BOARD OF FINANCE
MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
February 23, 2009
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Harrison called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Chamber at the Avon Town Hall. Members present: Margaret Bratton, Catherine Durdan, Thomas Gugliotti, William Hooper, Brett Eisenlohr, James Speich, and Tom Harrison.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mr. Eisenlohr.
III. COMMUNICATIONS
There were none.
IV. MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETINGS: January 26, 2009
Chairman Harrison made one correction to the January 26, 2009 minutes.
On a motion by Mr. Gugliotti, seconded by Ms. Durdan, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Board of Finance approve the minutes of January 26, 2009 as amended.
Messrs. Harrison, Speich, Hooper, Eisenlohr, Gugliotti and Mmes. Bratton and Durdan voted in favor.
V. OLD BUSINESS
08/09-07 Review and Discussion: FY 09/10 Budget: Set Public Hearing Date (March 30th) and Workshop Dates after Public Hearing
Chairman Harrison stated that the public hearing date is March 30, 2009 for the budget. Mr. Hooper stated that the legal notice regarding the public hearing states that there will be a public hearing for the Town budget. He questioned if this notice should reference the Board of Education budget also. Mr. Gugliotti stated that he believes the legal notice is fine the way it is worded; there is only one budget.
The Board of Finance had a short discussion regarding workshop dates and backup dates. They decided that the principal workshop would be held on March 31, 2009 at 7 p.m. in the Avon Room. The backup workshop date, which may not be necessary, is scheduled for Monday, April 13, 2009 at 7 p.m. in the Avon Room. Ms. Robinson stated that she would not like to see the backup date go any later than April 13th because it would be a challenge to get the newsletter out on time.
Regarding the matrix for the mill rate, Chairman Harrison stated that the levy was $62,111,342, although he was having trouble matching up the potential revenue. He stated that the property taxes and assessments total $62,426,577. He questioned what made up this difference. Ms. Colligan stated that the difference is the supplemental real estate, motor vehicle, interest and penalties, Lakeview Water Extension assessments and telephone gross receipts. She stated that this is over and above the gross levy.
In response to a question by Chairman Harrison regarding supplemental real estate and motor vehicle vehicle, Ms. Colligan stated that this is billed in January. She stated that this would be if someone purchased a car and it was not on the list prior to the October grand list. This could also be real estate that is currently in construction but has not been added to the grand list yet. She stated that these are estimates that are provided by the Assessor and Collector of Revenue.
Regarding the shortfall in State revenues, Chairman Harrison questioned if this was accounted for. Ms. Colligan stated that she believes the only change that was made to the governmental component of the revenue was that the ECS was brought up to the most recent estimate. She stated that the Town is still showing a shortfall of approximately $61,000 in the intergovernmental revenues; no other adjustments have been made.
Regarding the shortfall, Mr. Schenck stated that he is unsure where the Town will stand with the State budget. The atmosphere regarding the State budget has changed because the current year’s deficit has gone up to $922 million and the Governor has come out with a new plan to mitigate this deficit. The Town may see further reductions in State aid programs also. He stated that the State may not have a budget until June, which is well after Avon’s budgetary process is finished.
Ms. Robinson stated that they have been watching the building permit fees. She stated that they have budgeted $500,000 for this year. They are only running approximately $177,000. Mr. Schenck stated that the Town has not gotten any single family building permits for the last three months and there have only been 18 permits for renovations.
Chairman Harrison stated that the budget they are currently looking at tonight, may have to increase the property tax to fill in the gaps. Mr. Schenck stated that if everything goes wrong on the revenue side, there may be another $100,000 - $150,000 in lost revenue. If everything goes right, then the swag will be the other way.
Chairman Harrison stated that currently, if the revenues come in like the Town believes they will, they will be looking at a 3.5% increase. He questioned how the Town did regarding the second half of the tax collection. Mr. Schenck stated that most properties in Avon are mortgaged; most of the properties have escrow accounts, which have been paid. He stated that they are seeing a substantial increase in people making partial payments. Regarding foreclosures, Mr. Schenck stated that there was not an increase in December, although there were two additional foreclosures in January, which brings the total to nine.
Regarding Social Services, Mr. Schenck stated that there is a 100% increase in the number of families that need assistance. The number has gone from approximately 60 families to 100-120 families. He stated that, fortunately, there has been a decline in fuel prices, so there is less fuel assistance needed for residents. On the police side, he stated that domestic disputes are up. He stated that all of these statistics are not as significant as they were 15-18 years ago when the last major recession hit.
Mr. Gugliotti stated that there is currently a study being conducted by Matrix. They are looking to see if the Town is operating as efficiently as possible between the Board of Education and the Town sides. He stated that there may be things that can be combined in order to save money.
Mr. Gugliotti stated that the Committee met with Matrix, which is a very professional group. They are experts that will determine what the best practices are and will see if the Board of Education and the Town are hitting those best practices. Matrix will be coming out with their report in time for the Board of Finance to utilize it for the current budget year.
Mr. Gugliotti stated that the initial results from Matrix is that Avon does very well at being efficient; some services in Town are already shared and Avon also shares services with surrounding Towns.
In response to a question from Mr. Eisenlohr regarding the Police Department negotiating with the Town of Canton to regionalize dispatching, Ms. Robinson stated that this is a separate issue from the Matrix study. She stated that Avon is talking with four other Towns. Avon has the number of holding cells that can accommodate use by other Towns. Avon is going through renovations of the communications center; this would be the most up to date facility in the area. She stated that they are currently working on an analysis of how many calls each community would need to have managed and how many dispatchers would be needed in the Avon facility. She stated that the dispatchers may become Avon employees and each Town may pay into the overall management of the center. She stated that many details still need to be
worked out.
Mr. Schenck stated that the 50 cents, which is listed on telephone bills, that is paid to the emergency fund has a substantial amount of money in it. There are also grants available to take care of the hardware and ongoing grants for three or more communities working together. Regarding the long term, he stated that the role of the dispatcher will be more critical and that their level of training and expertise in the medical area will need to increase. The caliber of people that will need to be hired will also be higher. Mr. Schenck stated that, down the road, this will reduce equipment cost and the number of people needed. He believes that this regional dispatching effort will be a 2-3 year process.
Linda Merlin, 48 High Gate Drive, stated that she did not think sufficient notice, including sandwich boards, were given for the upcoming referendum. Ms. Robinson stated that there are several sandwich boards around Town notifying residents of the referendum, although some may have blown down because of the wind.
On a motion by Ms. Bratton, seconded by Mr. Gugliotti, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Board of Finance hold the annual public hearing on the proposed budget on March 30, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. at the Avon Senior Center.
Messrs. Harrison, Speich, Hooper, Eisenlohr, Gugliotti and Mmes. Bratton and Durdan voted in favor.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
There was none.
VII. OTHER BUSINESS / TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT
Ms. Robinson stated that there have been new developments through the Secretary of State’s office in terms of what the Town can and cannot do regarding Town meetings. She stated that at Town meetings, they can no longer have handouts from the Town Council and the Board of Finance. She stated that unless a resolution has been passed by the legislative body, which would be the Town Council, public funds may not be used to print explanatory text. She stated that she will be looking into all procedures and the way they are currently done so she can send out guidance to all Boards so they understand what needs to be done going forward.
Mr. Schenck stated that the auditors will be at the next meeting of the Board of Finance to go over the FY 07/08 audit report. At this meeting, the Board will need to appoint the auditor for the current year.
VIII. EXECUTIVE SESSION
There was no need to go into Executive Session.
IX. ADJOURN
On a motion by Mr. Gugliotti, seconded by Mr. Eisenlohr, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Board of Finance adjourn at 8:18 p.m.
Messrs. Harrison, Gugliotti, Hooper, Speich, Eisenlohr and Mmes. Bratton and Durdan voted in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas A. Gugliotti, Secretary
Attest: Alison Sturgeon, Clerk
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