Okay, four o'clock. Let's call the uh March meeting of the town of Newbury Human Resources Board to order. Present are >> Diane Doyle, >> Mark Lechman, John Ferrar, >> Anthony Antico. >> Thank you all. And excused today as a result of uh conference and schedules
are Chief Fiser and Lynn Peody. But we have a quorum, so we're ready to go. Um, first order of business, as always, is to read through and vote on accepting the minutes from the previous meeting. Diane, as always, thank you in advance
for having prepared those and and uh distributing them to us. Has everyone had an opportunity to read through the minutes? >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Is there a motion to accept? So move. >> Second. Second.
>> Any discussion of the minutes? Seeing none, all in favor accepting the minutes as written, say I. I. >> I. Thank you. >> Next order of business, employee issues. I did take the opportunity to reach out to Chief Fiser this morning to see if
she had anything of particular interest to share with the uh with the board relative to the the PD or safety issues. uh and she assured me that she had nothing of of import to uh to address. So Diane, in front of you, anything new? >> Nothing.
>> Are you sure? Personnel actions and job vacancies. >> Um nothing has changed since our last meeting, so nothing to report new there. >> Okay. PD is still looking for one or two, I think. Right. I know. >> Correct. >> Chief's been actively advertising for that. >> And there's still one position open with
the fire department. >> One for the fire department. Okay. Everything else has been buttoned up, >> right? >> Great. Thank you. Workplace ethics discrimination issues. Nothing I'm aware of. >> Nothing. >> Okay. Good. Good.
Other businesses. Uh just very quickly the review uh the review from town council of the language for the uh the proposed warrant article that we've talked about for a couple months regarding reserve comp fund is is
done. I did ask Tracy to send me a copy of it which he did. It's they've shortened it a bit for ease of digestion. Uh and so I'll read that real quick. It'll be article 14 on the warrant to see if the town will vote to raise and
appropriate the sum of $25,000 for the purpose of establishing a reserve compensation fund. By the way, I'll forward this to everybody. A reserve compensation fund. Use of the reserve compensation fund shall require
authorization by the town administrator and approval by the select board with the human resources board serving in an advisory capacity when appropriate or take any other action in relation there too.
What will be lengthier will be the rationale that comes with the warrant article which is standard procedure >> for town meetings. There'll probably be a two or three paragraph rationale explaining uh the purpose of establishing the fund.
We'll give, as we talked about a month or so ago, two or three specific examples of when the fund might be needed and or used. Uh and it will talk about in all likelihood, this is still being worked on. in all likely it'll talk about how
that um and again this is still subject to review but the thinking currently is that at the end of the fiscal year whatever funds remain in that whatever money remains in that reserve compensation fund would revert back to free cash.
Uh, and that gives town meeting voters one more lever that they can that they can pull if they're happy with how the fund was administered, if it was administered at all during this next fiscal year. So, in other words, if there's a $25,000 fund that'll be used
for specific reasons and none of it is used, as an example, this past year, Tracy said, none of it probably would have been used. So whatever remains in the fund, whether it's the full 25,000 or $14 or anything in between would
automatically revert back to the fund, back to the the free cash. And then town meeting voters would have an opportunity to once again approve the reserve fund for the next fiscal year. That way every year town meeting, it's very transparent. Town meeting voters say, "I
like what you've done. You you've administered these funds appropriately. We think it's we think it's uh in Newbury's best interest to maintain it or to create it again and they vote on it again. So it'll every year it'll sit on the warrant. >> A question. Did town council uh add any
information why uh they selected the 25,000 figure? >> Town council didn't >> Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. >> No, that was that was >> I heard you then if that's the case. >> Town council reviewed the language of it. The 25,000 was an amount that was discussed. I don't know if it's Tracy
and and Select Board or >> Okay. >> Um the feeling was there was a more than likely a a more than adequate number >> Mhm. >> to come up with. It's still a very small percentage. >> It really is.
>> I think the overall wage and salary line item for the town is something over 5 million >> and this would represent less than one half of 1% of that overall budget. So I I I think that again I don't want to speak for everyone but I believe the
thinking is let's come up with a nominal amount that would help the town on an as needed basis if you needed to dip into it but not so much that town meeting voters might say wait a minute that's inappropriate. >> So that's what >> there's nothing there's nothing
rationale for that. Yeah. Okay. >> Does that make sense? >> Yeah sure true. >> Okay. Um other questions on that thoughts? >> So next steps in the process are that it will go before >> tomorrow night. >> Tomorrow night. >> Yeah. Tomorrow night uh is a is the
combined select board fin meeting that occurs every year to review warrant articles, hash out any language changes, you know, field any questions that might come from the public in attendance or from think go from there. Uh Tracy had
asked if I would join to give a short explanation of what this might look like. Certainly agreed to do so. Thought it would be a good idea if Diane were there as well as one of the two employee reps of the town. Uh I think
it's you know it would it would create um you know an appropriate viewing of of the language involved and Diane certainly could speak to any matters as an employee of the town why it might be appropriate.
>> Well I mean Diane Diane is the town's excheer and that makes sense. Sorry. >> Town exchecker makes sense. We're the keeper of the ex checker. Excuse me. >> So I plan I plan to be there. Yeah. What time is that? >> 7 o'clock. >> 7 o'clock. >> 7 o'clock.
>> Open to the public. >> But I've been warned. Just Just so you know, I've been warned. If three members of the HR board attend that meeting, which is fine. We need to Oh, will we need to would we have needed to do it by now >> to post a meeting?
>> To post it technically, even though we're not convening as a board, if three members, you two need to be here alone. I I I think to be on the safe side. Yeah. I think >> because I think other boards have gotten into trouble with this in years past even though they weren't con convening a
meeting of what would be the HR board because three of us would be present >> and in theory discussing matters as as as residents of the town >> had something last Friday. >> It would it would have to have been posted I think two or three days in
advance like any public meeting would be >> right. It would have been posted by Friday. >> By Friday. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> I mean, I can't imagine I'm sure that the warrant has grown tremendously, so I I can't imagine there's going to be a lengthy conversation surrounding this. No, >> I think it'll be a very I think a lot of
dialogue has already happened in review. So, I think >> yeah, there might be a couple questions. I think it's a fiveminute conversation. >> Yeah, I don't think it's a big >> So, yeah, >> that make sense. Makes a lot of sense. >> Okay. >> Uh, so other thoughts on that?
No, I think the examples will be uh the best best of all worlds and that's the best academic approach is yeah here's the technical language and you write and and as always you know with town meeting approval required
the intent here is to make it practical, make it transparent, make sure there are plenty of checks and balances to take any concern out of town meeting in terms of you how it's funded, how if at all it's used, how to report
you. So, I'm sure part of this will also be a reporting at the end of the fiscal year saying we started with a $25,000 reserve comp fund and fortunately this year we didn't use any of it. >> Yeah. >> Or the decision was made in two cases to
use a total of $8,000 for this or that. Um, you know, here's a report. Now you have an opportunity to vote up or down whether you like what was done and whether it should be used again. So >> and keeping in mind not only will it be an annual appropriation at town meeting,
the funds that would be used in this case would be short-term in nature. So when the budget comes back for the department that it was appropriated for, >> it's only for the one year. Correct. >> And then the budget process would have to take a look at the needs of that department again. So that it's not just
an annual appropriation, but it's also on a budgetary basis for the department. >> Exactly. Yeah. >> So we increase somebody's salary because there's an increase in hours. Well, we don't need that this year or you know the budget. So there's there's there's plenty of, you know, other ways in which >> or if the decision is that that
compensation would remain the following year, it's incorporated into the operating budget, right? It's not it's no longer part of the reserve fund, >> right? It wouldn't be considered part of the reserve fund. It would be more of a a budgetary line item for that department, >> right? And it's very possible that that in a given year that this fund won't be
used. >> You know, nothing will be administered from it because we do dormant because uh we're in great shape. >> Yeah. I mean, I can think of one or two in the last 10 years that you know would have been used for. So, >> right those cases unfortunately that we didn't have it. So,
>> yeah, it's a it's a failsafe type of a mechanism. Uh, you know, I'm a guess I'm a believer in the old adage, it's better to have it and not need it. >> Yeah. >> Than need it and not have it. >> And I think this would fall into that that category. So, >> yeah, it feels like town meeting, I
mean, town council has really tightened up the language and >> figured out a way to address the appropriation approval that, you know, there'd be several steps involved. They took some of the language that we had in the article and said move that to the rationale which will go along with the
article in the war. >> Shorten it up and made it more concise. So, >> exactly. >> I mean, >> okay, >> seems good. >> Any other thoughts, questions on that? No. Is there anything else in terms of new business or old business for that matter
that folks would like to address? I'm not aware of anything else that we've been chewing on. >> Another thing, >> Tony. Any? >> No. >> No.
>> All right. Seeing none, I'll accept a uh motion to adjurnn. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Second. >> Any further discussion? All in favor? We are a