuffo made a motion for the continuation of this discussion to form an Ad-Hoc Committee to pursue the Board or Selectmen’s goals for tax relief by studying the following and report back to the Board of Selectmen on a monthly basis:
1. Study the impact of shifting tax rate among the various tax classifications
2. Examine the role of taxation versus other funding sources to financing town
services
3 Examine the breadth of alternatives according to the town’s authority to levy
taxes, both in manner and allocation
4 Provide comparison of how other comparable communities handle their
taxation as well
Mr. Rabuffo suggested that the proposed Ad-Hoc Committee should consist of a Selectman, the Finance Director, an Assessor, and two members of the Advisory Committee to serve as liaison members. Ms. Burns felt that forming this committee would be in line with the Selectmen’s goal to look at the overall property tax relief picture in order that the residents could be assessed with the minimal rate that the Town could afford. Mr. Riley concurred and felt that it would be telling the residents that the Selectmen are trying their best to do something to help them.
Voted, to continue further discussion at the next Selectmen’s meeting on the formation of an Ad-Hoc Committee to pursue the Selectmen’s goals for tax relief.
Continuance of Town Administrator Interviews. Mr. Riley announced that three of the five finalists, Mr. Paicos, Ms. Myers and Mr. Beecher, were asked to return to this meeting for a second round of interviews. The applicants responded to a series of questions from the Board of Selectmen.
Kevin Paicos. Mr. Paicos informed the Board that to help him in the role of town administrator, he personally talked to many townspeople and employees on a one to one basis, asking them to share their reflections of the community. This enabled him to learn of the issues the town is faced with. Mr. Paicos said it was a constant theme from everybody how much the quality of life of this town means to everyone and their wanting to share in the character of the community growth and development. It was nice to hear that the concerns of the community were the same as department heads. Mr.Paicos advised he would enjoy working in a town where the residents have a strong sense of identity and place. The number of people working on town committees and boards on a volunteer basis astounded him. He explained that once he did have to handle a Board of Selectmen’s decision that he disagreed with. A gross mistake had been made in the budget, while he had been away, it was a financial disaster, and it went from one battle to another. The School Department was given another $155,000 for their budget and the only way to do that was either to cut town budget or to come up with extra revenue, which there was none. It was an agonizing decision because cutting a municipal budget as you know midway through the fiscal year means that you only save 50% would have decimated all of the town’ services by eliminating one third of the work force. His advice to the board was that he thought the prudent course was to relate to the school department that we couldn’t afford to give them that sum of money and that they would be have to manage without it. Two of the three board members disagreed because they had pledged that they would make good on this commitment. Mr. Paicos then suggested that the only other alternative was to propose an override to the voters. Everyone put aside their differences and worked together and passed this override even though a previous override had been voted on. He very much prided himself in being able to solve this matter. He felt that the necessary personal attribute to become a Town Administrator is that you have to care genuinely for people and love public service. His absolute best day is when a citizen calls up either whom I have made contact with to resolve a problem or one of the department heads have and say that they are amazed at what you folks did. The worst situation is if you have to fire an employee as he has a very protective attitude towards employees and takes it as a personal failure if an employee doesn’t succeed. His weakness is working too hard. sSometimes sometimes he doesn’t realize he should back off, but he tries not to be too overbearing while doing it. The nicest compliment he has ever received was the day his wife agreed to marry him.
Mr. Paicos would lead the town forward in performance measurement with a number of mechanisms he could use to gauge public satisfaction by engaging them in some kind of dialogue and asking them of their opinion of services. Classic performance management budgeting usually would measure,take one or more services,, of the department because it becomes virtually impossible to measure it all.Then another year selectmen difference services and the public expect you would take corrective action. Everything can be measured. There would be brainstorming sessions with department heads. He said he is pretty conservative with respect to fiscal policy, and he believes you should live absolutely within your means, not spending all of the town’s reserves., dDon’t, don’t spend long accrued revenue on recurring expenses, and maintain at least 5% of your annual expenditures as a reserve.. He would apply Moody’s financial rules as a guideline to keep up Hingham’s AAA rating.
Jill Myers thought the next budget cycle will be challenging to ensure there are funds available to provide the level of services the town expects. Certainly, what the town has experienced with financial health, good management, and good decisions in the face of the economy, there is going to be some tough decisions to make. Department hHeads and employees will have to work in harmony together. There is going to be a challenge of balancing with one department wanting more than another department. She pointed out it would never be a concern that she wouldn’t carry out the Board’s decisions, whether she agreed with them or not. The only incident she had in the past affected only one employee who had use of a town vehicle for the purpose of commuting back and forth. It was reported to her that this car was seen parked outside the town on several occasions. She implemented a Vehicle Use Policy and then dealt with it objectively. She would deal with all employees and department heads objectively. She also is a firm believer in full disclosure and that all employees should be held accountable. Communication is a key factor and she would maintain open lines and keep the Board well informed of all town matters. Her weakness has been taking on too much work but she is working hard to overcome by learning to delegate and prioritize. Ms. Myers felt she would make a good town administrator due to many adverse situations she had worked in. Ms. Myers pointed mentioned, out that the Town Clerk resigned just before an election,. sShe, she dealt with it by borrowing a town clerk from another town, made arrangements for elections workers and voting machines and coordinatedingcoordinating with the State and the election went fine. She had to step in to deal with financial matter when the town finance director retired. Ms. Myer’s
thoughts on Performance Measurements is that it is a pretty big job for department heads to do and felt that the finance director should play a large role by working with them. She also thought it would work out well if staff members were encouraged to take courses in municipal finances. The nicest compliment she ever received was that after her last budget process, a long time member of the finance committee informed her that it was the best budget she has ever seen and it was broken down so that it was understandable by all. Ms. Myers advised she would have a very balanced and conservative approach to finances and is very aware that local government does not operate like a business. She mentioned she was very impressed with the collaboration of the department heads, staff, and committees.
Mr. Beecher felt he would make a good town administrator for Hingham. He had spent a few hours reading the Annual Town Report and was surprised at the amount of citizen participation which is absolutely terrific and one of the things he had noticed in his discussions with the staff is that people in the community don’t seem to have an overall vision for Hingham. He thought that doesn’t allow you to tie things together as well as you should. A lot of these issues would come together easier if the entire community had a vision of what they want Hingham to be in future years. Once you have that then it would be easier for the Board, the management staff, the employees and citizens to work towards that goal. Mr. Beecher explained he has always seen eye to eye with his Boards regardless of how the decision turned out and seldom has he been in disagreement as to what they wanted to do. Mr. Beecher said he respects other people and their opinions. He is very patient and doesn’t act out of anger. He likes to get things done and not leave any loose ends. His worst incident was trying to improve safety on a road, which, created an upheaval., sSome, some people didn’t want it done and he had 50 people screaming outside his office. After meeting with them, he led all parties into a reasonable discussion and was able to defuse the situation. He believes in training personnel to have them perform at their highest levels. He like change and is not afraid of change. Organization and frugality are his pet peeves. Mr. Beecher said he likes to have focus groups to help the public understand the town expenditures. He would lead the town forward by setting up standardization and setting goals. In response to the Board’s question aboutof the article in the newspaper relating to a situation in the City of Kingman,.. Mr. Beecher replied that life would be exciting if you believed everything in the newspapers. He pointed out that he has never done anything illegal or immoral. He mentioned that town hall has a great staff. He would like to be involved in formalizing plans for development relating to the parking garage and the proposed restaurant at Station Street. He is interested in protecting the character of downtown and balancing the tax load.
Mr. Riley thanked the candidates and advised that the Board would announce their decision for the Town Administrator’s position this Thursday evening.
Adjourned 9:30 PM.
Marilyn Harrington
Clerk pro tem