OFFICE OF THE SELECTBOARD
Town of Halifax, Vermont
SELECTBOARD SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
December 11, 2017
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:16 p.m. Selectboard members Lewis Sumner and Bradley Rafus were present, Mitchell Green was absent. Robbin Gabriel was also present.
Changes and/or Additions to Agenda
None.
New Business
FY19 Budget Preparation (Highway Budget)
On December 5th, Board members met to begin work on the FY19 proposed budget. During that meeting, they worked through most of the line items in the Selectboard budget; tonight they turned their attention to the highway department numbers. Wages were calculated with a 2% increase rather than the standard 3%; the remaining 1% will be applied to the net increase in health insurance premiums. One employee will be changing from a single person to a family plan this year, while two others will move from family to two person plans. The Road Commissioner’s salary will remain the same as in FY18. $10,000 was proposed to create a reserve account earmarked for the eventual replacement of the Town Garage roof. Heating oil cost is down, while sand and salt costs have increased. Vehicular repairs and maintenance expenditures have decreased. Truck lease expenditures have been less than anticipated; the proposed FY19 budget makes provision for paying off the Ford truck early, thus saving a year’s interest, and purchasing a used tractor with mower.
The Board is awaiting the arrival of a few additional numbers before budget spreadsheets are complete. A final budget meeting will be scheduled sometime early in 2017 when all figures have been received.
Hearing of Visitors
None.
Old Business
None.
Other Business
None.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Robbin Gabriel
Selectboard Secretary