MINUTES
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF FINANCE AND THE
BOARD OF COUNCILMEN
MAY 22, 2006
A SPECIAL JOINT MEETING of the Board of Finance and the Board of Councilmen on the city budget, was held on Monday, May 22, 2006 in the Council Chambers
Those in attendance included Mayor Ryan J. Bingham, members of the Board of Finance Daniel Farley, Bruce Cornish, Mark Bushka, Joseph Nader, and James Zeller, members of the City Council James McKenna, Thomas Jerram, Marie Soliani, and Drake Waldron, Corp. Counsel Ernestine Yuille Weaver, and Comptroller Alice Proulx. Board of Finance member James Nichol and Councilmen Rick E. Dalla Valle and Andrew Slaiby were absent.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.
MINUTES #020
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Jerram, the board of Councilmen with the exception of Councilor Soliani who abstained, voted to approve the minutes of the special meeting held May 8, 2006.
MAYOR’S PRESENTATION #035
Mayor Bingham stated that the total proposed budget was $105,310,497.00. The city’s budget was $48,781,215.00 and the Board of Education’s budget was $56,529,282.00.
Revenue and transfers equaled $39,937,858.00, and the estimated surplus was approximately $1.2 million. Deducting the Elderly Assessments of $1,392,000.00 from the budget balance of $64,172,639.00 left a budget balance of $62,780,575.00. The proposed mill rate is 34.21.
Mayor Bingham stated that the amount of the proposed budget presented at the Public Hearing has decreased because of changes he is proposing at this meeting.
DISCUSS/REVIEW/CHANGE/VOTE ON CITY BUDGET #140
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Jerram, a discussion took place on the city budget.
Mayor Bingham stated a question arose on whether or not the motion for final approval to the Public Works Department could be changed if the person who seconded the motion chose not to rescind his vote. Corp. Counsel Weaver’s opinion indicated they would need a motion to reconsider. Because it was originally a unanimous vote, in order to make such a motion, any one of the individuals could move to reconsider the discussion of the previous motion.
Councilor Jerram made a motion to reconsider the vehicle replacement account for the Public Works Department. Councilor Waldron seconded the motion. The Council, with the exception of Councilor McKenna who opposed, voted to approve the motion.
Mayor Bingham proposed changing line item 5351.0001 Vehicle Replacement in the Public Works Department by a reduction of $780.00.
Councilor Jerram made a motion to reduce the Vehicle Replacement Line Item 5351.0001 in the Public Works Department by $780.00. Councilor Waldron seconded the motion.
Councilor Soliani asked for clarification, because she wasn’t at the previous meeting. The situation was explained.
Councilors Jerram and Waldron voted in favor of the motion. Councilors McKenna and Soliani opposed. Mayor Bingham broke the tie vote in favor of the motion and the motion carried.
MOTION: VOTE IN LUMP SUM #420
Councilor Jerram made a motion for the Council to hear Mayor Bingham’s changes to the budget and to have one vote on all the changes. Councilor Waldron seconded the motion.
MOTION WITHDRAWN
Councilors Jerram and Waldron withdrew their motion and second.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE BUDGET
Mayor Bingham reviewed his proposed changes with the City Council.
Information Services - reduction of $8,040.00 in line item 5346 - Software.
Fire Department - A motion from a meeting held on 5-8-06 was made to reduce line item 5351.0001 vehicle replacement by $77,892.00. Because the Fire Dept. has two separate line items, one for apparatus and one for regular vehicle replacement, only a portion of each line item should have been reduced. The reduction in 5351.0001 should be $5,843.00 and the reduction in 5351.0003 should be $72,049.00, resulting with the same net effect of zero. It’s merely a re-appropriation of reductions.
Street Lights - Line item 5225: Electric, increase of $35,000.00.
Insurance - Line item 5701: General Insurance, increase of $57,000.00 for under estimated values of city buildings.
Pensions & Benefits - Line Item 5759: Officials and Wage, decrease of $111,000.00, retroactive pay for firefighter’s contract which will not be reflected in next year’s budget.
The total in changes result in a decrease of $27,040.00 to the budget.
The City’s budget is now $48,837,435.00, and the total budget is $105,366,717.00.
Mr. Cornish thought the city’s budget at an increase of just over 3.3% was a good budget; however, he expressed concern over the impact of cutting one half of each department’s vehicle replacement account. The cuts did not show a commitment to making the vehicle replacement a priority over the next few years. However, it was his understanding that Mayor Bingham had an intended process that will address the long term vehicle replacement account.
Mr. Farley felt comfortable with the city’s budget.
Mr. Nader said he shared some of the same concerns as Mr. Cornish over the vehicle replacement account. He noted that Mike Michaud made a good presentation on the future of the program and pointed out some upcoming major capital investments along the apparatus line.
Questions were raised concerning the following:
City Clerk - Line Item 5220.0003 State Fees, Land Preservation, an increase of 360,000.00.
Ms. Proulx indicated that this was a new fee imposed by the state which went into effect in October and the City Clerk hadn’t budgeted for it because he wasn’t made aware of it prior to last year’s budget. Because it has revenue to offset the expense, it has a net effect of zero.
Public Safety Misc - Mayor Bingham noted that Line Item 5453.0000 - Equipment VFD was reduced by $10,000.00. The $10,000.00 was placed in a new line item 5351.0001, and $15,000.00 was added to that for a total sum of $25,000.00, with the understanding that the Board of Safety will oversee the fund so any purchase of new vehicles will tie into the city’s overall plan. Further, the city will recoup the funds if one or more of the volunteer departments close its doors.
Mr. Cornish asked the Council if they had any comments concerning the Board of Education’s budget that would be helpful to the Board of Finance when they set the mill rate.
Councilor McKenna was reluctant to comment because of the separation of powers between the City Council and the Board of Education set by the state.
Councilor Jerram thought it was a matter of courtesy on the Board of Finance’s part to inquire whether the City Council had any thoughts on the Board of Education’s budget prior to setting the mill rate, which is a big part on how the Council is judged at election time. He agreed with Councilor McKenna that the Council had no say on how the Board of Education should spend their money, but it was his belief that the Council was fully within their right to express an opinion to the Board of Finance in what they believed would be affordable for the City of Torrington as it relates to their budget in its entirety.
Councilor Jerram stated that he was in favor of a $1.5 million dollar increase in the Board of Education’s budget last year, and they received a $3.1 million increase. He noted that the city was informed that they were operating at a deficit of $270,000.00. He asked where the city stood in terms of this deficit and if a referendum would be required.
Mr. Cornish indicated that the matter was on the Board of Finance’s agenda scheduled for June 23.
Councilor Jerram thought the Board of Education’s spending of $10 million over three fiscal years was pretty staggering, even if you took the high costs of outplacement and energy into consideration. He asked if the Council could expect to see a reduction in their budget next year, since a number of one-time costs were included in their proposed 2006/2007 budget.
Councilor Soliani noted that these questions should have been asked during the Public Hearing held on the Board of Education budget, and agreed with Councilor McKenna that the Board of Education’s budget was not within the City Council’s realm.
Councilor McKenna thought it would be better to discuss unfunded mandates with our state legislators.
Councilor Jerram noted that the Board of Education’s budget is projected to be in excess of $100 million eleven years from now. He stated that the appointed Board of Finance is making the tough choices that the elected Board of Education is unwilling to make.
Mr. Cornish stated that he made it perfectly clear through the budget process that his only role as liaison to the Board of Education was to listen and provide comment. He thought the Board of Education was very attuned to the educational needs and priorities, and it was his belief that their proposed budget was one that met the needs of the district.
Councilor McKenna said it wasn’t the responsibility of the City Council nor the Board of Education to present a budget that is necessarily fiscally responsible. Their job is to set a budget that’s responsible to the needs of the community, both on the city side and the Board of Education side. The Board of Finance then decides what the city can afford.
Councilor Jerram said the Council labored to provide a budget that includes city services they felt were most important and kept it as affordable to the taxpayers as possible. He didn’t think the Board of Education was subscribing to the same theory.
Councilor McKenna said the budget system for the Board of Education is backwards. They ought to be given a budget amount and given the charge to find a program that fits the amount being appropriated.
Mr. Cornish said he understood the Council’s position in terms of dealing with the Board of Education, but appreciated the comments that were presented.
MOTION #1660
Councilor Jerram made a motion to approve Mayor Bingham’s budget as presented, including the changes.
Councilor Jerram amended his motion to approve the tentative changes to Mayor Bingham’s budget in a lump sum vote. Councilor Waldron seconded the motion. Councilors Jerram and Waldron voted to approve the motion. Councilors McKenna and Soliani opposed. On a 2-2 tie vote, Mayor Bingham voted to approve the motion and the motion carried.
The city budget total is $48,837,435.00.
MOTION #1700
Councilor Jerram made a motion that the City Council approve the city budget in the amount of $48,837,435.00. Councilor Waldron seconded the motion.
Councilor Soliani indicated that she would be voting against the budget because she was not in favor of their action on the vehicle replacement account.
Mayor Bingham said it was a perfect year to make such an adjustment since there weren’t many vehicles, if any, scheduled to be replaced. He believed there was enough money in the account to take a year to figure out what the proper amount of the fund should be.
Councilor Soliani said it made her nervous to pull money from certain accounts with the perception that everything is going to be fine for the rest of the year.
Councilor Jerram didn’t think surplus funds should be taken from taxpayers’ pockets. The city has a responsibility to be financially prudent and sensitive to how they spend the taxpayer’s money. At some point in time they have to determine a level of comfort as to where the Vehicle Replacement Account should remain. The same holds true for the Undesignated Fund Balance.
Councilor McKenna inquired how they expected to determine that number.
Mayor Bingham said a team will try to figure out the proper number. Unfortunately, the city has never come up with what the bottom line figure should be in the vehicle replacement account since its inception. They need to have confidence in the committee selected to revamp the entire vehicle replacement account.
Councilor Soliani didn’t think they should start taking money out prior to determining the targeted amount.
Councilor Jerram indicated that the city wasn’t taking money out, but simply not funding the amount it had in the past. He noted that $300,000.00 will still be budgeted for fiscal year 2006/2007.
VOTE ON CITY BUDGET #2300
On the previous motion, Councilors Jerram and Waldron voted in favor of the motion to approve the city budget in the amount of $48,837,435.00. Councilors McKenna and Soliani opposed. Mayor Bingham broke the tie vote by approving the motion. The motion carried.
ADJOURNMENT #2340
On a motion by Councilor McKenna, seconded by Councilor Jerram, the boards voted unanimously to adjourn at 7:10 p.m.
ATTEST: JOLINE LeBLANC
ASST. CITY CLERK
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