ROCKINGHAM, Vt. – On Tuesday, March 22, the Bellows Falls Village Trustees discussed water and sewer budgets for fiscal year 2023.
Municipal Manager Scott Pickup said there was a concern on the length of training for new employees in the Water Department. Two employees were nearing retirement age, and Pickup told the trustees that training and certification for new plant operators took at least three years. He said, “It might make sense to recruit for that position.” Wade Masure agreed, “This makes more sense to plan ahead.” He said the other option would be to contract out, which is much more expensive.
Pickup said there was also a need for a replacement vehicle in FY23. James McAuliffe asked about the $7,000 they had set aside each year and if it was in the reserve. Finance Director Alyssa Harlow had spoken with the auditors and found that it was not reserved. She said it’s been in the budget and they were working on committing FY21 and FY22 into a separate line item.
Pickup said the wastewater budget would reflect no change or increase to service. He explained they had locked in a five-year loan for the sludge dryer and there were two options: ask for voter approval for the funds on the warning for the Village Annual meeting, or pay for the dryer from the current budget, creating a deficit in this fiscal year.
McAuliffe suggested they prepay the loan and add it to the warning. He said it was purchased in this year and it should post this year to give them a realistic number.
Village President Deborah Wright agreed, preferring not to carry it over to the next fiscal year.
McAuliffe pointed out that the dryer for $268,000 showed a forecasted deficit of $382,000. He said the loan would offset the $268,000 and show the department was in the red by $110,000. He agreed this would be “a better indication of our operations.” He continued by saying that this fall they should look at adjusting the rates for sewer.
Pickup said they were working with Efficiency Vermont to see if they would offset a part of it, but there were no guarantees on the program. He said they seemed to want to fund it and said, “I think they think it’s important…it’s real sustainability.” Pickup said, “If we can get to the point where we can handle larger material, we can run the dryer over a longer time.” He explained that currently there is more start-up and shutdown times between each drying cycle.
The Village Trustees meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month in the Lower Theatre of the Bellows Falls Opera House at 6 p.m. The Village Annual Meeting is Monday, May 16, with the election on Tuesday, May 17.