Brattleboro Town Manager Peter Elwell on Town Operations

Friday, October 21, 2016

If you dont know where youre going, youll end up someplace else.
~ Yogi Berra

Video Link: h
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXzv54b5qng

Town Manager Peter Elwell explained the process resulting in the Comprehensive
Review of Town Operations (CRTO) began with Town department managers
addressing certain questions:
Whats working and needs attention?
What needs more resources?
What items gets resources for no other reason than we always have?
The Town manager took a broader look at issues crossing over departments or needing
policy level decisions or catch up on infrastructure needs. On the utility side, needs
tend to fare better due to the availability of fees to provide funding, as opposed to being
solely dependent on the general fund. Decision points involved stopping resources for
items no longer needed and adding resources where needs are apparent. This process
resulted in a 50 item list contained in a July draft which was open for community input
and review by the SelectBoard. The October report now lists 57 items.
The criteria considered were:
1. Can we save money without negatively affecting services?
2. Are there places where we can improve service without increasing costs?
3. Are there areas, specifically ones that have experienced cuts in the past, where a
judicious increase in capital investment through tax revenue can result in a
significant positive impact to the community?

Some representative examples of how this process has played out include:
Employee Benefits (already accomplished) - the goal was to address escalating
costs while not reducing the benefit package.
In the health benefits area, a Health Reimbursement Arrangement was
created by the Town to provide a layer of self-insurance which would
contain risk and lower premiums, for a savings of about $100,000.
In the retirement area, movement from the defined contribution plan for
civilian employees to the Vermont Municipal Employees Retirement
System (VMERS) defined benefit plan was found to be more affordable
and had good marks for management and benefit payouts, for a savings
of about $100,000.
Solid Waste (already accomplished) - in addition to diverting organic waste from
the waste stream through curbside compost and the collection of glass and
plastic recyclables, the reduction in the amount of trash allowed for an every two
week garbage pickup schedule. Comparing statistics from July, August and
September over the last two years shows an increase of 160% in composting, a
60% decline in garbage, saving the Town about $100,000 in costs and providing
other regional and environmental benefits. It was noted that families with young
children in diapers are challenged by this system.
Capital Improvement (short term with longer term implications) is about where
weve been and where we need to move, all of which involves some pain and
decisions. In this area we need to be really clear about what we are not funding
and to identify what needs to be done, getting realistic about catching up on
needs and funding. How much are we willing to pay?
Workers Compensation (in progress) - improvement plans are being
implemented, but it will be a few years before the beneficial effects will be
noticeable due to actuarial smoothing. This area has experienced an increased
cost of about $100,000 in recent times.
The Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP) is not a budget. The Town does submit a budget
each year for approval at Town Meeting. The budget places the emphasis on holding
the line financially and not taxing at a rate we cannot afford. But a budget is done one
year at a time. What needs to be recognized is that doing (or not doing) something this
year has an effect in out years, positively or negatively. The LTFP tries to address this

by looking at five years of history and forecasting out five years, acknowledging that the
fifth year of the forecast may be more uncertain as it is based on estimates. An example
of a way to lower debt service expenses in the future is to stop borrowing for equipment
rather purchasing equipment on a year to year basis in a more planned way. The goal is
to know what we have been spending and make reasonable and conservative guesses
about the future.
Some examples of conservative assumptions:
There will be no substantial increase in the Grand List. While there are small
increases every year, the assumption is the List will be flat.
While there is confidence of an increase in rental income from space in the
municipal building and the Reformer building, the assumption is no increase.
In sum, the forecast is an intentionally pessimistic look so that we can achieve better
outcome numbers than predicted. With that in mind, here are the forecasts for the
property tax rate increases:
Year

In Cents

By Percent

FY18

6.3

5.25%

FY 19

2.5

1.97%

FY 20

2.6

2.01%

FY 21

2.4

1.81%

FY 22

4.5

3.39%

The projected 4.5 increase in FY 22 represents the impact of conservative

assumption, i.e., a worst case scenario, barring, of course, another catastrophe like
Tropical Storm Irene.
Town Manager Elwell concluded by reiterating that the actual increase in any given year
should be at least a little less than what is currently predicted and by stating his strong
confidence that the increase needed in FY22 will be reduced to something more in line
with what is currently predicted for FY19, FY20, and FY21.
A Question and Answer period followed.
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