Maylor: Long-Term Sustainability is Budget Focus

On Thursday, Town Manager Andrew Maylor

Maylor has been town manager for about five months now and says it has been a learning experience for him, but one he has enjoyed.

The Budget

One area of focus in the chat was the town's budget, since Maylor recently produced Here are some highlights from the chat:

NAPatch: What was your main focus when creating your budget proposal?

Andrew Maylor: The primary focus for the FY13 budget, and future budgets, will be sustainability. This means ensuring that service levels remain at the current levels well into the future. Liviing within our means and setting aside the appropriate reserves to protect against another year like 2008.

Comment From Will: Do we have any numbers on how much money the meals tax has brought in so far?

Andrew Maylor: Will, the way that we receive those dollars from the state we only have two months worth of reciepts to base projections on. I have estimated that in Fiscal 13 the total revenue from the meals tax will be $350,000.

Comment From Ralph: The budget proposal is about $99K less than the school's budget proposal. Do you feel confident that the School Committee will agree with your budget?

Andrew Maylor: Ralph, yes. The following is part of a joint statement made by the chairman of the School Committee and Board of Selectmen: "...the town manager's proposed budget provides a funding amount that is very close to what all departments have requested and is certainly something with which all departments, including the schools, can manage."

Comment From Howie: Will you address the need for sewer along 125 near Haverhilll?

Andrew Maylor: Howie, I have recommended funding through the FY13 Capital Plan for the design of the Rte 125 sewer project. If passed by town meeting we would able to pursue funding from the state and grants and other outside sources to complete this project.

Comment From Otis: Does your budget includes Senior Center cuts?

Andrew Maylor: Otis, there are no cuts in the staffing or service levels of the Senior Center in my proposed budget.

NAPatch: What was the point in having three reserve funds?

Andrew Maylor: The reason for the three different reserve accounts is to allow for transparency regarding the purpose for setting these funds aside.

NAPatch: Where do you see the town's finances 5 years from now?

Comment From Stan Limpert: What courses of action might we take if our five-year forecast doesn't look to meet our needs?

Andrew Maylor: NAPatch/Stan, Interestingly, I have already begun the process of preparing a five year forecast for FY14-18 so that we can understand what we are facing to meet the goal of sustainability. In the long term, managing employee costs, participating in more strategic partnerships with other communties, controlling employee benefit costs and reducing our energy consumption will be my primary areas of focus.

Public Safety

There were also a few questions about public safety. To sum those up, according to Maylor:

• There are no plans to move the Police Headquarters any time soon.
• He is working with police on addressing the traffic dangers on Route 114.
• His budget provides level services to police and fire.
• There's likely nothing he can do about the train whistle late at night, because that is probably federally regulated.

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