BOARD OF FINANCE
TOWN OFFICE BUILDING
40 OLD FARMS ROAD
WILLINGTON, CT ~06279
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Members Present: Members Absent:
Jim Bulick, Chairman Robert Wiecenski
John Patton, Vice Chair (arrived 7:13 pm) Annemarie Poole - Alternate
Barry Wallett
Peter Tanaka
Elizabeth Treiber
Geoff Prusak – Alternate
Also Present: Christina Mailhos, First Selectman; Donna Latincsics, Business Manager; Tish Ignatowicz, Treasurer. Andrew Marco, Planning & Zoning.
Chairman Bulick called the meeting to order at 7:04 pm.
SEATING OF ALTERNATES
Elizabeth Treiber motioned to seat Geoff Prusak for John Patton, Peter Tanaka seconded. All were in favor, motion carried.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Peter Tanaka motioned to approve the regular meeting minutes of August 18, 2016. Barry Wallett seconded. Discussion followed. There was a number of changes to be made and it was decided to table the minutes to vote on them once the corrections are made.
PRESENT TO SPEAK
Don Burg was present. He has been asked to head up the planning of the Holiday Party for the Town's Employees. He came before the Board to see if they would approve paying for the party or at least pitching in towards the fee. In the past the employees have been responsible for paying their own way. Discussion followed. He checked with the Hill Top Restaurant, the cost there would be approx. $1,000 or $15.99 per person. He didn't get a change to meet with Willington Pizza yet. The Board asked him to work with Robin Campbell to estimate attendance, and come back to our meeting next month once he has more firm numbers.
John Paton arrived.
Peter Tanaka motioned to seat Geoff Prusak for Robert Wiecenski, Elizabeth Treiber seconded. All were in favor, motion carried.
Board of Finance -1- September 15, 2016
NEW BUSINESS
POCD (Plan of Conservation & Development) - Andrew Marco
Connecticut Statue requires Willington to periodically update their POCD. Andrew Marco was present to ask for the funds that were previously approved in the CIP Plan. They sent out for bids, and have decided to hire Planimetrics in Simsbury, CT. Discussion followed. This needs to be done once every ten years, otherwise we will become ineligible for discretionary funding.
John Patton motioned that the Board of Finance recommends that the Board of Selectmen call a Town Meeting to authorize the expenditure from the Capital Reserve Fund of an amount not to exceed $45,000 to update the Plan of Conservation and Development, as required by state statute. Barry Wallet seconded. All were in favor, motion carried.
Superintendent's Resignation Letter
Barry Wallett informed the Board that the Superintendent's last day is October 7th. The contract stated that 90 day notice was needed but he asked to end after 30 days and the Board of Education approved his request. There is no interim superintendent in place. The Board agreed for Chairman Bulick to send the Chairman of the Board of Education to please keep the Board of Finance informed.
OLD BUSINESS
Mansfield Willington Cooperative Agreement
We received a memo from the Board of Education stating that they voted to discontinue this evaluation. They feel that their time would be better spent exploring options that would maintain our local schools. Barry Wallet voiced his concern in not proceeding. Mansfield Schools have higher scores and lower per student cost. He feels that we can learn from them to help improve our scores and lower the per student costs.
Budget Questions letter sent to Superintendent Harding
We received a response from Superintendent Harding. The note said that the Board of Education meetings are being recorded and we can get information from their new website.
P&Z P&Z/IWW/ZBA/BOF Joint Discussions
Minutes have been reviewed by all the Boards. Chairman Bulick was asked what date would be good for the BOF for the next joint meeting. The Board agreed that October 6th looked good for them.
Policy to Limit Annual Debt Service to (5-15%) of our Annual Operating Budget
Business Manager Donna Latincsics, presented an analysis showing our current and projected debt service. Willington’s debt service is currently running from 2.5 to 5%. Chairman Bulick asked if the Board thought it would be necessary to implement a debt service policy, given current capital spending levels. Discussion followed. It was agreed that this would be left as is for now.
Board of Finance -3- September 15, 2016
Annual Report
7 departments have submitted their reports. Chairman Bulick said he will send out a reminder letter regarding the September 30, 2016 deadline.
CORRESPONDENCE - none
GOOD & WELFARE - none
ADJOURMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:16 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra L. Lewis
Debra L. Lewis
BOF Recording Secretary
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