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Town Council Work Session Minutes 2/4/2013
TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
WORK SESSION MINUTES

TOWN COUNCIL                                                   MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2013
COUNCIL CHAMBERS                                                                   TIME:  7:00 P.M.


1.      Call Meeting to Order

Mayor Delnicki called the meeting to order at 7:00 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

Mr. Donald Dubiel, 608 Governors Highway came before the Town Council.  Mr. Dubiel explained that the Town Assessor would not supply him with an adequate answer why his assessment rose.  The land value was increased by a certain value and he feels that if his went up, everyone’s should have gone up the same percentage because land is land.

Mayo Delnicki requested that the Town Manager review this situation.

Ms. Mary Sullivan, 102 Wyndemere Court came before the Town Council to discuss athletic fields that are being proposed near the Wyndemere Court complex.  Ms. Sullivan explained that the Athletic Fields Subcommittee is acting as if this development is a sure thing.  Wyndemere Court will be completely surrounded by fields and there is a concern of people walking through the complex making residents extremely vulnerable.  Wyndemere court residents have not been notified of this proposal and the subcommittee has gone too far without reaching out to the community.  The subcommittee also wants to finance this proposal by using a 63-20 Corporation which would avoid any public input.  The Town presently has other priorities that should take precedence over athletic fields.

Mr. Dubiel, 608 Governors Highway came forward again and stated that any time the Town is going to spend funds on certain projects, a referendum should be held so the public can decide on each project.  The Charter should be changed to support this request.  Mr. Dubiel then questioned how much the developers of Connecticut Studios have spent.






ITEM:

4.      Communications

Deputy Mayor Bazzano announced that the South Windsor High School will be holding the first Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on March 2, 2013 with a reception beginning at 5:00 p.m. and dinner to follow at Maneeley’s Banquets, Catering & Conferences.  Deputy Mayor Bazzano read through the individuals who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Anyone interested in purchasing tickets should call Ann Albert at (860) 648-5015 extension 153 between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday or Jill Kolinsky at (860) 6484-1224.  Tickets may also be purchased at the South Windsor High School Office, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  There is additional information provided on the website at southwindsorschools.org/highschool50thanniversarynews and click on the Hall of Fame link.  Tickets are $35.00.
5.      Town Manager’s Report

Mr. Galligan reported on the following:

  • The Town Council received a sheet that came from CRCOG that lists benefits of being a member of CRCOG such as road improvement projects that South Windsor has received in the past, regional cooperation on the canine facility as well as homeland security issues.
  • The Audit Committee met and a discussion regarding the audit will be held at a future meeting.
  • He would be taking vacation from February 18, 2013 to February 22, 2013.
  • A Special Town Council meeting will be held on February 25, 2013 where Attorney David Panico will be present to explain how a 63-20 Corporation works.  Mr. Galligan requested that Council members submit questions in advance.
  • A meeting was held regarding the Civil Preparedness Ordinance.  Chief Reed and Chief Cooney had some good recommendations regarding that Ordinance.
Mr. Galligan explained that is it felt there should be a part time employee who would be a Coordinator for Civil Preparedness.  There is a gentleman in Town who is willing to help the Town draft an Ordinance.

Mayor Delnicki stated that he feels everything has been run nicely during storms but it would be nice to have one person making sure everything is done properly.

Councillor Anwar stated that there is a broader need and the ability to have someone dedicating at least 20 hours per week to the community would help to make sure existing personnel are not stretched further.  The Ordinance on the agenda tonight should be reworked to address recommendations of Chief Reed and Chief Cooney.

ITEM:

5.      Town Manager’s Report (Continued)

Councillor McCann felt that it would be a good idea to think about if the Town wants to add another person to Town staff that would work 20 hours per week for an event that may happen once a year or once every five years.  Councilor McCann then brought to the Councils attention that he witnessed over the weekend two ambulances attending to one call.  This seems to be a waist of resources and should be addressed.  It is hopeful that the Town is moving forward with the RFP for paramedic services in Town.

Mr. Galligan explained that the RFP is being handled by Town Attorney Kari Olson.  There are other Towns that have been told by their Town Attorney that they are not entitled to an RFP because it is all controlled by regions and by the Department of Public Health.  Attorney Olson is reviewing this process and will report back to the Town Council.

Councillor Yagaloff stated that the Town needs to make an application to the appropriate Committee’s to seek a change in the provider status and in the application it should state the reason the Town would like to send out an RFP which is to know the options available to the Town in terms of cost.  Councillor Yagaloff reviewed a letter from the founder of the Ambulance Corps who has voiced disappointment with the direction the current ambulance service has gone, as shown in attached Exhibit A.  Councillor Yagaloff then referred to a letter sent to him by Ms. Diane Jarvis who is also concerned with the level of service provided by the current ambulance service, as shown in attached Exhibit B.  Councillor Yagaloff felt that the South Windsor Ambulance Corps should be addressing the following issues:

  • Why has there been a spend out on funds for paying corporate salaries?
  • What are those offices doing?
  • Why has there been a spend down on cash reserves in the last couple of years?
  • What is going on with their finances?
  • Why will they not do a lease with the Town for the space they are in?
  • Why have they not improved their service to paramedic service given the large amount of cash assets?
  • Why have they not improved their level of service above basic EMT service?
Councillor Yagaloff stated that he has heard from members of the public who are concerned about the level of service the Town currently provides.  No one from the public has said they are satisfied with the level of service.  The Town needs to move forward with the RFP.

Deputy Mayor Bazzano felt that even if the Town would have to get paramedic service through a fly car that would at least be a step in the right direction and the Town could work towards getting the licensing for an actual ambulance to be able to do that.  Deputy Mayor Bazzano then inquired about the letters sent to the Town Council regarding MDC and Connecticut Water.



ITEM:

5.      Town Manager’s Report (Continued)

Mr. Galligan explained that Mayor Delnicki requested a comparison between the MDC bills and the Connecticut Water bills regarding fire hydrants.  MDC only charges the Town for the actual maintenance of fire hydrants where Connecticut Water charges the Town for the maintenance of the hydrants as well as the capital costs for the water lines.

Councillor Havens stated to the Council that he does not want it to be forgotten that the South Windsor Ambulance Corps has provided excellent service to the Town of South Windsor for 20 years.  It may be time for the Town to upgrade services but Councillor Havens felt that the South Windsor Ambulance Service should be a part of these discussions.

Councillor Anwar felt that the South Windsor Ambulance Service has served the Town well, but times have changed as well as the expectations of the community.  Councillor Anwar questioned if expectations and a vision have been included in the RFP?  Mr. Galligan explained that the RFP will consist of two aspects.  The first one will be to have two different sources, one providing ALS service separate from BLS and the second aspect would be to have one source provide all services.

Councillor Anwar requested that the Council be able to review the RFP prior to it being sent out.  Councillor Anwar then told the Council that in the near future he would like to have a discussion regarding the hours of operation at the South Windsor Public Library.

Councillor Yagaloff thanked Councillor Havens for his perspective regarding the South Windsor Ambulance Corps, but felt that the South Windsor Ambulance Corps has had plenty of opportunities to be a part of the process and the only response has been a letter from the Board of Directors stating that the Town would not benefit from advanced life support services.  Councilor Yagaloff stated he would like the South Windsor Ambulance Corps to be a part of the process and come to a Town Council meeting to explain how they intend to deal with these current issues.

Councillor Prague stated he is in favor of an RFP and if it comes in that it will cost the Town one million dollars, then at least the Town knows the cost and can discuss it then.

6.      Items for Discussion

  • Town Council/Town Manager/Board & Commission Budget Presentation
Mr. Galligan explained that the Assessor is looking at an approximate 12.75% decrease in the values of homes.  The Board of Education and Town combined are looking at an increase of $5 million dollars.  With the revaluation, the average taxpayer will have a 5.4% increase.  It is being assumed that the vehicle taxes and personal property taxes will be going up because the value of homes is going down.  Mr. Galligan stated that he has asked departments to come in with a zero budget increase.  The biggest drivers of the increase in the budget are due to sewer debt of $1.7 million dollars; pension costs; health insurance costs; workers

ITEM:

6.      A.      (Continued)

compensation costs; and unemployment costs.  These are all costs that have to be paid.   The Public Works Department budget has increased by $200,000.

At 8:00 p.m. Mayor Delnicki recessed the Work Session in order to call the Regular Meeting to order.  The Work Session reconvened at 8:00 p.m.

Mr. Galligan explained further that there is a $47,000 increase in Fire Protection for fire hydrants.  There is an increase of $31,000 in computer systems for the Town.  There is one area that could be cut which is a position for Budget/Purchasing Director in Central Services.  Mr. Galligan then discussed the capital projects that were not approved in the referendum.  The Council will have to decide what the priorities are for this budget.  The Boards and Commission budgets were previously cut back in another budget.  The Human Resources budget has been cut in half and has still come in at a 0 increase.  The Fire Department is looking at a $60,000 increase.

Answering questions from the Council, Mr. Galligan explained that there are 0 increases for the Town Manger’s budget as well as the Human Resource budget.  There has been a small increase in the Town Council’s budget. In the Town Council’s budget it looks like there is an 8% salary increase but that is incorrect.

Councillor Prague requested that when reports are printed that the Town Council receive comparative reports for 2013/2014 because it would helpful to see last years numbers.

Answering further questions, Mr. Galligan explained that if you take the debt service of $961,000; pension of $202,000; health of $715,000; workman’s compensation of $13,000; unemployment of $15,000; and you add Fire Protection of $47,000’ casualty and life of $11,700’ and maintenance, this would be about 79% of the increase.

Council members discussed the pension and health care.  Mr. Galligan stated that he would send to the Council the debt schedule sheet towards the costs for the sewer plan, the contributions that WPCA will be making and information on their reserves.

Councillor Anwar suggested that the Town Manager go back to each department and each department give a budget with a 5% decrease. Mr. Galligan explained that he could do that, but the Town Council will have to decide what programs they would like to cut.  The Town Council over the last four years has been very conservative and has reduced the overall Town budget to a point where now the Town Council will have to start talking about cutting programming.




ITEM:

6.      A.      (Continued)

Councilor Snyder stated that she does not feel this would be a good idea at this point because the budget has not even been submitted to the Town Council yet.

Councillor McCann stated that he does not feel it should be the request of one Council member to have the Town Manager request department heads to reduce their budgets by 5%.  This is something that should be done with the consensus of the whole Council and should not be done tonight because it is not an agenda item. If this is something that the Town Council would like to consider, it should be brought forward on a future agenda.

Mr. Galligan stated that by Wednesday, February 6, 2013 the Town will know more about the Governors budget and in turn that will help the Town Council discuss the Town’s budget further.

Councillor Yagaloff suggested that the Town Council have a policy discussion about where we would like to be in terms of generated revenue and also have discussions with the Town and Board of Education about budge targets.

  • Snow Angels Program (Dennis Sheridan, Director of Human Services to be present)
Item 6. B. will be discussed at the Regular Meeting.

7.      Executive Session

None

8.      Adjournment

At 8:40 p.m. Deputy Mayor Bazzano made a motion to adjourn the Work Session.  Councillor Prague seconded the motion and it was approved, unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,



                                                
Deborah W. Reid
Recording Secretary