Corrections to the following minutes will be made at the next
regular meeting of the Selectmen and are unapproved until then. Changes
will be noted in that meeting's minutes.
MINUTES - SPECIAL MEETING - NEWFANE SELECTBOARD
MARCH 20, 2006
NEWFANE TOWN OFFICE
PRESENT:
Selectmen: Piet van Loon, Priscilla Cotton, and Joseph Mandell
Absent: Dan DeWalt and Patricia Halloran
Also Present: Todd Lawley, Road Foreman, Maureen Albert-Piascik, Town
Treasurer, and Doris Knechtel, Administrative Assistant
1. CALL TO ORDER
The special meeting was called to order by Chairman Piet van Loon
at 2:50 p.m.
2. MEETING WITH TOWN TREASURER & ROAD FOREMAN
There has been some question regarding the allocation of personal
and vacation time for the employees. The primary focus of the discussion
was on the allocation of personal leave. In the past, personal leave
was given in one lump sum of 40 hours at the beginning of July. The
NEMRC payroll program will take care of adding that time on a monthly
basis as well as adding the amount of prorated vacation time earned
per each employee. Vacation time is to be calculated on a prorated
basis according to the current personnel policy. By adding the personal
time all at once (40 hours) and not prorating it, some employees were
taking time that had not yet been earned. By prorating the personal
time, when an employee terminates employment, they can be compensated
for the time they have earned. The information used by the current
Treasurer for vacation and personal time was obtained from the information
given to the CPA John Mudgett for audit purposes. A spread sheet that
had been used to keep track of that time was also reviewed to come
up with the amounts to begin putting into the payroll system. The
confusion came for the highway employees when 40 hours of personal
time was given in July and had not been totally earned. Now, all employees
who are eligible for personal time will be given 3.33/3.34 hours per
month, at the beginning of each month, for the hours earned in the
previous month. (10-hours/quarter - 40-hours/year of employment).
This information, accrued personal time and accrued vacation time,
as well as the time used in each category, now is printed on the individual
pay stubs. If any employee has a question on this, they should set
up an appointment to meet with Maureen, the Town Treasurer.
3. TO TRANSACT ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT MAY LEGALLY COME BEFORE THE
MEETING
(1) The underground storage tanks at the Town Garage need to be tested
as required by the state. The last monitoring test was done in June
of 2003. MacIntyre Services who installed the tanks and did the most
recent testing will be contacted.
(2) Board members asked Todd for a list of potential projects to be
considered for state highway grants. The Adams Hill Road (TH#27) bridge
(BR#37) will be considered for the structures grant and Grimes Hill
Road (TH#5) and Depot Road (TH#2) will be considered for the Class
2 reconstruction/paving grant. An estimate for the reconstruction
of Grimes Hill Road (TH#5) has not yet been received from Mike Fitzpatrick.
(3) Board members have been given a copy of the revised Windham County
Sheriff's Department contract with the town for their review and discussion
at the next regular meeting of the Board (04/06).
(4) Roger Whitcomb of VTrans will be attending a Selectboard meeting
in April to discuss Bridge #14. Board members may want to think about
other bridge problems that may be considered for another possible
meeting.
4. ADJOURNMENT - Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by J. Mandell
to adjourn the Special Meeting of the Board at 3:56 p.m. Unanimous.
