North Stonington, CT
Board of Finance
Minutes of Regular Meeting
December 5, 2007
North Stonington Town Hall
1. Call to Order: Vice Chairman L. Southwick called the meeting to order
at 8:00 PM; Secretary B.
Woodward and members E. Pavlovics, M. Donahue and G. Herbert were
present.
2. Public Comments and Questions: B. Woodward announced he would be
resigning from the Board
effective December 6, 2007 due to schedule conflicts after rejoining his
former employer as a
consultant.
3. Previous Minutes: G. Herbert made a motion to approve the minutes of
the regular meeting of
November 21, 2007 as written. L. Southwick seconded the motion, which
carried 5-0-0.
4. Presentation of 6-30-07 Audit by Marcia Marien & Co.: M. Marien,
representing the Town's
auditing firm of Marien + Company, gave a detailed Power Point
presentation of the June 30, 2007
audit findings. She also provided the Board a draft copy of the audit,
management letter and a CCM
white paper "Provisions of Non-Pension Post Employment Benefits By
Connecticut Municipalities."
The white paper and the presentation addressed the new Government
Accounting Standards Board
(GASB) statements numbers 43 and 45 and how they may affect the Town's
approach to paying post
employment benefits.
5. Management Reports/Board of Finance as Audit Committee: A motion was
made by E.
Pavlovics for the Board of Finance to approve one of its members to fill
the role of liaison to the
BOS, BOE and auditor for the purpose of establishing the Board as the
audit committee. The motion
was seconded by M. Donahue and carried 5-0-0.
A motion was made by E. Pavlovics to appoint G. Herbert as the audit
committee liaison. The
motion was seconded by M. Donahue and carried 5-0-0.
6. Tax Collector's Report: Tabled
A motion was made by E. Pavlovics to move agenda item 10 to item 6A. The
motion was seconded
by G. Herbert and carried 5-0-0.
6A. Planning and Zoning Consulting Added Appropriation Request: C.
Grimord, Town senior
planner and zoning official, requested the Board to appropriate $20,000
to continue ongoing work
the Commission is currently involved with. This money was spent on
consulting fees associated with
the affordable housing application that the applicant is delinquent in
paying.
A motion was made by G. Herbert to approve an additional appropriate
of$20,000 for consulting
services, line item B11.06. The motion was seconded by B. Woodward and
carried 5-0-0.
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C. Grimord was requested to advise the Board of how the $20,000 will be
spent if the money is
received from the applicant.
7. BOE: Review of Financial Statements: Actual vs. Budget: The financial
statement dated
October 31, 2007, which included budget transfers was reviewed.
8. BOS: Review of Financial Statements; Actual vs. Budget: The General
Fund financial report
through November 2007 was reviewed. First Selectman M. Mullane noted
that energy costs for the
senior center and Town diesel/gas usage are running above what was
planned.
9. Selectman's Salary Survey: M. Donahue provided Selectman S. Murphy a
copy of salaries for
other similar towns. No further action on this item is required.
10. See item 6A above.
11. DUI State Troopers Grant Added Appropriation Request: A motion was
made by L. Southwick
recommending approval of an additional appropriation of $53,850 for
state troopers, line item BB
26.04. The motion was seconded by G. Herbert and carried 4-1-0 subject
to being approved at a
Town meeting. E. Pavlovics disapproved.
12. Civil Preparedness Computer Grant Added Appropriation Request: A
motion was made by M.
Donahue to approve an additional appropriation of $2,364 for civil
preparedness capital, line item
CC 3.32. The motion was seconded by G. Herbert and carried 5-0-0.
13. FY 08 Budget Guidance for BOE and BOS. (Need for BOE Liaison): To
develop and maintain a
direct line of communication, between the BOE and its finance sub
committee, a BOF liaison was
thought to be useful.
A motion was made by G. Herbert for the Board to approve one of its
members to fill the role of
liaison to the BOE and its finance sub committee. The motion was
seconded by M. Donahue and
carried 5-0-0.
A motion was made by E. Pavlovics to appoint M. Donahue as the liaison.
The motion was
seconded by M. Donahue and carried 5-0-0.
14. Board of Finance Officer Elections. Candidates for BOF Vacancy: To
expedite filling the two
open positions on the Board, advertising in the local paper was
discussed as a means of obtaining
candidates.
A motion was made by E. Pavlovics authoring M. Donahue to expend
funding, as needed, to
advertise the two open positions on the Board. B. Woodward seconded the
motion, which carried 5-
0-0.
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15. Correspondence:
* 2008 Budget Preparation Calendar
* North Stonington Board of Finance Calendar of Events
16. Town Report Status 6-30-07: Ten of 26 inputs have been received. B.
Woodward agreed to
complete the annual report, which he had started.
17. Executive Session - Teacher's Contract Status: A motion was made by
G. Herbert to go into
executive session regarding contract negotiations. The motion was
seconded by M. Donahue and
carried 5-0-0.
L. Southwick briefed the Board on the current status. The session ended
at 1:05 AM on December
6, 2007.
18. Review of Upcoming Agenda Items: Review status of obtaining Board
candidates.
19. Outstanding action items:
Description of Action Action By Estimated
Completion
Date
Actual Completion
Date
Recommend improvements to Town's Financial
Reporting System
BOF 9/19/07
Complete inquiries of audit committee about
fraud risks
BOF 9/19/07
Perform Selectman salary survey BOS TBD 11/21/07
20. Adjournment: A motion to adjourn was made by L. Southwick and
seconded by G. Herbert. The
motion carried 5-0-0 and the meeting was adjourned at 1:07 PM on
December 6, 2007.
Respectfully Submitted,
for
Brent Woodward
Secretary
Board of Finance Approved_______1-2-08___________
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