SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Thursday, August 31, 2017
3:30 P.m.
Town Hall – First Floor Conference Room
PRESENT: First Selectman Carl P. Fortuna Jr., Selectman Carol Conklin, Selectman Scott Giegerich, Finance Director Lee Ann Palladino and Facilities Director Dan Moran.
I. CALL TO ORDER- First Selectman Fortuna called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE- Recited
III. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC- None
IV. COMMENTS FROM THE FIRST SELECTMAN: 1. A memo will be sent to all Department heads about making sure what goes out to the public is grammatically correct. 2. Youth & Family Services project, specifically thanking Dan Moran and Larry Bonin; the Main Street park project which is going well and the North Main Street project which is on time and on budget 3. The Town will be spearheading a community effort to assist Texas in recovering from Hurricane Harvey. The Chief of Police will see to this. 4. Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) held a meeting at the capitol to discuss the proposed cuts to municipal aid, and the continuing talk of town’s funding the teachers’ retirement. Also noted the Democratic House proposal has a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
component for police officers, something almost unanimously opposed by all towns. Survey results by CCM show many towns cutting back or postponing work. He then spoke about Office of Policy & Management (OPM) Director Barne's two letters discussing town fund balances. Director Barnes says the request was made to determine which towns would face insolvency first if a protracted budget debate went late into the fall. Old Saybrook would face a $42 per household charge under the Governor’s proposal, the 6th least in the state. The First Selectman commented that Old Saybrook is in its finest fiscal condition since a very long time, with a healthy surplus last year helping the town reach a goal of a 12% rainy day fund. This has been due to conservative budgeting and good long term fiscal planning. 5. The extensive mandates that all towns operate under and one of them requires public waste baskets to be able to have waste and recycle bins side by side.
V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Board of Selectmen Meeting August 8, 2017.
FORTUNA/CONKLIN
Motion to approve Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes August 8, 2017.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
VI. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD
A. Discussion and action of the ratification of the Supervisors Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The First Selectman hit the highlights of the agreement: an average 2.35% raise, increase High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) deductibles and a defined contribution plan.
FORTUNA/GIEGERICH
Motion to approve Supervisors Collective Bargaining Agreement.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
B. Discussion and action of the GASB/Fund Policy Balance.
See attachment. The Finance Director talked about GASB 54 and its goal make financial reporting uniform, to define policy and to codify existing practices. In conjunction with this discussion, the Finance Director discussed the financial results of the 2016-2017 FY as touched upon by the First Selectman.
FORTUNA/CONKLIN
Motion to approve GASB/Fund Policy Balance.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
C. Discussion and action for recommendation to the Zoning Commission pertaining to Public Act No. 17-155 An Act Concerning Temporary Health Care Structures.
Discussion was had about the procedure to opt out of this public act that was passed this past session (See attached). The Board voted to send a recommendation to the Zoning Commission to take the appropriate steps as laid out in the Act to opt out. This will then come back to the Board of Selectmen to formally take action to opt out.
VII. COMMENTS FROM THE SELECTMEN-The schedule for the month of September was discussed.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
FORTUNA/GIEGERICH
Motion to adjourn at 4:45 p.m.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Respectfully submitted,
Carl P. Fortuna Jr.
First Selectman
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