MEMBERS PRESENT: Tony Vegnani, Chairman; Kathy Donahue, Vice Chairman; Constantine Constantinides; Peter Detwiler; Paul Lemieux; Bob DeLorenzo; Lisa Fenton. ALSO PRESENT: Joe Norton, Board of Selectmen; Rick Agnew, Town Administrator; Brian Sullivan, Chairman of Board of Assessors;Vincent Kalishes, Conservation Agent; Laura Harbottle, Town Planner; Jane Lepardo, Town Treasurer, and xxPlanning Board .

1. CALL TO ORDER. Chairman Tony Vegnani called the meeting to order at 7:05 P.M. at the Scituate Library.

2. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA. On a MOTION by Mr. Vegnani, SECONDED by Ms. Fenton, the agenda was accepted as written by unanimous vote (7-0).

Given the attendees and town officials present, the order of the agenda was modified slightly to accommodate schedules of present attendees. Budget items were reviewed and deliberated as follows:

171 – Conservation Commission: Town Conservation Agent Vincent Kalishes briefly described the function and responsibilities of the Conservation Commission and the activities for which the budget monies would be spent. The main difference between the 2007 and proposed 2008 numbers was the fact that salary increases were shown for coming years. On a MOTION by Ms Fenton and SECONDED by Mr. Constantinides the submitted budget of $111,447 was approved by unanimous vote.

141 – Assessors: Brian Sullivan (Chairman) represented the Assessors Office. The chief difference between the proposed budget and that of last year was the line item for salaries, which reflected the fact that there had been salary increases which reflected employees being promoted beyond one step. On a MOTION by Mr. Constantinides and SECONDED by Mr. Lemieux, the proposed budget of $179,644 was approved unanimously.

175 – Planning Board: The Planning Board was represented by Laura Harbottle, the Town Planner. Ms. Harbottle explained that the majority of proposed budgetary expenditures related to activities concerning Design Review, Planning Board activities, and grant writing to seek additional funds for the town and its citizens. There were some step increases which resulted in related salaries being higher than in the last budget.

There were some discrepancies between what was submitted by the Planning Board and that which was recommended by the Town Administrator, specifically around Line Item 5309 – Technical Services, Item 5344 – Postage, Item 5711 – Mileage Reimbursement, and Item 5731 – Dues and Subscriptions. Given these discrepancies, there was some discussion about holding this item open until the entire town budget was reviewed. On a MOTION by Ms. Fenton to hold open the Planning Board requested budget for $113,603 and SECONDED by Mr. Lemieux the vote was 6 to 0 to hold open the budget. Mr. Kelly-Detwiler abstained.

145 - Treasury: Treasury was represented by Jane Lepardo, who just recently was hired to this position. The main discussion of the Advisory Committee concerned the specific line items related to Support Services (Line Item 5311 - $42,000) and Printing (Line Item 5343 $3,000). The Committee requested more detail concerning these two line items, and whether there was any overlap or duplication. On a MOTION by Mr. Vegnani to hold the Treasury Budget of $291,991 open, and SECONDED by Mr. Kelly-Detwiler, the vote to hold this issue open was unanimous (7 to 0).

122 – Selectmen: The Selectmen budget was presented by Town Administrator Richard Agnew. There was considerable discussion concerning the line item relating to the anticipated budget for legal expenses. On a MOTION by Mr. Constantinides to accept the proposed budget of $220,750, and SECONDED by Ms. Fenton, the vote to approve was unanimous.

123 – Administration: The Administration budget was represented by Town Administrator Richard Agnew. On a MOTION by Ms. Fenton to approve the budget of $205,165, and SECONDED by Mr. DeLorenzo, the vote to approve was unanimous.

131 – Advisory Committee: On a MOTION by Mr. Constantinides moved to approve the Advisory Committee budget of $6,500, and SECONDED by Mr.DeLorenzo, the vote to approve was unanimous.

132 – Reserve Fund: The Reserve Fund budget was represented by Town Administrator Richard Agnew. On a MOTION by Mr. Constantinides to approve the Reserve Fund budget of $90,000, and SECONDED by Ms. Donahue, the vote to approve was unanimous.

135 – Town Accountant: The budget for Town Accountant was represented by Town Administrator Richard Agnew. On a MOTION by Mr. Constantinides to approve the budget of $167,308, and SECONDED by Mr. Lemieux, the vote to approve was unanimous.

149 – Administration: The budge for Administration was represented by Town Administrator Richard Agnew. On a MOTION by Mr. Constantinides to approve the budget of $105,858, and SECONDED by Mr. Lemieux, the vote to approve was unanimous.

176 – Zoning Board of Appeals: The budget for Zoning Board of Appeals was represented by Town Administrator Richard Agnew. On a MOTION by Mr. Constantinides to approve the budget of $21,692, and SECONDED by Mr. DeLorenzo, the vote to approve was unanimous.

192 – Insurance: The budget of $447,000 for insurance costs to the Town of Scituate was presented by Town Administrator Richard Agnew. It was noted that worker’s compensation and unemployment are self-insured. On a MOTION by Ms. Fenton and SECONDED by Mr. Constantinides, the vote to approve the budget of $447,000 was unanimous.

At the conclusion of deliberation, additional comments on the budget in general were offered: Mr. DeLorenzo noted that it would be beneficial to have more detail on line item 5309 – Technical Services. It was also noted that the accompanying narratives to the budget should better delineate such costs. Finally, there was also a desire expressed to better separate what is now characterized as Overtime into actual overtime vs. time necessary to fill in for others who are on vacation.

On a MOTION by Mr. Constantinides to adjourn the meeting, SECONDED by Mr. Lemieux, and approved by a unanimous vote, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Peter Kelly-Detwiler