Selectmen Debate Value of Time, Services as Budget Proceeds

KENT — In an occasionally fractious meeting on Tuesday, March 6, the Board of Selectmen heard from town employees on their salaries and made a dent in a lengthy list of budget items prior to the final selectmen’s budget meeting on Saturday, March 10 (at Town Hall, noon).

Town Clerk Darlene Brady and Tax Collector Debbie Devaux reiterated their pitch to change the status of the part-time assistant the two offices share. Brady would like to see the assistant paid the same wage for working in the two different offices, and both officials would like to make the assistant a full-time position, and thus eligible for benefits.

Devaux said her request was in line with Board of Finance Chairman George Jacobsen’s call for department heads to look to the future when making this year’s requests, adding that the tax load is up and "every dollar gets harder to collect."

"It’s time for our office to make the leap."

Brady said that the assistant, Linda Hall, has proven invaluable to both offices and that regularizing the arrangement would serve both her office’s needs well in future as well as rewarding Hall for her efforts.

The selectmen heard these remarks but did not comment.

Director of Social Services Diane Albert asked for an increase of her part-time, 20-hours-per week wage from $15.69 to $18. She then read a lengthy list of services she provided to clients she said were "above and beyond" the job description.

"I’m worth $20, but I’ll settle for $18," she concluded, cheerfully.

The selectmen then began looking at budget items, noting rather glumly that the line for Resident Trooper Keith Asman will increase dramatically.

The uptick is in part because of what will probably be a negotiated 6-percent raise by the state police union. On top of that, there will be a substantial increase because of a graduated pay scale based on his number of years of service.

So while the trooper’s base salary for the current budget year is $64,255, that will jump to approximately $77,547 for next year.

The selectmen went deeper into the budget, with First Selectman Ruth Epstein urging that they approve as many items as possible before their Saturday "crunch time" meeting.

But the meeting hit a snag. Selectman Nancy O’Dea-Wyrick questioned the budget of the selectmen’s office and expanded her remarks to include hours of operation and other logistical questions.

Epstein responded to her concerns and gave an accounting of days in and out of the office.

Selectman Vince LaFontan then said of the selectmen’s office budget request, "I’m in support of your newsletter, Ruth, but I’m not supporting any more money for that or for additional clerical help."

Tina Agard, the selectman’s office secretary, immediately said, "May I ask why?"

LaFontan said "I don’t have any criticisms of the services provided," adding that he felt that with "dramatic" increases in other areas of the town’s budget, the requests were untenable.

Agard said that her office is understaffed and at a minimum needs to train a second person to do payroll. She also expressed her disappointment in LaFontan’s position. She did so with some heat: "You’re willing to sign off on a 3-percent grant for the library without a second thought, but not for personnel, and I think that says a lot about your opinion of the people who work in this building."

When the dust settled, more than 20 department budget lines were approved.