Back to Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes
March 4, 2010
Regular Session 7:00 pm
Ms. Burns, Mr. Rabuffo
Questions from the Public
Mr. Reeves said the Police Department appears to be illegally recording outgoing phone calls by failing to notify people that the call is being recorded. He asked that the Board stop the Police Department policy of recording outgoing phone calls.
He also said that there appears to be a subversion of the Public Records Law in the Town of Hingham. He requested that the Board redact the policy of informing a department heads if someone puts in a public records request about his or her department.
Personnel Board
Mr. Puzo reported that the Personnel Board had conducted negotiations with both police units and reached agreement with both units whereby the officers agreed to an extension of the existing contracts at the same wages for one year with an extension of the full benefits of the Quinn Bill for that time. The Personnel Board is expecting to conduct negotiations with the four other units. He said that Article 4 is that article which deals with reclassifications, etc. This year the amount is zero. No increases are anticipated. While it is expected that there will be some reclassifications there is some money remaining in the current fiscal year which is sufficient to address the reclassification of the Director of Community Planning and and the Building Inspector. Article 5 is similar to article 5 as in previous years, except that the Selectmen, at their own initiative, asked the Personnel Board to review their salaries and reduce them.
Voted - to recommend the Report of the Personnel Board be accepted as presented.
Voted - to recommend the salaries of Town Officers as presented
Cable TV Articles
Ms. Peavey said the possibilities for cable include lowering the fee without lowering the entire bill, eliminating the public access channel entirely or lowering the bill completely. Mr. Rabuffo said this was an effort to verify that the approach that was taken so far should continue and to seek town meeting approval of the actions that had been taken so far. Mr. Innis said that apparently there was a recent increase to something over 5%. The purpose was to put before the Town the possibility of renegotiating the access fee. Ms. Peavey noted that this would be without regard to lowering the total bill since the Town has no control over cable rates and cannot legally negotiate the rates.
Mr. Rabuffo said it was his understanding that this article was not necessarily related to the rates but to take this issue to town meeting in order to allow the voters to say yes we like this package or no we do not. Ms Peavey said there is some minimal rate regulation of basic cable rate which is all the state can look at. The cable companies have absolute authority to change rates. The cable committee consulted with a lawyer and other PEG access corporations and determined what it would cost to provide level services. That is how the committee determined the amount that they asked the cable companies for.
Ms. Peavey said if the Town gives back to Comcast and Verizon it will result in a temporary lowering of the piece called access fee. It most likely will not result in a lowering of the entire rate. There is not a provision for opting out of the access fee. Mr. Paicos said he has spoken with Bill August and this type of article is exceptionally rare and the reduction would be symbolic at best. Mr. Paicos noted that what the article purports to do it cannot accomplish.
Ms. Peavey remarked that the Committee tried to figure out what would happen if the Town said it wanted the Committee to renegotiate. The Committee is afraid of the Town’s vulnerability in this regard. There is a specific list of PEG services that the Town is obliged to provide under the terms of the contract. The Committee is confident that the required services can be provided out of the cable money. If the Town lowers the amount in the access fee, it is likely that there may not be enough money for the Town to fulfill its part of the contract. Comcast has given $200,000 of capital that will have to be paid back if the contract is changed. Much of this money has been spent on equipment and wiring that will have to be paid back from the general fund. Verizon will file a suit to recover the capital given under the contract. The Committee does not know the cost of renegotiating the franchise or how it will be paid for and a legal opinion is necessary to see if this cost can be paid from cable fees or from the general fund. Ms. Peavey also noted that the selectmen do not need town meeting approval to do any of this. She also said the other thing to consider is how a successful warrant article would affect the town in contracting in other areas. This is an action taken after the selectmen have acted on it.
Mr. Rabuffo said that as written this article does not accomplish what it was intended to accomplish. The second article does not put as much at risk.
Voted - to not support the cable tv franchise agreement article as written.
Mr. Paicos suggested that the Advisory Committee consider withdrawing the article.
The second article, written by counsel, gives the town an opportunity to have meaningful dialogue as to what will happen with the funds. People have indicated interest in cooking shows, sports, etc.
Ms. Burns said she feels that the committee has made a strong case for what can be accomplished and she feels there is the talent on the committee to lead the way.
Voted - to recommend the Cable TV Access Fees as read.
South Shore Country Club
The Country Club Management Committee is authorized to sign long term leases for the restaurant, pool and golf. The country club is located in the ideal spot for a wireless communication antenna. The committee got into discussions about the potential revenue from cell phone providers. The purpose of this article is to get approval at town meeting to issue an rfp for a long term lease. A flagpole tower with a flag on it would be a good source of revenue with little or no negative impact on the golf course. This would provide somewhere between $17,000 and $25,000 a year. Different providers offer different revenue structures.
Mr. Rabuffo said that this is a “no brainer” and also noted the opportunity for additional providers to participate on the same flagpole. He said there are 48 churches in the Archdiocese with antennas in the steeples. Ms. Burns said she is aware of the concerns about aesthetics at the club and the fact that there were some serious opinions about the cell tower .
Voted - to recommend that the Town amend the General By-laws of the Town at Article 37, Section 11, to allow the Country Club Management Committee, in conjunction with the Board of Selectmen, to enter into lease agreements dealing with locating antennas for personal wireless service transmissions at the South Shore Country Club for a term of not less than one year but in no event greater than five years, with up to five additional extensions of five years each.
Ms. Burns said an update on the retired teachers’ health insurance had been received from Dr. Galo with some questions. There are two individuals who have requested additional time to process the information.
Education Budget
Christine Smith said that previously the approach to the School budget had been to begin with a level services budget. This year the starting point was level funding. She explained that what needs to be done between now and next Thursday is to come to consensus as to what the final budget number will be.
Amy McGuire said there are two main issues – the cost of special education which must be made up by the Town and the enrollment increase. Christine Falvey asked where things stand as far as cuts for other departments. The Board explained that some are up and some are down. The emphasis has to been to put some money back in public safety and there has been an effort to identify the revenue to support these expenses. The cut on the General Government side is about $900,000. Ms. Farrell said the total cut for town services is about 2%.
Dr. Galo reviewed reductions in a level services budget to reach a level funded budget. She then reviewed possible increased fees to help with budget constraints. Dr. Galo said there is a possibility of achieving the necessary reduction of 8 teachers through attrition and therefore minimizing unemployment impacts. Unfortunately, all of the positions emptied through attrition are at the Middle School so this will require some adjustments and reassignments.
Mr. Rabuffo noted that a lot of people are working hard to bring this to closure.
Ms. Burns asked if, on the topic of increased athletic fees, a scholarship would be possible from the Hingham Education Foundation. She also noted that the purpose of the Reserve Fund is for unusual and unanticipated expense and the sudden arrival of a child who needs specialized services that would qualify for that type of coverage. Ms. Burns thanked the School Administration and School Committee for the cooperation in the budget process.
Selectmen/Town Administrator’s Reports
Mr. Paicos said the Landfill capping is moving forward there is one hot spot which hopefully can be dealt with and will not create a problem. He also reported a job for a deputy harbormaster had been posted in error and taken down for that reason. The special legislation for Regional Dispatch has been filed. The Town website has been recognized for its excellence by Common Cause.
Lincoln Maritime has requested a waiver of the new harbor fees. In response to a recent inquiry Mr. Paicos also reported that usually public records requests go to the department that originated or has custody of the document because they are the keeper of the record. In some cases the information is elsewhere and the department is advised of the request in order to ensure that all the requested information is supplied to the individual requesting records.
Meeting adjourned 9:45 pm.
Betty Foley,Clerk