FARMINGTON — Selectmen voted unanimously Tuesday to pay the assistant director of Parks and Recreation an additional $925.16 for stepping up to cover while the department director was out for an extended sick leave.

Director Steve Shible provided a formula for calculating additional compensation above a director’s normal benefit days, which includes vacation and sick time.

He suggested that the board consider adopting a town policy that would provide a wage adjustment for assistants or subs who assume the extra duties when a director is out beyond their benefit days.

Shible referred to a precedent started when two leaders from the Police and Highway departments had to take extended sick leave. The board at those times felt the person assuming their roles was entitled to extra earnings, Shible said.

Within the last few years, Shible has required extended time to recuperate from surgeries, leaving the assistant to carry the extra burden and handle the department, he said.

While an assistant normally covers the director’s vacation and sick time that he’s entitled to take, Shible proposed any extra time needed for sick leave be compensated by the number of hours multiplied by the difference between the assistant’s wage and that of a beginning level director.

For this year, Shible calculated an extra 202 hours above his benefit hours for which the Assistant Director  Matt Foster should be compensated. An entry level rate for a director of Parks and Recreation is $17.72 while Foster makes $13.14, Shible said. The difference, $4.58, times 202 hours totaled $925.16.

On Tuesday, a partial board that included Selectmen Ryan Morgan, Jessica Berry and Dennis Pike unanimously agreed to pay Foster the extra compensation for this year. The amount is to be taken from the department’s budget.

They also chose to wait till their next meeting Jan. 8 to review and vote on a revised rendition of the personnel policy which would cover all departments.

In other business, the board set March 18, 2013, as the date for the town’s annual meeting. 

When Town Manager Richard Davis said the Budget Committee would begin meeting on Dec. 19, resident Nancy Porter asked the board to encourage members to keep the budget low.

“There are a lot of taxpayers struggling to get their taxes paid,” she said.

There’s a balance to consider, Selectman Morgan suggested. Although conservative about the budget himself, town infrastructure or roads is a really big issue, he said.

“It’s not going to go away without some help,” he said.

Davis agreed the roads are terrible and taxpayers will have to decide whether to pay more or put up with them. Car repairs can tally nearly as much as investing more dollars into taxes, he said.

Part of the problem is the really large number of tax-exempt properties within Farmington, Porter said.

It’s about 28 percent (tax exempt) or about the fifth highest in the state, Davis said, reminding everyone that there are also many benefits from being a service-center community.

No longer able to count on state or federal funds, Farmington has been extremely patient but some roads are nearing the point where they will not be safe or passable for motor vehicles to travel, he explained.

Davis said he hoped residents would turn out for the town meeting to better represent their wishes.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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