<HTML><HEAD>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The town's pay scales appear to be flawed. When I voted for the civilian</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> scale, I was told it was a 2% step increase. Somehow this has become </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> an average pay increase of about 10% and for some groups 20%.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The new council would do well to suspend the pay scales until</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> they can be reviewed and revised and enact a 2% merit and 2% cola</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> increase for the coming year. This would save about $90,000. Since</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> some salaries might need to be adjusted to be competitive, set</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> aside $30,000 of this savings for salary review and adjustments.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Here is a proposal to hold the tax increase to about 15%, </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> which would allow the tax rate to be the same as last year.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> (The increase in assessments will still increase tax revenues 15%.)</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> 1) Suspend the pay scales and give a 2% merit and 2% cola and </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> set aside $30,000 for pay adjustments (Approx. savings $60,000).</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> 2) Indefinitely delay the recreation buildings and town hall changes </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> and return the loan money. Savings $41,000.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> 3) Delay buying police cars and SUVs. Sell the surplus of cars we have </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> now. (We have 12 fairly new cars already and with only 3 officers </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> per shift we can easily get by with that). Approx. savings $25,000.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> 4) Reduce front office staff by 1 full time clerk. Hire one part time. </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> (Net of 1 full time and 2 part time employees). Saving about $24,000.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> 5) Delay hiring an assistant administrator and police chief until at </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> least September. Approx. savings $30,000.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> 6) Increase the apt inspection fee from $75 to $90. Approx. additional </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> revenue $15,000.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> 7) Implement other cuts that were identified in the budget by the council.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Saving approx. $30,000.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> 8) Share the police car computer network access for on-duty officers </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> only (need about 8 cards instead of 18) Saving approx. $8,000.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The above totals about $202,000 in savings, enough to reduce the tax rate </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> to 63.8 cents. Flushing out the details might eat up some of that savings,</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> so we would probably end up with the same tax rate as last year of 64.1.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Over the next year, the following can be enacted:</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Set up new tax classifications (Commercial, Apartments, Residential) </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> so that next year the tax rates can be set differently for each of these.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Direct the police to find police cars that have higher fuel</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> efficiency to reduce the $75,000/year gasoline costs.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Require that a promotion resets the annual review date to the</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> anniversary of the promotion to prevent compounding promotions </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> and step increases.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Require that any increase in salary over 8% in a year for an</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> individual first be approved by the council.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Revise the pay scale and set a policy that mass adjustments</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> must be phased in over 2 or 3 years.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Find other taxes that can be increased that distribute the costs more</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> fairly than increases in real estate taxes.</FONT></div>
<div> </div>
<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT><div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Find out why some of the apartment buildings in town are assessed for less </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> than their 2006 sale price. As an example, Park Tanglewood is assessed</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> at $10,780,400 (for 2007) but it was sold in August of 2006 for $11,390,000 </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> or about $600,000 more than its assessed value. (FYI, It has 179 units).</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Rob Oppenheim</FONT></div>
</body></html>