ADMINSTRATION COMMITTEE
OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
March 22, 2011 Meeting
The Administration Committee of the Legislative Council held a meeting on Tuesday, March 22, 2011, in the Council Chambers in the Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
Present: Chair Gary Davis, Mary Ann Jacob, Jan Andras, George Ferguson
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No one spoke during public participation.
COMMITTEE MINUTES
The Committee minutes from the meeting on December 2, 2010, were approved unanimously. Mr. Ferguson moved approval of the minutes and the motion was seconded by Mrs. Jacob.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The Committee reviewed the progress it had made to date to achieve its objectives:
Long-Range Planning: The Committee agreed this objective had been achieved with completion of its recommendations to the Council for possible modifications to the format of the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) and to the process of implementing the plan.
Communications Using Digital Media: It was noted that significant progress had been made with improvements to the town website and more effort being made by local officials to communicate with the public. The Committee reserved judgment as to what additional activities to undertake in this area.
Enhanced Grant Writing: The Committee agreed that it would address this objective during the summer.
Mr. Davis noted that the objectives for the 2011-2012 Budget Discussion and the Review of Council Regulations were the focus of this evening’s meeting.
2011-2012 Budget Discussion: The Committee discussed the best way to review the proposed 2011-2012 budget. Mr. Davis suggested following a format similar to how the Committee reviewed the previous budget. After the discussion, the following areas were assigned: Mr. Davis was assigned review of the budgets for the town clerk’s office and economic development; Mrs. Andras was assigned the budgets for all other town departments; Mrs. Jacob was assigned budgets for donations to non-profit organizations, the C.H. Booth Library and Edmond Town Hall; and Mr. Ferguson was assigned the budget for the Fairfield Hills Authority. The Committee agreed to meet on Thursday, March 31, to finalize a recommendation of its budget reviews to be provided to the Finance Committee before that
Committee’s meeting on April 5. The Committee determined that it did need to have specific department heads attend its next meeting. Mr. Davis said that if Committee members wished to speak to people in their assigned areas, they should email Mr. Capeci with a copy to Mr. Davis to let him know whom they were contacting.
The Committee then discussed how it would proceed with a review of Legislative Council recommendations. The Committee agreed to the suggestion by Mr. Davis that committee members note their ideas and comments for changes within the word document he had distributed of the current Council regulations and the draft guidelines entitled, “Procedure when Communicating with Others and Identifying Oneself as a Member of the Council,” that LC Chair Capeci had provided in December 2010 for the Committee’s review. Each Committee member was to provide this information to Mr. Davis, who would organize it into a document for the Committee to review at a Committee meeting in April. Mr. Davis said he would like to finalize the Committee recommendations in May.
The Committee agreed on the following schedule for future meetings:
Thursday, March 31, to finalize budget recommendations
Wednesday, April 20, to discuss changes to Legislative Council regulations
Wednesday, May 18, to finalize recommended changes to Legislative Council regulations
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No one spoke during public participation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Mrs. Jacob moved that the meeting be adjourned, and Mrs. Andras seconded to motion. The vote was unanimous.
Submitted by:
Gary Davis
* Minutes are not finalized until approved at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
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