With budget season underway, town officials are looking at staffing models and cost-saving initiatives as departments build their budgets for the coming fiscal year. At the Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on Nov. 13, board members discussed a recent staffing study and the possibility of shared services with neighboring towns.

Staffing levels represent a key component of most department’s budget. Last year, four departments discussed the possibility of increased staffing levels, and the BOS opted to commission a study to see if current staffing levels were in keeping with similar towns in the state.

At the meeting on Nov. 13, the board reviewed the results of the study, conducted by Randi Frank Consulting, LLC. The study looked at the four departments that had requested more staff—the Assessor’s Office, the Town Clerk’s Office, the Engineering Division within Public Works, and Building and Grounds within the Beach & Recreation Department.

The results, presented by Madison Human Resources Director Deb Milardo, showed that based on data from the various departments themselves and data from those departments in comparable towns in the state, some Madison departments could consider reclassifying the various roles in certain departments, but only the Engineering Department could benefit from additional staffing.

The town combined the engineering and public works function more than a year ago and the consultant advised that the town could benefit from another administrative assistant to help manage the workload. However, the consultant advised that recommendation is dependent upon how much engineering service the town wishes to provide in-house.

Milardo said the data gives selectmen and the Board of Finance a snapshot of Madison’s staffing levels compared to other towns.

“You are moving into your budget process and this is a tool for you to consider as departments come forward,” she said. “If departments that were affected by this study are asking for staff, you have comparison data now to look at and reconsider if you want to.”

Selectmen also took interest in one of the general recommendations of the study that advised towns look at consolidating jobs within the government itself, in this case the town and the schools. Madison already shares an IT director and finance director between the two and Selectman Bruce Wilson suggested the town also look at the possibility of combining the human resources position.

First Selectman Tom Banisch said he would be open to looking into that suggestion to see if it’s viable and Selectman Al Goldberg said even bigger efficiencies could be possible if the town looks into sharing or regionalizing specialized services with neighboring towns.

Banisch said he agrees with Goldberg’s point and is already looking into possible shared services with Killingworth, Clinton, and Guilford.

“We are talking right now with Killingworth about providing them health services through our Health Department, we are initiating conversations with Clinton about the dispatch center, and we are talking with Guilford about what might be possible,” he said. “Guilford is a pretty big town relative to us, but I am talking with their first selectman about the idea of what we might do by way of shared services. The conversations are ongoing and some will move quicker than others, but we are definitely talking along those lines.”