LEE TOWN CRIER VOTER INFORMATION EDITION Volume 69 Voter Information Edition 2013 Established in January 1970 Produced by the Selectmen s Office TOWN ELECTION Tuesday, March 12 th Public Safety Complex, 20 George Bennett Road, Lee Polls Open 7:00 am 7:00 pm This Voter s Guide has been issued to help Lee citizens prepare for the 2 nd Session of the Town Meeting Official Ballot Voting (SB2) by providing additional information to enable you to make an informed decision prior to entering the voting booth on Tuesday March 12, 2013. The Guide contains all of the articles as amended at the Deliberative Session along with brief, explanatory notes. You can bring this Guide with you on Election Day. If you have questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact the Selectmen s Office at 659-5414. If you have questions about voting eligibility or absentee ballots, please feel free to contact the Town Clerks Office at 659-2964. Additional information is also available on the Town s website at www.leenh.org. Want to receive same-day election results?! Sign up for our electronic newsletter! Just go to www.leenh.org and click on Subscribe to E-Alerts 2013 TOWN WARRANT FOR THE TOWN OF LEE ARTICLE 1. To choose all necessary Town Officers for the ensuing year. Selectman 3 year term (choose one) Carole Dennis Henry Brackett Scott Bugbee Treasurer 3 year term (choose one) Benjamin Genes Cemetery Trustee 3 year term (choose one) Janice Neill Scott Turnbull Library Trustees 3 year term (choose two) Katrinka Pellecchia Cynthia Giguere-Unrein Advisory Budget Committee 3 year term (choose two) Advisory Budget Committee 2 year term (choose one) Trustee of Trust 3 year term (choose one) 1
ARTICLE 2. ZONING AMENDMENT Are you in favor of the following amendment to Article XXII of the Lee Zoning Ordinance, as proposed by the Lee Planning Board: Note: Changes are Bold Italics and Deletions are underlined. Pursuant to New Hampshire RSA 674:3 673:6 Local Land Use Boards, the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall consist of five (5) members and three (3) five (5) alternates appointed by the Board of Selectmen to serve for three (3) year terms. YES NO Majority vote required. This amendment will be effective upon passage. Explanatory Note: The purpose of this amendment is to increase the number of Zoning Board alternate members, thus making it easier to maintain a quorum able to vote on applications that may come before the Zoning Board. ARTICLE 3. PETITION To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 17 of the Racetrack Ordinance to add the following language: 17. D Race car education, as currently allowed by the Racetrack Ordinance, shall be defined to mean a Race Car Driving School and shall operate not more than four times each month from April through October. The Driving School will not operate on weekends. The Driving School will be operated by a fully-licensed and insured company, using NASCAR-like stock cars. No more than four vehicles will be allowed on the track at any one time and the hours of track operation shall be within 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. All requirements under Section 21A and 21B of this Ordinance shall apply to the operations of the Driving School. The Racing School operations shall not be considered an event, as defined by Section 1 of the Racetrack Ordinance. Majority vote required. Explanatory Note: This Warrant Article was submitted by petition and seeks to clarify the Racetrack Ordinance in order to allow the Lee USA Speedway to provide race car class instruction and on-track experiences to both able-bodied and disabled participants. ARTICLE 4. Shall the Town of Lee raise and appropriate as an operating budget, not including appropriations by special warrant articles and other appropriations voted separately, the amounts set forth on the budget posted with the warrant or as amended by vote of the first session, for the purposes set forth therein, totaling $3,555,732.00. Should this article be defeated, the default budget shall be $3,495,183.00, which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the Board of Selectmen or by law; or the governing body may hold one special meeting, in accordance with RSA 40:13, X and XVI, to take up the issue of a revised operating budget only. (The Selectmen recommend this article by a vote of 3-0) Majority vote required. Explanatory Note: The Operating Budget being proposed is approximately 2.8% higher than the current year. Please see Pages 4-5 for more details on the budget. This operating budget warrant article does not include appropriations contained in ANY other warrant articles. $30,367 was added to the Operating Budget at the Deliberative Session to fund a 2.5% COLA (reflected in the Other General Government account) for all Full-time and regular Part-time employees and Elected Officials. This does not include the Selectmen, Town Administrator, Stipends for Appointed Officials, Call Firefighters or any Temporary employees. 2
ARTICLE 5. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of three hundred and eighty-seven thousand dollars ($387,000) to be deposited into the following Capital Reserve Trust Funds and to authorize the use of one hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars ($135,000) from the Unassigned Fund Balance with two hundred and fifty-two thousand dollars from general taxation ($252,000). (The Selectmen recommend this appropriation by a vote of 3-0) Majority vote required. Accrued Benefits Trust $25,000 Fire Ponds and Cisterns CRF $15,000 Fire Truck CRF $55,000 Highway Equipment CRF $40,000 Land Acquisition CRF $10,000 Library/Community Center CRF $100,000 Library Maintenance CRF $7,000 Revaluation CRF $10,000 Highway Dept Road/Bridge Improvement CRF $70,000 Town Building CRF $35,000 Transfer Station Equipment CRF $20,000 Explanatory Note: This is a different format than that used in past years, as the deposits to Capital Reserve and Trust Funds are now incorporated into one Warrant Article, rather than being voted on separately. The items listed above fund the Town s Capital Improvement Program. The purpose of Capital Reserve funding is for long-range financial planning designed to create a balanced effect on the tax rate by saving a portion of the cost every year so it is available when a capital purchase becomes necessary. Saving money in Capital Reserve Funds helps to balance the tax rate by reducing the impact of one-time large expenditures. The impact to the tax rate for FY 14 will be further mitigated by using funds from the Unassigned Fund Balance (aka Surplus ). The Unassigned Fund Balance is the spendable fund balance in the General Fund that represents amounts that have not been otherwise restricted, committed, or assigned. These are essentially amounts returned to the General Fund from under expended or unexpended operating budget accounts from prior fiscal years. ARTICLE 6. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) to construct a natural grass playing field at Little River Park to be used for general recreation. (The Selectmen recommend this appropriation by a vote of 3-0) Majority vote required. Explanatory note: The Board of Selectmen is proposing to have a natural grass playing field constructed at Little River Park for general recreation purposes. It may also be utilized by the Oyster River Youth Association, which provides recreational programs to the youth of Durham, Lee and Madbury, NH. ARTICLE 7. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of twenty-seven thousand, nine hundred and sixty-four dollars ($27,964) for the purchase of a new police cruiser and changeover of radios and safety equipment. (The Selectmen recommend this appropriation by a vote of 3-0) Majority vote required. Explanatory Note: The purchase of a new 2013 Police Cruiser would replace the 2008 Ford Crown Victoria Police Cruiser (mileage 109,000). The current cruiser rotation plan focuses on balancing cruiser mileage, condition, year of manufacture, and fiscal responsibility with safety. This proposed purchase allows for safe and efficient responses to routine and emergency calls for service. 3
Fiscal Year 2014 Proposed Budget July 1 2013 June 30, 2014 When comparing Department costs in FY13 to FY14, please note: Some Line Item costs were reassigned to the actual using Departments to more accurately reflect their true operating costs and budgetary control. Therefore, these Department increases are due to reassigned costs and do not represent an increase to the overall operating budget: Town Report Expense $4,000: Office Supplies $3,000: Heat & Electricity Safety Complex $37,000: Electric Costs Library $4,700: Electric Costs Code Enforcement $1,000: Vacation Pay $13,000 Legal Expense $5,000 from Elections to Selectmen from Financial Admin to TC/TC from Government Buildings to Police & Fire from Government Buildings to Library from Government Buildings to Code Enforcement from Other General Government to Personnel Administration from Other General Government Summary of Departmental budget increases over $2,000: Executive Personnel Administration Insurance Government Buildings Other General Government Police Fire Emergency Management Highway Transfer Station Solid Waste Disposal Parks & Recreation Library Other Culture & Recreation Salary increases for the Selectmen, Town Administrator and Town Secretary State mandated NHRS increases Increased Worker s Comp costs Increased heating costs for Town Hall, Annex, Library 2.5% COLA (Wage & Salary Cost of Living Adjustment) Increased vehicle fuel costs; reassigned Heat & Electric Costs Added an Incentive Program; reassigned Heat & Electric Costs Proposed CodeRED Emergency Notification System Increased Paving costs Anticipated equipment purchases, maintenance & repair Increased costs to dispose of MSW, Bulky and Electronics Increased Recreation Commission Operating Budget for expansion of electrical services at Little River Park Increased hours for Assistant and Page Funding for Lee s Semiquincentennial (250 th Birthday Celebration) The proposed Incentive Program for call firefighters is designed to raise call response participation; the CodeRED Emergency Notification System will allow the Town to notify residents of emergencies, severe weather and other important events; and the added hours for library staff will expand the hours of operation to better serve patrons Notable budget cuts were made to Financial Administration; Information Technology; Other General Government; Community Planning; and Bond Interest. 4
Fiscal Year 2014 Proposed Budget July 1 2013 June 30, 2014 CURRENT (FY 2013) PROPOSED (FY 2014) Executive $107,565 $119,958 Election,Reg.& Vital Statistics $17,855 $12,660 Town Clerk/Tax Collector $79,831 $83,181 Financial Administration $107,663 $92,799 Information Technology $118,356 $104,200 Community Planning Coordinator $20,802 $14,917 Revaluation of Property $43,250 $43,000 Legal Expense $10,000 $15,000 Personnel Administration $688,513 $730,620 Planning & Zoning $44,458 $44,458 General Government Buildings $128,631 $89,631 Cemeteries $13,114 $12,414 Insurance $76,500 $97,320 Other General Government $60,000 $40,367 Police $517,476 $544,313 Dispatch $17,065 $17,065 Ambulance $14,144 $13,086 Fire $220,859 $245,889 Code Enforcement $62,201 $62,901 Emergency Management $6,000 $10,000 Highway Department $430,878 $462,778 Transfer Station $159,777 $169,105 Solid Waste Disposal $137,250 $145,600 Animal Control $2,000 $1,650 Health Agencies & Hosp. & Other Intergovernmental Agencies $17,234 $14,992 Private/Public Assistance Facilities Welfare Administration & Direct Assist. $24,897 $26,500 Parks & Recreation $35,345 $38,245 Library $157,411 $165,135 Patriotic Purposes $500 $750 Other Culture & Recreation (Agricultural & Heritage Commissions) $5,200 $8,200 Conservation Commission $2,500 $2,500 Princ.- Long Term Bonds & Notes $90,000 $90,000 Interest-Long Term Bonds & Notes $40,218 $36,498 TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET $3,457,493 $3,555,732 State-Mandated NHRS cost increase $37,710.00 Default Budget $3,495,203.00 5
LEE TOWN CRIER 7 Mast Road Lee, New Hampshire 03861 6