Conference 7.286::maynard

    Hi
      Frank
    The DPW use to deliever the Town report but the stop and it was
    beening sent out with the Sunday/Saturday ads. This was getting
    kine of expense and when the dump was open the following week after
    the reports where delievered they showed up at the dump, so the
    Fincom suggected that the reports be made avaible at the town hall
    and other locations and if people where really interested in there
    town they would go an get one. To put it a the charter to have them
    deleieverd would just been another expense that the town can not
    afford. I suggested requiring the the reports be placed a certain
    location thru out the town.
                                                                 
    
    art

    I don't think that delivering it is a good idea, because there's just
    too much information in it. I'm interested, but I have a hard time
    getting through it.

    It would be good to distribute some kind of abstract of the report, but
    I'd have to study it to know what's going on.

    With all our problems, we really need some kind of program to get
    people interested in their town and how their money is spent. I'm sure
    that there's information in the report that people want and would help
    them get involved, but it's too thick a document.

    How many people know what's in it? How many people know that it's
    available? How many people even know that it exists?

    Frank: if some kind of get-people-interested program falls into the
    jurisdiction of your committee, and you want some help, let me know.

    					-- hal 

The report needs a "user's guide" (one that might be applicable for a
number of years) that you can pick up along with the report.  Understanding
the implications of the budget process and line items is confusing at best -
especially when we rip through it at town meeting.

Better presentation within the report might be helpful too - but I understand
the difficulty in producing such a report on generally short timeframes.

- dave

>    Fincom suggected that the reports be made avaible at the town hall
>    and other locations and if people where really interested in there
>   town they would go an get one. 

    In Burlington they have them available at the polls on the day of
    town elections.  After all if you care enough to vote, you may be 
    interested in reading the report.

    My own opinion, without my Charter Commission hat, is that Art is
    probably right.  Force feeding the Town Report to everyone would
    just increase the trash expense AND the printing expense.
    Having copies available at the Paper Store, the various donut shops
    and convenience stores would be a better method.  Also a stack of 
    reports on the table in the lobby of the Town Hall would be nice.
    The donut shops in particular seem to be a hot spots for town politics.
    It would be nice to furnish them with some reference material for their
    discussions.  Copies at the polling places is a great idea, too.
    
    With my Charter Commission hat back on, I don't feel the Commission
    should make any requirement for distribution.  The Charter is too 
    formal a document for such an issue.  Our Charter draft only calls
    for the reports of the various town boards and agencies to be made
    available to the public.  
    
    Who knows, maybe someday  you will be able to access the town report, 
    committee minutes and meeting schedules on-line by dialing into a town 
    government system, using your voter name and password!!  
    
    Think about it.  You and I are doing this right now!
    
    Frank

    Are you confusing The Town Report With The Town Warrant?

    .5
    	The possiblity to access the Town report by calling up the Town
    Computer is here to today. I alone problem is that not all the reports
    are submit in computer form. I am hopeing to have 90% of all the
    Town Reports in computer form to be able to have people access them
    by call up the system in a captive account and acessing the report.
    
    Frank if you are interested let me know.
    
    art

If you know any salaries of town employees, then those listed in the town
report often seem strangely low, or strangely high. 

It appears that the wages came from W2 reports.  One problem with this is that
there is some sort of tax-deferred KEO or IRA which many town employees use, so
money is taken off before the W2 is prepared.  I. e., many people earn more
than what the report says, particularly people with higher salaries. 

Some of the wages listed are not wages from tax money.  When you pay for your
kid to go to an after-school class, you're paying for the teacher - taxes
contribute nothing to the after-school teachers' pay - but the money goes
through the town, so it's listed on the town report. In the same way, people
can hire Maynard Police officers for private detail, like hiring private
security guards, and their pay just goes through the town as a matter of
bookkeeping.  All this money is in the town report. 

Then again, there's overtime.  Some departments have a lot of overtime. 

So when you notice that a police sergeant made more than the police chief, it's
not because his base salary is more than the Chief's, but that the sergeant's
overtime plus detail work pushed his income. 

Joe Magno retired as Communications Director for the schools this year, and he
traded unused sick days for cash, as he has a right to do.  The result is that
he is listed as earning more money than the Superintendant, even though his
salary was, of course, lower. The Superintendant is listed low, probably
because of the KEO/IRA/tax-deferred business. 

My personal opinion is that I would like to know who is paid how much of my tax
money.  I don't care so much about police detail or after-school teachers.  I'm
also most interested in base salary, though I think it's useful to see
overtime, to see if it seems excessive. 

Much of the wages are for small amounts.  Lots of people get $21 or so for
being election workers.  Also, the town employs teen aged kids in the summer
for landscaping, and recreation programs. 

Also, many of the town board positions have stipends.  The town selectmen get
something like $850 to compensate them for their trouble, which likely doesn't
come close to pay for all dinners they have to go to, phone bills, etc. It's a
stipend rather than salary because there are no associated benefits. 

I hope that next year, the town report gets accurate numbers, and separates out
base salary from other income.

-Steve

    RE. .6  Art, my comments in .5 relate to the Town Report. 
    
    The distribution of the Town Warrant is covered in Chapter 1, Section
    1C of the Town By-Laws:  " The Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting
    shall be delivered to each household at least 14 days prior to the
    meeting."  (Article 81, April 1976 Town Meeting).  The draft Charter
    says " Forthwith following the receipt of any proposed warrant article
    the Board of Selectmen shall cause a copy of the proposal to be mailed
    to the chairperson of the Finance Committee, a copy to be posted on the
    town bulletin board and shall cause such other distribution to be made
    of each such proposal as may be required by by-law."
    
    Re .6:  Yep, I think you're on the right track.  And, by the way folks,
    Arthur Filz has done an EXCELLENT job through the years in assisting
    the town in keeping the town's computer system up, with no compensation
    and with no credit.  Thanks, Art.
    
    Re .8:  Steve, the only way you will see a change in the reporting of
    wages is to amend the By-law.  What you voted on is what you're
    getting.  The current law and the draft Charter both require that
    any money taken in by a town employee, for fees, after hour details,
    or any other method in which the employee represents the town,
    be first submitted to the Treasurer and then paid back out.  This
    prevents any town employee from charging more than allowed by the fee
    structure of the Town, as well as taking money under the table.
    
    
    Frank 

re: .7 computer access

Any chance go getting them in bookreader format ?

Phil

    .10
    	Please define bookreader format?
    

    Bookreader is a DECwindows application.  VAX DOCUMENT produces the output.
    
    Phil

    The town computer system does not have Decwindow. The Town Report will
    most likely be a text file only.
    
    art