AVON TOWN COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
February 3, 2011
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. at the Avon Town Hall, in the Selectmen's Chamber by Chairman Zacchio. Members present: Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Evans, Shea, and Pena.
II. PUBLIC HEARING
10/11-33 CL&P Easement: Avon Free Public Library
The Public Hearing was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Zacchio, and the Clerk read the legal notice as follows:
"TOWN OF AVON
LEGAL NOTICE
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Notice is hereby given that the Town of Avon, Connecticut will hold a Public Hearing on Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. at the Avon Town Hall, Selectmen’s Chamber, 60 West Main Street, Avon, Connecticut to consider the following:
The Town of Avon to grant and convey to Connecticut Light and Power Company permanent rights for the installation, maintenance and repair of electric lines over, under and across land of the Town of Avon located at 281 Country Club Road, Avon, Connecticut.
Dated at Avon, Connecticut this 20th of January, 2011.
Brandon L. Robertson, Town Manager”
Chairman Zacchio reported that this is an easement which must be accepted to give Connecticut Light and Power Company the rights to relocate the utilities for the library expansion.
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Evans, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council close the public hearing.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Evans, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Evans, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council authorize the Town Manager to execute the agreement with Connecticut Light and Power Company to grant and convey permanent rights for the installation, maintenance and repair of electric lines over, under and across land of the Town of Avon located at 281 Country Club Road, Avon, Connecticut.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Evans, and Pena voted in favor.
III. MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETING : January 6, 2011
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accept the January 6, 2011 minutes as submitted.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Evans, and Pena voted in favor.
IV. COMMUNICATION FROM AUDIENCE
Fire Chief Michael Trick introduced himself and looks forward to continuing the good relationship that we have working with the Town Council.
Terri Wilson, President of Avon Historical Society, made a presentation regarding the new acquisition they made of signing the lease for the Horse Guard Barn. She introduced Krystyn Silver and Len Tolisano, Board members. Ms. Silver, also a professional restorer, reported that a lease agreement has been completed with the First Company Horse Guard to proceed with restoration of the Horse Guard Barn that fronts West Avon Road and we are in the process of applying for a grant and excited to be able to preserve this piece of Avon history. She reported that the Historical Society is proud to partner with the Town on various projects and hopes that they might look to the Town for a letter of support to include in their grant. Chairman Zacchio reported that it is a beautiful barn and is glad to see that
it is going to be restored. Ms. Silver responded that the timber frame construction is pretty solid and the side that is viewed where water has gotten in requires attention and the Historical Society is working with the Connecticut Trust Restore Preservation to get a structural engineer that specializes in timber framing to do a condition assessment to focus their fundraising efforts on fixing exactly what needs to be done the proper way. Chairman Zacchio questioned if there was any concerns with the snow right now. Mr. Tolisano responded that the only concern is for the 1954 addition in the back which has taken a lot more water than the main roof. He reported that the Historical Society has been trying to acquire this barn from the State for over four years and finally able to negotiate a lease with them. Ms. Silver pointed out the simple strategy of what they have to do because their efforts on the barn are not intended to compromise any efforts they
have on the other buildings already in their collection as well as the programming of the things that they do with other partners in the community, much like the Derrin House restoration which Mr. Tolisano oversaw over a period of sixteen years. Mr. Shea reported that this item has been discussed in the past and everyone has been supportive; he would like to suggest to Council that we ask the Town Manager to write a letter on the Town Council’s behalf to be included with the grant. Chairman Zacchio reported that he would like to see the barn fixed and added to the Fall barn tours.
Nancy Anstey, Director of Farmington Valley Visitors Association (FVVA), thanked Council for their support. She reported that the Town of Avon has been a charter member of the FVVA and the FVVA loves their relationship with the Town and all the things that they can do to promote Avon besides the Farmington Valley. She reported that even in these economic times they have had a really good year. She reported that out of the 70,000 guides printed, 43,000 went to members and Welcome Centers, 16,000 went to corporations, UConn medical center, and all sorts of businesses and family functions, and 150 relocation packets sent out. She reported that in 2010, the FVVA web site received 89,171 visits and 747,531 hits. She reported that the FVVA is very big on the Farmington Valley Film Commission and
almost done with their production guide and is working with an agent/filmmaker who plans to film in the Farmington Valley in May/June 2011. She reported that with the Film Commission is the Middle and High School Filmmakers Showcase which encourages kids to do a promotional video on something from the Farmington Valley and put it on the web site and show it at their second annual Film Fete and Mixer in July 2011. She reported that their Historic Sites Committee did a barn tour of Avon, Farmington, and Canton last May and this year is planning a barn tour of Granby and Simsbury. She reported that the Haunted Miniature Golf was a wonderful success and is the FVVA’s major fundraiser for the year. She reported that she met with someone from the National Rails to Trails Council who is talking about doing a four to five day sojourn here in 2012. She reported that the FVVA is working with the “Dream Ride” group to get more tours into the
Valley and what they can do in Avon specifically. She reported that at the Polo Grounds in Farmington there will be a second annual jazz festival, a half-day affair, of which she will be on the committee and see what we can do to get businesses in Avon involved; the long term goal is to make it a weekend adventure. She reported that the FVVA is right now the only private non-profit tourism organization in the State and come July 1st might be the only one. She reported that Governor Rell did go from five to three districts, cut all the marketing and advertising for the State and the FVVA does not know what is going with Governor Malloy as to whether there is going to be regional tourism, State tourism, or no tourism at all. She reported that the FVVA budget has been pared down based on the fact that it is real difficult for businesses to give money but they are still up and running; thanked Council for their support and hope will give the same
support again. Chairman Zacchio reported that he read Governor Malloy was going to support “putting us back on the map” of something that was not in the budget last year. Ms. Anstey responded that the Governor did and we are now on Discover New England, the New England organization that promotes international tourism, and the FVVA has received visitors from Germany and England.
Bill Stokesbury, 15 Cadbury Turn, commended the entire town staff particularly Public Works, for all their work clearing the roads given the trying times we have; we are all appreciative.
V. COMMUNICATION FROM COUNCIL
Mr. Evans reported that he attended a reception for Glenn Marston who is celebrating his thirtieth year with the Town of Avon and asked Council if we could do something that is appropriate as it is a pretty remarkable thing to be here for thirty years. He has gotten to know Glenn personally having served with him on the Park and Recreation Committee for a number of years; it was an honor and privilege to serve with him; he has a tremendous dedication and service to the Town of Avon and thinks that if there is something that Council can do to recognize his service to the Town we should do that. Council members agreed.
Mrs. Samul reported that she represented Council last week at the ribbon-cutting for the new Verizon store. She reported what made it especially nice was the fact that Verizon has a Hope Line Program where if you have an old cell phone that is no longer functioning they have a drop off box for such and then they recycle them by selling the precious metals that are used to go into the cell phone and to purchase new cell phones to be given to places that facilitate abused and battered women and children, such as the Interval House who was the recipient of a $2,500 check at the ribbon-cutting. She asked the public for their participation to this cause.
Chairman Zacchio reported that Ross McDonald, Avon High School senior, signed a letter of intent with a scholarship to play football at Army and will be attending West Point in the Fall; his parents are very proud and he thinks the Town should be very proud. He reported that if anyone has watched Ross play football he is an outstanding athlete, runner, and going to be a real compliment to the Army football program and something that we can all watch on television. He reported that Ross started in the Mud Hogs league with Scott Bernard who is one of the coaches so it is a real treat to see an Avon High School athlete to be able to compete at that level.
VI. OLD BUSINESS
10/11-01 FY 11/12 Budget Developments
Chairman Zacchio reported by way of background, giving a lot of credit to the Board of Finance as well as the Town Manager for putting this idea together; Tom Harrison and Tom Gugliotti, Board of Finance members, both work with Board of Finances in surrounding towns and have looked at different ideas at how we can better get information out to the public and spend more meaningful time together as three boards. He reported that this presentation is designed to be something that we would do in the November timeframe so traditionally post-November the Boards would start talking about what they would like to see in the budget and how they would like to see the budget developed and start to give the professionals who work so hard for us direction in how to develop that budget. He reported that this presentation
gives the professionals an opportunity to educate us, give us ideas around what the predominant budget drivers both in the economic environment outside of Town but the ones that are more specific to Town, a checklist of our grand list and what that might mean to us, a look at our undesignated surplus balance, unfunded mandates that they think may be coming from the State of Connecticut on the expense side but then on the revenue side we hope that develops into something where we can be thinking much further ahead in the budget curve to get ideas around where revenues may come from. He reported that the Board of Education has been working hard on their budget and talking about do we raise our stop loss on our health insurance, which means you raise your deductible and what risk does that produce for us and whether it is worth it and becomes a cost-benefit analysis for us at that point. He reported that hopefully this meeting develops into something where we will have a
much better idea of the big rocks in the budget that we know we are not going to be able to do a lot with, talk a little bit about the revenues and even start to have ideas from the three Boards and the public around how we can drive new revenues and if there are places and sources of dollars that we are not tapping or we can be creative with. He reported that when the Board of Finance talked about this and really brought it to the Council, although we’re further down the path than that and as everybody knows the Boards have been well into the throes of developing budgets and taken direction on how to do that much earlier in the year we thought it was still an appropriate meeting to have and give an opportunity for the three Boards to hear the type of information that went into developing the budget so it is not a budget hearing and we are not here to talk about what is appropriate to be in the budget or not and support or not as our time will come certainly with the
Board of Finance meetings and our official public hearings and then with the budget still open there is still time to lobby the Boards as to what we think from a public perspective should be there. He reported that these are an abridged version that the Interim Superintendent has worked very hard on from the public school side and the Town Manager has worked very hard on from the Town side and we would have spent a little bit more time with it in a single three-board meeting but we will certainly give enough time to make all the points that need to be made and then take comments from the elected Boards followed by public comments.
- Presentation by Interim Superintendent:
Influences on FY 11/12 Budget Development - a power point presentation
is attached and made part of these minutes
Jody Goeler, Interim Superintendent, introduced the Interim Assistant Superintendent Paula Schwartz who has helped a great deal with this process. He reported this is a great idea to have this three-board meeting. He reported that these slides have been slightly modified from the Board of Education’s budget presentation, to talk about what our needs are and what drove the budget process. He read the Board of Education’s mission and goals. He noted that a lot of their energies are focused on the Student Achievement Goal as these are the skill sets that are necessary to prepare students for the ever changing twenty-first century workforce. Mr. Goeler reviewed the considerations, including influences and mandates, in terms of putting the Board of Education budget together. He
reported that the Board of Education went from a 6.9% proposed increase and ended up with a 4.5% increase. He reported that in order to ensure that they maintain programs and sustain their reputation as being a great school system they had to come up with $1 million bridge to take them from the 6.9% to 4.5% increase, including a teachers’ concession package, increasing fees of parents for paying a greater share of pay to play and parking, and taxpayers came to support the budget as well. He wanted to come up with and bring to the Board of Education a budget that honored these sacrifices and this commitment to supporting our schools. He reported that with the Tri-State Program (northern New Jersey, Westchester County, and southwestern Connecticut) they look at the best school systems in the area to compare themselves to and that process helps in maintaining a high expectation of our students and teachers. He reported that a key area being looked at this
year is the K-12 alignment in terms of cohesion. He reported that their strategic planning process, as part of the 21st century learning skills, can be advanced and taken seriously in this kind of community without looking significantly at 21st century learning skills and dispositions.
Mr. Goeler reported on unfunded mandates. He reported that SRBI (federal program is called RTI - Research Teaching Interventions) puts them in a position to ensure that they have interventions for all of their students, special education is no longer the only game in town. He reported that back in the ‘80s when CMTs were first created, the purpose of the CMT was for districts to look at student performance within its district and then to ensure that the curriculum and instructional practices are in place to help those students along. He reported that ever since the newspapers got hold of information or the scores and started comparing districts to each other the level of scrutiny with CMT and CAT increased a great deal, then NCLB came along and said not only are we going to compare you to other
districts we will also deem you worthy or unworthy, failing or unfailing, and in addition ensure that there is adequate yearly progress. He reported that there is a new one this year called TEAM where public schools are now in the position of taking on the responsibility of certifying teachers which used to be a State role and will cost the district approximately $30,000 to ensure there is a TEAM process in place.
Mr. Goeler reviewed comparison of enrollments and instructional needs with related staff adjustments. He reported that the Assistant Superintendent currently shares one secretary with the Director of Building and Grounds and the proposal would give the Assistant Superintendent a full-time secretary taking on the HR function and providing curriculum support to the Assistant Superintendent. He reported that with NLCB (No Child Left Behind), all the mandates, and looking at student performance districts is required to warehouse all student data and in addition teachers are required to analyze student data. He reported that Paula Schwartz, at the request of the Interim Superintendent, did an audit of their technology needs. There is currently one full-time technician, one technician who does technology
and sound and lighting in the auditorium, and one person who oversees the information technology program for the entire district. He reported that the audit proposed another technician but they dropped that and thought the Director of Technology would be a more critical position in their budget, a non-certified position to ensure that the right equipment is being purchased, use the equipment properly, and making sure that the warehousing needs and analysis for teachers is available. He reported there is currently no one in their district who oversees technology with that expertise and a big taxpayer commitment to have that technology in their buildings.
Mr. Goeler reported on the virtual high school program which is an online program for students to choose; in order to provide that program to students they have to train a person to oversee the program and assign a teacher to teach one of the content areas in the program which would open twenty slots for students at the high school to take an online course. He reported that three months ago the Board passed an online learning policy which works perfectly with the Virtual High School, an actual CREC-endorsed, state-endorsed online program. He reported that the outcome of losing a music teacher two years ago resulted in pulling a teacher part-time to go from Thompson Brook to the Middle School and the Middle School with only two music teachers requires one teacher to teach both strings and band; the result is no
time for small group instruction and the selections of the pieces that students are learning in quicker sessions (festival music) for the big performance as a result of not having the level of sophistication that they had when they had the additional teacher with the additional smaller group instruction. He reported that based on anticipated enrollments they believe they can be at a cap for maximum class sizes and do that with two fewer elementary school teachers (one each at Roaring Brook and Pine Grove). He reported that if those numbers increase the Board will be in a position as it always is every year of looking at enrollments and making those determinations as the time comes.
Mr. Goeler reported that the high school guidance counselor position is driven by another state mandate coming down the road which has to do with secondary school reform that will require every child with an individual learning plan and the guidance counselors would oversee that plan, in addition each guidance counselor has over two hundred students to oversee. The security at Avon High School by two part-time security guards is currently on a 160-day schedule, funded by parking fees; the additional 20 days will be funded by Board expense and the hope is not to raise parking fees to cover these days.
Mr. Goeler reviewed his 2011-2012 budget objectives, pie chart, summary of expense drivers, and comparison of operating budgets from FY 2010/2011 to FY 2011/2012.
Chairman Zacchio questioned if TEAM replaces BEST. Mr. Goeler responded yes. He added that BEST was a state program and the town received more funds to work with in the district for training and the certification process; the state is now giving the town some money towards that but because of the additional support for mentors to oversee the program, and to ensure the technology necessary for teachers to keep up with it, it is another layer or lack of support that the district has to provide themselves that they used to get from the state with the BEST program. Mrs. Schwartz reported that it used to be the teachers prepared portfolios and submitted them to the state and the state did the work; teachers now have to complete modules that we have to grade so the whole focus of it came back onto the school
districts and with teacher turnover it becomes more time-consuming and a bigger expense. Chairman Zacchio reported that the unfunded mandates are always a problem with both sides of the budget but the timing of the state and town budgets are such that we really never know what other support we will get and if that will decrease or increase on an annual basis. Mr. Goeler reported that they are not expecting a lot of support from the state this year.
Mrs. Bratton questioned the position of athletics/activities oversight K-8. Mr. Goeler responded that it is a coordinating teacher stipend so someone is not being hired to oversee the program but taking a current teacher and seeing if they will oversee the program for a coordinating teacher stipend, for approximately $1,500. Mr. Hooper questioned on the 4.93% expense increase the items of which we have no control over. Mr. Goeler responded that they do not have control over salaries with the teacher concession, employee insurance might be a number to talk about if they look at stop loss and other mechanisms, utilities is the best guess, tuition is a major source of conversation in budget meeting to see if they are over-planning, etc., transportation is based on a contract, social security/pension/workers
compensation unemployment depends on if there are teacher layoffs or other items that impact it but it is a pretty solid number, technology includes servers that are at a critical point for replacement and a pretty solid number, and the key under “all other accounts” is textbooks, library books, and maintenance. Mr. Hooper questioned that all the adjustments for instructional needs is basically all in salaries. Mr. Goeler responded yes. Mrs. Schwartz responded that the emphasis there is language arts is such a crucial part of their program and they have short-changed themselves over the years backing off department coordinators that they really feel that is an essentially piece that needs to go forward; everything depends upon it and looking at the lack of coordinators in the high school is going to be a major issue. Mr. Goeler responded that they did not want to make it an administrative position because they wanted the person who oversaw that
to be someone with classroom experience.
Mr. Harrison thanked Mr. Goeler and Mrs. Schwartz for a very thorough presentation. He questioned in dollar terms what the 4.93% represents. Mrs. Schwartz responded approximately $2 million. Mrs. Bratton questioned under tuition if the outplacement and summer programs for students and the adult education is for teachers. Mr. Goeler responded that they pay Farmington and West Hartford to attend the adult education programs. Mrs. Schwartz responded that summer programs are mainly special education students (age 18-21) and extended day programs, all required and not optional. Mr. Gugliotti questioned if the transportation increase is attributed to more routes or buses or higher costs. Mr. Franzi responded that the annual renewal contract increase results from variable costs.
Mr. Evans questioned if there is any anticipation of teacher retirements in the next year. Mr. Goeler responded that right now there is one person who announced retirement, but are not anticipating or have not heard anything from teachers at this point but they do not technically have to announce retirement until July which has happened on occasion. Mr. Evans questioned the net effect of all staff adjustments, how many new teachers are expected. Mrs. Schwartz responded that on the certified side the net is 4.0 and on the non-certified side the net is 3.2. Mr. Goeler added that Jack Sweeney was their Director of Technology back when he was principal at Avon High School and through a budget reduction his position was eliminated. Mrs. Schwartz reported that the technology report is on the school district’s web site which has a strategic plan in it in terms of what is being done, what they are doing and comparing them to other districts.
Mr. Goeler reported that they recognize that the community is making a large investment and they believe that the director overseeing that investment is a critical piece. Mrs. Roell reported that the Board of Education talked about the Director of Technology potentially being a shared position with the Town. Chairman Zacchio responded that is something that was talked about with the Administrative Services Study Committee. A member of the audience questioned if there is an associated cost with the accreditation program and is it possible that they are going to require more expenses. Mr. Goeler responded yes. A member of the audience questioned that if we meet all requirements by NEASC if there is a chance to save money somewhere or is that not factored into it. Mrs. Schwartz responded that there is a ten-year cycle and coming up on it, with a delay of two years due to changes in the administration, and there are seven key areas looked for
and within each of those key areas there are indicators that have to be met. Mr. Gugliotti questioned if the problem with the high school furnace is in the Board of Education or Council’s budget. Chairman Zacchio responded that it is in the capital budget.
Mr. Pena questioned the negative utilities number. Mr. Franzi responded that in 2009 he saw that natural gas was going to take an extensive dip so he called their brokers to see if they could do an extended blend contract in both gas and electric and lock in those prices and was able to do so; they were paying through CRCOG $1.30/ccf on gas and $0.125/kwh in electric and they stepped it down to $0.085/kwh for three and five years respectively. Mr. Pena questioned the virtual high school position. Mrs. Schwartz responded that .2 teacher means one teacher offers one class online and allows them to offer twenty-five seats for their students in any of the courses in the virtual high school program.
Flo Stahl, Avon Taxpayers Association, reported that at 4.9%, the Board of Education proposed increase, while it is still smaller than last year is still one of the highest in the area. She questioned why. She questioned if Glastonbury, Simsbury, Canton, Rocky Hill, Middletown, New Britain, Manchester, Southington, Vernon, East Hampton, Windsor, Enfield, East Hartford, and other districts throughout Connecticut love their students less than we do. She questioned if their parents are less engaged; she didn’t think so. She reported that these other districts throughout Connecticut share the same influences and stresses that we do. She reported that it is in her opinion that it is a deceit, maybe a conceive, that Avon is somehow different and unique and therefore needs more money.
She questioned why they can do it and why are we always the highest in the area, what is happening. She reported that on the contrary many of these systems even offer a wide range of subjects; what is going on. She questioned if it could be that we place a different value on how and where we spend our money. She questioned if it could be that possibly the salary and benefits portion is utterly unsustainable and is now having an effect on the entire community so that we have higher and higher fees for services and in fact fewer services. She reported that with no disrespect how many times do we have to prove that after a certain basic point more money doesn’t mean smarter students; it is just bad science that has been proved again and again. She directed to members of the Town Council and Board of Finance that the default position has always been to raise property taxes no matter what the economy. She reported that it is time to stop
the opposition to real fiscal restraint and it is time to stop the intimidation of people who advocate it. She reported that we the taxpayers have done our part year after year, asking you on behalf of thousands of Avon taxpayers and voters it is time for others to step up to the plate and help us; we are not concessioned out and are far from it; please, no higher taxes, no more, not now.
Linda Merlin reported that the difference between us and all the other towns is the fact that over the last ten years our growth has been much larger than all of those and we never met those needs in the past and as a budget driver try to make up some of those. She reported that the difference between us is not that we want to spend so much more than other towns but that we lost so much with that growth that we were unable to support.
- Presentation by Town Manager:
Influences on FY 11/12 Budget Development – a power point presentation
is attached and made part of these minutes
The Town Manager reported that he wanted to review some of the key indicators that he looks at while he begins to craft a budget for Town Council’s approval and they include looking at metrics that measure economic activity in the community and what the financial position of the town is as well the financial condition of the town. He reported that in terms of revenues and expenditures, he will review some of the major issues that he sees on the revenue side, primarily including what we are seeing in terms of the grand list growth which will lead to a brief discussion about development trends and intergovernmental aid. He reported that he will review what is driving the expenditure side of the budget and an historical perspective on where we have been recently with respect to budget and mill
rate.
The Town Manager reviewed the list of key indicators. He reported that the rating agencies, such as Moody’s and Standard & Poors, look at the debt service as a percent of operating budget very closely. He reported that the yellow flag is when it is ten percent and currently we are at 7.98%. He reported that the general fund balance as a percent of operating budget is one of the most important indicators that we look at. He reported that the last time the town was reviewed by Moody’s in 2008 they made a big deal about it because the town has a Town Council policy in place that was adopted in 2001 in that our target rate of general fund undesignated fund balance as a percent of the operating budget should be at ten percent. He reported that at close of FY 2009/2010 we were at
about 6.62%.
The Town Manager reported that every four years by law the Town of Avon has to complete a revaluation, looking at current sale prices as a ratio to the market value when the property was last assessed and you either want to see an increase or stay around 70% which indicates that it is either going up or stable. He reported that the last revaluation was completed in 2008 and as of September 2010 we are around 71% which shows that it is a very solid real estate market in town.
The Town Manager reported that the tax collection rate is very strong and as far back as he looked the town is over 99%. He reported that foreclosures/lis pendens activity this year has dropped off slightly versus last year. He reported that building permit activity has been fairly strong, for example there have been 16 permits for single family homes half way through FY 2010/2011, while in FY 2008/2009 we saw 13 permits and for FY 2009/2010 we saw 14 permits. He reported that there is a lot of activity in terms of addition/renovation permits.
The Town Manager reported that as reported in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) there are two kinds of fund balance: designated and undesignated and there are designations in place for pension funding and other post-employment benefits funding. He reported that the $4.65 million is the amount that is available for appropriation subject to the appropriate action by the boards.
The Town Manager reviewed revenues in town. He reported that over 80% of the town’s revenues comes from property taxes. He reported that under “Investment Interest” the town has gone from a high of 5.7% in 2007 and it is down approximately a quarter percent in terms of rate of return. He reported that for last year’s budget we had budgeted a revenue of $700,000 and we had to make an approximate $550,000 adjustment through the year because investment income was not coming in very close to our projections.
The Town Manager reviewed grand list data. He reported that for the grand list that was filed for the end of January we saw an approximate 0.75% increase in the grand list; in terms of actual tax dollars that generates at the current mill rate it is an additional approximate $500,000 and for the budget given to Council tonight and to be discussed at the budget workshop on February 12th he is projecting between a 0.4% and 0.6% grand list growth which at the current mill rate of 24.44 is between $256,000 and $384,000 in new revenue.
The Town Manager reported that with regards to the grand list – motor vehicles there is a shortage of used vehicles out there and the values are pretty strong and not seeing the levels of depreciation that we have seen before. He reported that with regards to grand list – personal property there are two projects that are talking about breaking ground on, Fresh Market on Route 44 (formerly Party City or Mechanics Savings Bank) and an office building on Nod Road. He reviewed key points to the grand list. He highlighted interest income on general fund which shows how we have been impacted by the financial markets.
The Town Manager reviewed major state grant revenues for FY 2010/2011. He reported that the governor will be proposing on February 16th and one of the things that all municipalities in Connecticut will be watching is to see what happens with Education Cost Sharing (ECS). He reported that over the last two years the State of Connecticut has taken the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) money and supplanted about 14% a year of their ECS contribution and FY 2011/2012 is the first time that money drops. He questioned whether or not the state is going to hold the towns harmless and continue funding at prior levels or if there is going to be some reduction in ECS funding. He reported that for Avon we do not get a lot of state money so what he is assuming in the revenue budget
delivered to Council tonight is to assume a 10% reduction across the board in state grant revenue and special revenue funds that are in the Town Council’s budget, primarily town-aid road and LOCIP.
The Town Manager reviewed adopted budgets for FY 2009/2010 and FY 2010/2011. He reported that sewer is a separate fund (Fund 05) and is supported by user fees and assessments, not involving tax dollars per se. He reviewed expenditures of which personal services is approximately 73% of the overall operating budget and looking ahead to FY 2011/2012 the two most significant drivers are going to be wages and other post-employment benefits (OPEB). He reported that the town has been following a plan where we are funding our OPEB liability with current general fund contributions as well as with funding from a trust fund that was setup for this purpose; our required contribution from general fund is going up $125,000 next year. He reported that one idea with regards to health insurance is to potentially
increase our stop loss coverage. He reported that service and supplies accounts for approximately 28% of our overall operating budget. He reported that one thing the town has been trying to do where it makes sense is to contract out services through private contractors that are competitively bid for the best price. He reported that in terms of capital outlay, items included are acquisitions that are less than $20,000 and have less than five-year useful life and has been significantly reduced over the last few years. He provided historical budget factors for FY 2010/2011. He reviewed CIP requests deferred and highlighted on the pavement management program where every town road receives a liability rating and every year a level of funding is suggested that is required to maintain the roads. He reviewed annual debt service and noted that the only appropriation that has been approved thus far is the $7,000,000 for the library renovations. He
reviewed a five-year budget and tax increase history.
Mrs. Roell questioned the projected grand list growth of 0.4% to 0.6%, the $384,00 versus the $500,000. The Town Manager responded that the $500,000 is on the FY 2009/2010 grand list. Ms. Roell questioned if that is what the taxes will be based off of. The Town Manager responded that you are actually projecting what the grand list growth is going to be before you submit the grand list; the budget is adopted in May or June and you are projecting what the grand list is going to be the following October as of October 1st. Ms. Roell clarified that taxes paid on July 1, 2011 are based on the October 1, 2010 grand list. Peggy Colligan, Director of Finance, responded that going to the Town Council we will be using the projections that we have right now which is 0.60%; the Assessing
Department by state statute has to file their list by January 31st and at that point the estimate is higher at 0.70%. She reported that people can appeal their evaluations and usually takes place in the month of February so by the time it settles down in March we should have a firm number. Mr. Hooper reported that with the October 1, 2010 tax, the first bill does not happen until July 1, 2011 and the second half is January 1, 2012. Mr. Hooper reported that we do know and we have past experience as to what level results from appeals.
Scott Bernard questioned in regards to paving and it is his understanding that the longer you wait to fix any paving issues the more expensive it becomes and asked the Town Manager to talk about some pros and cons of going ahead and biting the bullet in a given year and getting more of those issues taken care of rather than constantly rolling forward these issues and making it more expensive. The Town Manager responded that when a road begins to disintegrate its bituminous overlay starts to go and you have a terrible winter like this you can come back the next year and do another bituminous overlay topcoat or heater scarification or crack sealing and if you do not do those things the next year it just compounds. He reported that if you can get on it early and continue to maintain it and keep it sealed and
tight then you do not necessarily have to get to the point five to ten years out where it is falling apart and you have to do reclamation. Mr. Shea questioned if the road management study that we have invested in helped out with that. The Town Manager responded absolutely. Mr. Shea added that we have a goal to do a certain amount of miles per year and have trouble reaching that but asked the Town Manager to expand upon that and talk about the road management study. The Town Manager responded that there is a pavement management study that we have maintained for four to five years now and the purpose is to have a road ride rating assigned to every inch that the town owns, approximately 150 to 160 miles accepted roads; there is a report that grades the roads and based on the findings and the status of the road after every winter the priorities change and that is what drives who gets the most attention. He added that in the spring the Public Works
Department will drive around and check the road conditions and see who was scheduled to be triaged last year, it may changed based on what has happened over this winter and that is what drives the level care that a road gets. Chairman Zacchio reported that in the budget last year we knew we were short-changing what we would have liked to get done and it is definitely a priority in this year’s capital budget especially after a winter like this that we are paying a lot closer attention to what needs to be done so that roads do not degrade beyond a point in that pavement study where they have been assigned a rating to the point that we have to tear the roads up which is a lot more expensive. He reported that one of the problems had in the past and where we initially fell behind was not actually a budget issue but we could not pave enough in a couple of summers to get the work done so it was very much dependent upon the price of oil which drove our paving down but we
also ran into some wet summers where we could not pave enough and find yourself behind; it is one big investment to get that done and it is something that he and the Town Manager as a priority in the capital budget because you cannot let it go beyond a certain point as it ends up being a three-fold cost in order to get the roads back to standard.
Mrs. Bratton questioned the -0.38% which included all types of wage changes. The Town Manager responded that calculation actually rolls up all of the personnel costs for the organizational plan. Mrs. Bratton questioned when that comparison was from. The Town Manager responded it was compared to FY 2009/2010. Mrs. Bratton questioned if the Board of Education has the same calculation for the public, the overall true change in the wages for everyone that falls under the Board of Education. Mrs. Schwartz responded that everything including all the wage changes and new positions as shown in the presentation at the Board of Education showed how much of it was current staff, new staff being added, and you could see what the breakout was. Chairman Zacchio reported that tonight for the Board of
Education we were looking at the actual number in this next fiscal year budget. Mrs. Bratton reported that she was looking for a comparison between current salaries versus a year ago but taking into account new hires, step increases, etc.
Flo Stahl questioned if the Town Manager was making a projection of a budget increase going forward for FY 2011/2012. The Town Manager responded that it is not part of the presentation and that he has just given the budget to Council this evening and he is not in a position yet to say what the operating budget increase is for FY 2011/2012. Chairman Zacchio reported that Council has their budget workshop next Saturday, February 12th where they will make the final determination what they will put forward to the Board of Finance.
10/11-26 Appointment: Avon Clean Energy Commission (12/31/2011)
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Shea, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council table the appointment to the Avon Clean Energy Commission to the March 3, 2011 meeting.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Evans, and Pena voted in favor.
VII. NEW BUSINESS
10/11-34 Approvals: Refunds of Real Estate Tax, $11,599.95
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approves real estate tax refunds to the following: Corelogic Tax Services $5,519.40 and Mark & Heidi Versland $6,080.55.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Evans, and Pena voted in favor.
10/11-35 Contract Award: Fisher Meadows Field Development – Design Development and Permitting
The Assistant to the Town Manager reported that when the process started the Recreation & Parks Committee along with the former Assistant Town Manager and Director of Recreation and Parks put out an RFP, there were nineteen responses, and Richter & Cegan was the unanimous choice to get the process started for the feasibility stage. He reported that as part of the agreement in 2009 there was a clause in the contract that if mutually desired they could proceed to the permitting phase which is where they are now. He reported that the $80,200 came before Council and Board of Finance in November 2010 and comes from the Fisher Meadows Fund. He reported that the Director of Recreation and Parks and the Recreation & Parks Committee have been extremely satisfied to date; Richter & Cegan have been
working beyond the scope of the original proposal to keep it moving forward and this would take it to the point where if funding was available, and probably only happen if there was grant money was involved, they would be ready to put construction documents together. Chairman Zacchio reported that the idea of the supplemental appropriation was to get us shovel ready so if grant monies were to become available we would be in a much better position. The Town Manager reported that we are not required to put it back out to bid, but we are required to get Council approval prior to his signing as it exceeds the threshold in the Charter.
On a motion made by Mr. Shea, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council awards the contract to Richter & Cegan for Fisher Meadows Field Development – Design Development and Permitting.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Evans, and Pena voted in favor.
10/11-36 Review & Discussion: Policy: Balances of Completed Capital Projects
Chairman Zacchio reported that the biggest concern with project balances in the Capital Projects Fund was the way the accounting would work in terms of expenditures out of General Designated Fund Balance and how that might be at a disadvantage to us. The Town Manager reported that in December 2010 there was discussion about the appropriation of the equity left, approximately $18,000, in a capital project balance after that project had been completed and there was a request to reallocate that funding to another project that was not directly related to the project. He reported that what is required in that instance is that it had to come before the Town Council and Board of Finance for an appropriation prior to making that transfer and it raised the question about accountability and generally if we have balances
left from capital projects is there an advantage to doing it this way or is there an advantage to having it closed to fund balance and having the agency or department come back and request a supplemental appropriation or deal with it as part of the budget process if there is no timing consideration. He reported that this topic was discussed with the Director of Finance and Assistant to the Town Manager and looked at GFOA to see if they had best practices or standards, similar communities, and talked with the auditors about it. He reported that basically what they found is that while there is some guidance that can come from GFOA they could not find any other communities that had a policy on unexpended capital balances. He reported that they did find one community in Connecticut that they talked to that while they do not have a policy there is a practice in place where they do account sweeps for these equities that are leftover at the conclusion of capital projects
and they put it all into a separate capital improvement fund that they then use to offset future capital costs.
The Town Manager reported that in the past in Avon it is something that has either been done administratively and it is taken care of after their conclusion of the fiscal year in terms of the due-to and due-from; if it is something that we feel you need to know about and approve specifically, as was the case with the roof project equity going to ADA compliance because there was a timing issue and the ADA compliance had nothing to do with the roof project. He reported that in some cases it may even make sense, in terms of the due-to and due-from, to have a balance go to offset operating costs especially with the library if there is a balance left at the conclusion of that project we may recommend at some point that we reallocate those funds to their operating budget to smooth out any initial increases from the
opening that spike their operating budget. He reported that there is a control in place now where you are going to see it one way or another and he does like having the flexibility of being able to present Council with different options regarding the use of those funds rather than having it close to fund balance. He reported from an audit perspective, of which the auditors do not feel strongly about this either way, there is an argument to be made that if it closes to fund balance then there is a very clear paper trail about an appropriation out of fund balance but every time the Council and the Board of Finance amend fund balance you are increasing the budget and whenever you increase the budget and then have a supplemental appropriation against the budget that ratio (fund balance to operating budget) tilts a little bit more in terms of having a lower fund balance. He reported that if there are material balances that are closing to fund balance then as you
re-appropriate those it can make a difference to that ratio. Mr. Shea questioned what we have done in the past with our flexibility; have we put it towards operating budgets? The Town Manager responded no. Mr. Shea questioned if the Town Manager is advocating maintaining our flexibility and applying it as we have applied it in the past. Mr. Shea reported that he is all for the flexibility until it applies to trying to smooth out an operating budget. Chairman Zacchio reported that even those dollars from a flexibility standpoint should only be applied to capital projects or go to the surplus at some point.
Mrs. Samul reported that other towns do it, other towns do not do it therefore we do it or do not do it; that is the lamenting mentality and discount that right off the top. She reported that she does not want to borrow long-term to pay short-term operating expenses. She reported that she can foresee someone instead of going with a four or five percent contingent fee in a capital improvement project for the unknown pad that so there would intentionally be funds leftover that could be diverted to another capital improvement project which had not come before the town such as the ADA compliance at the high school which was never presented to anybody. She reported that after speaking with the Town Manager on this issue, it is very difficult to legislate ethics and morals and that is what she is concerned
about. Mr. Shea reported that the good news is that we have never really had an issue with any of that. Mrs. Samul responded that you have to have a certain amount of faith in the people that you elect so she would not be opposed to continuing things as they are.
Mr. Evans questioned that when we do a big project that we have a budget and we have bond anticipation notes that are taken out to pay for the project as we go along and at the end when the project is done take the notes and convert it into a bond issue; is that not what we are talking about here? The Town Manager responded that it depends on the project; in some cases you would do bond anticipation notes or you would do pay as you go. Mr. Evans questioned that it is not always financed and would not like to see us financing borrowed money leftover. The Town Manager responded that we would not do that. Chairman Zacchio responded that these are related to capital budgets through the budgeting process and not the borrowing process. Mrs. Samul reported that it gets back to her point. Mr.
Evans questioned where the $18,000 came from. The Town Manager responded that came from the middle school roof. Chairman Zacchio reported that when the reconciliation occurred there was $18,000 remaining. Mr. Shea responded that we will be going with an estimated cost to complete projects. Chairman Zacchio reported that when you have these situations and there is an excess balance do we expire those excess balances to general fund and then appropriate out of those or do we leave them as they are which provides the flexibility and limits our exposure to seeing numbers of transactions coming out of the general fund. He reported that Council seems comfortable staying as is and continuing to do business the way we do it with the noted bright light that will shine on capital projects as they come through the budget.
10/11-37 Resignation: Avon Clean Energy Commission (12/31/2011)
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Evans, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accepts with regret the resignation of Brett Eisenlohr from the Avon Clean Energy Commission.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Evans, and Pena voted in favor.
VIII. TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT/MISCELLANEOUS
Misc. A: Purchasing Update: No verbal update was given.
Misc. B: Library Project: The Assistant to the Town Manager reported that there is a great superintendent on site in light of the accumulating snow, running a tight ship, and the only speed bump we have approached is related to the CL&P easement that was authorized tonight as it was a surprise to everybody when CL&P requested an easement because according to the Architect, the Construction Manager, and Director of Public Works, this had never been requested in the past; the word from the Construction Manager is that they had a hairy situation on a project getting permission to move off because there was no easement in place so now as a matter of course they are requesting even on municipal owned property to be given an easement. He reported that the original
construction schedule did not anticipate having to wait for that; we have not hit a point yet where that is causing any slowdown but Bruce has been calling CL&P on an almost daily basis to remind them that they are due within the next week to deliver the transformer and energize it in order to keep excavation moving on the back side of the building. He reported that other than that it has been smooth despite everything. He reported that there have been a couple of hiccups with internet being lost intermittently and one cold day. He reported that there was a question several months ago about the idea of closing for a day and he and the Director of Public Works discussed that with the Construction Manager and given that they are operating in the current space while the new addition is being built and they will be moving into the addition while the current space is renovated in their opinion there is more to be gained by having the library ready to close down on a
moment’s notice than there is to try and structure a closed day; they would not necessarily be able to schedule on every same day of the week to do particular types of work so they said having the Library Director ready to close on moment’s notice is what they are really looking for. Mrs. Samul questioned the parking issue and if the staff is parking across the street in the church parking lot. The Assistant to the Town Manager responded that they have been because of the snow; one solution they are talking about is having either Public Works or contractor push a little more space at the very back of the lot on site.
Misc. C: Route 10 Corridor Study: The Town Manager reported that Simsbury managed to get approximately $200,000 to do a corridor study through Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG). He reported that they will use this very interesting process that they used for their Main Street study which is a charette and use the same consultants that were involved in the charette process; the study was initially done in 1998 and the Town Manager or Assistant to the Town Manager will monitor the study and will trade on and off going to the charette. Mrs. Samul requested that we really monitor what Simsbury is going to do in that it may impact Route 10.
Misc. D: 2010 Grand List: This item was not discussed at the meeting.
Misc. E: Clean Energy Update: The Assistant to the Town Manager reported that the January meeting was canceled due to lack of a quorum and the February meeting was canceled due to weather conditions so the next meeting is the beginning of March; in the meantime he met with Peregrine Energy, Director of Public Works, Deputy Director of Public Works, and Peter Gaski from the Board of Education and talked about the nuts and bolts of the energy plan. He reported that this group will meet again on Tuesday to talk about scheduling the site visits in anticipation of getting in front of the Commission and start talking about goals and objectives for the energy plan which go hand in hand with the inventory of what we have. He reported that Farmington approached the valley
towns about an opportunity that they were presented with to support on behalf of their residents an electricity provider who will be able to provide rates that are lower than any of the CL&P rates. He reported that Wethersfield has been doing this for about one year. He reported that they are looking into locking in several different rates including reduced rates for seniors and veterans. He reported that he met with people from the other valley towns and they have a list of questions to the provider that we are interested in getting answers to.
The Town Manager reported that total accumulation of snow this year 64.25” with ten separate snow events and at this point we have gone through approximately 57% of the snow removal budget. He reported that one of the issues with this budget is the way that we budget overtime in that we put all of the overtime in snow removal but it also includes our annual overtime so whenever this mess melts and we have catch basins flooded and have to call in Public Works to handle those situations it is going to count against this amount as well. He and the Director Finance have been talking about this and because of the stress on snow removal we will probably do a freeze or 1% giveback on the appropriations just like we did last year to stay ahead of the curve. Mr. Evans reported that 50% is pretty good when
other municipalities have used their entire budget. The Town Manager responded that we include all of that overtime in there and we use a 5-year average, a very realistic average whenever they are budgeting for snow removal. Mrs. Samul questioned if we have flood insurance for when the brook overflows this spring. The Town Manager responded that we have been talking about that; also he spoke to Gary Franzi this morning and previously our Building Official did go around and look at the school and town hall campus roofs and the only roof that he was initially concerned about was Roaring Brook so the Board of Education was going to clear the snow off that roof. He reported that the Board of Education is also talking with a structural engineer who is going to come out and look at all the roofs. He reported that in terms of town roofs the old salt shed roof collapsed.
IX. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Litigation/Negotiation
A. Pending Claim/Litigation – Avon High School Boiler
B. Discussion of strategy with respect to pending claims by the Police Union
C. Personnel – Collective Bargaining
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Evans, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council go into Executive Session at 9:50 p.m.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Pena, and Evans voted in favor.
The Town Manager, the Assistant to the Town Manager, and the Clerk attended the session.
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Evans, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council come out of Executive Session at 10:20 p.m.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Pena, and Evans voted in favor.
XI. ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 10:20 p.m.
Attest:
Caroline B. LaMonica
Clerk
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