Fall Town Meeting: More Town Employees Upgraded, Salaries Increased
Town Manager Mark Haddad advised the Board that there were currently 26 articles slated for the Fall Town Meeting Warrant. These will be reviewed at a Public Hearing scheduled for Monday Sept.15 with Selectmen and Finance Committee.
Haddad proposed increases to salaries of three employees based on review of the job descriptions and recommended changes to their grades. They include Mike Bottano from the IT department, Sarah Mahoney from the Town Accountant's office and Barbara Tierney from Tax Collectors/ Treasurer's office. Selectman Jack Petropoulos said that he "was struck by the number of people that needed to be upgraded" and asked how the town found itself in this position.
In addition, based on a request from new Fire Chief Steel McCurdy, Haddad is recommending $13K for the Groton Fire Department for the leadership training of officers by the Collins Center at UMASS. He stressed, "This has never been done before," adding that there is currently only $2K in the training budget.
Based on cuts to the municipal budget done at Spring Town Meeting in order to accommodate increases resulting from errors in the Groton Dunstable School budget and the resulting increase in the assessment to the town, Haddad suggested that some monies that have come back to the town through new growth and other areas be applied to some of the earlier cuts, specifically to restore the cut to the Communications Center Dispatch; and the need for the data conversion for the Police Department records.
Other articles on the warrant include the Local Meals Tax Option, sales of Tarbell and Prescott Schools, Sargisson Beach Restoration, extension of the Sewer District, zoning amendments, correction of road layouts, and a citizen's petition for the appointment of a committee to look at electronic voting.
Appointments
The Board voted to ratify appointments of Marlene Kenney of Harvard as Assistant Town Clerk; Kathleen Santiago as COA Volunteer Coordinator; Bruce Easom to the Sustainability Committee; and Special Police Officers from Stow, Lancaster and Harvard.
