Minutes from the Regular Meeting of the Legislative Council held in the Municipal Board Room in the Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, Connecticut, on Wednesday, January 6, 2010. Chairman Jeffrey Capeci called the meeting to order at 7:32 pm.
PRESENT: Jan Andras, George Ferguson III, John Aurelia Sr., Kevin Fitzgerald, Chris LaRocque, Richard Woycik, Mary Ann Jacob, Benjamin Spragg, Daniel Amaral, James Belden and Jeffrey Capeci
ABSENT: Gary Davis
ALSO PRESENT: First Selectman Patricia Llodra, Finance Director Bob Tait, 5 members of the public and 2 members of the press.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: none
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES of Dec. 16, 2009: Mr. Aurelia moved that the council approve the minutes of the meeting Dec. 16, 2009. Mr. Woycik seconded and the motion was unanimously approved.
COMMUNICATIONS: Chairman Capeci said he had the Board of Education budget summary dated November 30, 2009 and would pass it to Mr. Spragg, Chairman of the Finance Committee.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: Mr. Ferguson, Chairman of the Ordinance Committee, reported that the Ordinance Committee had their first meeting and that their agenda primarily dealt with the language regarding the purchasing regulation. According to Mr. Ferguson, they will meet with the town council, Dave Grogins, at their meeting next week. He noted that the code books were all received and that efforts were going to be made to improve them.
Mr. Spragg, Chairman of the Finance Committee, reported that the Finance Committee met last night, January 5, and noted that he had two items to bring to the council’s attention. The first he said was in regards to the Budget Timetable, indicating that the majority of the committee supports the earlier date. They agreed that would give them more time to consider the comments and agenda. The second item was that the Capital Improvement Plan recommended to the Finance Committee. Mr. Spragg said it looks like the committee would not making any recommendations for changes to the CIP regulations however they are continuing their deliberations on what will give the Legislative Council an administrative guideline for Capital Improvement Projects. As a final note, the committee had two recommendations for the Chairman of
the Legislative Council. The first recommendation would be that the chairman discusses with the Board of Finance Chairman allowing Legislative Council members to ask questions during the final budget deliberations; and the second recommendation is for the chairman to allow Legislative Council members to ask questions during the public hearing on the budgets made by the Board of Finance. According to Mr. Spragg the next meeting of the Finance Committee is January 20, 2010 in the Municipal Meeting Room.
Mr. Woycik asked if those members of Legislative Council attending the hearings would be considered asking questions as a council member or a citizen. Chairman Capeci noted that they would be asking questions on behalf of themselves. Mr. Amaral questioned why if you have heads of the departments there that you couldn’t ask questions when questions come up. Chairman Capeci said he would speak to Chairman of the Board of Finance John Kortze and ask him the question.
FIRST SELECTMAN’S REPORT: Mrs. Llodra told council members she had 2 items: first, she will obtain a real flag to be displayed on the wall in the Municipal Board Room and second, she informed members of the council that the push to talk buttons on the board room microphones were not on timers anymore. To bring the council up to date on the CIP, Mrs. Llodra said she had two documents for their information. First she passed out a six-page document which organized the CIP request by function. The document she said included everything under consideration. The first selectman told the council that under each program title was a small paragraph giving the essentials of the project and the Board of Finance’s recommendation. The second was a two-page document, which list the Board of Finance’s
recommendations by year. Mrs. Llodra noted that each of the five years was represented and the recommendations were in order of their priority. She noted that organizing it in this way helps everyone understand the scope.
For the financial report, Mrs. Llodra had Mr. Tait explain the details after noting that a full review of the operational budget was performed to get on top of the revenues versus expenditures.
Mr. Tait told the council that the 2009/2010 forecast was unique in that the problem that year was declining revenues. To correct the problem, he said they reduced the revenue estimates for this year. However, Mr. Tait noted. The revenues have fallen further.
To highlight the problem, council members were given handouts with a breakdown of the revenue shortfalls for this year.
To take care of the problem, Mr. Tait said they looked at expenditure side, looked at the accounts comparing last year’s activity versus this year’s activity., and tried to identify accounts where there are savings. The biggest savings he added was on the debt service side with a savings of $350,000. Mr. Tait noted that he also made corrections and adjustments with the various department heads. He told the council the total budget amendment was $805,000 on the budget side and to offset that they would reduce $805,000 on the expenditure side. Mr. Tait noted that by reducing the revenue accounts to a good point, they didn’t have to reduce it in next year’s budget.
After a fielding several question from the council regarding the cuts, Mr. Tait told them that the next stop for this budget amendment is the Board of Finance. Several board members complimented Mr. Tait on his explanation of the amendment and complemented both he and Mrs. Llodra on their efforts and the readability of the documents, A few members even recommended that this type outline of the projects be implemented on the board of education side.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
Resolution for Special Appropriation to reimburse the Newtown Youth Academy -
Mrs. Jacob moved to adopt a resolution providing for a special appropriation in the amount of $3,500,000 to reimburse the Newtown Youth Academy for certain costs relative to parking facilities required pursuant to a lease dated September 28, 2007, and as amended on June 26, 2008, and as further amended on December 5, 2008, and as further amended on November 23, 2009 between the town of Newtown as landlord and the Newtown youth academy as tenant. Ms. Andras seconded and after a brief discussion and a unanimous roll call vote the motion was approved.
Mr. LaRocque move to waive the reading of the entire resolution. Mr. Aurelia seconded and the vote was unanimously approved.
The main thrust of the council members concerns regarding the resolution revolved around the fact that this issue had been sitting since 2007 and there were better ways of handling it, especially in the future. However, most of them believe they needed to act on it now or it would cost the Town much more.
Resolution to Authorization, Issuance and Sale of Newtown General Obligation Refunding Bonds -
Mrs. Jacob move to adopt a resolution entitled “Resolution with Respect to the Authorization, Issuance and Sale of Not Exceeding $3,500,000 Town Of Newtown General Obligation Refunding Bonds.” Ms. Andras seconded and a following a brief discussion and a roll call vote the motion was unanimously approved.
Mr. LaRocque move to waive the reading of the entire resolution. Mr. Belden seconded and motion was unanimously carried.
Mr. Tait reemphasized the fact that by taking care of this now the Town would save $1.1 million. He told the council that the town had a rate of 6% over which would cost the town $5.6 million, but by refinancing at 3.65% the bond would cost the Town $4,5 million in 18 years.
Authorize and Direct Board of Selectman to Call Town Meeting on the Resolution regarding Authorization, Issuance and Sale of Newtown General Obligation Refunding Bonds-
Mrs. Jacob move to authorize and direct the Board of Selectmen to call a Special Town Meeting to consider and act upon the resolution entitled “Resolution with Respect to the Authorization, Issuance and Sale of Not Exceeding $3,500,000 Town Of Newtown General Obligation Refunding Bonds.” Ms. Andras seconded and after a brief discussion the motion was unanimously approved.
Mrs. Jacob said it was important to let everyone know how it started and that “we’re” trying to finish it in an open fashion.
Mr. Fitzgerald said he was concerned how public will understand if the money is already spent.
Mrs. Llodra noted it’s problematic that this is an event that has already occurred, but said the Town is trying to create all the opportunities that would have existed had it gone through the proper channels. She concluded saying the original motivation was honest but didn’t involve anyone but those decision makers.
NEW BUSINESS:
Regional Brownfields Transfer -
Mrs. Jacob moved to transfer the sum of $800 from Account 01570-2000 CONTINGENCY FUND to 01280-3000 REGIONAL BROWNFIELDS. Mr. Belden seconded and the vote was unanimously carried.
According to Mr. Tait, this transfer is for annual dues for membership in the Regional Brownfield’s Partnership of West Central, CT (RBP). RBP oversees and conducts a range of assistance activities across a 25-town region for the identification, assessment and remediation of Brownfield’s sites. He noted that in the prior year, these dues were charged to Selectman-Other Non-Recurring Supplies account.
Lake Zoar Authority Transfer -
Mrs. Jacob moved to transfer the sum of $1000 from Account 01570-2000 CONTINGENCY FUND to 01360-0003 LAKE ZOAR AUTHORITY. Mr. LaRocque seconded the motion and after a brief discussion the motion was unanimously
approved.
According to Mr. Tait, the reason for the transfer was that there was a math error made during the 2009 – 2010 budget process. He stated that the Lake Zoar Authority budget amount was $25,425 and $24,425 was mistakenly penciled in.
Budget Timetable –
After some discussion about the budget timetable and what need to take place, and when, the council agreed to hold a public hearing on March 25, 2010 with deliberation dates of April 7, 2010 and April 14, 2010.
Work of previous council’s Communications Subcommittee -
Mrs. Jacob moved to refer the work of previous council’s Communications Subcommittee to the Administration Subcommittee for review and continuation. Mr. LaRocque seconded and the vote was unanimously carried.
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Year Ending June 30, 2009 -
Mrs. Jacob moved to refer the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Year Ending June 30, 2009 to the Finance Subcommittee for review. Mr. Ferguson seconded and after a brief discussion the motion was unanimously approved.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Bob Merola, 22 Ashford Lane, complemented the Board of Selectman on the “excellent format” of their budget meetings. He noted that it was the first time in many years that the board had budget meetings that were easily understood. Mr. Merola added that he was at the Board of Education meeting and said there format was different. To make their budget easier to comprehend he recommended the Board of Education use the same format as the Board of Selectman recently used.
Ann Marie Mitchell, 17 Butterfield, began by commending the director of finance, first selectman and the Legislative Council for their clarity regarding the budget. She said she could hear their desire for transparency and hoped in a year they would still feel the same way.
In regards to the issues surrounding the Housatonic Railroad, Mrs. Mitchell thanked everyone who made it to the Inland Wetlands Commission hearing. She reminded the council that January 13, 2010 is the final hearing and said it’s very important to get to it indicating that the railroad still is not acknowledging the Town’s authority. She concluded by stating that it’s all about keeping the Town’s water clean.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Much to the delight of the council, Chairman Capeci announced that it was Mr. Aurelia’s birthday.
Adding to Mrs. Mitchell’s comments about the Inland Wetlands Commission hearing, Mrs. Llodra said that she fully expects the matter will close on January 13, 2010, but there is a possibility it will be extended.
She said this is critically important, thanked those members of the council who attended and urged them to attend the hearing on January 13, noting that the persons from Hawleyville need to know they’re not alone.
POSSIBLE EXECUTIVE SESSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON LEGAL MATTERS, LAND,
PURCHASES, EMPLOYEE MATTERS: none
ADJOURNMENT: Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9 pm.
Ted Swigart, Clerk
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