Finance Committee Meeting - March 19, 2026
Finance Committee Meeting - March 19, 2026
The Finance Committee met on March 19, 2026, with five members present, to consider 11 communications. All agenda items were approved, including a new employee assistance program contract, multiple hydroelectric studies and repairs, eight police vehicle purchases, and a software renewal for recruitment.
Discussion Items
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Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Contract: The committee approved a three-year, $61,240 contract with CompSYC to replace the city's EAP, effective July 1, 2026. Wellness Specialist Christine Knolt reported that current EAP usage was only 1.1% of employees in FY25, while the city incurred $2.8 million in behavioral health costs outside the program. The new provider offers an eight-session model (up from four), a network of over 500 local providers, and is cost-neutral. The motion passed.
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Water Quality Studies for Hydro Facilities: A $196,942 change order to the Verdantis contract was approved for water quality sampling, eel passage evaluation, and zone of passage studies required by fish agencies (U.S. Fish and Wildlife, NH Fish and Game, NOAA) for Jackson Mills and Mine Falls hydro projects. The work is expected to be completed within 14 months, likely by end of calendar year 2026. Motion passed.
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Fish-Friendly Turbine Feasibility Study: A $90,040 contract with Natal Energy was approved to evaluate retrofitting both turbines at Mine Falls with fish-safe turbine runner designs. The study will assess feasibility and cost savings, potentially combining required downstream fish passage with necessary turbine repairs. Motion passed.
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Repair of Mine Falls Turbine: A $436,000 change order to the Essex Power Service contract was approved for repairing Unit 1 at Mine Falls. The funds cover quotes for two companies to remove the turbine, manufacture a new blade, and reinstall it. Additional costs (e.g., crane) are expected. Discussion noted the dam's role in flood control, even if hydro operation ceased. Motion passed.
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Police Fleet Vehicle Purchases: Seven items covered the purchase of eight new hybrid police vehicles (Ford Police Interceptor Utility Hybrid AWD) and one Ford F-350 plow truck, totaling $997,155.50. The purchases replace aging units with 2010-2012 models, and hybrids are expected to save on fuel and maintenance. The plow truck came in $74,803 under its budgeted estimate ($97,505 vs. $172,308). All motions passed.
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Police Recruitment Software: The committee approved a three-year renewal of a contract with policeapp.com for recruiting sworn personnel at $6,500 annually. The system handles job postings, applicant tracking, and communication. The police department currently has 15 vacancies, but expects six to eight hires on April 21, 2026, and noted 64 applicants for a recent test. Motion passed.
Key Outcomes
- Approved EAP contract with CompSYC (unanimous).
- Approved change order for water quality studies (unanimous).
- Approved fish-friendly turbine feasibility study (unanimous).
- Approved change order for Mine Falls turbine repair (unanimous).
- Approved purchase of Ford F-350 plow truck (unanimous).
- Approved purchases of eight hybrid police interceptors (six separate motions, all unanimous).
- Approved police recruitment software renewal (unanimous).
- Approved record of expenditures for February 27–March 12, 2026 (unanimous).
- Meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.
Meeting Transcript
All right, let's call a meeting of the Finance Committee to order on March 18th, 2018. Mr. Clerk, would you please call the role? Absolutely. Alderman Patricia Clee, Vice Chair. Here Alderman at Large, Laurie Woolshare. Here. Alderman at Large, Ben Clemens. Alderman at large, Alicia Gregg. Here. Alderman John Sullivan is here. And Alderman Smith. There are four. And our chair, Jim Donchus. Here. Five in attendance. And we also have Alderman Johnson. So first item is public comment. Does anyone have any member of the public won't wish to comment on any of the items on the agenda tonight? I don't see anyone. So we'll move to communications. First being from Amy Girard purchasing manager, Alderman Sullivan. Yes, I'd like to make a motion to accept and place on file an award of a three-year contract to CompSYC as the city's employee assistance program, EAP that will improve access to services, expanding counseling support, and assist with early intervention resources in the amount not to exceed $61,240. Funding will be through Department 113 benefits fund, benefits self-insurance fund, 52 fringe benefits. Yes, please just come ahead. Hello, Kathy Fournier, Benefits Manager. I'm here to introduce Christine Knolt. She's our wellness specialist, and she's been working very hard to find this new EAP for us. Thank you, Kathy. Thank you, Mayor. Since my arrival in January of last year, I received countless comments and feedback from employees here at the city in regards to concerns around the current EAP provider. Network deficiencies, lack of follow-up, poor service quality, and overall lack of trust in the provider by our employees here at the city. The existing model operates primarily as a referral-based service without an internal clinical team. Their network is a very small network, as we've learned over the last year and a half, which has, I think, been the contributing factor as to our low utilization and higher cost for staff having to go outside and seek support within the network on their own. Upon further review, I found that the fiscal year 25, the EAP usage was just over 1% of employees here at the city. While in that same time frame, the city incurred $2.8 million in benefits costs specifically related to professional behavioral health services. This data highlights a clear disconnect here at the city, the need for better intervention, improved self-resources, self-care resources, and more accessible network providers in our area for staff and families. With the approval for an RFP process, we sought out potential providers here at the city. We um I'm not sure if this is normal, but we created a selection committee here at the city made up of staff representing all of the departments within the city. We went through demos, we evaluated proposals, we met again and scored based on what we had received for the demo information and what um materials were support were sent supporting the services based on that evaluation process. Myself and the committee are recommending that the city move EAP services to ComSEC EAP with the new benefit year, which will be getting Beginning July 1st, 2026. Sorry. ComSite demonstrates the strongest alignment to the city's needs, including a robust internal clinical team, strong engagement tools, high satisfaction ratings in the industry, a network of over 500 providers in our area. So access is great. The ability to move the city from what is now a four-session model to an eight-session model. I just want to explain what that is. When our employees engage in the service for support, they currently receive four sessions at no cost. This new model will move us to an eight-session model. In closing, this recommendation strength strengthens the behavioral health support for the city employees, their families, by providing earlier access to care in a larger network of providers to choose from. It also directly addresses employee feedback while demonstrating the commitment to their overall health and well-being.
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