HALIFAX SELECTBOARD

TOWN OF HALIFAX, VERMONT

SELECTBOARD SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES—DRAFT

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

CALL TO ORDER:

Silverberg called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. Selectboard members present were Pete Silverberg, Patrick McAllister, and Tristan Roberts. Others in attendance in person or remotely were Edee Edwards, Chris and Janice Parkins, Patricia Dow, Linda Lyon, Doug and Marilou Parkhurst, and Mike Fournier.

CHANGES OR ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA:

Executive session for the end of the meeting.

APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES:

Tristan sent edits, Podlaski will update and we will revisit at the next regular meeting. 

NEW BUSINESS

Patrick moved to accept the proposal to have the community advance project in Halifax with the BDCC. This is completely free. They will take a look at our town and help come up with a plan/report on how we can improve. It should take no more than 90 days to complete the report. For example, the cemetery project that was presented a few weeks ago. They would take a look at what funds we have and what would need to be done. They can take a look at any other project and help create a roadmap for how to get that done. The motion seconded by Silverberg, passed 3-0. 

Dow had Jessica Bruno come and enter all of the adjusting entries that the auditor requested for FY 20/21. She is a Quickbook Certified Consultant and accountant. There were a lot of accounts that needed to be created. FY 20 came out exactly. FY 21 was off. Every single entry was there that the auditor had requested. When Jessica added up her total it did not match the ending total that the auditor did. She tried to see if she could figure out where the discrepancy lies. She states that perhaps we are missing a few pages from the auditor. Dow spoke to the auditor who said it would be extra billable hours to see where the discrepancy lies. This is something that has to be done. If it is an error done on their part, they should not be charging us for our hours. If it is something that we did not do correctly, it would be fair for them to charge us for their time. A town member requested that Dow ask the auditor if there were pages missing that may contribute to why we are off by a large number. 

McAllister would like to add to the agenda for the next meeting to discuss the deficiencies in the audit for FY 21 and what the board’s responsibility is in that. 

The balance with Zaluzny is over $87,000. As of now we have $30,162 in the account. We need to come up with $57,000. This is a cash flow issue. We started with $120,000 in that account. McAllister is going to connect with Dow and look over the funds to see how we can resolve this. We will send them what we have now and wait until our next meeting to decide on the rest of the payment. Silverberg will call Zaluzny and see if they can wait until our next FY to pay the rest of the invoice off. 

OLD BUSINESS       

Edwards was working on the Road Supervisor/Commissioner job descriptions. We did not come up with final changes. She stated that we put a lot of things on the commissioner job description, such as all the paperwork. From what she saw on VLCT, the Road Supervisor is the one who is responsible for the day to day tasks. She suggests we use the VLCT template and see what they have for the supervisor job description. Then we can come up with something for the commissioner when we have the supervisor role defined. 

We will put the purchasing policy on the January 3rd board meeting. 

Podlaski will send a letter that McAllister drafted regarding education about town positions to request that elected positions come in and share about their experience sometime in January or February. 

No new updates on ARPA Funds. 

Silverberg spoke with the landlord of the Post Office and signed the contract. We will be continuing to have their services in Halifax.

OTHER BUSINESS

Roberts moved that we sign the contract with Windham Regional Commission to help prepare and submit grant writing for $1,500. The motion was seconded by Silverberg, passed 3-0. 

Fournier requested having someone cut down trees in the drainage. He states that this is a grant that we have been awarded up to 80% of the project. He will call around to see how much cutting down trees will cost. 

HEARING OF VISITORS

Roberts reported that he was elected to be Representative for the Windham-6 District. He invited the Board and the public to be in touch with him on any state issues.

A town member asked if the money had been received from the town ordinance a few months back. Roberts will ask Dow if that money has been received yet and look into how we can spend it. We may have to ask the town how to spend it. 

The special meeting on the 30th has been canceled. We will discuss the rest of the budget at 5pm on the next regular meeting day, December 6, 2022. 

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Roberts moved to go into executive session at 7:36pm, seconded by Silverberg. The meeting came out at 7:53 with no decisions made. 

The auditor requested that each page of the invoice is initiated by the board members. Roberts moved to appoint SIlverberg in signing the order and on each page, seconded by McAllister, passed 3-0. The orders will still need to be reviewed by the other board members. 

SELECTBOARD ORDER

The order was read and signed. 

SIGN OVERWEIGHT PERMITS

Overweight permits were signed. 

Roberts motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by McAllister. Passed 3-0. Meeting adjourned at 8:13 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Roza Podlaski

For the Selectboard

Recording link:

November 22, 2022 Regular Selectboard Meeting Minutes – YouTube