Controversy over Rec Director’s salary

Published in the March 22, 2017 edition

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

LYNNFIELD — Town Administrator Jim Boudreau has presented his recommendations for a $53.2 million operating budget and a $1.8 million capital budget for Fiscal Year 2018 to the Board of Selectmen.

Boudreau stated that his FY18 budget recommendations meets all five annual budgeting goals: It is sustainable and balanced; it does not use non-recurring revenues to balance the operating budget; it maintains an aggressive capital spending plan; it continues to build reserves in preparation for the possibility of an economic downturn and it continues to fund the town’s OPED liability, with an added goal of increasing this contribution annually.

The town’s revenue is generated from the following sources: property taxes ($41M, up $1.3M from FY17), state aid ($5.4M, up 2.6% from FY17), projected local receipts, such as auto excise tax and license and permit fees ($4.9M, up 4.26%) and various enterprise funds.

The preliminary estimate in new growth of $300,000 for FY18 has plummeted nearly 50% over FY17 ($598,841), Boudreau stated, as was expected after the town’s new growth reached its peak in FY15 of $2.5M due to the MarketStreet effect. New growth had dipped to $1.12M in FY 16.

Even with this projected drop in new growth, the town’s FY18 preliminary prior year levy limit is projected to reach $39.7M, an increase of just over 4% from the FY17 final levy limit of $38,199,521. For FY18, the Prop. 2 1/2 increase on that levy limit will rise by $38,845 to $993,834.

The town’s Free Cash reserves have increased 2.07% to $1,796,418. The town’s revenue also includes $2.6M from debt exclusions, down 3% from last year, for a reduction of $81,335.

In total, Boudreau’s budget lists the preliminary FY18 total revenue to be $55,933,013, an increase of $765,267 or 1.39% over the FY17 final revenue figure of $55,167,745.

With total expenditures of $55,897,671 in the preliminary FY18 budget – an increase of $1.4M or 2.57%, and total revenues of $55,933,013, Boudreau’s budget maintains a surplus of $35,342.

The main drivers in increasing this year’s operating budget are: a projected 5% increase in health insurance costs ($272,880), a 4% increase in the School Department budget, an increase in pension costs of 8% and an increase in field maintenance costs of $125,000 in the DPW budget.

Boudreau’s budget also recommends providing a $2,500 stipend to the Town Clerk for serving as the chief records administrator in town, a duty mandated by a new state law. It also addresses the need to handle a transition fund for the impending retirement of longtime Conservation Administrator Betty Adelson and salary adjustments for the Council on Aging employees as well as increases in debt to be issued for the balance of Centre Farm, the remainder of Phase 1 of the fields project and capital borrowing authorized by voters at the FY17 Town Meeting.

The T.A. also recommends the selectmen dedicate $200,000 to the town’s stabilization fund and $200,000 to the capital facilities maintenance fund as well as a 50% increase to OPED liability.

Capital budget

The town’s department heads requested a total of $2,637,277 in capital expenditures for FY18. Boudreau trimmed back those requests by over $840,000 to a recommendation totaling $1,796,418.

Boudreau’s capital expenditure recommendations maintains the annual $250,000 put toward school technology each year; maintains a $500,000 commitment to town wide paving projects; addresses air quality control issues in the DPW garage for $200,000; and includes expenditures for enhanced school security ($150,000), Council on Aging 20-seat van ($80,000), Town Hall repairs ($60,000) and a lease payment for two school buses ($35,000).

Salary debate

One controversy to emerge in the budget presentation was Boudreau’s salary recommendation for Recreation Director Julie Mallett, the only full-time paid staff member in that department.

The Recreation Commission, which oversees the position, recommended a 27.1% salary increase for Mallett based on the amount of work she does in comparison to area towns with similar positions and the successful growth she has created in the programming for the townspeople.

This increase would bump Mallett’s salary from $54,300 to $69,000 or $14,700.

Boudreau recommended increasing her salary to $55,568 or 2.5%. It was pointed out that Mallett had received an increase of 20% the previous year, from $44,880 in FY16 to her current salary.

Two out of the three selectmen – Chris Barrett and Dick Dalton – had agreed with the Recreation Commission’s recommended salary increase of 27 percent. Selectmen Chairman Phil Crawford said his reluctance to recommend a 27% increase one year after the town had boosted her salary by 20% was by no means not a reflection on the quality of the work Mallett has accomplished but he wanted more data to support such a steep increase in back-to-back years.

Boudreau said, “I have not at this point recommended the increase in the Recreation Director’s salary. I put a 2 1/2% increase in there. I want to propose to the board that we look at that the way we looked at the Council on Aging. We will bring someone in to do a salary survey, both an internal and an external salary level basis.”

“The budget that you have does not spend to zero. There is roughly $35,000 in available funds if the board wishes (to recommend it),” Boudreau said, adding that the intention would not be to offer both the $15,000 increase recommended by the Rec Commission and the 2.5% increase he recommended.

Barrett said, “I really don’t need think we need a study to tell us the value of the work that she gives to this community. If you would compare her to other staff in other communities, they have bigger staffs to help her out. (Here) it is only her and Joe Maney part time. I’d like to see that number increased to where we had it last week,” based on the Recreation Commission’s recommendation.

“I think in a $53M budget it is really small money to make sure we can keep someone here like Julie,” added Barrett who also pointed out that she has also been requested to run programming for senior citizens as well as the youth of the community.

Selectman Dick Dalton added, “I thought it was quite clear at the previous meeting that the majority of the board recommended it. It should be adjusted as we indicated. We had already taken a vote.”

Boudreau said he understood that the selectmen had voted 2-1 to go along with the Recreation Commission’s recommendation “but this is my recommendation to you and I would like to have had a study done outside. If the board feels they have sufficient information (to provide the requested raise) I made sure I had sufficient funds to do that.”

“It’s my opinion that we had more than enough information from what had been presented to us,” Dalton said.

Crawford said at the last meeting the board had discussed whether the request was “reasonable.”

“At the time, it did not seem reasonable to me. We gave her a 20% pay bump the year before for the exact same reason and she was being underpaid compared to her peers,” Crawford said.

“I’m not taking anything away from Julie; she does a great job. The problem is her salary range is getting to where she is getting above many of our other department heads who have been longtime employees and it doesn’t seem like a reasonable way of increasing someone’s salary where all the other salaries we’ve increased on the town side we’ve done comparison studies. We’ve looked at how it compares with other town employees and their longevity and also similar-sized towns,” Crawford said. “No where in the information we were given did they give any comparison on any current salaries. That information was very stale; it was several years old and it was the same information I was given the year before.”

Crawford thought the study could be done within a month for about $1,000. Boudreau explained that it would be a little more complicated because they would need to compare not only the size of the town but a comparable level of services being provided by similar sized towns. The board voted 2-1 to reaffirm their position in recommending Mallett obtain her salary increase. Crawford remained opposed.

Joint budget hearing April 3

The Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee will hold its annual joint meeting to review their budget recommendations on Monday, April 3 at 7 p.m. This meeting will be held at the Al Merritt Center at 600 Market St.

An additional meeting has been called by the selectmen on Tuesday, April 4 at 7 p.m. at the Al Merritt Center to review specific warrant articles, including the proposed cinema at MarketStreet (see related story).

The selectmen plan to make their recommendations on the 29 articles in this year’s annual Town Meeting warrant at its subsequent meeting on Monday, April 10.

Throughout the budget season, the FinCom has also been meeting with various department heads and reviewing budgets drafted by all departments in preparation for making its own recommendations on each article at the annual Town Meeting, which will be held in the LMS auditorium.