MINUTES
BOARD OF FINANCE
APRIL 12, 2011
A SPECIAL MEETING of the Board of Finance was held in the City Hall Auditorium on Tuesday, April 12, 2011.
Present were Mayor Ryan Bingham, Board of Finance members Daniel Farley, Thomas Scoville, Laurene Pesce, Brian Paganini and Wendy Traub, Deputy Fire Chief Gary Brunoli, City Clerk Joseph Quartiero, and Comptroller Alice Proulx. Mark Bushka was absent.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
CHANGES TO VEHICLE REPLACEMENT PLAN
Street Department
On a motion by Mr. Farley, seconded by Mr. Scoville, the Board discussed moving ahead by one year on the Vehicle Replacement Plan a 10 Wheel Dump Truck for the Street Dept. estimated at $193,000, and approved by City Council on February 22, 2011.
Mrs. Pesce questioned the numbers on the vehicle replacement plan, saying they are not the same as those listed in these motions. Mr. Castro replied the original plan did not have realistic numbers that reflect current market costs.
Mrs. Pesce asked why the plan was set up with so little in the 10/11 year and so much in the 11/12 year.
Mr. Castro replied the original plan had vehicles replaced every two or three years, and was not correct.
Mrs. Pesce noted the plan goes out for many years. Mr. Castro said he reviewed the plan up to 2030.
Mr. Scoville asked if the plan was overfunded. Mr. Castro said it was, but was also underfunded in some respects.
Mrs. Traub asked since the Vehicle Replacement Plan is changing, if it is being funded appropriately. Mr. Castro said he will be working on it with the Comptroller in the future.
Mrs. Traub and Mr. Castro discussed the details of various equipment, and the uses planned for this Dump Truck.
Mrs. Pesce asked if an inflation factor was built into the Vehicle Replacement Plan. Deputy Chief Brunoli noted that 3% was factored in, but Fire Trucks costs are increasing by 5%.
Mrs. Pesce cautioned that these purchases shouldn’t give the appearance that money is being moved now in order to be used for anything else. Mayor Bingham said we were given the tools for this plan and need to continue to budget appropriately.
Mrs. Traub questioned the timing of the purchase in June as opposed to July. Mr. Castro said pricing is an issue, they are still researching the new generation of Police Vehicles, and the Parks & Recreation vehicle needs to get off the road. He noted the Dump Truck has union issues behind it, will take about 8 months to build, and this motion is only approval to go out to bid, not a final approval.
Mayor Bingham said he recognizes the benefit in disciplined spending and saving plans, spanning multiple administrations. He said he will not recommend allocating vehicle replacement dollars to the general budget.
The Board voted unanimously to authorize moving ahead by one year on the Vehicle Replacement Plan the purchase of a 10 Wheel Dump Truck for the Street Dept. estimated at $193,000, approved by City Council on February 22, 2011.
Parks and Recreation
On a motion by Mrs. Pesce, seconded by Mr. Paganini, the Board discussed moving ahead by one year on the Vehicle Replacement Plan the purchase of a Dump Truck for the Parks Dept. estimated at $102,000, approved by City Council on April 4, 2011.
MINUTES - PAGE 2
BOARD OF FINANCE
April 12, 2011
CHANGES TO VEHICLE REPLACEMENT PLAN Cont’d
Parks and Recreation Cont’d
Mrs. Traub said she doesn’t doubt the need to replace this truck but is concerned about how this price was calculated. Mr. Castro explained he added together the cost of the individual components. Mrs. Traub further questioned the need for this type of vehicle. Mr. Simmons explained it is used to haul material in the parks such as stone dust and gravel. It is also used for salt application for parks’ parking lots and roads as well as municipal parking lots. This winter a spreader had to be borrowed from the Street Dept., he said, as the Parks’ spreader was beyond repair due to rot and damage. Mrs. Traub asked what equipment is hauled. Mr. Simmons replied that they haul lawnmowers, turf sweepers, and various turf related items. He said the dump body is needed to haul more materials
and avoid asking for help from the Street Department. He gave the example of replacing a warning track at Fuessenich Park, hauling over 200 tons of stone dust.
Mrs. Traub stressed the need for shared services. Mr. Simmons said this vehicle is used for salt application for the City Hall and Fire Department parking lots. Mrs. Traub recommended trying to bring down the cost of the Parks and Recreation truck and utilize something else to solve their issues. Mr. Castro explained the ways he tried to bring down the cost. He considered a Ford 750, but the cost savings would only be approximately $10,000. He also considered carbon steel instead of stainless steel to save another $4,000, but the stainless steel body would outlast the truck.
Mrs. Traub said vehicles would last longer if they were washed after each use. Mr. Simmons said they don’t have the facilities that the Street Dept. has but they do keep up on that.
Mrs. Traub maintained that the specs should be looked at further to find more cost savings.
Mrs. Pesce asked for a clarification of the motion and vote. Mayor Bingham said the motion is to change the plan as it existed and to move forward with the purchase process. He said the Board is not allocating money at this time but allowing Purchasing to put these three items out to bid. Mr. Castro stressed that the costs listed here are only estimates, and the final prices will have separate options for cost reduction.
Mr. Scoville asked if the money-saving changes to the specifications will be part of the bid process. Mr. Castro said they would.
Mr. Paganini noted that the truck originally cost $40,000 and asked if $91,000 in repairs is a reasonable expenditure for this vehicle. Mrs. Traub said it was $68,000 without the fuel and Mr. Castro said he has been patching this vehicle up forever, and yes, the figure is reasonable, outside of accidents.
Mr. Farley asked a follow-up question about shared services. He asked if the Parks and Recreation Department has the opportunity of driving a Street Department vehicle if they are not using it. Mayor Bingham said technically, yes, but it depends on the type of operator license required.
The Board voted unanimously to authorize moving ahead by one year on the Vehicle Replacement Plan the purchase of a Dump Truck for the Parks Dept. estimated at $102,000, approved by City Council on April 4, 2011.
Police Department
On a motion by Mrs. Traub, seconded by Mr. Farley, the Board discussed moving ahead by one year on the Vehicle Replacement Plan the purchase of Two Interceptors for the Police Dept., estimated at $63,000 for both, approved by the Board of Public Safety on March 2, 2011 and by City Council on April 4, 2011.
Mrs. Pesce asked why purchasing these last two Interceptors was so important. Mr. Castro said he needs to consider the cost of parts as the fleet is 95% Crown Victoria and his parts room is 100% Crown Victoria parts. He said he is still in the process of researching future vehicle types with Chief Maniago and Lt. Newkirk.
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BOARD OF FINANCE
April 12, 2011
CHANGES TO VEHICLE REPLACEMENT PLAN Cont’d
Police Department Cont’d
Chief Maniago explained that the Crown Victoria is the “Cadillac” of police cars, preferred all across the country.
He said there will be no more orders taken at the factories. He noted that Torrington Police transport their own
Prisoners and the Crown Victorias are a little bigger than other cars on the market.
He further noted that every year more equipment is going into the vehicles’ front seat such as mobile data
terminals and GPS, yet the cars are getting smaller.
Chief Maniago said they will be testing a demo of each new car that comes out to see what best fits their needs.
Smaller cars will not necessarily give better gas mileage, he said, because of the hard driving that police cars go
through.
The Board voted unanimously to authorize moving ahead by one year on the Vehicle Replacement Plan the purchase of Two Interceptors for the Police Dept., estimated at $63,000 for both, approved by the Board of Public Safety on March 2, 2011 and by City Council on April 4, 2011.
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Mr. Scoville, seconded by Mrs. Pesce , the Board of Finance voted unanimously to adjourn at 6:13 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC
CITY CLERK
Respectfully Submitted,
Carol L. Anderson, CCTC
Asst. City Clerk
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