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North Stonington Board of Finance
Approved Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, 7 April, 2010
New Town Hall
40 Main St, North Stonington, Ct
- Call to Order: Chairman M. Donahue called the meeting to order at 7:40 PM. Chairman M. Donahue, Vice Chair G. Herbert, E. Pavlovics, E. Bresette, and P Nimirowski were present. Secretary T. Oswald was absent.
- Public Comments and Questions: There were no public comments or questions.
- Tax Collector’s Report: The BOF reviewed the Tax Collector’s report dated 31 March, 2010. The report indicated a Grand Total of taxes paid at $12,361,671.08 and a Grand Total of uncollected taxes at $747,058.28.
- Assessor’s Report: Mr. D. Del Grosso submitted a written report dated 7 April, 2010 which explained the reductions to the Grand List. Of particular note were Grand List reductions due to farm building exemptions (new for this year), granted appeals from the Board of Assessment Appeals, and software errors with Quality Data tax assessment software. The end result is the current Net Taxable Grand List is $620,469,730. The BOF will ask Mr. Del Grosso to appear before the 14 April, 2010 BOF meeting to provide more detail on the current Grand List.
- Department Budget Reviews:
- Highway Department: Mr. S. Holliday briefed the BOF on two trucks slotted for replacement in the BOS 2010/2011 Capital Plan budget. The first is a 1990 Dump Truck which Mr. Holliday indicated broke down during the winter months, has both engine and transmission issues, has close to 200 thousand miles on it, and is generally unreliable. The second truck is a 1996 one ton Foreman’s truck which has approximately 160 thousand miles on it and is proving to be very expensive to maintain.
- Ambulance Association: Mr. B Elias from the North Stonington Ambulance Association (NSAA) briefed the BOF on the Association’s manning and financial condition. The NSAA has 20 staff members who are paid on a per diem basis without benefits. The NSAA has no full time employees. Mr. Elias indicated that the NSAA could face a funding shortfall of between $8,000 and $12,000 this current fiscal year and possibly a $12,000 shortfall in the 2010/2011 budget year. After discussing the NSAA’s budget the BOF recommended that the NSAA meet with the BOS to address these budget concerns.
- Board of Selectmen: First Selectman M. Mullane submitted a status report dated 7 April, 2010 and briefed the BOF on the damage the Town received from the recent flooding. Mr. Mullane also submitted a 30 March, 2010 report showing damage assessment and cost estimates for repairing the damage the Town incurred. This report was completed in conjunction with a FEMA team who helped assess the damage and determine the cost for repairs. The report estimates that $1,688,139 will be needed to address the flood damage in Town. Of that amount the Town could be responsible for approximately 25% or $424,514. Mr. Mullane will continue to work with FEMA to refine these estimates.
- 2010/11 Budget/Budget Spreadsheet:
- Approval of BOF 2010/11 Budget: The discussion the BOF 2010/11 Budget centered on whether to provide funds for OPEB. The BOF decided to defer a decision on its budget until BOF members could gather more information on how OPEB funding and money distribution will work for the Town.
- Revision A Review: The BOF deferred review of Revision A of the 2010/11 Budget until the next scheduled BOF meeting.
- BOE Request for Line Item in Capital Non-Recurring Account. The BOF felt that to properly proceed further with the BOE request to establish a line item in CNR for BOE end of year money, input from the BOS and the Permanent School Building Committee is necessary. Chairman M. Donahue will send an e-mail to the BOS requesting they discuss this matter with BOS and Permanent School Building Committee members and come before the BOF with their recommendations.
- Board of Finance Strategy: No Discussion
- Management Reports/ BOF as Audit Committee/GASB 45 OPEB: No discussion.
- Town Report for June 30, 2009: No report.
- Previous Minutes: Deferred until the 14 April, 2010 meeting.
- Correspondence: Assessor’s Grand List Report dated 7 April, 2010. BOS Flood Damage Status report dated 7 April, 2010 and a Flood Damage Assessment and Cost Estimate report dated 30 March, 2010.
- Future Agenda Items Identification: No future agenda items identified.
- Adjournment: G. Herbert motioned to adjourn at 11:41 PM. The motion was seconded by P. Nimirowski and passed 4-0-0. E. Bresette left early.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mark Donahue Approved: 4-28-10
Chairman
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