City Council - Finance Committee

CITY OF EASTHAMPTON OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL Easthampton Municipal Building 50 Payson Ave., Ste. 100 Easthampton, Massachusetts 01027-2260 Telephone #: (413) 529-1460 MINUTES FINANCE Meeting 05/13/2021 Attendees: FINANCE Committee Members: Councilor Dan Rist, Chair Councilor Peg Conniff Councilor Homar Gomez Other Attendees: Nicole LaChapelle, Mayor Bob Alberti - Police Chief, EPD Brenda Therrien-Shoup, Dispatch Supervisor Chris Norris - Fire Chief Jennifer Gallant, City Treasurer Bri Eichstaedt, Director, Health Department Brendan Rogers, Director, Council on Aging Michael Slater, Veterans Agent Meeting called to order at 5:00pm. The meeting was held remotely due to the COVID-19 pan- demic and was videotaped. There were no minutes to approve Mayor Communication: None Public Speak: Councilor Gomez announced a help session for the public to be held for the ensu- ing Sunday evening. New Business 1. BUDGET REVIEW FY22 FULL BUDGET CAN BE FOUND HERE: A. https://easthamptonma.gov/component/fileman/file/ FY22%20Proposed%20Budget%20Book.pdf.html? routed=1&container=fileman-attachments B. Police - $2,638,959. Police Chief Alberti spoke to some of the 2020 statistics. Due to the pandemic, crime was down in 2020. Use of Force in 2020 numbered 5. Have received some grants in 2020: Traffic and Crosswalk Safety Grants $18,000 and Burn Grant Bureau of Justice for $33,000. Objective is to maintain staffing numbers and to maintain community safety. • City Treasurer announced a change in the proposed numbers of $10k from one line item to another. • Discussed Overtime. 1)Normal OT is for backfilling shifts due to illness or vacations. 2) Chief explained that with the new Police Reform Bill, Spe- cials can no longer be used for OT. They are typically paid a a lower rate but the reform bill has eliminated “specials”. Cannot hire after July1, 2021. There is some dollars in the budget for Specials but this will be phased out on the next 2-3 years. • Street Lights have increased because there are more lights being added be- hind the mills and around the new rotary on Ferry Street • Dispatch - Calls are down due to COVID. Obtained Grants: State 9-1-1 for $62,000 and $14,000 which was used for training for certification. Conniff asked about the radios, telephone line item and why it is budgeted for $300 when the telephone contract is $500. The overage comes from a grant not the budget. C. Fire - $2,196,644. Chief Norris spoke of increased call volume for both Fire and EMS. Also the severity of call also was greater. The impact to staffing means that when transporting patients to facilities, 2 EMS are needed. The contract with Westhampton is bringing in more revenue than planned. • Rist questioned the increase in salaries. Chief Norris explained that the cost for firefighters under the SAFER grant is moving toward a greater portion to be paid by City. • Conniff asked about the overtime….potentially being less. Dependent upon those firefighters graduating from Fire Academy. Chief Norris explained that it has been a challenge. Had to augment time while in academy as well as while they are in paramedic training. Developed in-house orientation program that will allow new firefighters to be used during the summer rather than being in the academy. • Councilor Gomez asked about Westhampton Revenue vs. OT. Will respond- ing to calls in Westhampton, we may see an increase in OT. Chief said we will see a request for OT under Ambulance rather than Fire. • AMBULANCE: Salaries are down…why? Incentive is reduced which aligns to OT reduction. Councilor Gomez asked about an increase in Med- ical Supplies. Costs for all supplies due to COVID has significantly in- creased.  D. Inspection - $110,852. No current inspector. Currently using help from other communities. Looking for a new inspector. E. Health Department/Board of Health - $132,737. Challenging year for public health. Easthampton led the state in health orders prior to even the state issuing orders. Board of Health did “mask” drives and provided hand sanitizers across the community. Supporting vaccine administration in coordination with Northampton. • Discuss the difference in the FTE numbers. The FTE should reflect the dol- lars the taxpayer is paying. Jen Gallant and Bri Eichstaedt will discuss rec- onciling the numbers. F. Council on Aging - $164,184. Brendan thanks his staff for their work during the pandemic. Noted that now we are seeing a surge in transportation. Thanked the Health department in getting vaccine appointments for the senior population in Easthampton. • Councilor Rist questioned the FTE count for the Office Aide position. The position is partially grant funded. • Councilor Gomez asked about the Van Drivers amount which appears lower from last year. Explanation is because the dollars are partially included in the Outreach Assistant position. The total is the same as both combined last year. • Brendan also gave a shout out to the Senior Tax Work Off Program. It will help so many retired people who will need some assistance with their tax payments. G. Veterans - $352,399. Total budget is less than 2020. Reason for this is the out- reach and help this group is providing veterans in gaining employment which would reduce the Benefits that will be paid out to employable clients. 6:30 pm - Motion to adjourn by Councilor Conniff, Second Councilor Gomez. 3-0 NEXT MEETING: May 20 @ 5:00pm