MINUTES
BOARD OF FINANCE
JULY 20, 2004
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Finance was held on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 in the Council Chambers.
Those in attendance included Mayor Owen J. Quinn, Jr., Board of Finance members Daniel Farley, James Zeller, Roger Dickinson, and Bruce Cornish. Comptroller Alice Proulx. Absent included Board of Finance members Joseph Nader and James Nichol, and Corp. Counsel Albert Vasko.
Mayor Quinn called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m.
MINUTES #010
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Dickinson, the Board voted unanimously to accept the following:
Minutes of the Public Hearing on the Board of Education budget held May 4, 2004.
Minutes of the Public Hearing on the City budget held May 6, 2004.
Minutes of the regular meeting held May 18, 2004.
On a motion by Mr. Dickinson, seconded by Mr. Cornish, the board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the special joint meeting with the Council held May 27, 2004.
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the special meeting in regard to the Auditors held June 8, 2004.
On a motion by Mr. Dickinson, seconded by Mr. Cornish, the board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the special meeting to adopt the budget held June 8, 2004.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #070
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Dickinson, the board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. There was no public participation.
SCULLY & WOLF #080
On a motion by Mr. Dickinson, seconded by Mr. Zeller, discussion took place in regard to the status of Scully & Wolf.
Ms. Proulx stated that the chart conversion has been completed at the Board of Education enabling them to have improved reporting with the standard reports that come out of the New World Financial Management System. Help is still being given to the Board of Education to resolve any conversion issues that may exist. The Board of Education is now working more closely with the Comptroller’s Office and they seem to feel more at ease to ask for assistance.
Ms. Proulx stated that a Board of Education employee will be moving into the Comptroller’s Office on August 2nd or thereabouts. The Treasurer’s Office has moved downstairs and Sheryl Lewis is sharing her time between the Treasurer’s Office and the Comptroller’s Office. The plan is in place to move the Board of Education’s Accounts Receivable and Payable to City Hall, however, space remains an issue at this time.
Mayor Quinn added that restructuring will occur when people leave or retire, creating some savings. Mayor Quinn and Dr. Riccio have been discussing the possibility of expanding the Board of Education’s Facilities Director over to the city side to protect our capital investment in buildings by making certain we are properly maintaining them. The process of maintaining Board of Education vehicles had already begun by the city’s Superintendent of Equipment Maintenance. The thought of Park & Recreation working on Board of Education fields is also being considered.
Mr. Dickinson requested an organizational chart of positions to see what the structure might look like.
Mayor Quinn stated that it would be good to demonstrate to the residents of Torrington that every effort is being made to contain costs and that they are acting responsibly, like a business. The long term goal is to begin the process of looking for a Finance Director and how it will work for the Board of Education and the City once all these issues are resolved.
Mr. Zeller inquired whether the Board of Education, in the course of its search for a new Superintendent, is presenting the implementation of these new programs and ideas on shared services to potential candidates to see how workable they are to working with them.
Mayor Quinn thought that was a great question. He said Dr. Riccio realized that shared services was in the best interest of his budget and the Board of Education. Mayor Quinn would contact the Chairman of the Board of Education to make that a priority. He said Mr. Zeller was correct to believe this should be on the table when selecting a new superintendent.
Mr. Farley inquired about $19,000.00 earmarked in the Board of Education budget for field maintenance, and the fact that Mr. Rollett has also requested more funds in his budget in order to take over the fields through shared services. Mr. Farley thought Mr. Rollett had also stated that some of those costs might be reimbursed by the state because they fell under certain programs.
Ms. Proulx said she didn’t recall the exact conversation that Mr. Farley was taking about, however, she was aware that Rich Calarco, the Park & Recreation Director, has submitted a request for products to be used for field maintenance that were to be paid by the city and reimbursed by the Board of Education.
Ms. Proulx explained that funds within the Board of Education budget can be spent in a different way than what their actual budget was approved for, but they need to get Board of Education approval to do so. The only time they need Board of Finance approval is when they overextend their line items.
Mayor Quinn said he would talk to Mr. Rollett about the $19,000.00.
CARDINAL ENG. #720
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to accept the Council’s request for the payment of $7,397.50 from the Sanitary Sewer Capital Improvement Fund #490 to Cardinal Engineering for the Tara Drive Sanitary Sewer Pump Station Removal.
GORDON, MUIR & FOLEY #730
On a motion by Mr. Dickinson, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the board voted unanimously to accept the Council’s request for the payment of $2,604.00 from Contingency to Gordon, Muir & Foley, LLP for professional services rendered in the Southwest School matter.
BUS: SECTION B #740
On a motion by Mr. Dickinson, seconded by Mr. Cornish, the board voted unanimously to consider business in Section B.
W. W. MANCHESTER #750
On a motion by Mr. Dickinson, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to accept the Council’s request for the payment of $3,300.00 from the Sanitary Sewer Capital Improvement Fund #490 to W. W. Manchester for the Hemlock Street Sanitary Sewer Repair.
CARDINAL ENG. #760
On a motion by Mr. Dickinson, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the board voted unanimously to accept the Council’s request for the payment of $5,775.00 from the Sanitary Sewer Capital Improvement Fund #490 to Cardinal Engineering for inspection services rendered at the Tara Drive Sanitary Sewer Pump Station Removal.
Mr. Farley pointed out that the City was paying Cardinal Engineering for engineering and inspection services and inquired whether they inspected their own engineering work.
Mayor Quinn indicated that he would look into the matter.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #850
On a motion by Mr. Dickinson, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Mayor Quinn and Members of the Board of Finance.
Mr. Zeller reported that November 1 was the target date for automated waste removal. The Council approved the financing for the purchase of the carts at last night’s meeting. If a resident needs more than one bin, it will be made available to him at a cost of approximately $125.00 a year to service.
Mr. Cornish reported that Mr. Rollett attended the last Board of Education meeting to update them on the sewer pump station at the Middle School. The Board of Education put $200,000.00 aside to resolve this matter and approximately $180,000.00 remains available. Mr. Rollett explained that an interim 20-year fix would cost about $230,000.00 to $250,000.00, and that a proper permanent fix would cost nearly $400,000.00. Dr. Riccio suggested approaching the state to see if it could be a reimbursable construction cost whereby the city’s $180,000.00 balance plus the 70% reimbursement from the state might fund the permanent fix instead of the interim fix. Mr. Cornish pointed out how important it was for this project, as well as shared services, not to lose momentum with the new
superintendent.
Mr. Dickinson said it was his belief that resolving blighted issues would likely have a positive financial impact on the city in terms of viable versus dilapidated property. He inquired whether anyone could actually furnish the board with what that might look like in the future.
Mayor Quinn stated that the Tax Collector tracks blighted properties with a great deal of interest. He added that the city has just begun to employ a “Lien and Clean” Program using funds from Small Cities and an account is also being established to deposit fines levied upon blighted properties. Those fines will enable the city to do more with blighted properties.
Mayor Quinn informed the Board that he gave department heads a directive that no deviation from the Vehicle Replacement Plan will be authorized without his prior approval. Only those vehicles scheduled to be replaced will be replaced with whatever is “basically” necessary to get the job done. No upgrades will be approved without prior justification.
Ms. Proulx stated that they also sent a memo to department heads stating that budgets could no longer be overdrawn beyond the departmental level. Any line item transfers will have to be cleared first by Mayor Quinn.
ADJOURNMENT #1600
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Dickinson, the board voted unanimously to adjourn at 5:25 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CITY CLERK
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