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The Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners unanimously voted against a budget amendment Monday that would have put $55,000 in savings from a recent capital project toward the town employee pension funds, which are short by more than $100,000 for the 2013 fiscal year.
In rejecting the amendment, commissioners called for a review of the "overall health" of the town's pension funds.
Finance Director Lisa Moody and Town Administrator Chris Schlehr put forth the proposal during last week's work session with the commissioners. The savings were the result of the $150,000 project to install a traffic light at Gateway Drive and Boulton Street coming in well under budget.
"We just felt that it would be prudent to go ahead and do this one-time contribution," Moody said Monday.
Moody noted that she attended a recent conference for the Government Finance Officers Association and noted the national Governmental Accounting Standards Board is developing new standards for government employee pension funds.
"One of the consistent messages from the speakers was... the municipalities and the counties need to be funding your pensions as the actuarial valuation each year tells you to; if you're not, you're doing your pensions a disservice," she said of the conference.
Moody said the town's actuarial report issued last October stated Bel Air's pension for sworn officers should be at 10.94 percent, compared to its current 9.4 percent funding level, and 11.55 percent for civilian employees, compared to the actual 8.7 percent.
Town policy requires employees to make additional contributions to their pension funds, but Moody said pension trustees "decided to just hold off and not require the employees to make that additional contribution this fiscal year" in the hopes the stock market would "turn around."
She said the market has done "fairly well," but about $115,000 to $125,000 more is needed to bring the funds up to the actuary's recommended percentages.
Robert Reier, vice chairman of the commissioners, made an amendment to withdraw the $55,000 "lump sum" pension fund payment from the rest of the budget amendment, which included the transfer of the funds left over from the traffic light project and some funds saved in Social Security and medical insurance benefits due to personnel changes.
"I understand your explanation," Reier told Moody. "I certainly have always appreciated your viewpoint, but I just think it needs further analysis. I'm not prepared at this time to go ahead and take this money, which essentially is taxpayers' money, and just allocate it into a fund."
Commissioner David Carey echoed Reier's views, noting the commissioners were hearing about the pension fund issue in the context of having an unexpected savings.
He said he and his fellow commissioners were willing to consider the lump sum payment, but it should be "in the context of considering the entire situation, the entire health of the pension funds."
Schlehr said the money was "some funds that were left over at the end of the fiscal year, and we thought this would be a good way to use them, but if the board doesn't want to use them in that way, we'll just withdraw it."
Moody said the savings would be put in the town's unassigned fund balance and the trustees would make a decision regarding the pensions based on this fall's actuarial report.
Reier withdrew his amendment and the commissioners voted unanimously against the entire proposed budget amendment.
FBI National Academy grad
Bel Air police Sgt. Henry Marchesani was honored by the commissioners and police Chief Leo Matrangola for his recent graduation from the FBI's National Academy for law enforcement officers.
"As an FBI National Academy graduate, Sgt. Marchesani enters into a select group made up of less than 1 percent of the country's law enforcement officers," said Mayor Edward Hopkins, reading from remarks prepared by Matrangola.
The 10-week course, held in Quantico, Va., includes classes in the law, forensics, terrorism, leadership and more. Students have the opportunity to network with fellow law enforcement officers from around the United States and the world, and maintain those relationships after graduation, Hopkins said.
The students also go through a Marine Corps-designed fitness course known as the Yellow Brick Road. Those who complete the course, including Marchesani, earn a yellow brick.
"Those bricks are coveted," Hopkins said.
Marchesani, a 12-year-veteran of the Bel Air police, is the sixth Bel Air officer to graduate from the National Academy.
Resurfacing contract approved
The commissioners unanimously approved a $213,800 contract with Frank J. Goettner Construction of Kingsville to resurface sections of streets throughout the town.
Public Works Director Randy Robertson said sections of Mapleview Drive, Lee Way, Hayden Way and Hayden Court, Jessie Court, Richardson Alley, Ash Alley and Wilson Street will be resurfaced.
Convenience fee lowered
The commissioners unanimously approved Resolution 1006-13, changing the convenience fee charged to town residents who pay their real estate taxes using credit cards, as a result of switching credit card processing companies.
The town has charged a 3.15 percent convenience fee, plus a 25-cent transaction fee since July 1, 2012.
The new fee, based on the switch from KHA Processing to Invoice Cloud for processing, will be 2.95 percent of the tax payment, Moody told the commissioners.
Fee schedule
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No one in the audience Monday made comments during a public hearing regarding Resolution 1005-13, a set of annual changes to the town's fee schedule.
A major change, according to Michael Krantz, town clerk and director of human resources and administration, was the removal of flagging and late fees for red light camera citations.
The fees still apply to citations issued before March 1, 2012, but Krantz explained that Maryland's District Court recommended that local governments remove or amend their flagging and late fees until a uniform fee can be established for all communities in Maryland.
The Town of Bel Air had charged $10 for the first late notice, another $10 for a second late notice and a $15 flagging fee for "each Unsatisfied Red Light Citation," according to the fee schedule.
Krantz noted 31 jurisdictions in the state have different flagging and late fees.
Other changes include removing the word "passive" from the "passive open space fee" designation, increasing the system development sewer fee from $5,764 to $6,110, and setting the fee to increase 6 percent each year to be in line with Harford County's cost increases related to the fee.
Finally, the Forest Stand Delineation fee for an application and plan review was set at $200, plus $10 per acre, and the Forest Conservation Plan fee was changed from $200 plus $10 per acre to a $150 flat fee.