MINUTES
BOARD OF FINANCE
MARCH 15, 2005
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Finance was held on Tuesday, March 15, 2005 in the Council Chambers.
Those in attendance included Mayor Owen J. Quinn, Jr., members of the Board of Finance Daniel Farley, James Zeller, Joseph Nader, and Bruce Cornish. Also present was Comptroller Alice Proulx. Absent were Board of Finance member James Nichol, and Corp. Counsel Albert Vasko.
Mayor Quinn called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m.
MINUTES #010
On a motion by Mr. Zeller, seconded by Mr. Farley, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held February 15, 2005.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #020
On a motion by Mr. Nader, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the Board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. There was no public participation.
CARDINAL ENGINEERING #030
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Farley, the Board voted unanimously to approve the payment of $546.25 from Sanitary Sewer Capital Improvement Fund #490 to Cardinal Engineering Asso., Inc. for engineering services on the East Main Street/New Harwinton Road Sanitary Sewer Improvements.
GORDON, MUIR & FOLEY #050
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Nader, the Board voted unanimously to approve the payment of $830.00 from Contingency to Gordon, Muir & Foley LLP for professional services rendered in the Southwest School matter.
TRANSFER FUNDS FOR WAGE INCREASES #080
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the Board voted unanimously to transfer funds for wage increases, per the Comptroller’s memo dated 2/2/05.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #120
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Farley, the Board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Mayor Quinn and members of the Board of Finance.
City Clerk Joseph L. Quartiero requested placing an item on the agenda by 2/3rds vote in regard to repairing the Lanier Recording Machine that’s used in the Council Chambers, contingent upon the City Council’s approval.
ADD TO AGENDA #170
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the Board voted unanimously to add the item to the agenda.
REPAIR LANIER MACHINE #180
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the Board voted unanimously to appropriate $1,500.00 from Contingency for the repair of the Lanier Recording Machine, and referred it to the City Council.
Mr. Farley asked Ms. Proulx if the balance after the wage transfers in line item 5759 would be a surplus.
Ms. Proulx indicated that the balance is set aside for the Police Department’s contract which has not yet been settled.
Mr. Cornish informed the board that the Board of Education had been spending a great deal of time developing a budget that made sense both for the educational programs and for the taxpayers of the community. Based on Mayor Quinn’s directive of zero growth plus contractual increases, the bottom line of the Board of Ed budget is something over a 6% increase. Likewise, an inflation rate increase in the Board of Ed budget extended by the anticipated number of new students also creates a bottom line increase around 6%.
Mayor Quinn inquired whether Mr. Cornish was saying 6% for the bottom line to meet his directive and 6% for the inflation of new students.
Mr. Cornish said no. He further explained by saying “Taking the guideline to the city which is zero growth plus contractual increases, using that same criteria on the Board of Ed side, that zero growth plus contractual creates a 6% growth in the bottom line without adding new programs or teachers or anything else. Similarly, if you went back and did a cost per student scenario, taking current budget with a 3% inflation factor, extended by the current number of students in the system, and then multiplying that by the anticipated student numbers for next year, that also creates about a 6% change in the bottom line. Six percent is base, to get down below 6% will create program cuts.”
In regard to the new solid waste disposal program, Mr. Zeller reported that the public’s response and the savings the city had anticipated, in general terms, been pretty positive. The committee expects a significant decrease in tipping fees because the tonnage of waste is decreasing and the recyclables are increasing. Waste Management has already reported a tremendous savings on their part by having to employ less people, and the city hopes to share the savings that Waste Management is experiencing when their contract comes up for renewal.
Mayor Quinn commended Public Works Director Gerald Rollett and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee for all their hard work in saving taxpayer dollars and making the city more attractive.
Mr. Nader said it appeared that state grants for Social Services were running a surplus and inquired as to what it may be attributed to.
Mayor Quinn stated that Mrs. Adorno had applied for a $25,000.00 grant and received $44,000.00 to do job training for food stamp recipients. That was the sole purpose remaining in Social Services until it was closed just recently.
Mr. Nader inquired about the role the Board of Finance had on the Board of Education’s budget, if any, and whether or not they would have the opportunity to discuss the Board of Education budget with them.
Mr. Cornish indicated that the Board of Finance would have the opportunity to review the Board of Educations’ budget during a joint meeting with them in April.
Mayor Quinn added that a Public Hearing would also be held on both sides of the budget. The Board of Finance recommends a bottom line cut to the Board of Education, if one is necessary. The Board of Finance has in the past made recommendations with regard to capital and operating budgets. It is then up to the Board of Education to specifically identify where those cuts will be made.
Mr. Cornish reminded the board that they are likely to see a request from the Board of Education some time before the close of this fiscal year to transfer funds from capital into operating to compensate for some of their unanticipated costs like utilities and other areas that have run much higher and somewhat uncontrollable as the city has seen on their side.
Mayor Quinn added that the Board of Finance had been making strides towards the creation of a new position of Director of Finance, and consolidating the Board of Education with the City. Money has been allocated for such a position. It makes sense to look at both sides of the finances and merge locations to create cost savings. This has been endorsed by Mayor Quinn and previous members of the Board of Finance. He was looking forward to continuing those discussions with the new Superintendent of Schools.
City Clerk Joseph L. Quartiero informed the board that the conveyance tax in the State of Connecticut may drop back down to .0011 for the city, which would create a loss of revenue for Torrington of approximately $250,000.00. He had spoken with Senator Roraback and Representative Ruwet and urged them to do whatever they could to keep it at .0025. Contrary to what realtors may think, raising the conveyance tax has not curtailed the amount of real estate transactions in the past year.
Mayor Quinn recognized Collin Good, a Freshman at Torrington High School, as the new intern working in the Mayor’s Office.
ADJOURNMENT #1435
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Nader, the board voted unanimously to adjourn at 4:55 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC
CITY CLERK
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