TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
MINUTES
TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION
COUNCIL CHAMBERS MARCH 21, 2005
SOUTH WINDSOR TOWN HALL 7:00 P.M.
1. Call Meeting to Order
Mayor Havens called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Members Present: Councillor Roseann Williams
Councillor Elizabeth Pendleton
Councillor Judith Paquin
Councillor Deborah Fine
Deputy Mayor John P. Pelkey
Mayor Edward Havens
Councillor Thomas Delnicki
Councillor Cary Prague
Councillor Matthew Streeter
Also Present: Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan
Town Attorney Barry D. Guliano
Public Participation - None
Communications - None
Town Manager’s Report – Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan stated that he would be presenting the budget.
Items for Discussion
A. Presentation of General Government Budget, Tax Rate, and Capital Plan (Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan to present)
Town Manager Galligan said that it is that time of year again where they get to sit down and figure out the Town’s financial plan for the fiscal year 2005/2006. He said that this year was a little difficult for him because a lot of the department head’s requests that came in had tremendous justification. The total department head request was $29,483,000.00. It was approximately a difference of $2.8 million over last year’s request, which would have been about a
6. A. (Continued)
10.5% budget increase if he had left it at that. When he started going through it and looking at the justifications and how the Town has grown, there was a lot of merit to a lot of department head’s requests and how they wanted to keep the level of service either at a certain level or better based upon requests from Little League, the public, Police, Fire, and all sorts of Public Works requests that go on. A lot of times, those can’t be done because of money. Knowing that a 10.5% is not going to fly, and everything can’t be done at once, Town Manager Galligan had to cut about $1.2 million out of this budget.
Town Manager Galligan said that CRA, which is the Town’s trash recovery system, had no increase in tip fees this year. Usually, there would be a yearly increase of 10% or 15%.
At this point, every budget has major drivers that are affecting the costs. Town Manager Galligan presented a slide show, which is attached as Exhibit A. He explained that Department Operations is $600,468.00, which represents about a 2.25% increase in the budget. The total budget increase is 5.98%.
Town Manager Galligan said that they will discuss Capital Projects another night, but he thanked the Capital Projects Committee because they meet every month and review projects, and they work very hard. Included in Exhibit A is a list of projects that they think need to get done. The Board of Education and the Town sit together and sets the priorities for the entire Town, which helps keep all of our facilities and buildings up the way they should be. Town Manager Galligan said that the Capital Projects Program has been a very good and successful program.
Regarding the Capital Projects list, Town Manager Galligan said that it does not say Committee Adjusted yet because he had to get the budget done before the Committee met Wednesday, March 16th. The Committee did pass resolutions adopting this, so that line item will be moved over.
Town Manager Galligan pointed out that one of the items on the Agenda this evening is to approve a Self-Insurance Fund. He wanted the community to realize that although there is a Committee that is going on with shared services, shared services has been going on in Town for a number of years in different areas. People should
6. A. (Continued)
understand that when there is a Self-Insurance Fund, about 250 employees are needed. The Town only has about 170 full-time employees. He said that he met with the Superintendent about 2 years ago and analyzed this.
If it wasn’t for the Board of Education and Dr. Wood stepping up to join the Self-Insurance Fund, the Town wouldn’t be able to have those savings today. In all their efforts with shared services, they have worked very hard, and there is a savings of $1.6 million. This is a major amount of money and a big step in the right direction as far as working together and trying to get things done for the betterment of the community.
Town Manager Galligan said that the Board has submitted their budget to him. The Town budget will be approximately about $81 million. Between the Boards budget and his budget, it will mean about a 7.69% increase in budget. How that affects the taxes has to be looked at. The revenues have been very strong, there was about a $62 million increase in taxable assessments. About $22 million was from Evergreen Walk and the rest came from the Economic Development Programs. All of those abatements that have now come off produced for the Town a $1.9 million increase in revenues that came into the budget this year. Based upon that, attached is the new Taxable Grand List, which is included in Exhibit A.
Town Manager Galligan explained that the new proposed Mill Rate is 32.80, which is a 5.02% increase in taxes. He said that by looking at prior budgets, if there was a 7 or 8% budget increase, usually there would be a 7 or 8% increase in taxes. This year there is a 7.6% budget increase, but a 5.02% tax increase. He said that there is still progress going on and that the Town has only been able to capture some of the new developments as of October 1st, and Evergreen opened up October 31st, so there is still more to capture there. He also named a variety of new developments that are or will be on Buckland Road, which he said the Town will be able to capture for the following year.
Town Manager Galligan brought building permits to everyone’s attention. From 1970 to 2000, the number of dwelling units increased by 121.2%, as demonstrated in Exhibit A. This increase is
6. A. (Continued)
what pushes the budget. It shows that population, roads, and services increase.
Residential does not really pay for itself; it puts tremendous pressure on the budget and expense side, for example, the cost for educating a child. It is the commercial side that brings the new revenues in to bring the pressures down on the budget, which is also demonstrated in Exhibit A.
Town Manager Galligan explained the Labor Statistics Report in regard to inflation as compared to the budget. The overall inflation rate as of January is at 3%. He wanted everyone to be aware that the same inflation rate that is affecting the community is also affecting the Town.
Snow removal was put at the same as last year. This year there was over $375,000.00 and the Town went over that by $162,000.00. These are the kinds of items that will be discussed in the future. Other information will also be brought to the Council, such as benchmarking.
The budget will be discussed in more detail at a future Public Hearing. What the Town Manager discussed tonight was a brief overview to present the budget to the Council.
Town Manager Galligan also stated that three new positions in Public Works were put into the budget, two in Parks Services to start July 1st and one in the Street Services to start in January. He explained that Public Works has many demands to meet and that these positions are needed to do that. Those three positions are the only new positions put into the budget.
Councillor Thomas Delnicki and Councillor Roseann Williams asked the Town Manager questions, in which he answered. (Microphones were not turned on, which made voices inaudible.)
B. Presentation of Board of Education Budget (Chairman of the Board of Education Robert O’Connor to present)
Mr. Robert O’Connor thanked everyone for allowing him to present on behalf of the South Windsor Public School System, their 2005/2006 Budget for the Council’s thoughtful consideration.
He also thanked Town Manager Galligan for the work that he has done on shared services.
Mr. O’Connor stated that public education remains one of the most important challenges of our lives. Proper funding of that education is at the heart of that challenge. He stressed that it takes all members of the community, both elected and non-elected to help maintain quality. Some of the decisions made by policy makers and boards, he feels the community also has to have a voice in those decisions.
Last week Mr. O’Connor attended a mentors breakfast. He feels that the program is a model of success for the Town. It is developing citizens who are going to be successful and pay the Town back. When families move in, the Town is not going to get their pay back immediately; it is a long-term thing. He is hoping that the mentor breakfast will act as a model for the way the Board of Education and the Town Council connects to work together.
Mr. O’Connor gave a summary of the letter of transmittal that the Board of Education sends to the Town Council. The Superintendent was authorized to present the budget in two parts; one the Foundation Budget, and the second the Unfunded Needs Budget. The Foundation Budget contained requests for money to support what the school system is currently doing. The Unfunded Needs Budget contained, among other things, requests for staff and programs necessary to provide modest enhancements to their structural system. Those two parts total $54, 209,966.00.
Mr. O’Connor said that the budget is guided by the Board of Education and also with help from others. One being, PTO Liaisons, which offer a voice for all of the parents in the schools they belong in. They are able to give input, both good and bad. They have also featured a Public Forum specifically on the budget.
The Board did reduce the Superintendent’s Budget by $740,880.00. On behalf of the Board of Education, Mr. O’Connor recommended
6. B. (Continued)
that the Council consider a budget of $53,469,068.00, which represents an 8.62% increase over the current fiscal year. They believe that this budget is sound and will support the quality of education programs and services that the Town expects for its schools.
The Board hopes to have the opportunity to meet with the Town Council and be able to provide information to support the reasons that they feel this is a true need. He feels that this budget is a very politically sustainable budget and it affords the opportunity for the Town to affirm the importance of the Town’s strong school system in continuing South Windsor’s well-deserved reputation as a desirable place to live and prosper.
They recognize that this is a significant increase, but at the same time they believe that it is important to support the budget in order to maintain the level of quality that will result in additional reductions.
Mr. O’Connor presented a PowerPoint presentation that highlighted some of the items in the budget. The presentation is attached as Exhibit B.
Mayor Havens asked if there were any questions.
Executive Session – To discuss pending claims and litigation and possible purchase of real estate for the Town which would result in disclosure of public records or information contained therein which is exempt from disclosure at this time pursuant to C.G.S. Section 1-210(b)(1) and Section 1-210(b)(5)(B).
The Executive Session was held after the regular meeting.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Vanessa Perry
Assistant to the Clerk of the Council
Attmts.: (Exhibits A and B)
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