The Board of Selectmen voted on April 6 to transfer funds into the Health Department salary account to cover known costs. A total of $23,790 was needed in the regular payroll account and $5,850 in the contract payroll account to ensure that the department’s budget will balance at the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

The budgeted accounts were too low for the department’s expenses because of changes that occurred in the department after the budget for the current year was adopted in May 2014. In the fall of 2014, the Board of Selectmen voted to hire Sonia Marino as the town’s new director of health/registered sanitarian. And although she did not start until January 2015, the budgeted salary account for the Health Department was too low.

Finance Director Andrew Urban had recommended that the only funding source available to cover the shortfall was a Water Pollution Control Commission (WPCC) salary account that is budgeted, but not now being used since the WPCC has not hired an individual to fill the opening. WPCC Chair Marilyn Ozols had objected to the town’s use of these budgeted WPCC funds.

Urban explained to them that even if the WPCC were to select and hire a candidate tomorrow for this opening, the WPCC salary account would still have $30,000 in it, enough to pay for three months of salary to June 30, the end of the fiscal year. And funds for a full-year salary for this WPCC position are budgeted for next year in next year’s proposed budget.

Urban said the WPCC is currently waiting for state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection approval of the proposed position.

After some discussion, the selectmen voted to transfer $5,850 from contingency to supplement the budgeted contract payroll account (used to pay for contract food inspector services) and $23,790 from the WPCC salary account to add to the Health Department salary account.