MINUTES
BOARD OF FINANCE
OCTOBER 21, 2008
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Finance was held on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 in the Council Chambers.
Those in attendance included Mayor Ryan J. Bingham, members of the Board of Finance Daniel Farley, Laurene Pesce, Thomas Scoville, Wendy Traub, and James Zeller, Corp. Counsel Ernestine Yuille Weaver, Comptroller Alice Proulx, Public Works Director Gerald Rollett, Deputy Fire Chief Jaye Giampaolo, and City Planner Martin Connor. Board of Finance member Mark Bushka was absent.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
MINUTES #040
On a motion by Mr. Farley, seconded by Mrs. Traub, the board voted unanimously to accept the amended minutes of the regular meeting held September 16, 2008.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #050
On a motion by Mrs. Traub, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. There was no public participation.
FINAL BUDGET TRANSFERS #060
On a motion by Mrs. Pesce, seconded by Mr. Scoville, the board voted unanimously to authorize the additional final budget transfers for 7/1/07 - 6/30/08, per the Comptroller’s memo dated 10/15/2008, pending the Council’s approval.
FUNDS: EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM EQUIPMENT #115
On a motion by Mr. Zeller, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to authorize the expenditure of $5,991.80 from Contingency line item 0010.0047.5651.0000 to purchase equipment needed for the Emergency Response Team vehicle, pending the Council’s approval. (Funds to be reimbursed through Homeland Security Funding.)
TURN OUT GEAR #130
On a motion by Mr. Zeller, seconded by Mrs. Traub, the board voted unanimously, pending the council’s approval, to authorize the use of the Fire Department’s capital account, estimated to be $64,559.60, for the purchase of 35 sets of turn-out gear on a purchase only proposition and reimburse the capital account in the next three years.
Mrs. Pesce inquired whether the warrantee would be invalidated should the cleaning and repairing not be included in the price of the gear.
Deputy Chief Giampaolo indicated that the warrantee will be in effect as long as the gear is cleaned at least twice a year and repaired by a certified repair contractor as soon as damage to the gear is discovered. There will be a savings of $37,000.00 by sending the gear out to be cleaned and repaired ourselves.
CORRECTION ACTION PROJECT #275
On a motion by Mrs. Traub, seconded by Mr. Zeller, a discussion took place in regard to the request to authorize the expenditure of $24,925.00, landfill encumbrance #06-6531 to GeoInsight on the Correction Action Project for closed sludge drying beds, per the memo from WPC Administrator Ray Drew, pending the Council’s approval.
Public Works Director Jerry Rollett explained that they spent the last year negotiating with the DEP and they’ve finally come to a resolution as to the level of work on the drying beds to re-create the documents that were missing based on the updated regulations. Mr. Rollett didn’t anticipate any problems and the DEP agrees that the city went through a clean closure, but the record keeping and methodology procedures of today are vastly different than they were twenty years ago. They will be drilling new wells at that site. They will be monitoring water for a year, and they will be putting together quality control programs to document what was done twenty years ago and process this for another level of certification for the DEP. This will cost approximately $50,000.00.
Because the WPC has been bearing the cost for the past twenty years, he felt it was only fair to share the expenses by using some of the money that was encumbered for the landfill for the corrective action. This request is for half of the expense.
Mr. Farley asked what will occur if they find contamination when they drill new wells, and if Corporation Counsel Weaver had reviewed the matter.
Mr. Rollett said contamination was always a possibility.
Corporation Counsel Weaver said she was unfamiliar with the matter but could review it if the board wished her to do so.
Mr. Rollett indicated that they’ve had numerous meetings with the DEP to get to this point, but they could take the DEP to court if that was the route they wanted to take. He referred to Corp. Counsel Weaver to speak on the potential expense to file a suit.
MOTION TO TABLE #510
On a motion by Mr. Farley, seconded by Zeller, the board voted unanimously to table the expenditure of $24,925.00, landfill encumbrance #06-6531 to GeoInsight on the Correction Action Project for closed sludge drying beds, per the memo from WPC Administrator Ray Drew, pending the Council’s approval.
REIMBURSEMENT: COMMUNITY HEALTH & WELLNESS #530
On a motion by Mrs. Traub, seconded by Mr. Scoville, a discussion took place in regard to the request from the Community Health and Wellness Center to reimburse city permit fees, pending the Council’s approval.
Mayor Bingham’s recommendation was not to reimburse fees imposed by Planning & Zoning because they cover state mandated costs and the publication of legal notices, etc. However, building fees are charged to cover the hours of work performed by city staff members.
John Dennen, Finance Director of the Community Health and Wellness Center, stated that the facility takes care of all patients in the area regardless of their ability to pay and it’s great for the community to have a facility like this in place. He urged the board to approve the request so the funds could be used to purchase medical equipment, etc.
During the discussion, a question arose in regard to the total dollar amount being requested and the separation of fees charged by Planning & Zoning as opposed to those charged by Building. There was also a question on the reimbursement of sewer fees, and some of the fees depended on whether they were paid in the prior year whereby the funds would need to come from Contingency.
Mr. Dennen said he would be happy to have the city review all fees submitted and be reimbursed for those they feel are qualified to be reimbursed.
MOTION TO TABLE #815
On a motion by Mrs. Pesce, seconded by Mrs. Traub, the board voted unanimously to table the request to reimburse city permit fees for the Community Health and Wellness Center, pending further information and definitions on what can and cannot be reimbursed, as well as recommendations from our department heads on how they feel about the reimbursement. The matter was also contingent upon the Council’s approval.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: FLEET CHARGEBACKS #830
On a motion by Mr. Farley, seconded by Mrs. Traub, the board voted unanimously to authorize the budget transfers relating to fleet chargebacks, pending the Council’s approval.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #845
On a motion by Mr. Zeller, seconded by Mr. Scoville, the board voted unanimously to consider business by Mayor Bingham and members of the Board of Finance.
Mr. Farley said he was the only one who opposed the reimbursement of the permits for the Warner Theater. It was his opinion that the Community Health and Wellness Center was a great facility for Torrington and he has compassion for the small business owners. However, he didn’t like the idea of picking and choosing which organizations were going to have their permit fees reimbursed. He didn’t think it was appropriate and was against it for those reasons.
Mr. Scoville inquired about the relocation of City Hall.
Mayor Bingham noted that news should be released on Thursday.
Mrs. Traub indicated that contract negotiations for the Board of Education will soon begin and she will be sitting in on those meetings. If anyone on the board has any experience with this, she would appreciate their comments.
Mayor Bingham indicated that the Board of Education Personnel Sub Committee will be on the Board of Finance’s agenda on November 18th to discuss the city finances in general. He would appreciate any comments from the Board of Finance.
Mr. Zeller inquired whether there had been any changes in contract costs or anticipated expenses for the City Hall renovations. He pointed out that municipal bonds are higher than they were a year ago and payments the city will be making are going to be higher than what were assumed they would be.
Mayor Bingham noted that the main focus of renovations at this time has been the city barn and overruns have been reported specifically with environmental concerns. He further indicated that the only funds which have been expended to date have been for architects and engineers. He will invite the Municipal Renovations Committee to the next Board of Finance meeting to report on their progress.
Mr. Scoville asked when the next bond issue is due to come off the list.
Ms. Proulx said she would ask Treasurer Dick Friday and furnish Mr. Scoville with an updated list.
ADJOURNMENT #1160
On a motion by Mrs. Pesce, seconded by Mr. Scoville, the board voted unanimously to adjourn at 5:37 p.m.
ATTEST: JOLINE LeBLANC
ASST. CITY CLERK
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