City Council

Minutes approved on 7/22/24 by the City Council. CITY OF LACONIA - CITY COUNCIL BUDGET MEETING City Hall - Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber 6:00 P.M. 6/3/2024 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hosmer called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chief Canfield led the salute to the flag 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Katie Gargano, City Clerk 4. ROLL CALL Clerk Gargano called the roll of the following councilors: Councilor Cheney, Councilor Soucy, Councilor Hoffman, Councilor Haynes, Councilor Felch Absent: Councilor Bogert. Mayor Hosmer confirmed that 5 members of the council were present, and a quorum was established. 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Kirk Beattie, City Manager; Glenn Smith, Finance Director 6. PRESENTATIONS 6.A. Department Budget Presentation Laconia Police Department - Matt Canfield, Police Chief Also present were Captain Al Graton, Commissioner Mello, Commissioner Trottier and Commissioner Whittum Chief Canfield began with going over the following: -Budget Increases -FY 24 Challenges -Current department vacancies = 8 total; 6 patrol and 2 detectives. -Recruitment team, the hiring process, the training process, 16 career fairs attended last year. Chief Canfield thanked the council for recognizing the wage discrepancies.  -Recruitment team, the hiring process, the training process, 16 career fairs attended last year. Chief Canfield thanked the council for recognizing the wage discrepancies. He continued with Grant funding- over the past 4 years they have been awarded $3,079,334.00 and $317,115.00 in FY 23. New technology- they are continuing to have a social media presence with Facebook, Instagram, X, Linkdin, SPIDR Tech- interactive community engagement, Imprivata software for dual authentication to log into the computers, and online crime reporting. Assistant prosecutor update- the position was approved and funded with last year’s budget, they hired someone 9 months ago, which has been a huge help to our prosecutor. Chief Canfield went over the departments training highlights for the year, the Department programs and community outreach they are doing. CALLEA Accreditation: Laconia is 1 of 15 agencies in NH to be accredited, they will be going through a full re-accreditation assessment this summer. Councilor Cheney asked what the reaction to the wage adjustment was, Chief Canfield stated they were all very pleased with the update. Mayor Hosmer noted they have 49 officers in their roster and are currently running with 37 officers. Mayor Hosmer asked who writes the grants for the police department, Chief Canfield said they have contracted with a very part time person who assists with writing the grants and the captain and manager the grants and they all work together on them. The police department seeks the grants and asks her to write them as needed and her schedule with them ebbs and flows. Mayor Hosmer thanked Chief Canfield and all others present for this evening’s presentation. 6.B. Department Budget Presentation Department of Public Works - Wes Anderson, Director Personnel shortage, laborer without CDL, with CDL and driver with CDL proposed wages are still not close to private or local public organizations. Recruiting/retention challenges: cost of obtaining CDL License being covered by City, Salary, Vacation, Winter Storm hours are deterrents, impact of work on employee’s bodies over time. Mayor Hosmer asked for clarification about the other public agencies’ slide. Mayor Hosmer wants to see what Director Anderson needs to fill the positions, to help them keep up with the work. Councilor Felch wants to see where they are compared to other communities. Mayor Hosmer stated that the public sector is different than the private sector. Councilor Cheney wants to see Human Resources go out to the departments to educate them about our benefits. Manager Beattie stated the public works employees are represented by 2 separate unions, they did have several conversations to take this into account. Councilor Haynes agrees that the person in Human Resources is doing a great job. our benefits. Manager Beattie stated the public works employees are represented by 2 separate unions, they did have several conversations to take this into account. Councilor Haynes agrees that the person in Human Resources is doing a great job. Manager Beattie stated the human resources director is spending a lot of time to see what people are thinking about what the city needs to add for benefits. Director Anderson continued to review the following slides: General Fund Overview: Solid waste contract fees Capital Improvement Program City’s Road Maintenance Program 10 Year Road plan- purpose is to develop a funded executed and why Road capital improvement projects Internal service fund- equipment maintenance division Sanitary Sewer Fund System Costs- Winnipesaukee River Basin program currently take 69% of our current budget Biennial budget is estimated to 12-15 % increase EPA Permit Sanitary Sewer Fund- Funded by rate payers Loans to spread the costs overtime Bonds and clean water state revolving loan Sewer projects: Pump station upgrades Force main Replacement Sanitary sewer ordinance update Councilor Haynes asked why the fuel was in the internal service fund.  Sanitary sewer ordinance update Councilor Haynes asked why the fuel was in the internal service fund. Director Anderson said it’s based on how you would like to control it. Public Works handles four accounts for fuel: Fire, Police, Public Works and Parks. Councilor Haynes questioned the capitalization expense Director Smith explained expenses need to be capitalized and they go into the asset category. Councilor Cheney asked about the floor in the DPW Garage and its current state. Director Anderson stated it is not in good shape. He explained the best area for a new building is where there is a good intersection. The idea he thinks is best is the area of Meredith center/ Parade Road/ Elm street area. Councilor Cheney asked Director Anderson to work with Human Resources to come up with comparatives with other cities on the wage scale. Mayor thanked Director Anderson for his presentation. City Council recessed for five minutes. 6.C. Department Budget Presentation Laconia Fire Department - Tim Joubert, Chief Organizational chart Success and progress over the past year Added 4 more personnel in January 2023. They have been able to keep staffing at 10 people per day. New Vehicles- Forestry truck, utility, and command vehicle. Ordered Vehicles- Engine and two ambulances Service philosophy- Do your best, do what’s right, treat people the way you want to be treated, always ask yourself what is in the best interest of the people we serve. Incident analysis Line increases -Extra duty coverage, training classes attended -Maintenance on equipment -Physical exams, it’s a goal to get all employees full body scans on an annual basis -Lakes Region Mutual Fire, increase due to a new funding formula and an increase in the operating budget Councilor Soucy asked if there is more volume coming in or coming out. Chief Joubert confirmed it was total call volume. Grants- assistance to Firefighters Grant- $26,178.40 in 2023.  Councilor Soucy asked if there is more volume coming in or coming out. Chief Joubert confirmed it was total call volume. Grants- assistance to Firefighters Grant- $26,178.40 in 2023. Mayor Hosmer asked about the status of the paramedicine program. They would have a paramedic who could go to someone’s home and provide services to help prevent a call to 911. Future concerns- new hires no longer have all the needed certifications, FFI, FFII, AEMT, CDL. Increase cost associated with new hires to obtain required certification. Thank you to the Council for their continued support, trying different techniques. Other news: newly certified EMT, RSI – 6 paramedics certified, allows them to intubate in the field. Mayor Hosmer congratulated and thanked Chief Joubert and his department. 6.D. FY 25 Budget amendment - Grant anticipation note - Airport Director Smith explained this item will be in his presentation next week, but it is new. There is an abandoned runway that they will be changing to a taxiway to lease out hanger space. Councilor Soucy asked what the price was. Director Smith stated $2.3 million. Mayor Hosmer explained the airport owns the land and leases out the hangar space. Councilor Soucy asked about property tax on the new structures to be built. Mayor Hosmer does not believe there is property tax on it. Councilor Haynes asked about the size of jets coming in. Mayor Hosmer explained that the runway was extended and allowed larger jets to land, investment in a de-icing equipment and this is the reason for needing more hangar space. 7. Any other business that may come before the Council 8. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hosmer adjourned the meeting at 8:05 PM Respectfully Submitted, Katie Gargano, City Clerk