MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL & WPC AUTHORITY
February 28, 2011
A SPECIAL MEETING of the City Council & WPC Authority was held in the City Hall Auditorium on Monday, February 28, 2011.
Those in attendance included Mayor Ryan Bingham, City Councilors Drake Waldron, Gerald Zordan, Marie Soliani, Elinor Carbone, and Gregg Cogswell, Comptroller Alice Proulx, Board of Finance member Brian Paganini, Deputy Fire Chief Gary Brunoli, Elderly Services Director Nancy Hodkoski, Building Official Brett Zuraitis, City Assessor Donna Patchen and the Assessor’s office staff. Councilor Samele was absent.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. He explained that all votes will be to tentatively approve each budget and that each item can be revisited if Councilors want to make any changes. He said Department Heads will attend meetings only upon request, and they all did their best to reach his goal of a 7% decrease from last year’s budget. He commended them for doing that.
ASSESSOR
Mayor Bingham said this Department is presenting a 6% decrease. He spoke on behalf of the Contract Service line item as the contractor provides additional revenue through the inspection process, gives peace of mind for potential audits, and does a thorough job without charging for multiple trips.
Ms. Patchen said the contractor averages $22 to $25 per parcel, which includes commercial and industrial field inspections, photos, unlimited call-backs and visits and data entry. Other contractors ranged from $15 to $20 per parcel not including call-backs, data entry, or photos and ranged up to $75 for residential and $125 for commercial/industrial. She said based on her findings, we are getting a very good deal for $28,000 a year.
Mayor Bingham said that a statistical revaluation will be performed within the next year. He added that the Litchfield Hills Council of Elected Officials is considering a long term bid for a regional revaluation with assessors in the area.
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Soliani, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Assessor’s Budget of $407,440.
BUILDING
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Building Dept. Budget with decreases of $2000 in Overtime and $5000 in Contract Service.
CITY CLERK
Mayor Bingham said Mr. Quartiero did a great job trying to balance the volume of people coming in to his office with the lack of one and a half staff people.
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the City Clerk’s Budget of $653,482.
BUILDING
Mayor Bingham decreased the Building Dept. Budget by $5227 for Vehicle Replacement and Equipment Maintenance Chargebacks. Councilor Cogswell made a motion to tentatively approve the new Building Dept. Budget of $311,276. It was seconded by Councilor Carbone and unanimously approved.
COMPTROLLER
Mayor Bingham said that there is a decrease due to a retirement in 5103, Regular Wages; Ms. Proulx believes she can get by without filling that position and by increasing current staff hours to 35 per week. On a motion by Councilor Soliani, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Comptroller’s Budget of $247,741.
CORPORATION COUNSEL
Mayor Bingham pointed out that line 5331, Legal Support Fees, needs to be watched, as it traditionally came out of contingency. Most of this is spent on deductibles for insurance claims ands potential litigation where the City must hire outside counsel. On a motion by Councilor Cogswell, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Corporation Counsel Budget of $188,059.
SENIOR CENTER
Mayor Bingham said in their total budget of 2.3 million dollars, the Senior Center only asks that 14% come from City of Torrington tax dollars. He said it’s important to know that for this 14%, the services that can be provided to our elderly residents is ten times that. On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Soliani, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Senior Center Budget of $316,046.
ELECTION
Mayor Bingham said the Election Budget has the largest percentage decrease based on recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission to the Registrars office to consolidate our number of polling locations from seven to four. He added that this budget identifies two elections, a municipal election in November and a Presidential Primary in 2012. On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Election Budget of $53,750.
PERSONNEL
Mayor Bingham thanked Atty. Muschell for reducing his fees. On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Personnel Budget of $198,208.
PLANNING & ZONING
Mayor Bingham said office coverage is an issue and that a strategy will be developed. He said this is the first year constables will be employed to certify letter deliveries. On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Planning & Zoning Budget of $217,532.
Mayor Bingham pointed out that there is always a potential for additional cuts to each Department, due to the State’s funding decisions, or recommendations from City Council, Board of Finance, or the Blue Ribbon Commission. He said he is attempting to lower the mill rate if at all possible.
PURCHASING
Mayor Bingham noted the salary decrease as the Senior Account Clerk is cross-training in the Finance Dept. On a motion by Councilor Cogswell, seconded by Councilor Soliani, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Purchasing Dept. Budget of $111,315, a 8.62% decrease.
REGISTRARS
Mayor Bingham noted there is a 1% decrease, and said the $10,000 increase in fees is due to the need to send a postcard to every voter regarding polling locations. Councilor Cogswell said the State’s redistricting efforts should occur between September and December this year. Mayor Bingham noted that the City Clerk has initiated discussions to update technology in our voting processes. On a motion by Councilor Zordan, seconded by Councilor Carbone, the Council voted unanimously to tentatively approve the Registrars Budget of $132,96. Councilor Waldron abstained.
Mayor Bingham said the Treasurer’s Budget will be addressed at a later meeting. He said he sent back the Fire Dept., Police Dept. with all subsidiary budgets, and the Data Processing budget for re-review, as he wasn’t convinced they were done trying to find savings in those budgets.
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to adjourn at 6:51 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC CITY CLERK
Respectfully Submitted,
Carol L. Anderson, CCTC
Asst. City Clerk
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