TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
WORK SESSION MINUTES
TOWN COUNCIL MONDAY, May 7, 2012
COUNCIL CHAMBERS TIME: 7:00 P.M.
1. Call Meeting to Order
Mayor Delnicki called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Members Present: Mayor Thomas Delnicki
Deputy Mayor Gary Bazzano
Councillor M. Saud Anwar
Councillor Cindy Beaulieu
Councillor Ed Havens
Councillor Kevin McCann
Councillor Cary Prague
Councillor Janice Snyder
Councillor Keith Yagaloff
Also Present: Matthew B. Galligan, Town Manager
3. Public Participation
None
4. Communications
None
5. Town Manager’s Report
Mr. Galligan reported that on May 25, 2012 there will be a dedication of the new gazebo at 5:00 p.m. From Wednesday, May 9th through May 13th Mr. Galligan stated he would be with CIRMA for their annual training and during that time Vanessa Perry will be Acting Town Manager. There are two items on the agenda which is the resolution for the Recreation budget for the Skate Park, the amount was put in for $100,000 and should be $95,000. It talks about the design but it really is in regards to the construction. The Town Council may want to amend those items. The budget amounts that the Public Works under spent that were given to the Council seemed high. Ms. Crucitti went through those figures and it was found that there were transfers included in those amounts.
ITEM:
6. Items for Discussion
A. Public Works Budget
Answering questions from the Council, Mr. Gantick explained that items for equipment for the most part go through Fleet Services, but there are other specialties that a vendor may offer that the Streets Department may need. There are accounts that are set up for different activities and there is a requirement to charge the right account and right division. Open purchase orders are established in order for employees to get items necessary to do their job at local stores.
Mayor Delnicki recessed the Work Session at 7:15 p.m. in order to hold a Public Hearing. The Work Session was reconvened at 7:20 p.m.
Mr. Gantick stated that the Public Works did put in the budget two trucks. One truck is a full size dump truck and the other is a utility truck. These trucks are proposed to be leased for a three year period. The dump truck will replace a truck that has been red lined. The Town took the red lined truck to a vendor and was told that the truck would cost approximately $50,000 to $60,000 to fix and it is a 15 year old vehicle. The vendor quoted the worth of the truck at a price of $5,000. The Council’s policy is to declare that truck as surplus and then the Town will go out to auction with that truck. The Town receives a cost savings on the salt calibrations that are on the truck which covers the cost of these items. If there is too much salt put down on the roads during
storms, it can cause freezing. The Town measures the right amount of salt to be put onto the roads.
Mr. Gantick stated that there was a lot of tree damage after the snow storm in October. Any work related to the storm damage will be provided to FEMA for reimbursement. The Town budgeted $85,000 for tree work because it is the Town’s concern that there are tree’s that have been effected by the storm and has not been noticed by the Town at this time. There would be weakened limbs that could come down in the future. Mr. Reichle came forward and explained that Connecticut Light and Power’s goal is to maintain their electric lines and not necessarily the Town trees. If the Town trees interfere with the electrical lines, they will take care of those limbs. Connecticut Light & Power has been cutting limbs on private property that interfere with the electrical lines. They have chipped up the brush and the Town has been going in and removing the large wood so it will not be a burden on the homeowners. There have been 60-70 work orders for Lutz Tree Service to remove trees that are
on Town property and are not related to the storm.
Councillor Anwar congratulated Mike Gantick as being name a National Public Works Leadership Fellow. That is a great honor for us as a Town.
ITEM:
6. A. (Continued)
Answering further questions from the Council, Mr. Gantick explained that the each day there are more people using the dashboard. The Town is looking to develop a mobile lap on the I-phone on the tablet which will allow the Town to bring that into the field. Other Towns have approached South Windsor that would like to partner with the Town on different items. This could bring financial resources to the Town. There has been a lot of good feedback from resident regarding the dashboard. It is a way that items will not fall through the cracks. It is being looked at to use the dashboard in other ways also. The staffing levels have reduced in the last 25 to 30 years. The Department has tried to work harder and smarter to do different things and have created different ways to do
things. Public Works is always trying to increase the quality of services in Town. There has been some reduction in funding in certain areas. At the Priest Property, Hartford Hospital is building a trail and connecting it to the land trust property but Public Works is not involved in that. The Town has eliminated contracted services for street sweeping and does it with the Town’s sweeper now. There is approximately 400 yards of sand and debris that is picked up as well as liter. As part of the Federal and State storm water Phase II, the Town is required to do best management practices and street sweeping is one of them. The catch basins also need to be cleaned. Sidewalks have been repaired where there have been culverts or drainage issues and where there have been sidewalk damage by contractors. No residents have been charged for any sidewalk repairs. Residents have either fixed their own sidewalks or have hired a
contractor to fix the sidewalks.
Mr. Galligan explained that the amount to be raised by taxes from the calculations from the last grand list is approximately $78,000,000. The proposed tax increase for this budget is a 3.75% which is about $81,659,811. If the maximum tax increase is 1.75% the budget would have to be cut by approximately $1,400,000. A lot of the budget of the Public Works is essential, only 6% to 8% is discretionary. Councillor Yagaloff felt that reorganizing the Department may be beneficial. Mr. Galligan stated that the Town Council could put a reasonable target that the budget could go down to and he would come back to the Town Council to explain the impacts of the cuts. Programs may have to be reviewed for cuts. Mr. Galligan then stated he would show the Council if the budget were cut from 3% down
and show the different impacts. Councillor Yagaloff stated that these suggested cuts are an effort to keep the taxes down for residents. There is hardly any growth in the grand list with the exception of motor vehicles. Without growth in the grand list or good economic development with the increase in utilities and such, there is only the decision to go back to the Departments and say you have to do with less money.
Mayor Delnicki called for a recess at 8:01 p.m. in order to call the Regular Meeting to order. The Work Session reconvened at 8:24 p.m.
ITEM:
6. A. (Continued)
Mr. Galligan explained the encumbrance process to the Town Council. Councillor Beaulieu stated that she has been trying to following dollar amounts through the accounts. Every single item that shows up on the spread sheet as an encumbrance does not necessarily appear in the journal detail remaining. There has been over $100,000 of new encumbered balances post the freeze. Mr. Galligan stated he would review the spread sheets to the accounts and get back to the Council.
Councilor McCann stated he has the same concerns as Councillor Beaulieu and also requested that the Town Manager review the salt usage and project how much would be needed for this budget. Councillor McCann stated the Council would like to save money in order to enhance services in the Town.
Mr. Galligan then explained that at the end the year the Town will have transfers for Council to approve which will balance out all of the accounts before the auditors come in. Any surpluses go back into the fund balance. Mr. Galligan stated that he would review items that were encumbered while the spending freeze was in place. Councillor McCann added that when there is a spending freeze, if funds are necessary for something, it should be discussed with the Town Council.
7. Executive Session
At 9:07 p.m. Deputy Mayor Bazzano made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss pending claims and litigation (Hi-G property). Councillor McCann seconded the motion; and it was approved, unanimously.
Those who went into Executive Session are as follows: Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan, Mr. Jan Exman, Mayor Delnicki, Deputy Mayor Bazzano, Councillors Anwar, Beaulieu, Havens, McCann, Prague, Snyder and Yagaloff.
At 9:45 p.m. Councillor Anwar made a motion to adjourn the Executive Session. Deputy Mayor Bazzano seconded the motion; and it was approved, unanimously.
8. Adjournment
At 9:45 p.m. Councillor Yagaloff made a motion to adjourn the Work Session. Cuoncillor Snyder seconded the motion and it was approved, unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Deborah W. Reid
Recording Secretary
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