MINUTES
BOARD OF FINANCE
OCTOBER 15, 2002
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Finance was held on Tuesday, October 15, 2002 in the Council Chambers.
Present were Mayor Owen J. Quinn, Jr., members of the Board of Finance Theodore Miasek, Carl Michelet, Michael Nejaime, Diane Libby, and Bruce Cornish, also Corp. Counsel Albert Vasko, Comptroller Alice Proulx, Public Works Director Gerald Rollett, City Engineer Edward Fabbri, City Planner Martin Connor, Inland Wetlands Enforcement Officer Kimberly Barbieri, Tax Collector Robert Crovo, Business Service Administrator for the Board of Education Hugh Murphy, and Board of Education members Robert Kelly, Ronald Bourque and Hans Reichardt. Board of Finance member Roger Dickinson was absent.
Mayor Quinn called the meeting to order at 4:07P.M.
MINUTES #010
On a motion by Mr. Michelet, seconded by Mr. Cornish, a discussion took place in regard to approving the minutes of the regular meeting held 9/17/02.
Mrs. Libby pointed out that the vote on Board of Education Budget Figures (#035)
should be amended from 4-2 to 3-2 with 1 abstention.
On a motion by Mr. Nejaime, seconded by Mrs. Libby, the board voted unanimously to approve the amended minutes of the regular meeting held 9/17/02.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #050
On a motion by Mrs. Libby, seconded by Mr. Cornish, the board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. No one spoke.
BOARD OF EDUCATION’S BUDGET FIGURES #070
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Nejaime, a discussion took place on the Board of Education’s capital and operational budget figures for fiscal year 2002 / 2003, per the Board of Finance recommendation of 7/16/02. (Tabled on 9/17/02.)
Mr. Nejaime asked if this issue had been resolved.
Mayor Quinn stated that a meeting was held but nothing had been received in writing.
Mr. Nejaime made a motion to table the matter until such time as they have a conclusion. Mr. Miasek seconded the motion. The board approved the motion, with Mrs. Libby abstaining.
SCULLY & WOLF #110
On a motion by Mrs. Libby, seconded by Mr. Michelet, the board voted unanimously to discuss the update in regard to Scully & Wolf.
Mrs. Libby reported that Scully & Wolf would be forthcoming with a proposal for shared services between the Board of Education and the City of Torrington. Scully & Wolf, proposed to be project managers and, as such, would be responsible for switching over.
Mr. Michelet indicated that it was agreed to let the project manager choose the area he wanted to implement first. He also noted that the time table was approximately nine months, and that the Board of Education would not incur any of the fees for implementation since the Board of Finance had initiated the process. The process would begin with a new Chart of Accounts and continue with merging the programs. Reporting and formatting would be issues to handle.
This would most likely be a function that would fall under a Finance Director at some point in time. Mr. Murphy indicated that, although there were a couple minor details that needed to be addressed, i.e., how the cost would be split between the city and the Board of Education, it was something the Board of Education viewed as positive.
Mr. Nejaime inquired about potential cost savings.
Mrs. Libby pointed out that the Board of Education and the Comptroller’s Office were already light on people, so she couldn’t foresee any personnel savings short term, but possibly long-term.
TAX COLLECTOR’S CONTRACT #300
On a motion by Mr. Miasek, seconded by Mr. Michelet, the board voted unanimously to go into a executive session under contract negotiations in regard to the review points for the Tax Collector’s contract - page 2. (Tabled on 9/17/02.) It was held at the end of the meeting.
UPDATE ON BUDGET PROCESS #330
Meetings have been taking place. An outline has been drafted on what the Board of Finance would like to see in the budget process. They hoped to have something in writing by the next meeting.
STREET LIGHT REPAIRS AND STREET RESTORATION ACCOUNTS #425
On a motion by Mr. Michelet, seconded by Mr. Cornish, discussion took place in regard to the Street Light Repairs and Street Restoration accounts.
Mr. Rollett, Mr. Fabbri, Mr. Connor and Mrs. Barbieri explained the benefits derived from the special accounts already set up in their departments and urged the board not to eliminate them.
(Republican candidate for Congress, Phil Steele, interrupted the meeting to introduce himself.)
Mr. Miasek felt the city might be in a bind if there was a conflict with state statutes.
The board understood the arguments presented by these department heads and, since they thought it would be in the best interest of the city not to stifle any creative thinking, they suggested having the auditors research how other towns handled such situations and make a recommendation.
GUIDELINES FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS #1260
On a motion by Mrs. Libby, seconded by Mr. Michelet, a discussion took place in regard to the updated guidelines for capital projects.
Comptroller Alice Proulx pointed out that she didn’t have time to complete the updated guidelines for capital projects and would have them ready for the next meeting.
Mrs. Libby noted that the guidelines will affect department heads in the city as well as the Board of Education and they should be given a copy, as well as an opportunity to speak on the matter.
It was noted that the guidelines would dovetail the policy and procedures on encumbrances for capital projects.
STREAMLINE G.L. ACCOUNTS FOR PAYROLL #1310
On a motion by Mrs. Libby, seconded by Mr. Nejaime, discussion took place in regard to streamlining the General Ledger accounts for payrolls.
Mrs. Proulx informed the board that, by streamlining the General Ledger Accounts for the line items within the accounting structure, they could get the reporting out of the payroll system rather than the General Ledger system, which would be more efficient and could provide more detailed information usually requested at budget time.
ALLOCATION OF INVESTMENT INTEREST #1380
On a motion by Mr. Michelet, seconded by Mrs. Libby, a discussion took place in regard to investment interest and how it’s allocated.
Mr. Michelet pointed out that various departments seemed to believe that interest earned from those departments should be kept within those departments and could be used to purchase vehicles when they didn’t have enough funds to do so. The only restrictions were grants.
Mr. Michelet said he would really like to see the interest go to the general fund.
Mayor Quinn thought they had already agreed to restrict the interest from going to individual departments.
Mrs. Proulx stated that interest on vehicle replacement was now going to the general fund rather than individual departments. Mr. Michelet was talking about all other funds earning interest. Some examples included the Capital Reserve Fund, the Revaluation Fund, Christmas Village, etc.
Mayor Quinn suggested having the auditors review the following three items and come up with a policy:
Street Light Repairs and Street Restoration accounts.
Guidelines for capital projects.
Investment interest and how it’s allocated.
If that was the case, Mr. Michelet suggested having this item appear on the agenda on a quarterly basis. (March, June, September, December.)
TORRINGFORD SCHOOL BUILDING #1580
On a motion by Mrs. Libby, seconded by Mr. Nejaime, a discussion took place in regard to the Council’s request for the payment of $75,000.00 from Contingency to the Torringford School Building Committee for pre-referendum costs.
Mr. Nejaime said the amount seemed high.
It was noted that it was reimbursable through bonding.
Mrs. Libby pointed out that Contingency would be affected if it didn’t go to a referendum before the end of the fiscal year.
The board agreed that they wanted documentation from the Building Committee on how they arrived at that number.
Corp. Counsel Vasko noted that the item would only have to go back to City Council if they increased the dollar figure.
Mayor Quinn suggested approving the request contingent upon receiving a budget from the School Building Committee.
Mrs. Libby made a motion to approve the $75,000.00 from Contingency for pre-referendum costs, subject to the Torringford School Building Committee presenting a budget to the Board of Finance. Mr. Nejaime seconded the motion. Unanimous.
TRAFFIC SIGNAL CABINET #1750
On a motion by Mrs. Libby, seconded by Mr. Nejaime, the board voted unanimously to accept the Council’s request for the payment of $6,524.00 from Contingency for the purchase of a new traffic signal cabinet to replace the one that was damaged on High Street. (The funds were going into the general fund.)
BUSINESS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #1800
On a motion by Mrs. Libby, seconded by Mr. Cornish, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Mayor Quinn and members of the Bd. of Finance.
Mr. Cornish requested a review with the Board of Education on the budget process and expenditure reports. In general, the issues he had with this month’s report included that the budgets didn’t balance from their approval, there were some negative expenditure items and there was a line item that he thought they approved as an expenditure reduction and not revenue.
Mr. Miasek inquired about the pension funds and how the city stood in view of the stock market.
Mrs. Proulx indicated that the pension fund was managed by the Treasurer’s Office. She noted that Fleet Bank had recently made a presentation in reference to the fund and she would ask Mr. Friday for a copy of the documentation and what the returns were. She also noted that the city was in the process of having an actuarial study done this year.
Mr. Miasek wanted to make certain in going forward with another school renovation, that things were in place to protect the city and the taxpayers of Torrington relative to warrantees, assurances, indemnity clauses, etc.
Mayor Quinn agreed with Mr. Miasek that the city’s contracting left something to be desired and they needed to make certain that the city was protected as they moved forward. He would bring that concern to the Building Committee.
Mr. Miasek said he would like to see a 5 or 10% retainer fee and that it not be paid until the city is satisfied that the building is what we bargained for.
Mr. Michelet said he would like to see the theme from the Board of Education about better cooperation and communication in the budget process come to fruition.
Mayor Quinn indicated that they had met three times to resolve this type of thing. Dialogue had been ongoing, however, joint meetings were difficult to schedule. He noted that they had communicated through the chair and between board members and it seemed like the time had come for someone to respond with a course of action and that’s what he was looking for. He would also make a phone call to the Chair. Mayor Quinn thought the chair was looking for a joint meeting, but he felt it could be resolved much quicker by doing what they needed to do to get those two budget situations corrected. That had been voiced individually and collectively during several meetings.
Mrs. Libby suggested sending a letter to Mr. Murphy and Dr. Riccio requesting that they attend our next meeting to answer any of Mr. Cornish’s questions over the Board of Education’s financial reports.
Mayor Quinn noted that Ms. Proulx would receive something from his office to officially send to Mr. Murphy and Dr. Riccio.
Mrs. Libby inquired whether the City Council had been asked to create a list of recommendations in regard to the $600,000.00 Anthem funds.
Mayor Quinn indicated that he hadn’t addressed the matter as a line item on the agenda, but that he had addressed the City Council individually.
Mrs. Libby pointed out that the statute of limitation was two years, however, if the city hadn’t received word of any suit after a year, she would feel comfortable in planning to spend the money.
Mr. Nejaime said “I think Ted’s point of maybe hesitating a little bit just with where pensions and everything have gone, maybe the better part of common sense is just to say ‘Let’s not rush into anything at this point’.”
Mayor Quinn said, the City Council is aware of statements made and we’re looking at projects that may be included. He had encouraged them to use the word “projects” rather than “wish-list” to eliminate any possible misunderstanding.
Mr. Nejaime suggested that perhaps Mr. Cornish could meet with Mr. Murphy to have him explain the budget process.
Mayor Quinn said that would certainly not negate the invitation to Mr. Murphy to attend the Board of Finance’s next meeting.
Mr. Miasek stated that the reports from the Board of Education this month were not complete. He requested that they be sent to the Board of Finance immediately upon completion because they were too much to analyze the week-end prior to their meeting.
Mr. Michelet said “I really would like to see extracted from the City Council, a list of priority for major capital items and what they believe will be the sequence for those five or six items that are facing the city.”
EXECUTIVE SESSION #2380
On a motion by Mr. Nejaime, seconded by Mr. Miasek, the board voted unanimously to go into Executive Session under Contract Negotiations at 5:15 p.m. and invited Robert Crovo, the Tax Collector.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CCTC, CMC
CITY CLERK
OPEN SESSION
On a motion by Ted Miasek, seconded by Diane Libby, the Board went into Open Session at 6:01 p.m.
On a motion by Carl Michelet seconded by Bruce Cornish, the Board adjourned at 6:01 p.m.
Michael Nejaime left the executive session at 5:47 p.m.
ALBERT G. VASKO
Corporation Counsel
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