Minutes of the Board of Finance meeting held on Tuesday, December 17, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall, Old Lyme, CT
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~Present:~~~~~~~~ Regular Members:~Andrew Russell, H. P. Garvin, III, Christopher Kerr,
Janet Sturges, David Woolley
Alternate Members:~ Bennett Bernblum, Robert Jose, David Kelsey
Bonnie A. Reemsnyder, Ex-Officio
Nicole Stadjuhar, Finance Director
Mary Jo Nosal, Selectwoman
Absent:~~~~~~~~~~~Regular Members:~Wayne Devoe
Alternate Members:~
Guests: Ron Nossek, Cohn Reznick
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Mr. Russell called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. One regular member is missing this evening, a motion was made by Mrs. Sturges, seconded by Mr. Woolley to have Mr. Kelsey vote for Mr. Devoe in his absence. Motion carried.
Election of Chair
Mr. Russell stated that the first item of business is to elect a chair.
A motion was made by Woolley, seconded by Mr. Kerr to have Mr. Russell continue to serve as chairman of the Board of Finance until December 31, 2014. Motion carried.
Town Auditors – Cohn Reznick
Mr. Nossek highlighted the Annual Financial Report for year ended June 30, 2013. He stated that the assets of the town is $7,279,235 and total liabilities, deferred inflows of resources and fund balances were $7,279,235. Within the State of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances, total revenues in General is $33,184,285, total expenditures is $32,446,939. He stated that the excess (deficiency) of revenues over expenditures is $737,346 and the net change in fund balance was $552,865. Mr. Nossek reviewed the Tax Collector’s schedule stating that October 1st 2011 is levied in July 1, 2012 and 98.6% was collected in the current year.
There were two items of corrections; the first being a bartering transaction that took place without proper documentation, and, two; when a department or area, such as Capital Outlay, has more than one request then the second request has to go before a Town Meeting. In order to avoid excessive Town Meetings for each request, Capital Outlay could be broken up and put within each department.
Board of Finance Meeting December 17, 2013
Minutes of Meeting of November 19, 2013
The minutes of November 19th were reviewed. One page 1, under approval of minutes, delete the word “other” and “as modified” from the motion. On page 2, under Senior Center, last sentence it should read that the Director and releases “its” tax… On page 3, under White Sand Beach Request, there was a typographical error noted to change the word “bums” to “bumps” as “they” cause damage to the town trucks.
There being no other corrections noted, a motion was made by Mrs. Struges, seconded by Mr. Kelsey to approve the minutes as modified. Motion carried.
Review of Monthly Financial Reports
Mrs. Stajduhar highlighted the November 2013 Financial Report notes for the Revenues stating the total tax collections for property taxes were $309,000 with 55% collected year to date. Other Revenue included Education Equalization Grant partial payment of $151,000, FEMA reimbursement Grant of $55,000 that was not budgeted, and the Police DUI reimbursement Grant for $18,000. State of CT STEAP reimbursement received $121,002 (total grant of $229,750 received in full) for the Rogers Lake Dam Improvement Fund.
The Expenditures discussed included the Treasurer Contracted Services Auditor’s progress payment $8,000., Assessor’s Contracted Services paid for Vision Appraisal for annual hosting of property records on line, etc. Under Capital Expenditures – Info. Tech, (IT) New Server, $8,000 to order the new server (Charlie Delinks still needs to install, set up, etc). Rogers Lake Dam Improvement Fund paid $4,575 to Nathan Jacobson. Mrs. Stajduhar reported a potential insurance claim due to damage that a sander received as well as damage to one of the plow trucks during the recent snowstorm. The truck insurance will be consulted and an estimate was received for $13,000.
Mr. Kerr stated that Mr. Adanti has requested to purchase a small tractor that would be able to do the sidewalks and smaller area jobs. The tractor cost is $20,259.99 and has a sander option (for an additional $1,500) that can hook onto the utility tractor to distribute sand rather than manually spreading sand by hand. It was noted that the tractor can be used in the summer cleaning beaches and beach walkways with various additions that can be purchased. A discussion ensured and it was suggested that Mr. Adanti add the request to his 2014/15 budget. There was a discussion on the town cleaning and sanding all the town’s sidewalks versus having a private contractor to perform this function. An ordinance stating property owners shovel the walkways in front of their property be
investigated and considered.
Old Business
Nothing to report
Board of Finance Meeting December 17, 2013
New Business
Landfill Closure Fund: Mrs. Stajduhar requested to move this discussion until next month because she is awaiting information pertaining to this fund.
Beach Stipend: Mr. Woolley explained the Beach Association’s request stating that Old Lyme Beach stipend requests an increase in the annual stipends that have been funded to them since the 1920s. Isolated increases have been tendered largely to the damage from recent storms. He stated that funds awarded in recent years have not shown increases to equate rising maintenance costs that the beaches experience. The beaches receive a total of $101,300 and the newly requested amount is $152,200. There was extensive discussion on Beach Association stipends and it was decided to revisit during the budget season.
Selectman’s Report
Mrs. Reemsnyder stated that a first meeting was held on December 11 with the Rogers Lake Weeds Committee and was very positive. They are hoping to post an RFQ by the beginning of January with a return date of the first week in February. The Selectmen will review the RFQ before it is posted in January. The RFQ will be looking for a firm that will provide various options to control the weeds at Rogers Lake. .
Mrs. Reemsnyder reported that a Bulky Waste Operator was hired to replace Vincent Doughty that retired on November 30th with over 20 years of service with the town. There were many good applications received and six individuals were interviewed. Town resident, Jamie Curley, was hired for the position and has begun working last week.
Mrs. Reemsnyder stated that a search committee has been formed and has begun their work on finding a replacement for Zoning Enforcement Officer, Ann Brown. Mrs. Reemsnyder said that Mrs. Brown is retiring in January and is willing to stay on during the transition period. A classified ad will be placed in the local paper, as well as on line shortly and interviews will follow soon after.
Mrs. Reemsnyder reported that several applications were received to serve on the Boathouse and Hains Park Improvement Committee. The STEAP grant of $478,000 is secured towards improvements of Hains Park and the boat house at Hains Park.
Mr. Russell stated that the next Board of Finance meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Meeting Hall.
A motion was then made by Mrs. Sturges, seconded by Mr. Kerr to adjourn the meeting at 9:25 p.m. Motion carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michele E. Hayes
Secretary
Michele E. Hayes
Office Manager & Payroll Administrator
Selectman's Office
Town of Old Lyme
52 Lyme Street
Old Lyme, CT 06371
tel. 860.434.1605, x-212
fax. 434.1400
M-F, 9-4pm
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