by Mary Grow

China selectmen spent almost two hours Feb. 10 doing a semi-final review of the warrant articles for the April 4 town business meeting. Their work was to be submitted to the budget committee on Feb. 12 for its members’ final review and recommendations.

The selectmen intend to sign the warrant at their Tuesday, Feb. 18, meeting (moved from the usual Monday because of the Presidents’ Day holiday).

At the Feb. 10 meeting, selectmen again discussed pay increases for Town Clerk Rebecca Hapgood, Transfer Station Manager Tim Grotton and Public Works Manager Shawn Reed, the three town employees Town Manager Dennis Heath has designated as managers. Selectmen agreed on different levels of increase for each, based on amount of responsibility and length of service with the town.

Looking at the annual article setting tax due dates and authorizing interest charges on late payments, they unanimously recommended reducing the interest rate from the state maximum of 9 percent to 4.5 percent.

Two public hearings scheduled

Two public hearings on budget requests in the April 3 town meeting warrant are scheduled for Sunday, March 22, at 2 p.m. at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village, and Wednesday, March 25, at 7 p.m. at the town office on Lakeview Drive.

The warrant includes two articles that deal with Heath’s proposal to hire a full-time town policeman.

One asks if voters want to establish the position and fund it at over $113,000 for 2020-21. The new officer would work in addition to the present part-time people, and China would continue to run its own vehicle.

If voters defeat that article, they then decide whether they want to contract with the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office for police services. In that case, Heath said about $81,000 of the current police budget could be applied to the estimated $114,000 first-year cost, because China would no longer need part-time patrolmen or a vehicle.

Selectman Wayne Chadwick voted against recommending either proposal. He was surprised to find them presented as definite plans with price tags, since in his opinion much more discussion is needed.

The warrant Heath read aloud and selectmen approved has several articles that are capped, that is, written so that voters cannot legally increase the amount to be appropriated. Among them are fund requests for:

• China’s fire and rescue departments;
• Social services (out-of-town agencies like the Red Cross, Senior Spectrum and public radio);
• Community support organizations (in-town groups like the libraries, China Lake water quality groups and historic buildings, and this year including appropriations for fire and rescue that replaces the much-debated stipends); and
• Recommended spending from China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund.

There were no capped articles in the warrant for the 2019 town business meeting.

The Feb. 18 selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the town office meeting room.

by Mary Grow

China Budget Committee members reviewed the town manager’s and selectmen’s recommendations for 2020-21 municipal expenditures at their Jan. 30 meeting. Their discussion again touched on the controversial stipends for volunteer firefighters, and in other areas suggested potential disagreement with the selectmen.

Another question raised Jan. 30 is how warrant articles will be written for the April 4 town meeting. There are two types of articles.

A “capped” article has the amount to be appropriated in the body of the article. In that case, voters cannot increase it; they can approve it or reduce it.

An “open” article begins with “To see what sum of money,” with recommended amounts from the selectmen and budget committee printed below the article. Voters can increase, approve or reduce the amount(s) printed.

Town Manager Dennis Heath said he intends to cap all appropriation articles. Budget Committee Chairman Robert Batteese predicted voters would not like the format and pointed out most articles have been open for years. Heath said he would write open articles if the selectmen direct him to do so.

The firefighters’ stipends are moved out of the fire department budget into the community support agencies budget, with $10,000 recommended for each fire department and for China Rescue.

During a brief review of the proposed fire and rescue appropriation, South China Fire Chief Richard Morse told committee members he believes the line item his department calls “recruitment and retention” rather than “stipends” should be left in the fire department budget. He added that he had asked for $12,000 for 2020-21 because last year he went over budget.

Morse left the meeting before discussion of the community support lines. Budget committee member Tim Basham’s motion to recommend $12,000 for the South China department’s recruitment and retention line was not seconded.

Heath has also moved requests from the China Lake Association and the China Region Lakes Alliance from Tax Increment Finance funding to community support. He said as of Jan. 1 the town no longer does bookkeeping and payroll for the two organizations; like other organizations, they will do their own paperwork and report to him how they spend taxpayers’ money.

A major issue for budget committee members was salaries for Town Clerk Becky Hapgood, Transfer Station Manager Tim Grotton and Public Works Manager Shawn Reed. Heath proposes promoting them from hourly workers to salaried managers, saying that in his administration they are functioning as managers, for example, preparing department budgets and hiring new employees.

When selectmen reviewed the draft budget Jan. 27 (see The Town Line, Jan. 30), they proposed equal dollar raises for all three that resulted in somewhat lower salaries than Heath recommended. Budget committee members thought since Hapgood is qualified – and designated, Heath said – to step in as town manager in an emergency, she should be paid more than the other two. They voted unanimously for 10 percent raises for all three, giving Hapgood the highest pay and Grotton, who has been with the town the shortest time, the lowest.

Heath opened the budget committee discussion with a brief review of expected revenues. Since many major items, like road maintenance and town office expenses, are covered by non-tax revenues like grants and fees, he does not expect the municipal budget will need much more from taxpayers next year than this year.

As the Jan. 30 meeting ended, Heath and Batteese recommended the following schedule: a Feb. 10 selectmen’s meeting and a Feb. 12 budget committee meeting for each group to review draft town meeting warrant articles and a Feb. 13 joint meeting to make final decisions. All meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the town office.

by Mary Grow

The major decision at an unusually short Feb. 3 China selectmen’s meeting was to buy a new large metal can for waste from the new pre-crusher at the transfer station. Without it, Town Manager Dennis Heath explained, staff would have no replacement under the mixed waste hopper while a filled can is hauled away.

Heath commended Transfer Station Manager Tim Grotton for arranging to sell a can too old to use for enough money to lower the cost of the new one to $8,100. Estimates had ranged from $10,000 to$13,000.

Selectmen voted to take the $8,100 from the $55,000 contingency fund voters granted them for unexpected expenses during the 2019-20 fiscal year. Later, as Heath presented his monthly financial summary, they discovered the contingency fund has less than $4,000 left in it.

They therefore amended their vote and will pay for the new waste can from the equipment reserve fund.

After the meeting, Heath shared a summary of the $51,311 spent from the contingency fund. More than $42,000 went to install three-phase power at the transfer station, primarily to accommodate the pre-crusher. Central Maine Power Company claimed the lion’s share; Windsor electrician Dan Finley was paid for labor and materials.

Heath commented that Grotton reported a welcome increase in the price China gets for one recycled material: cardboard is now worth $100 a ton, up from a negligible amount some months ago.

The Feb. 3 meeting included an executive session to discuss an employment agreement between the selectmen and Heath. Heath reported afterward board members approved a town manager’s job description and asked Heath to submit a draft employment agreement at their next regular meeting (see below).

The next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Feb. 18, to avoid the Presidents’ Day holiday. Before then, selectmen have scheduled a Monday, Feb. 10, special meeting to review articles for the April 6 town business meeting, and the budget committee will meet on Wednesday, Feb. 12, for the same purpose. All meetings are at 6:30 p.m. in the town office meeting room.

Description of town manager’s responsibilities

This is the position description for the China Town Manager, approved after the executive session of the China Select Board, on February 3, 2020. The draft employment agreement will be presented at the next select board meeting on Tuesday, February 18, 2020. (Monday is Presidents Day).

The Town Manager

This is responsible leadership work as chief executive and chief administrative official of the Town. The Manager is under the direction of the Board of Selectmen. Performance must be in accordance with the Maine Statutes and local ordinances.

Employee of this class is responsible for the achievement of tangible results through people. Work involves a certain degree of urgency to produce and will require firm dealing with people to achieve results. Work involves planning, budget making, problem solving and organizing with the authority to make decisions as well as delegate to others. The work environment is relatively unpredictable and requires the ability to manage many projects at once. Although governed by policies, the Manager must frequently act without precedent.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Examples of Work (Illustrative Only):

• Maintains the administrative organization of the Town to ensure efficiency of operation. Oversees the accounting of all monies of the Town.
• Makes monthly reports to Board of Selectmen pertaining to the financial status of the Town. Annually prepares a proposed budget and work program for the Town.
• Prepares an annual report of the previous year’s activities for presentation to the Board of Selectmen and citizens of the Town.
• Appoints, with Board of Selectmen approval, all department heads and supervises their performance on a day-to-day basis.
• Oversees the hiring, evaluating, promoting, and disciplining of employees or establishes procedures for others to follow in such matters.
• Recommends an annual salary schedule for the Town employees for Board of Selectmen consideration.
• Identifies service and policy needs of The Town and brings to the attention of the Board of Selectmen with recommendations for action.
• Maintains a sound public relations posture between the Town and its citizens, the press, and other federal, state and local governmental agencies.
• Coordinates departmental activities, and sets attainable goals for all municipal departments. Act as purchasing agent for all municipal departments, and oversees the bid process on major purchases.
• Maintains contact with public by handling suggestions, complaints and information requests.
• Carries out the directives of the Board of Selectmen.
• Attends meetings of the Board of Selectmen, preparing its agendas, providing supporting documents and information pertinent to agenda items.
• Attends various meetings on behalf of the Town.
• Prepares federal and State grant requests and administers grant programs.
• Enforces municipal and State codes.
• Ex-officio member of numerous municipal committees.
• Performs related work as required.

Requirements of Work:

• Thorough knowledge of municipal management and community problems.
• Thorough understanding of administrative organization, design, and evaluation.
• Thorough knowledge of financial administration and the design of financial accounting and reporting system.
• Thorough knowledge of the theory and practice of public personnel administration.
• Thorough knowledge of municipal government programs and decision-making processes. Working knowledge of State and federal programs.
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.
• Ability to listen to others.
• Possess conflict resolution skills.
• Ability to direct and supervise others and to delegate.
• Ability to organize and use time effectively.
• Ability to give and accept constructive criticism.
• Knowledge of road maintenance.
• Employee must be goal-minded and possess a self-starting drive to get things done, frequently through other people.
• Employee must be able to react quickly to changing situations which may be physically taxing.
• Employee must be positive and direct in striving to achieve results, but must at times be able to motivate others to act through persuasiveness and the generation of enthusiasm.
• Ability to act independently and without precedent in the face of problems.

Training and Experience Required:

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university program in public administration or a related field, and at least five years experience as chief administrative officer in a municipal government; or any equivalent combination of experience and training.

Additional Duty Assignments:

• Tax Collector
• Treasurer
• Road Commissioner
• Emergency Preparedness Director
• Agent to Overseers of the Poor
• General Assistance Administrator
• Public Access Officer
• Building Official
• Ex-Officio Member of all Committees/Boards.