FINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE
OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
January 5, 2010 Meeting
Present: Chairman Ben Spragg, Dan Amaral, Gary Davis, Kevin Fitzgerald, Chris LaRocque,
Jan Andras
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. No members of the public were present.
NEW BUSINESS
Budget Timetable – The Legislative Council Public Hearing on the budget is tentatively scheduled for March 24, 2010. It was decided to recommend that the public hearing be held on March 17, 2010 in order to give more time to consider comments heard before making decisions. Mr. Davis also suggests that the Council members be allowed to ask questions at the public hearing.
CIP Regulations – Mr. Davis took the 21 recommendations that were prepared by former Council member Po Murray and himself and divided them into three groups – those that are already being done, those that can be implemented without changing the CIP Regulations and those that would require a change in the Regulations.
All were in agreement with the four recommendations that are “already being done”. There was a lengthy discussion of the remaining recommendations as noted on the attached. Instead of changing the CIP regulations, the commit will recommend codifying what the Council should be doing, appending this to the Legislative Council CIP Retgulations. These will be further discussed at the next meeting before a recommendation is submitted from this committee to the full Council.
Next Meeting - Mr. Spragg advised that the next subcommittee meeting will be held on January 20 at 7:00 pm at which the auditors will be present.
Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Jan Andras
CIP Recommendations
Already Being Done: (all agreed with these)
- Legislative Council should receive copies of information submitted to the Board of Finance at the start of the CIP process.
- All CIP requests submitted by the Board of Selectmen and Board of Education should have detailed back-up information presented in a consistent manner.
- Council members should be allowed to ask questions at the Board of Finance presentations made by the board of Ed and the Board of Selectmen. If the Board of Finance feels this would be intrusive to its process, a separate presentation could be made to the council so it can ask questions when the initial presentations are made. Council members should be allowed to submit questions in writing to the chair of the Board of Finance during the CIP review so that they can be answered as part of the ongoing BOF review.
16. CIP requests should include an Estimated Effect of Project on Operating Budget.
Can Be Implemented Without Changing CIP Regulations:
- A member of the Finance Subcommittee should attend each Board of Finance CIP meeting to report back on progress to the Council.
The Board of Finance should represent its recommendation to the Council, and department heads should be present if they wish to make a case as to why they agree or disagree with the BOF recommendations. Ms. Andras pointed out that this is allowing town employees to go over their supervisor’s heads.
- Following approval of the CIP by the Council, updates should be provided every two months by the First Selectman and Newtown School District Superintendent on the progress being made on the capital projects that are expected to be funded within 12 months of the CIP approval.
- Prior to the Finance Director going before the Board of Finance to organize the bond issue to fund the approved capital projects in the CIP, the Council should be briefed on the plans for bonding. At this point, the Council should have the option to advise which projects it would like to be kept as separate bonding resolutions as the Council may feel these projects may require additional discussion prior to the Council taking action on approving issuance of bonding for these projects. Ask Finance Director to have separate resolutions prepared for each project proposed for bonding.
-
The Finance Director works with the Board of Finance on the bonding package, keeping in mind the direction from the Council. The Board of Finance and Finance Director bring the bonding resolutions to the Council for vote. This provides the Council the option to decide if it wants to bond certain projects based on the progress made on those projects.
11. Appropriate studies and written cost estimates should be provided prior to the Council approving CIP requests for bonding to ensure voters are voting on the best information possible. Mr. Spragg suggests that large projects must go through the bid stage before being presented for funding , as was past practice – until the recent high school project.
13. Continuously post the CIP information on the town website throughout the CIP deliberations. This includes providing the voters with more detailed information on the bonding appropriation for a special town meeting or a town referendum. Provide the tax implication of a project so that voters understand the impact on their property taxes.
14. Provide quarterly update on the status of the CIP projects already approved for funding.
15. Track capital projects from the original date of request to completion date. Add ORIGINAL DATE OF REQUEST on the CIP Request Forms.
17. Provide the Board of Finance and the Legislative council with a final financial report after a capital project is completed. This should include information on cost savings, cost overruns and in-kind services provided by town and school departments. (will revisit at next subcommittee meeting)
20. Clearly define the difference between a capital expenditure for maintaining and replacing vs. capital expenditure to add or expand the capital asset of the town. The latter should automatically be considered in the long-term planning process to maximize the tax dollars being spent.
19. Create a methodology for town agencies to perform a return on investment analysis to be included in the CIP requests. (will revisit at next subcommittee meeting)
21. Establish an integrated strategic long-range plan. (require further discussion)
Would Require Changes In CIP Regulations
- The CIP process should be extended from five to ten years. This provides for a longer-term outlook for capital spending. (this will be revisited)
- No costs should be allowed in first or second year of the five-year CIP if they have not been submitted previously, unless they are emergency costs that could not be foreseen.
18. Consider approving the first year projects in the CIP at the time of appropriations. The projects should be fully vetted with solid cost estimates prepared so that the town is ready to seek voter approval for the bonding appropriation.
| 
