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EAST LYME BOARD OF FINANCE
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Scroll down or click the bookmarks to see all the submitted minutes for meetings held in June.
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SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES Monday, JUNE 2nd, 2008 EAST LYME BOARD OF FINANCE
Members In Attendance: Steve Larcen, Chairman Jeff Langan, Secretary John Birmingham Jill Carini Bob Jones Allan Taylor
Also In Attendance: Anna Johnson, Finance Director
Absent: No One
A. Call Meeting to OrderChairman Larcen called this Special Meeting of the East Lyme Board of Finance to order at 6:30 PM.
B. Pledge of AllegianceThe Pledge was observed.
C. Delegations Mr. Larcen called for delegations.
Ron Rando, 194 Boston Post Road said that for 20 years he has been saying that the Board of Ed has a slush fund up at the schools and now they can see it – they just found $600,000. He told the Board of Finance that they should have cut the Board of Ed by $1.5M.
D. Reports a. First Selectman’s Report Mr. Larcen said that he knew that Mr. Formica would not be able to attend this evening; and asked Ms. Johnson to provide them with an update from the First Selectman.
Ms. Johnson said that Mr. Formica really did not have a report for this evening but suggested that they keep the mill rate as they had presented with the budget as he feels that they can manage their way through it to take care of the shortfalls. He spoke with the legislators regarding the Conveyance Tax and the general feeling is that it will not sunset. She said that additionally, Mr. Formica wanted to thank them all for all of their hard work through this budget session.
Mr. Larcen asked Ms. Johnson for some clarification on the revenue sheet that she had provided them with in their packets. Ms. Johnson said that the analysis of revenues looks like they will end the year with approximately $500,000 to the good.
Mr. Larcen said that is through 5/23/08. Ms. Johnson said yes. Mr. Taylor added that it is with projections through 6/30/08 and asked if the increase remains at .63 of a mill. Mr. Larcen said that they presented it at 19.186 from 18.550 – a difference of .636 mill.
E. New Businessa. Set Mill Rate for the 2008/2009 Adopted Budget Mr. Larcen called for a motion.
**MOTION (1) Mr. Taylor moved to adopt a mill rate of 19.186 for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. Ms. Carini seconded the motion.
Mr. Taylor said that he thinks that somewhere in the records that they stated that they know that they are $153,000 short with this budget from the State shorting them on revenues. If the conveyance tax does not come through, that would add another $218,000 to that. He said that he also thinks that the collection rate for the taxes that they projected at 98.4% may be in jeopardy and he wants everyone to recognize that the projected revenues may not materialize; may be in jeopardy and that they will have to act accordingly on that.
Mr. Larcen said that he is glad that they are putting that on the record and that he feels comfortable voting for this mill rate due to the current years’ budget showing – otherwise; he agrees that the economy is showing a slowing down and that some of the revenue estimates they will have to watch.
Mr. Jones said that he agrees with Mr. Taylor on the 98.4% collection rate and thinks that they will be hurting for the January 2009 installment of tax payments.
Mr. Birmingham said that he supports the mill rate as presented.
Mr. Langan expressed some concern with the interest income and the slowing economy. Ms. Carini asked Ms. Johnson if they have invested in stable environments or in areas where the rates change. Ms. Johnson said that they have some CD’s, money markets and MBIA investments and that the rates do fluctuate.
Mr. Taylor recalled that he had recommended that the contingency be a two-way street.
Mr. Larcen called for a vote on the motion.
Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
F. Public Discussion Mr. Larcen called for Public Discussion.
There was none.
G. Board Comments Mr. Larcen noted that they will hold their Regular Meeting on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 and will have a full agenda at that time.
H. Adjournment **MOTION (2) Mr. Taylor moved to adjourn this June 2, 2008 Special Meeting of the East Lyme Board of Finance at 6:50 PM. Mr. Langan seconded the motion. Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Zmitruk, Recording Secretary
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REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, JUNE 11th, 2008 EAST LYME BOARD OF FINANCE
Members In Attendance: Steve Larcen, Chairman Jeff Langan, Secretary John Birmingham Jill Carini Bob Jones Allan Taylor
Also In Attendance: Paul Formica, First Selectman & Ex-Officio Anna Johnson, Finance Director
Absent: No One
A. Call Meeting to OrderChairman Larcen called this Regular Meeting of the East Lyme Board of Finance to order at 7:00 PM. He noted that Ms. Carini had informed him that she would be along shortly due to a prior commitment.
B. Pledge of AllegianceThe Pledge was observed.
C. Delegations Mr. Larcen called for delegations.
Bob Gadbois, 358 Boston Post Road said that he is amazed at the Board of Ed and that they can find $600,000 just days after the cuts. There is an old saying that you can fool some of the people some of the time but you cannot fool them all of the time - . He said that the buck has got to stop here with the taxpayers as the entire burden is put on the taxpayers and it is just not right. In Bridgeport the Superintendent of Schools said no to his salary increase and people here should learn from that – more money does not make a better education.
Mike Schulz, Lovers Lane said that regarding the status of the 6/30/07 audit findings that he believes that they have not heard anything on them and asked if they would. Also, with respect to contracts he said that he does not know yet what the percent increase is on the Town side however, the percentage increases on the Board of Ed side are excessive and have all types of areas where they can increase them by more than what they are saying. He said that he has requested that all contracts for all the employees are placed on-line so that the citizens of the Town can see what they are paying for as citizens in their taxes. Also, at the Monday night Board of Ed meeting – it was all voodoo as they are taking money from this year for next year and he said that he does not think that they have it. And – we are giving them all this money – we should have cut them by $1.2M and let them go from there. He said that he also sees the Board of Ed standing in the way of the Superintendent and the Business Manager and when you watch the Board of Ed members jerking around – it is ridiculous. He said that they need to keep an eye on this and that the next contract to be negotiated for them is for the school administration and in that it states that the Board of Finance can attend the negotiations on these contracts and he strongly suggested that they need to do that.
D. Approval of Minutes ¨ Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - Special Meeting BOE Budget Review Mr. Larcen called for a motion for approval or any changes to the Board of Finance April 1, 2008 Special Meeting Minutes. Mr. Taylor said that he had asked that they not have minutes that were two (2) months old and that these exemplified the reason why – they are two months old and there are a lot of areas where they were supposed to be given information and they were not given it. He noted that on page 2 in the third paragraph that Dr. Smotas had said that he would provide them with a vehicle inventory and that they had not received it; On Page 3 in the fourth paragraph he had asked for a list of all of the school system vehicles and had not received that; and in the last paragraph Mr. Seery had agreed to give them a detail on the $10,000 difference and that also was not done; On page 4 in the seventh paragraph – for clarification at the end of the first sentence after 15% ‘for health benefits’ should be added; in the eighth paragraph the information that Dr. Smotas agreed to provide was never provided; in the ninth paragraph the information that Mr. Seery was to check on and provide was not provided and in the last paragraph they were also to check on the statement that less Salem students were anticipated.
Mr. Larcen said that the income went up due to the rolling reconciliation of money from the prior year. Mr. Taylor said that the increase is higher than the $200,000 and due to them not receiving the information that they had asked for – he really could not say.
Mr. Taylor continued that on Page 5 in the fifth paragraph that they did not receive an answer from Ms. Johnson on whether or not any State reimbursement was received and in paragraph tenth paragraph Mr. Seery was to provide information and he said that he does not know that they received it.
Mr. Larcen said that he believes that they did receive the information from Mr. Seery that was mentioned in the fourth paragraph down. Mr. Taylor said that on Page 6 in the fifth paragraph down that he did not recall Mr. Seery providing them with the information that he stated he would in the last sentence; and in ninth paragraph where it states that Mr. Seery would provide them with information – he does not recall that they ever received it. He said that his point here is that they requested information and they did not get it.
Mr. Larcen suggested that when they approve these minutes that they send a copy to Mr. Seery with a copy of the April 1, 2008 minutes asking for the information that was requested.
**MOTION (1) Mr. Langan moved to approve the Special Meeting Minutes of the Board of Finance on April 1, 2008 as amended. Mr. Taylor seconded the motion. Vote: 5 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
¨ Wednesday, May 14, 2008 – Regular Meeting Mr. Larcen called for a motion for approval or any changes to the Board of Finance May 14, 2008 Regular Meeting Minutes.
Mr. Jones asked that on Page 1 in the first line under Approval of Minutes that ‘to that’ be changed to read ‘so that’.
Mr. Taylor asked about the first line on the top of Page 3 and if they received any further information on the Deerfield Village recourse. Mr. Larcen said that they did get that information – they have no further recourse.
Mr. Taylor asked about the fourth paragraph on Page 3 where they were discussing the cost of the Water & Sewer services that are being done by Finance and how this is working out. Mr. Larcen asked Mr. Formica about this and said that they had discussed having him provide a letter on the scope of services and the amount for the purpose of documenting this for the auditor’s purposes. Mr. Formica said that it is on the record that it is being done. He added that he would sit down with Mr. Giannattasio regarding documentation of the compensation.
Mr. Taylor asked that on Page 3 at the bottom that the word cots be changed to read ‘cost’; and that on Page 5 in the third paragraph that the word ‘to’ be changed to read ‘so’. **MOTION (2) Mr. Jones moved to approve the Regular Meeting Minutes of the Board of Finance on May 14, 2008 as amended. Mr. Langan seconded the motion. Vote: 5 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
¨ Monday, June 2, 2008 – Set Mill Rate - Special Meeting Mr. Larcen called for a motion for approval or any changes to the Board of Finance June 2, 2008 Special Meeting Minutes.
**MOTION (3) Mr. Taylor moved to approve the Special Meeting Minutes of the Board of Finance on June 2, 2008 as presented. Mr. Langan seconded the motion. Vote: 5 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
(Note: 7:15 PM – Ms. Carini arrived and joined the meeting.)
E. Reports a. First Selectman’s Report Mr. Formica congratulated all of the members for working hard and together to get the budget done. He reported that they received an $80,000 settlement from Silk Town for the high school roof and the rain that damaged the gym floor. He explained that in the construction law area that they deal with depreciated value and that he and Mr. Burkhart were able to arrive at this settlement without having to involve the attorney’s except for the minimal language issues. Also, if there is a request for a bleacher, it would have to go through the appropriations process.
Mr. Larcen asked where this $80,000 check would go. Ms. Johnson said that it would go into the CNRE for capital projects.
Mr. Formica continued that there is also some question about why the Youth Services $2500 goes to Town Meeting – it is because of the activity that has gone on in that account. He said that the first order of business with the approved budget is that there are some anticipated revenue shortfalls – first there was the $157,000 from the State so when they are going forward, he said that they would look to try to manage this within the budget by seeking to structure better efficiencies and multi-tasking. He said that he remains optimistic. They also went to the State Legislature for the conveyance tax issue pushing not to sunset it. CCM was also present and it is the hope and expectation that they will continue it at the current rate. They are meeting now and if they were to sunset it – this would be an additional $220,000 hit to the Town revenues in the new budget year. The Planner for the Town has resigned and in doing so she indicated that this is something that she had been thinking of for a long time due to her perceived conflict with working and living in the same Town. He said that he brought back some temporary help to box up information and organize it and that they have posted the Planner position and he has spoken with the Planning Commission and assured them of their importance. He said that he also has a volunteer coordinator who has offered to bring the POCD update forward and that he will work with them on this. The other issues they can discuss in Executive Session.
Ms. Carini asked if she had heard him say that he has a volunteer to transition between Meg and a new person. Mr. Formica said no, he said that he brought back temporarily a person to coordinate and put everything in boxes in order for the transition. What he did say with respect to a volunteer is for the POCD. He said that he has also spoken with the EDC and others on this.
Mr. Taylor asked how much over budget projection they were on interest income. Ms. Johnson said that the projection for next year is $450,000. She added that the interest fluctuates throughout the year and that they will be getting tax payments in July which should help.
b. Financial Report Ms. Johnson noted that she had provided them with her narrative this evening and that the other reports had been included in their packets.
Mr. Taylor said that the expenses for May were a lot higher this year than last and asked if there was a reason for that. Ms. Johnson said that there was nothing that she saw on the Town side and nothing specific although they did have an extra week of payroll in May which would contribute to part of it.
Mr. Jones asked about the $74,922 repair for the pumper truck as it was estimated up to $75,000 but they had said that they thought that they would come in at the $50,000 to $55,000 range instead. Mr. Formica said that there was more repair under the pump body than what the eye could see and that Chief Pringle brought in that information and the extra bills.
Mr. Taylor asked if the encumbered funds are higher this year than last year. Ms. Johnson said that she would have to run those reports for them.
Mr. Jones asked Ms. Johnson if it would be possible to get her report in the packet rather than the evening of the meeting. Ms. Johnson said that she had originally agreed to get them the reports in their packets and that she had done that and that she would work on this report.
Mr. Formica said that the packets typically were delivered by the Police and that unfortunately people would exchange pleasantries and that in the interest of saving gas and time; they are trying to mail the packets. They have found that Niantic to Niantic takes one day and that for some reason Niantic to East Lyme takes three days. He said that they may be able to have them picked up or perhaps it would be cheaper to mail them overnight for the $10. He said that he is looking into options. Mr. Birmingham suggested that they call him when his package is ready and that he would come and pick it up and save them from having to mail it. Mr. Taylor suggested that perhaps Bob Swan could take them and drop them off at the East Lyme post office to be mailed from there so that they would take only one day. Mr. Jones said that for many, many years that his packet was delivered by the Police and that he has never once seen them or talked to them. He said that he was rather upset that he had received his packet very late on Tuesday night and that he had little time to review all of the information in it.
Mr. Langan asked Ms. Johnson about the Board of Ed listed at $31.9M in her report and that they have a $38M budget and if they are under spending. Ms. Johnson said that this month the teachers have their balloon payment and that will wipe out what looks like under spending.
F. New Businessa. Tax Collector’s Suspense List John McCulloch, Tax Collector submitted his adjusted report including over payments and providing a more accurate collection rate. He said that it is a little ahead of last year. Mr. Larcen said that he had a hard time following his report with respect to the financial statement.
Mr. McCulloch said that his report is inclusive of all of the Certificates of Correction (CFC’s) and over payments which are factored in. Ms. Johnson said that when they do the reconciliation that they would resolve these issues.
Mr. Larcen asked Mr. McCulloch to explain what a Certificate of Correction is. Mr. McCulloch said that he gets them from the Assessor’s Office and explained that if someone turned in their plates on a vehicle during the year that this would relate to a reduction in their bill. On construction of a home, etc. they would pro-rate the construction. This adjustment could also be due to a decision of the Board of Assessment Appeals.
**MOTION (4) Mr. Langan moved to approve the Tax Collector’s 2008 Suspense List in the amount of $33,338.79 (for years 1997 through 2006). Mr. Taylor seconded the motion. Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
Mr. Taylor noted that these are not forgiven and that they are still collectible as the debt is not released.
b. Special Appropriation $80,000 to Police Outside Overtime Mr. Langan noted that the beginning number of the account number needed to be changed from 7 to 8.
**MOTION (5) Ms. Carini moved to appropriate $80,000 to account 8-01-25-225-100-712 (PT Extra Duty Police/Fire) for fiscal year ended June 30, 2008 from excess revenues received for these services due to the services requested were greater than the original fiscal year budget. Mr. Langan seconded the motion.
Mr. Larcen explained that this coming fiscal year that this will not be required as they will have a revenue and expense line item. They received $179,000 in revenues for outside Police services this year to date.
Mr. Taylor noted that there is no real expense to the Town as the people who use these services are billed for them.
Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
c. Appropriation $42,351 Town Aid Road Mr. Langan said that the last three digits of the account number should be 224 rather than 100.
**MOTION (6) Mr. Jones moved to appropriate $42,351 from Undesignated Fund Balance to account 8-01-30-317-500-224 (Town Aid Road) to appropriate the full amount of the Town Aid Road grant to the expenditure account. Mr. Taylor seconded the motion.
Mr. Langan asked why they are transferring this from the fund balance. Ms. Johnson said that it is because the revenue came in as projected so in order to increase the revenue they have to have it come from the undesignated fund balance.
Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
**MOTION (7) Mr. Taylor moved that that they switch the order of item d. and item e. Mr. Langan seconded the motion. Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
d. Department Budget Transfers **MOTION (8) Mr. Taylor moved to ratify departmental transfers in the amount of $143,862.48 processed for fiscal year end June 30, 2008. Mr. Jones seconded the motion.
Mr. Taylor said that he does not want to vote on any of these or that he would vote No to all of them as all they are is money movement within department budgets – moving from one cost center to the other and it is a waste of time and it also hides the ability for them to make sound evaluations on these budgets. It sanitizes the budgets.
Mr. Jones agreed and said that he would also vote No unless someone can give them a good reason as these are within the same departments. As an example he said that one department has $1000 and if they take $2 and move it to buy paper, it makes no sense to do a transfer.
Mr. Birmingham asked if it was done in the past. Mr. Formica said no and added that it was the opinion of this Finance Director that they should be made aware of them and that this also gives them more information.
Mr. Jones said that he does not mind the information however he does not think that they should vote on this.
Mr. Taylor said that they would see these variances in the monthly reports and that used to be the way that they tracked budgets and not this way. He continued that if it is between different departments then he certainly would want to see it however this is taking a lot of time and is actually ‘hiding’ what is happening and it makes everyone’s budget look like it is ‘perfect’.
Mr. Larcen said that he sees this as a difference between inter-department and intra-department. Mr. Larcen, Mr. Formica and Ms. Johnson said that they would get a written opinion from the Town Attorney on this and table if for now.
Mr. Taylor said that it is the changing of the figures that bothers him as they cannot see what is happening within the budgets when they are all changed to ‘perfect’.
Mr. Larcen asked that they act on this as it is the end of the year and they have been acting on other items like this in the past.
Vote: 5 – 1 – 0. Motion passed. Against: Mr. Taylor
e. Transfer for Public Safety Labor Services Mr. Langan said that the account number for Public Safety Legal Services had an error in it and that the 14 should be 114.
**MOTION (9) Mr. Taylor moved to transfer $16,102 from various accounts as follows: $5000 from account 8-01-01-101-300-155 (Postage); $5000 from account 8-01-01-104-100-212 (Building Official); $3000 from account 8-01-01-104-100-311 (Admin. Clerical/Building Dept.) and $3,102 from account 8-01-01-136-100-415 (Warden/Harbor Mgt.) to the Public Safety Legal Services account 8-01-01-114-140-236 due to greater than estimated legal costs in the Police Department related to several grievances and related investigations. Ms. Carini seconded the motion.
Mr. Formica noted that he had previously said that this would happen and added that they would discuss this further in Executive Session where he will bring them current on it.
Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
G. Old Business ¨ Discussion for Sub-Committee work to establish various Financial Policies for the Town Mr. Larcen noted that they had taken action on this in January at a Special Meeting.
Ms. Johnson said that she had suggested that it be placed on the agenda as she thought that the Board wanted to make a commitment to work on this.
Mr. Larcen asked if the Board of Selectmen would be a part of this. Mr. Formica said the he would be on it and thought that once the work is done that they could bring it before the Board of Selectmen. They might want to take time over the summer to work on this. He said that he thought that they should pick a few items to work on and knock off and move on. He said that he does not think that the Board of Ed should be included at this time.
Mr. Larcen said that he would like them to have a ‘common’ fiscal policy and that he would like the communication open. Mr. Formica said that he is all for being involved however he would like to put our fiscal improvements first and then involve the Board of Ed. He suggested that they may also want to check with the State on the actual ‘reach’ that we do or do not have with the Board of Ed budget.
Mr. Larcen said that they would have audit findings on the Town and Board of Ed until such time that they have consistent fiscal policies that would be applicable within the Town for any dollar spent. His motive for having the Board of Ed in the room is for policy purposes however he said that he would come back to that at a later time and would go along with the two-step process as his colleagues desire. He then asked who would be working on this. Mr. Langan and Ms. Carini volunteered to work on this.
Ms. Carini asked if Mr. Taylor or Mr. Jones would volunteer as they have been on the Board of Finance for some time. Mr. Taylor said that he would be working on the communications section with Mr. Langan. Mr. Jones said that for right now that his plate is full and that he would have to pass until some of his other obligations could be moved around or expired.
¨ Interview Schedule for Independent Auditor Ms. Johnson said that the RFP’s are due in on Monday, June 16, 2008 and that 6 firms have requested them. Three (3) were from out of State. She suggested that they hold the interviews prior to the next meeting of this Board. The interview panel is made up of two people from the Board of Finance, the First Selectman, herself and the School Business Manager. She further explained that the bid prices would be in a separate envelope and that she felt that they should interview first without knowing or seeing the prices.
Mr. Larcen volunteered for the Board of Finance. Mr. Jones said that he would volunteer however he would need to read all of the bids first prior to any interviews.
Mr. Larcen said that they might not interview all of the respondents and suggested that they set some dates for the interviews. After some discussion two dates and times were set – Monday 6/23/08 from 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM and Tuesday 6/24/08 from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM.
Mr. Taylor said that he wanted to see a copy of all of the bids and the prices for review in the event that he was able to make the interviews and Mr. Jones was not.
H. Public Discussion Mr. Larcen called for Public Discussion. Mike Schulz, Lovers Lane said that regarding the Statute on the Board of Ed contracts that the Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen gave extra time for the Board of Ed to bring their budget forward. Contract negotiations require them to start 210 days prior to the budget submission date - Section 10-153d of the Statute. He said that he is not sure what other bargaining units it involves.
Mr. Jones said that he was in on the negotiation portion of the teacher’s contract but they could not participate in the discussion. He noted that Mr. Formica and Mr. Taylor have also been present for these contract negotiations.
Mr. Formica recalled that when he was on the Board of Finance that they would call negotiation sessions for 12 noon or some other awkward time when people could not attend.
I. Board Comments There were none.
J. Executive Session ¨ Pending Litigations – CT General State Statute Section 1 – 200(6)(B) strategy and negotiations with respect to pending claims or pending litigation and - ¨ Update on Bargaining Unit Negotiations
**MOTION (10) Mr. Taylor moved that they enter into Executive Session; inviting Paul Formica, First Selectman and Anna Johnson, Finance Director to join them; for the purposes of discussion on Pending Litigations – CT General State Statute Section 1 – 200(6)(B) strategy and negotiations with respect to pending claims or pending litigation and for an Update on Bargaining Unit Negotiations. Mr. Langan seconded the motion. Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
The Board entered Executive Session at 9:10 PM.
**MOTION (11) Ms. Carini moved that they return to the Regular Meeting at 10 PM with no action taken in Executive Session. Mr. Taylor seconded the motion. Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
The Board returned to its’ Regular Meeting at 10 PM.
K. Adjournment **MOTION (12) Mr. Jones moved to adjourn this Regular Meeting of the East Lyme Board of Finance at 10:02 PM. Mr. Langan seconded the motion. Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Zmitruk, Recording Secretary
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