LIVERMORE FALLS – Longtime Chairman Bill Demaray told selectmen Monday night he was stepping down from his position and he promptly nominated Clayton Putnam to replace him.
The board then met with Ron Smith, the town’s auditor, to discuss his recent report. Smith said he found the town’s finances to be fairly stable in the past few years that his firm has been auditing them, but did note there were some cash flow problems.
Part of the reason for that is that not all taxes are collected at one time, resulting in taking out tax anticipation loans for the past two years. To help solve that problem he suggested increasing the town’s surplus, perhaps by increasing the overlay.
He also advised having a contingency fund, a pool of money to allow for the unforeseen, of no more than 1 percent of the budget. There are such accounts in three departments now and they should be consolidated into one controlled by selectmen.
Smith found the town to be in a financial condition about average in the state. “The price of doing business for government is very high,” he said but he felt the town was moving in a positive direction.
His advice to the board was to regionalize, rip down barriers, look at options for education, fire and police. “Partner up with someone,” he said.
Smith explained a new asset capitalization policy he will be doing next year, advised the board to look into the Global Information System program and said money received for fire department responses to accidents should go into the general fund.
Fire Chief Ken Jones would like such funds to go into a capital reserve equipment account. Since the board has not actually agreed on a policy, Smith will send policies from other towns for review.
In other business the board renewed a liquor license for the Chuck Wagon, and refused to purchase a trailer to haul cardboard from the landfill until Town Manager Alan Gove gets more information.
In another matter, Gove told the board that John and Sherian Judd, whose permit to replace a trailer that had burned was revoked on Oct. 6, want to appeal.
He also noted that the Dispatch Study Committee has issued its report and will be on the Nov. 17 agenda.
Also on that agenda will be a tour of the courthouse, which still has a leaking roof.
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