MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF FINANCE
May 25, 2016
A SPECIAL MEETING was held by the Board of Finance in the City Hall Auditorium on Wednesday, May 25, 2016.
Those in attendance included Mayor Elinor Carbone and Board of Finance Members Christopher Diorio, Laurene Pesce, Mark Bushka, Christopher Anderson, Joshua Ferreira and Frank Rubino.
Mayor Carbone called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m.
DISCUSSION: BRD. OF EDUC. FY15/16 BUDGET
Mayor Carbone explained that CGS 10-222 authorizes the Board of Finance to develop a mitigation plan for additional funds for the Board of Education if there is a need for it. After identifying city budget items that could be used to offset the deficit, the Board of Finance would then look to the contingency fund, followed by a review of any city department budgets where there are unexpended funds or a surplus available to move into the Board of Education budget. She said the last option would be to use undesignated funds. Mayor Carbone said that she has worked with the Board of Education Budget Chairman and Administration to create a plan to include continued and close monitoring.
In response to the Board of Education’s request for $1,386,961.83 to cover a deficit, Mayor Carbone said they have identified some areas where the Board of Education can immediately mitigate some of that overage.
Mr. Traub said they are considering a transfer into the Operating Budget of $28,000 from a Contingency Fund for a current project at Vogel Wetmore, with an additional $357,085 transfer from the THS ADA project. Mayor Carbone clarified that the Board of Education identified $1,292,500 of ADA projects that will not happen until after June 30, 2016. She asked if the change of grant fund numbers used in budget discussions and adoptions can be reconciled at this point in time.
Mrs. Pesce asked if pushing projects off has a negative impact on reimbursement. Ms. Proulx said the funds may be moved as long as there is proper documentation for the adjustments.
Mayor Carbone recommended this discussion be set aside until the next Board of Finance meeting, and stressed that whatever the mitigation process’s end result is, it will play into discussions on the FY2016/2017 budget. She said the Board of Education identified three other accounts where there may be funds available to mitigate the overage: $191,158 from Medicaid, $24,828 from Facility Use and $148,000 from the Food Service Account.
Mayor Carbone noted that $213,656 of ECS cannot be used to reduce the Special Education line item per State Statutes, but must actually be used as a supplemental appropriation. She said that $378,792 of Excess Cost Grant does qualify under CGS 10-76G for reduction of that line item.
The Board discussed the impact of funding the Internal Service Fund at 110%, 105% or 100% levels and reviewed
the impact of reductions to these funding levels. Ms. Proulx noted that historically, after budgeting at 100%, any balance above the 15% reserve is returned to the taxpayers via the budget process.
Mayor Carbone proposed that a Self-Insurance Committee be developed to establish funding policies, review the reserve balances, and determine contributions, because with the adapted policies regarding our OPEB obligation and funding, this is also going to be used as part of the funding process.
MITIGATION PLAN
On a motion by Mr. Diorio, seconded by Mr. Ferreira, the Board voted unanimously to transfer the sum of $28,000 from Capital to Operating, representing the balance of Vogel Wetmore project.
On a motion by Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mr. Bushka, the Board indicated agreement to table the transfer of $476,050, representing the town-funded portion of the ADA projects from Capital to Operating and reduce the Board of Education Capital Plan by the portion of the project expense that qualified to be reimbursed by State Grant Funds. The Board of Education was directed to bring more information on this back to the Board of Finance in a future meeting.
In accordance with CGS 10-76G, on a motion by Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mrs. Pesce, the Board voted unanimously to allow the Board of Education to reduce the Special Education Expenditures account line item by $378,792.00 representing the additional Excess Cost Grant funds paid by the State.
On a motion by Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mr. Ferreira, the Board voted unanimously to appropriate supplemental funds to the Board of Education in the amount of $213,656 representing the additional Education Cost Share revenues paid by the State.
On a motion by Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mrs. Pesce, the Board voted unanimously to direct the Board of Education to bring forward any amendments to the FY2017 Capital Plan resulting from the delay in 2015-16 Capital Projects.
On an amended motion by Mr. Diorio, seconded as amended by Mr. Anderson, the Board voted 5/1 with Mr. Rubino opposed, to direct the Board of Education to use all other miscellaneous accounts, including Medicaid, Facility Use and Food Service Accounts to mitigate the deficit in the FY16 budget.
BUDGET DISCUSSION FY2016/2017
Mayor Carbone pointed out that a number of items will have an impact on the Board of Finance budget decisions. She recommended that the Board of Finance allow ample time for the impact of the changes to be calculated, and to request any additional information they wish to see. Mayor Carbone said that because of the mill rate cap, the projected revenue will be $7,783,536 and Ms. Proulx added that the total to be received from municipal revenue sharing is $2,435,109. Mayor Carbone directed the Board of Education to look at Excess Cost reimbursement rates in their budget projections, as additional revenue
information is critical in determining what additional expenses can be absorbed. She asked what additional information the Board of Finance would need and Mr. Rubino said he would like to see a differential ladder from zero to 2.0 in .4 increments. The Board discussed the impact of the self-insurance funding rates. Mayor Carbone said that if $500,000 is saved from self-insurance funding, and $500,000 in revenue projections can be found, there’s a million dollars. She noted that this is the amount of money that can keep a school open.
Mrs. Pesce recommended that all efforts be made to avoid a 1.9 mill rate increase and urged the Board to keep all schools open for another year. Mayor Carbone listed the budget challenges the City faces and stressed that an oppressive .4575 mill rate will not allow us to attract and grow businesses. She said it will take efforts on both sides to control spending, increase the revenue by growing the Grand List and create an attractive mill rate.
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mr. Rubino, the meeting was adjourned at 6:25 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC
CITY CLERK
Carol L. Anderson CMC
Asst. City Clerk
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