HALIFAX SELECTBOARD
TOWN OF HALIFAX, VERMONT
SELECTBOARD SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES—APPROVED
NOVEMBER 5, 2022
CALL TO ORDER:
Silverberg called the meeting to order at 10:00 am. Selectboard members present were Pete Silverberg, Patrick McAlister, Tristan Roberts and Paul Blais. Others in attendance in person or remotely were Cara Cheyette, Thomas Fischer, Sue Kelly, Robin Gabriel, Patty Dow and Karen Christopherson.
CHANGES OR ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA:
None
NEW BUSINESS
Highway Department Budget for FY 23/24 (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024):
Please select the link below to view each line item discussed.
HWY Budget Proposal FY 23/24 – Working Spreadsheet
There is no new budget proposal for FY 23/24. This HWY budget is from Dow, who sent the most up to date spreadsheet we have, which includes funds leftover YTD up to the first quarter (ending Sept 30th, 2022). The spent-to-date sheet is posted under the Highway Department section of the town website for referencing. The board went over the budget proposal by each line item and discussed possible changes. These changes are not yet final. There is another special meeting on November 30th at 6pm to go over the rest of the budget.
The board recognizes the need to provide competitive wages for highway employees. We will come back to discuss salaries and wages at the end of the highway budget proposal.
There is a new cost to capture, such as CDL training. We will be adding budget lines for ditch stone, erosion control, and crack sealing to keep better track of specific costs. This will be helpful for budgeting in the future as well as for auditing purposes.
Trucking materials will go down to $0 but we will keep this as a line item. If we have a bad mud season and need more stone this cost will go to the stone budget and not to trucking materials.
The board discussed removing the “New Salt Shed Construction” line item.
BCBS insurance is at 12% increase. As of November 1st, salaries and wages we still have over $200,000.
Roberts will call around to neighboring towns and ask what they are doing to provide competitive wages. Cheyette did this last year and spoke to Guilford, Whitingham, and Wilmington. She will look for those notes and forward them along to Roberts and McAlister.
During employee reviews, the board got a good sense of what they liked about that job, perhaps we can include that in our job advertisements.
Heating oil to stay in line should go up to $12,000 (line7300).
Keep in mind that most mechanical tools belong to Keith. When he leaves, he will take those tools with him.
HEARING OF VISITORS
None
EXECUTIVE SESSION
None
Roberts motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Silverberg. Passed 3-0. Meeting adjourned at 12:01 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Roza Podlaski
For the Selectboard
Recording link:
November 5, 2022 Regular Selectboard Meeting Minutes – YouTube