05/03/1999 Annual Town Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Motion made by Selectman Caffyn. Motion: I move the Town vote to increase the hours of the part-time Administrative Secretary to the Board of Appeals from 19 hours weekly to 24 hours weekly to be effective July 1, 1999, and for said purpose the Town vote to raise and appropriate $9066; with said funds to be distributed as follows; $3,490 to the Board of Appeals Salary/Wage Account, $5,481 to the Medical Insurance Account, $35 to the Group Insurance Account, and $60 to the Medicare Account. Motion passes unanimously at 9:13 p.m. ARTICLE 13 To see if the Town will vote to reclassify the position of Assistant Conservation Agent as a full-time position and raise and appropriate and/or transfer from available funds $24,678, with said funds to be distributed as follows: $18,888 to the Conservation Salary/Wage Account, $5,481 to the Medical Insurance Account, $274 to the Medicare Account and $35 to the Group Insurance Account, or take any other action relating thereto. Submitted by the Conservation Commission Explanation: The actual salary of the Assistant Conservation Agent, should this article pass and the person currently in the position assume the full-time role, would be $35,977.44. Thus the differential between full-time and part-time would be $18,888. The need for establishing the Assistant Conservation Agent as a full-time position has existed for years, but has recently been exacerbated because of an unprecedented work level. Permitting and enforcement comprise the majority of the Commission's work. Permits issued and telephone calls were 8% and 5% (relatively) higher from 1997 to 1998. Hearings increased by 13% from 1997 to 1998. Even greater demands upon staff-time have emanated from the discovery of (and remediation analysis related to) the EDB contamination (from MMR) of the Town-owned Quashnet River Bogs. More staff is needed to do inspections of on-going projects and to clear our backlog of projects that have never had a final inspection. Inspecting on-going projects often reveals problems which can be solved before any serious wetlands damage is done. Additionally, 966 of 1731 (56%) major projects have never had a final (Certificate of Compliance) inspection. (When a project is completed, the permit-holder, by law, is supposed to request a final inspection; that request triggers said inspection. More than half of all permit-holders have never requested one.) Experience has been that these final (Certificate of Compliance) inspections often reveal unpermitted work, sometimes compromising wetland values. Management of Town Conservation Lands and grant seeking are two other vital needs that are currently not being adequately met. With more staff-time, we can plan, initiate and conclude projects of direct benefit to Mashpee: more protection of watershed resources and greater public enjoyment of our Conservation Lands. To sum up, with current staffing