Aldermen Approve Nearly a Quarter of Next Year's Budget in First Hearing

In the first hearing on the fiscal 2012 budget held Thursday night, the Melrose Board of Aldermen's Appropriations Committee approved the bottom line for more than $15 million worth of spending—nearly a quarter of next year's budget.

Most that cost came in a single line item: The city's health insurance costs, the largest line item in the budget outside of the school department—and which next year will total almost $10.2 million—will increase by 5.68 percent over this year.

Ward 2 Alderman and Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Monica Medeiros pointed out that health insurance costs account for more than 16 percent of next year's budget.

Alderman at-Large and Board President Don Conn, Jr. said that the city unions and administration "need to be commended for their foresight in continuing" the through the state Group Insurance Commission (GIC).

"The GIC is one of the reasons we’re not seeing large scale layoffs that we’re going to see in other communities," Conn said.

He asked Marianne Long, Melrose human resources director, whether the city would be able to take advantage of any potential change in state law, such as 'plan design'—which mayors have pushed for—that would allow cities to adjust co-pays in order to stem health insurance cost increases.

Long said said that it would depend on what the Legislature includes in any new law for the 15 communities that currently receive their health insurance through the GIC.

"I don’t hold out much hope that they're (the Legislature) going to do anything substantive," Conn said.

Other highlights from Thursday's budget hearing:

Motion to Cut $10K From Unemployment Fails

A motion to cut $10,000 from the unemployment line item failed before the committee moved the bottom line of $195,000.

Long told the committee that so far in the current fiscal year, 47 people filed for unemployment with the city and 23 people collected. In the latest bill received by the city in January, seven people were collecting.

Extension of unemployment benefits on the federal level have fallen down to the cities and towns, Long added, saying that President Barack Obama most recently signed on Dec. 17, 2010 another extended benefits program. Because of those extensions, beyond former employees being able to collect benefits for longer—up to 99 non-consecutive weeks—someone who was laid off as far back as 2008 could have found another job, been laid off from that job and apply for unemployment benefits from Melrose.

Revenues Down, Costs Up for Health Department's Revolving Fund

The Health Department pays 10 hours of the canine control officer's salary, five hours of the public health nurses' salary and 15 hours of the administrative assistant's salary out of its revolving fund, according to Health Director Ruth Clay.

However, the fund can't sustain that level of spending, Clay said, and she is working with Patrick Dello Russo, Melrose chief financial officer and city auditor, to develop a long-term financial plan to address that.

While expenses are up, with half the adminsitrative assistant's salary paid out of the fund, revenues were down this year, Clay said.

"Participation at our clinics this year was significantly less," she said. "That was not limited to Melrose. Health departments all over the state saw a decrease in the number of people who went to public clinics."

Because of state budget difficulties, Clay said Melrose will receive less flu vaccine than it normally does for its public clinics, but still expects to receive enough to accomodate everyone who attends.

Ward 7 Alderman Bill Forbes asked whether in the previous year, fears about the H1N1 'swine flu' drove higher than usual flu clinic revenues. Clay said that was correct, and added that other factors in decreased revenues this year are primary care physicians being more aggressive in doling out vaccinations and flu vaccine becoming available earlier in places other than the city's public clinics.

Other Budget Bits:

•   When Melrose and Wakefield began running a shared Health Department in July 2009, the communities agreed that Melrose would pay 75 percent of the salary and other benefits for the Health Department director's position, while Wakefield would pay 75 percent of the cost for the health inspector position. Under a re-negotatied agreement, Clay said, Wakefield will now pay more: The Melrose/Wakefield split will be 65/35 for the director's position; 50/50 for the senior health inspector position and 50/50 for another inspector's position.
• A new city employee performance appraisal system will begin on May 1 and, in the future, be used in the awarding of pay increases. Long told the committee that her department developed the system under the direction of Mayor Rob Dolan, who drafted a letter that will go out to city employees next week
• The workers compensation line item is up 36 percent, to $118,300, due to the state Department of Industrial Accidents making two decisions that the city is responsible for medical expenses for two former employees, Long said. Those two cases cost the city approximately $40,000.
• Melrose has been without a santiary inspector since Dec. 1, Clay said, who added "we are trying very hard to fill that position." A number of people have been interviewed and Clay said a few people turned it down and others were not appropriate for the position. This inspector supervises the two part-time inspectors who handle food inspections, while handling all the housing, health nuisance, pool and tanning inspections. After Thursday's meeting ended, Clay told Melrose Patch that the vacancy has not resulted in a backlog of inspections, as an outside inspector has been paid at an hourly rate when inspections are needed.