Town Council - Ways & Means Committee

Braintree Town Council MEMBERS Meredith Boericke, Chairwoman Committee of Ways & Means Peter Morin, Vice-Chairman One JFK Memorial Drive Joseph Reynolds, Member Braintree, Massachusetts 02184 Julia Flaherty, Member Elizabeth Maglio, Member MINUTES Tuesday, April 9, 2024 A meeting of the Committee of Ways & Means was held in Johnson Chambers on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 at 6:00pm. Councilor Morin was in the Chair. Clerk of the Council, Susan Cimino conducted the roll call. Present: Meredith Boericke, Chairwoman Peter Morin, Vice-Chairman Julia Flaherty, Member Elizabeth Maglio, Member Joseph Reynolds, Member Also Present: Erin V. Joyce, Mayor Kara L. Nyman, Chief of Staff/Director of Operations Michael Esmond, Director of Municipal Finance Jim Arsenault, DPW Director Timothy Cohoon, Police Chief Corey Chambers, Supervisor of Finance Administration Mary Kenney, Staff Executive - Police Dept Jeanne Connolly, Assistant to Police Chief Maryann Bosse, Finance – Fire Dept Rob DeVito, DPW Finance Approval of Minutes • None Old Business • None April 9, 2024 Ways & Means Committee 1 of 4 New Business • 24 017 Mayor: FY24 Supplemental Appropriations #1 or take up any action relative thereto Chairwoman Boericke asked if anyone from the Mayor’s staff would like to speak. Director Esmond stated in all of these cases a budget was filed and passed and was materially short in each of these cases. Our commitment to fiscal 25 budget is supplemental budgets is not a strategy for budgeting. We asked each department to account for the supplemental that’s reflected here. We are proposing to use $2 million of Free Cash. We want to pursue every measure possible going forward to limit the use of Free Cash. We intend for the next supplemental that we would be filing to use the close out of accounts (transfers) from FY24. There will be an additional supplemental from Schools and we might need to request additional Free Cash for that. Chief Cohoon stated we are submitting a supplemental for $684,000 for overtime through the end of the fiscal year. We forecast every pay period and update our forecast. We have been doing that since 2017. Every year we’ve been trying to get the overtime to a better workable number. Our forecast has been within a couple of percentage points of being accurate. An updated metric is 15% of your overall personnel costs. There are degrees of things we never had to spend time on in the past. Examples are: The time spent in dealing with people with diminished capacity, whether that’s mentally ill or drug addicted. Calls are now 50 to 60 minutes to over 80 minutes. When I was a young police officer we very rarely spent more than 10, 15, 20 minutes on a call. Councilor Maglio asked about budgets and supplementals and if they will be included or expected. Director Esmond stated there are things you know and things you do not. By early detections some of these deficiencies would have been identified very quickly of the pace of spending would have exceeded the pace of the monthly and weekly budget. We would want to know and alter and solve early. Part of the budget message is what are we doing to bring down the overtime. Part of these strategies are not without consequences. Councilor Reynolds stated your chart shows 102 sworn personnel would be sufficient goal to cover all aspects of and responsibilities the police department carries out every day. What type of barriers do you have with the Unions when limiting time off? Chief Cohoon stated we have barriers with the Unions on limiting time off but anytime it would impact public safety. On Braintree Day we freeze time off. Councilor Flaherty stated we are a municipality and there should be an effort to limit overtime in every single case but there are so many factors in that. Director Esmond stated lets fund at a targeted level and work with each department to meet that target because of extraordinary things a supplemental might be justified. Councilor Morin stated I am voting for this because this is the vehicle used this year. It will be tougher next year. I don’t expect you to be perfect. Chairwoman Boericke asked if we have a minimum hours of overtime that are contractual. April 9, 2024 Ways & Means Committee 2 of 4 Chief Cohoon stated details are not paid by the town. If an officer is called back after a shift it is minimum 3 hours of pay. For court it is a minimum of 4 hours. Chairwoman Boericke asked about working out of grade. Chief Cohoon stated yes there is working out of grade. Chairwoman Boericke asked when one person gets promoted does everyone get laddered up? Chief Cohoon stated generally yes. Chairwoman Boericke stated the Fire Chief is not here to answer questions. Would members like table this item #3 Fire Department Overtime to a future meeting? Councilor Morin made a Motion to Table Order 24 017 (3) to a future meeting. Director Arsenault stated when we took over the school custodians, the funding came over and the way that funding works in the school system is very fluid. We got $1.4 million in funding. We tried to get more cost savings as far as heating in the schools. We reduced funding for electrical and heating in the FY24 budget. The numbers probably should not have been pushed as far down as they were. Councilor Flaherty stated I was a member of the Committee of Ways & Means last year and we reviewed the budgets in great detail. Some of those meetings were more than 3 hours. You were asked to explain why the prior costs were lower. In the memo it states this was underbudgeted and is a known operating cost. I want to pay the right amount for how much things cost in every scenario. I need to know when we are asking questions we get the most transparent answers possible. Rob DeVito stated when it was budget time we submitted a budget and were told to get it down as low as possible and we will revisit later in the year and work through a supplemental if needed which we are doing right now. Director Esmond has a different philosophy which we will take up in FY25. We knew everyone knew that the utilities were underfunded for a number of years. Councilor Morin asked that we are realistically funded going forward. 1;32;50 Director Esmond stated even with the new South Middle school coming on line we still saw the budget that was filed a substantially lower number. Chairwoman Boericke stated this is one of the most concerning things to me. This committee last year hammered on utilities. There is no way in my opinion that we should ever not know what our electricity bill is. My bigger concern is that either people felt cowed into not telling the Council the truth about where we were supposed to be or either answers manufactured for the Council to explain away an over $1 million discrepancy. I want to be very clear I don’t know where that came from but to me that is the most egregious. Much more so than the money is the atmosphere of either silencing people and not telling the town and or the Council and or the oversight body of taxpayers money what was happening with the budget. I certainly hope it doesn’t happen again. I’m speechless to find out we have a $1million shortfall in utilities which are predictable. I’m extremely disappointed and frustrated and upset especially after the questioning and the work of the Ways & Means Committee last year on this issue. April 9, 2024 Ways & Means Committee 3 of 4 Chairwoman Boericke asked if there is a Motion: Councilor Morin made a Motion for favorable recommendation to the full Council: 1. Police Department Overtime Motion: That the sum of $684,000 be transferred from Fiscal Year 2023 Certified Free Cash to be transferred to the Police Department overtime accounts and further, that the Director of Municipal Finance be authorized to allocate said sums to and among various line items affected thereby. Motion: by Councilor Maglio to approve Order 24 017 (1) Second: by Councilor Flaherty Vote: For (5 – Boericke, Flaherty, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (0), Abstain (0) 2. School Utilities Budget Motion: That the sum of $341,000 be transferred from Fiscal Year 2023 Certified Free Cash to be transferred to Department of Public Works / School Utilities Program 19/Electricity Account and a sum of $562,000 be transferred from Fiscal Year 2023 Certified Free Cash to be transferred to Department of Public Works / School Utilities Program 19 / Natural Gas Account. Motion: by Councilor Maglio to approve Order 24 017 (2) Second: by Councilor Flaherty Vote: For (5 – Boericke, Flaherty, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (0), Abstain (0) Motion made by Councilor Morin to TABLE Oder 24 017 (3) Fire Department Overtime 3. Fire Department Overtime Motion: That the sum of $425,000 be transferred from Fiscal Year 2023 Certified Free Cash to be transferred to the Fire Department overtime accounts and further, that the Director of Municipal Finance be authorized to allocate said sums to and among various line items affected thereby. Motion: by Councilor Maglio TABLE Oder 24 017 (3) Fire Department Overtime Second: by Councilor Flaherty Vote: For (5 – Boericke, Flaherty, Maglio, Morin, Reynolds), Against (0), Absent (0), Abstain (0) It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 7:40p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan M. Cimino Clerk of the Council Documents provided for Meeting • 24 017 Mayor: FY24 Supplemental Appropriations #1 or take up any action relative thereto April 9, 2024 Ways & Means Committee 4 of 4