HomeMy Public PortalAboutSelect Board -- 2021-08-20 Minutes WF
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MINUTES OF THE SELECT BOARD EXECUTIVE SESSION MINUTES
DATE . August 20, 2021
TIME : 8 : 30 AM
PLACE : Remote Participation
ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE PARTICIPATING REMOTELY : Chair Bingham , Selectperson Whitney, Selectperson
Chatelain , Selectperson Chaffee , Selectperson Hoffmann , Town Administrator Peter Lombardi , Assistant
Town Administrator Donna Kalinick
Call to Order & Declaration of a Quorum , Meeting Participation Statement and Recording Statement
Chair Bingham called the meeting to order at 8 : 30am , conducted a roll call vote of attendance, declared a
quorum present, and read the meeting participation and recording statements .
Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair :
None
Executive Session
Chair Bingham stated that the Select Board is in executive session , each party present recited the following
statement : " No other person is present or able to hear the discussion at this remote location . "
To discuss strategy with respect to litigation as an Open Meeting will have a detrimental effect on the
litigating position of the Town ( Brewster vs . Eversource )
Mr . Lombardi reviewed that the Town had authorized Bruce Taub to file a complaint in Suffolk court against
MDAR and shared the following regarding Eversource :
• Sounds like Eversource may start to apply herbicides as late as this week or early next week, although
we have not heard that they are in town .
• Brewster Conservation Trust shared the notification they received that Lewis Tree will begin work
next week on behalf of Eversource .
• The distribution line on the east side of town wouldn 't start until later in September .
• The details provided of the new herbicide application seems like Eversource is nominally trying to
make it more limited than they have before, but not significantly .
Mr . Lombardi stated that ultimately our hope is that we are granted injunctive relief . The Brewster
Conservation Trust Board is interested in joining the Town as a party in our litigation , their latest rational
information was sent to Bruce Taub , The Board agreed to have Brewster Conservation Trust join as long as it
doesn ' t incur additional costs .
Eversource must provide notifications to all abutters, however the dates are a range, not specific . The notice
from Lewis Tree had a range from August 24- December 31, 2021 . For residents who contact the Town
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Administration office, we have let them know, at a high level , that the Town has submitted a complaint and
is seeking relief through the courts for this particular issue .
To discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect
on the bargaining position of the public body and the chair so declares (SEIU Local 888, OPEIU Local 6, and
IAFF Local 3763 )
Selectperson Chaffee announced that she will not participate in the police personnel bylaw discussion , she
will not leave the room but will stop video . Mr. Lombardi clarified we are not talking about any police
command staff. Ms . Kalinick left the meeting and Mrs . Broderick joined the meeting at 8 : 41am
Mr . Lombardi announced that we have come to an agreement with the Fire Union and provided :
• 2-year term ( same as everybody else )
• Incorporated terms of Fire Academy & EMT Training, that the Board already approved in January .
• Changes related to the fact that there is no longer a call department, all the language pertains how
we handle certain operational staffing considerations and notifications .
• Station coverage - if the new shift hasn ' t arrived , the current shift cannot leave . Having a previous
issue where Firefighters/ EMT were on a call during a shift change, this is now clarified .
• Pregnant on duty situation language, worked with Labor counsel with the language for this topic,
effectively light duty .
• New annual CORI requirements ( required by Mass Health ), state regulations for all EMT/ Paramedics,
incorporated the language into the new contract .
® Most important piece is regarding salary :
o FY22 COLA- 2 . 0 % set by other union agreements ( retroactive back to July 1 )
o FY23 COLA- 2 . 75 %
• Increased Step 1 for the Firefighter position to just under $ 25/ hour includes the 2% COLA . This
effectively drops the existing first step and starts Firefighters on what our current step 2 is with COLA
included . Reason being, we had issues with recruitment and retention where we were not
competitive with neighboring Towns .
o We, by far, had the most significant number of steps to get to the top step, in terms of years
and increments . We decreased the number of steps from 11 to 9 and employees can now
reach top step in 9 years rather than 15 years .
• Increment between steps were inconsistent for most union and non - unions workers, the goal was for
3 % increments between steps in each personnel grouping . Generally speaking, across the
organization we don' t have an issue with retention except in the Fire Department, we have significant
turnover which can be linked to compensation .
Through negotiations the union presented data, though not included in the Compensation and Classification
Study, they agreed to use the comparable community' s data . They were seeking a 3 . 5 % increment between
steps, ultimately agreed to 3 . 25 % increment . Regarding the differential between ranks, in the current
system there was a 2 % rank differential between Lieutenants and Captains, the data really put those
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individuals behind the curve , so we increased ( something the Town purposed to be equitable ) and now there
will be a 5 % differential between the two positions .
Mr . Lombardi shared his screen with some of the Brewster Fire Wage ( Firefighter- Paramedic ) comparison
data that was ultimately settled on . He pointed out that information was pulled from ten different towns
and came up with averages from this data . The average number of steps is 6 . 6, where we previously had 11 .
Brewster, relative to the averages of other Towns, was generally between 747 % behind or $ 5- $ 10, 000
behind all the other Towns . Mr . Lombardi shared the FY22 proposal of the results of the negotiations, they
will have reached the medium salary data by the time they near the top step . Mr . Lombardi noted that for
this fiscal year, there have been several employees who have left the Town, so we are saving $ 35 , 000 a year
in salary . Adding that for this year the additional changes to the wage scale have no net effect on the
bottom - line budget . The goal was to make this sustainable in the out years, and we believe this was
completed .
Select Board members showed their appreciation to both the Fire Chief, Mr . Lombardi and Mrs . Broderick for
their work in finalizing an agreement . Mr . Lombardi stated that we now have the data to support these
changes and will be following a similar methodology and approach as we did with the Compensation and
Classification Study with the goal to be equitable . This approach can be used for all public safety unions now
that we have the data . The Town is hopeful that with these changes that the retention issue will be resolved .
Mr . Lombardi noted this is a good first step, a lot of work went into negotiations, one of the changes made
was the living radius which was changed from 6 miles to 15 miles, this may have to be addressed again in the
future .
To conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct
collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel ( Personnel & Police
Personnel Bylaw )
Mr . Lombardi referenced the costing data that HR provided in association with their report and
recommendations . He reminded the Board that we budgeted a place holder in FY22 in the amount of
$ 100, 000 to cover what was estimated for the adjustments that were going to follow this study . There were
one hundred positions and over 130 employees reviewed , when looking at the costing, there were not too
many significant increases . Most employees are staying within existing grades, some changes are
recommended , the incremental increase rounds up to the nearest new step . Mr . Lombardi is confident in the
data based on extensive conversations and the work completed by HRS . We don ' t anticipate taking a
dramatically different approach than what has been recommended .
Mr . Lombardi shared parts of the completed study and noted that one key issue that was not addressed in
their study was the internal and external equity issue in the personnel bylaw, particularly at the department
head level positions . There are some department heads who are paid at 35 hours and others at 40 hours per
week . Noting that all the data collected by HRS, and all recommendations are based on hourly pay, however
with the external comps we don ' t know to the extent to which the hourly rate is based .
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Select Board
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Phone : (508) 896 -3701
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For example, the Assistant Town Administrator, Town Planner, Finance Director and Health Director
positions technically are paid for 35 hours per week, we know this is not the reality, and yet they are
compensated at an hourly rate that assumes they work 35 hours a week . In the Natural Resources
Department, the Director is scheduled at 35 hours a week, while the two direct reports work 40 hours a
week . When considering the difference between 35 and 40 hours, it is an 8% difference in pay, this would be
a significant change , but it is something that needs to be addressed .
Regarding personnel bylaw employees, for department heads who are FLSA exempt, and salary can earn
compensation time if they work more than their standard work week. It is noted that some department
heads count their minutes, while some don ' t, there is inequity in terms on how this is handled and causes a
fair amount of tension . Mr . Lombardi offered that if we were to adjust some of these department head
hours from 35 to 40 ( or all ) it would have to come with the elimination of compensation time . There is
possibility to keep some sort of an allowance, but not the hour for hour that is accumulated currently . Mr .
Lombardi believes that consideration should be looked at to increasing some department head hours to 40
based on their workload and set the number of hours their reports are working . Mr . Lombardi noted this
would result in a significant cost element, details have not been calculated , but generally an 8% increase per
week . We have options and could look at implement in phases for cost purposes .
The budget for this study was $ 100, 000 and the recommendations comes in at $ 109, 000, this does not
include the 35 vs . 40 work week for personnel bylaw staff. The funding for these lives in employee benefits,
where there is some flexibility . This is where the Town includes all the funding for adjustments for the new
union contracts .
The Board agreed that this is important to review as the department heads are valued and do a lot of the
heavy lifting in their departments . Pay doesn ' t solve everything but it is important . The data showed that
the Town is competitive, this will be good for staff to see . Mr . Lombardi will provide the Board with data
showing 37 . 5 hours and 40 hours . The Board is supportive of working off the recommendations from HRS for
the purpose of negotiations .
Mrs . Broderick left the meeting at 9 : 16am and Ms . Kalinick rejoined the meeting .
To consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property at 3057 Main Street and 500 W H Besse
Cartway if the chair declares that an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on negotiating position
of the public body .
Mr . Lombardi shared the following updates with the Select Board :
• The website has been updated with the presentation , FAQs, and the videos .
• We have heard good feedback from the community; however, no word from any competitors or the
brokers since Tuesday night .
• Mass Audubon and Brewster Conservation Trust followed up expressing their appreciation , support
and willingness to work with the Town .
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• Work with bond counsel relative to warrant articles and debt exclusion questions, has started . The
Board should be prepared to vote next Monday on the ballot so we can get those ordered .
• We should receive the cost estimate and timeline from Tom Garrahan on the appraisals for both
properties soon .
• We expect the Finance Committee to vote on all three articles at their meeting next Wednesday and
to be strongly supportive .
• Warrant goes to print on Sept 3rd, we will have to spend time pulling it together, the hope is that the
Board on Monday could vote their recommendation on the warrant articles .
• Included in the e- packet is the work that Selectperson Hoffmann has completed for the property
cards, photos , and maps of all the different structures .
• Ms . Kalinick will continue to work with MIIA on insurance .
Concerns regarding misinformation that is out there was brought up and how the Town can continue to
provide accurate information . Town Administration will continue to update the website and FAQs as
needed . Mr . Lombardi has an interview on Monday with Lower Cape TV and will point people to the
webpage that has a lot of good information . If eminent domain is the route that the Town takes, the website
can be updated with section from the presentation that explains eminent domain .
A decision point for the Select Board regarding sharing of the seller' s counteroffer was discussed . Currently
the Board has good data to know what the ceiling is, however if there is concern from residents that it could
be $ 50M , the Select Board may need to potentially make a statement that provides the data . Selectperson
Chatelain is working on getting more information about previous Town acquisitions through eminent domain
Selectperson Whitney stated that regarding the potential loss of income question , he took it to mean what
income we are getting now on property taxes that we would be losing . Recalling about $ 10, 000 for Long
Pond and about $ 75 , 000 for the Bay parcel , something we can publicize now, which is less than 1 % of our
operating budget . Mr . Lombardi noted that the Finance Committee asked about the revenues we would be
getting if the properties were to be developed . We can say, this is how much property taxes are dropping
off, to show what those property valuations are relative to our total valuations in the entire Town to show
the incremental impact of that property loss which will be very low . Important for people to hear and know .
Selectperson Chaffee noted couple of things about communications , the warrant booklet is an opportunity
for education , she has started one- page summaries of each of the potential acquisitions . There is some re -
formatting that can be done on the key slides from the public forum . Selectperson Chaffee noted when the
Board votes next week, we have an opportunity to express an opinion not just a vote, a really important
opportunity as there are a lot of eyes on the Board as they take the vote . Selectperson agrees that the Board
should release the $ 32M price at some point, as it has several benefits to it, one being is that it reenforces
how reasonable the Town has been in working with the sellers . The Select Board continued discussion on
information that should be shared in the warrant booklet, it was noted that the actual amounts of
acquisition will not be included .
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Office of:
Town of Brewster
6�* Select Board
2198 Main Street
Town Administrator
Brewster, MA 026314898
Phone * (508) 896w3701
www , brewster�ma . gov
CORPORN,
The Select Board discussed the possibility of allowing residents to donate towards the purchase of the Sea
Camps Properties . Mr . Lombardi advised that we are awaiting counsel guidance on terms in which we can
solicit donations and the appropriate mechanism .
Mr . Lombardi noted that he will share an email with the Board from Jim Faye, in which the Foundation
decided not to ask questions at the forum, all were about future uses . It is clear to Mr . Lombardi that the
Foundation is positioning themselves in a place to be part of that conversation . The email is instructive for
what we can anticipate down the line if we acquire the properties in terms of what their overall approach
will be .
Selectperson Hoffmann moved to adjourn the meeting at 4@11pm , Selectperson Chatelain second . A roll call
vote was taken , Selectperson Chaffeew yes, Selectperson Whitney� yes, Selectperson Chatelain � yes,
Selectperson Hoffmann �yes, Chair Bingham �yes . The Board vote was 5 �Yes, O� No .
Respectfully submitted ,
Erika Mawn
Executive Assistant, Select Board
Approvedt 12 / 19 / 2022 Signed :
Date Select Board Clerk, Kari Hoffmann
Released , 2/27/2023
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