MINUTES
BOARD OF FINANCE
SEPTEMBER 18, 2007
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Finance was held on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 in the Council Chambers.
Those in attendance included Mayor Ryan J. Bingham, members of the Board of Finance Daniel Farley, Bruce Cornish, Mark Bushka, Thomas Scoville (arrived at 5:02 p.m.), and James Zeller, Corp. Counsel Ernestine Yuille Weaver, and Comptroller Alice Proulx.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
MINUTES #025
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the regular meeting held August 28, 2007.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #030
On a motion by Mr. Farley, seconded by Mr. Cornish, the board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. There was no public participation.
REIMBURSEMENT: WARNER THEATER #040
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Bushka, a discussion took place in regard to the request from the Warner Theater for the reimbursement of $11,442.00 from Contingency for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing fees associated with the refurbishing of the Mertz Building.
Mr. Cornish inquired as to whether there was precedence and some legal authority to reimburse the Warner Theater.
Mayor Bingham indicated that the City Council and the Board of Finance have reimbursed the Warner Theater for a number of building fees associated with their expansion project of the Mertz Building.
Mr. Bushka inquired whether or not the city did the same for other non-profits.
Comptroller Alice Proulx stated that the Housing Authority is also given the same reimbursement or waiver.
Mr. Farley stated that he was a huge supporter of the Warner Theater but he didn’t think this was the right thing to do because he was afraid of repercussions coming from other non-profits in the city.
Mr. Zeller stated, that in the course of the Warner taking out those permits, building officials and department heads carry out their normal every day activities. It was his belief that the Warner was receiving certain tax benefits as a non-profit. Additionally, any benefits they would receive for work and expenditures being done by the city is being paid for by the taxpayers.
Mayor Bingham noted that the Warner has had a tremendous response from the community in the way of donations, and the state has put in millions of dollars into refurbishing the Warner Theater. This is pretty much the city’s only way to make a contribution to something that provides so much activity downtown.
Mr. Zeller asked if there was a board or ad hoc committee that they could turn to on a case by case basis to look at how they should make a determination as to the benefits that non-profits provide the city.
Mayor Bingham asked Mr. Zeller if he was looking for a long term policy.
Mr. Zeller said not necessarily, but he was curious as to whether or not they had anything other than that one time prior precedent with this project. He’s not so sure that long term policy is always a good thing; maybe it’s better to look at each request on a case by case basis.
Mr. Scoville said he didn’t know that the Warner being a non-profit was the issue here. It seemed like the Council may have discussed the economic benefits to downtown and there may have been some other factors whereby other non-profits projects aren’t in that category.
Mayor Bingham said he believed Mr. Zeller’s point was that the Warner doesn’t pay taxes and they are getting a lot of benefits for not paying taxes and this is kind of a way for the city to get some revenue.
Mr. Zeller noted that if a private developer was to be doing things downtown, they could make the same argument that it’s going to benefit the downtown.
Mr. Scoville noted that the city has a policy governing tax abatements and it might be something to look at it in the future to help guide them.
Mr. Cornish re-enforced Mr. Zeller’s comment that real services go along with the fees from city officials performing services and from that point of view we should be enforcing our fees; from the point of view that the Council have set the policy, then this is where we are.
MOTION : WARNER THEATER #445
On the previous motion, the board voted in favor of the motion to reimburse the Warner Theater $11,442.00 from Contingency for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing fees associated with the refurbishing of the Mertz Building. Mr. Farley opposed the motion. On a 4-1 vote, the motion carried.
Mayor Bingham will furnish the board with some back history on this type of reimbursement.
BUDGET TRANSFERS #460
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the board voted unanimously to accept the budget transfers from 4/1/07 to 6/30/07.
PENELOPE SHARP, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT #470
On a motion by Mr. Farley, seconded by Mr. Cornish, a discussion took place on the Council’s request to authorize $700.00 from Contingency for outstanding payment for environmental consulting services to the Inland Wetlands Commission by Penelope Sharp, Environmental Consultant.
Mayor Bingham suggested that the matter be tabled, per Kim Barbieri’s request.
MOTION TO TABLE #500
On a motion by Mr. Farley, seconded by Mr. Scoville, the board voted unanimously to table the authorization of $700.00 from Contingency for outstanding payment for environmental consulting services to the Inland Wetlands Commission by Penelope Sharp, Environmental Consultant.
BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS: DISPATCH CENTER COSTS #520
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the board voted unanimously to approve the budget adjustments in regard to Dispatch Center Costs.
YEAR-END, CITY OF TORRINGTON PURCHASE ORDERS #615
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the board voted unanimously to accept the list of year-end “City of Torrington” purchase orders
for anticipated expenses for which no vendor has yet been selected.
ADD TO AGENDA #700
On a motion by Mr. Bushka, seconded by Mr. Scoville, the board voted unanimously to add an item to the agenda in regard to an encumbrance concerning Marshal Lake Road Reconstruction for $75,000.00. Mr. Scoville seconded the motion. Unanimous.
ENCUMBRANCE: MARSHAL LAKE ROAD #725
On a motion by Mr. Bushka, seconded by Mr. Scoville, the board voted unanimously to approve an additional year-end City of Torrington purchase order for Marshal Lake Road Reconstruction for $75,000.00.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #740
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Mayor Bingham and members of the Board of Finance.
Mr. Bushka asked Ms. Proulx how much was left in Contingency for 6/30/07.
Ms. Proulx said she would know the exact balance after these transfers are complete, because some of them are out of Contingency.
Mr. Bushka asked how close they were when they did the budget back in May with what Ms. Proulx had projected.
Ms. Proulx stated that they actually had more of a surplus than they anticipated. The Board of Education didn’t use all they thought they were going to use, and revenues came in from the state for some of our projects. As far as the comfort level with what was appropriated out of the fund balance for the taxes, they have more than what had been projected.
Mr. Cornish noted that they had anticipated state revenue in multiple line items, and in reviewing the actual budget passed against what they had assumed, he noted three line items that created a $475,000.00 shortfall on the revenue side; they were short $38,000.00 on the Pequot fund, $37,000.00 short for the Pilot Program and $400,000.00 short for ECS. He suggested firming up those numbers and having some discussion during their next meeting on what we are contemplating to fill that hole. He noted there are some additional revenues because the Board of Education didn’t spend everything they had anticipated to spend. That helped our cash pool but not necessarily our budget. He also had a concern in regard to the 25% share of the Weed Road Culvert Replacement Project because we still don’t know the magnitude of that project. If they had those numbers back in May, they probably would have increased the mill rate. They have to acknowledge that those lines are not fully funded.
Mr. Cornish noted that they took a substantial chunk of 07 surplus to underwrite 08's budget ($2.2 million). That number has to go up if the state number is going down. It needs to be cleaned up with whatever sound, fiscal management demands are necessary.
Mr. Cornish complemented the Board of Education and the administration on their fiscal control to end the year at about $500,000.00 better than they expected.
Mr. Scoville, asked, if at the next meeting this board will have a clear idea of where the surplus for the past year was and what was added to the undesignated fund balance. He asked to be given paperwork prior to the meeting so the board could peruse it.
Mayor Bingham stated that Mr. Cornish was appointed as the liaison from the Board of Finance to meet with the auditors.
ADJOURNMENT #1060
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the board voted unanimously to adjourn at 5:45 p.m.
ATTEST: JOLINE LeBLANC
ASST. CITY CLERK
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