RECEIVED APRIL 27, 2009 @ 8:30 A.M.
Michele R. Grande, Redding Town Clerk
4 pages
REDDING BOARD OF FINANCE
REGULAR MEETING
April 20, 2009
Filed subject to approval
Present: Alvarez (Chairman), DeSalvo, Dolan, Simeonidis, Viscio
Also present: First Selectman Ketcham, Selectman Takacs, Selectman Miller, L. McHale, Treasurer O’Donnell, Assessor Ford: Redding Board of Education Chair Lewson, E. Miller, L. Goldberg, J. Barickman, L. Brey, A. Fossbender, P. Sullivan; approximately 75 members of the public and a representative of the Redding Pilot
Chairman Alvarez called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion: move to approve the minutes of the March 24, 2009 meeting as corrected. DeSalvo, Simeonidis. Approved. 4-0-1. Dolan abstained.
Correction: page 2, under Board of Education discussion, delete the comment that the board suggested a budget between 1 & 2%; delete Mr. Simeonidis’ comment regarding class sizes.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Dana Gray, Lamppost Drive: support for the school budget, with no additional reductions.
Mary Dale Lancaster, Mine Hill Road: stated that many parents support the proposed school budget.
Charley Reynolds Thompson: as a Redding resident, he supports the school’s budget.
Sara Sobel, Putnam Hill Drive: submitted a letter to the Board of Finance in support of the school budget with no further cuts.
Mr. Alvarez acknowledged that he received 22 emails from residents supporting the school budget as proposed. He forwarded each of the emails to his fellow board members for review.
Tricia Callaghan, Topledge Road: asked if there would be an opportunity to address the board later. Mr. Alvarez responded that there would be another opportunity for the public to comment.
Mary Brannen, Gallows Hill Road: support for the school budget.
Mary Gibson, Cricklewood: support for the schools.
David Monson, Newtown Turnpike: suggested the BOF look beyond the schools for further reductions; the town needs to find smarter ways of doing things, i.e. fire & police department, town offices, etc.
Heather Morgan, Wayside Lane, and Director of Mark Twain Library: commented on the importance of the library that provides services for all ages.
Gwen Denny: most people move to Redding for the schools, commented that the town’s priorities are not aligned with the needs of the residents, i.e. building maintenance and improvement of the schools.
Jennifer Carello, Little River Lane: all residents benefit from the schools, especially housing values, and the schools are doing an excellent job of educating the children.
Diane Dooley, Costa Lane: support for the school budget.
Dick Hawks, Huckleberry Lane: asked for no further reductions for the schools.
Mr. Dolan asked how many people in the audience were in support of the school budget. Most present raised their hands. He asked if anyone was opposed, one person, Chris Jackson, raised his hand.
Chris Jackson, John Read Road: commented on the current economic conditions and the number of people losing jobs or dealing with reduced income; these times do not call or increases in budgets; suggested the town and schools consider alternates for the high costs of fuel, such as closing schools for a week in the coldest month; suggested that clever thinking may result in greater savings.
Lewis Brey, Costa Lane and BOE member: commented that closing school for a extra week in the winter would not be practical. The schools do not have air conditioning and there are June days when school must be dismissed early due to the high temperatures in the buildings.
Mary Brannen, Gallows Hill Road: commented on the school building issues/maintenance, especially the ventilation issues in the West Wing of RES. Mr. Alvarez noted that this is an issue that the Long Range Capital Planning Committee was reviewing.
Unclear name, Cricklewood Road: commented that there are some parents willing to pay more for education, that they board of education has cut too much out of the budget.
FISCAL YEAR 2009-2010 BUDGET DISCUSSIONS
Redding Board of Education
Redding Board of Education Chair Lewson provided the most recent budget worksheet, indicting the 1.94% increase over the current year budget. The Board is in full support of the budget and stressed that any further reductions would be in the area of personnel cuts. Mr. DeSalvo asked if the board was considering the impact of additional enrollments as a result of children moving from private schools to the local schools. Mr. Lewson reported the budget is based on the current enrollment projections, but the administration has noticed a slight increase in enrollment, particularly in the lower grades.
Region #9 Board of Education
Board members were attending a Public Hearing and meeting on the budget. Their current proposal is for a 1.41% increase.
Selectman’s budget
Mrs. Ketcham reviewed the progress made to bring the budget from a 2.99% increase to a 0.59% increase. Town services and costs have been reduced wherever possible. Two increases were unexpected. The mandatory contribution to MERF (Municipal Employee Retirement Fund) was increased. The cost of hauling for the Recycling/Transfer Station has increased dramatically (+$36,000) with the expiration of the 8-year old contract. In addition, the Recycling/Transfer Station operation will be reduced from a 6-day to a 4-day schedule to save money. Health insurance costs in the budget have been reduced by $50,000 at the recommendation of the consultant. The health insurance was put out to bid and the consultant believes the savings will be in excess of $50,000. Reductions also included a
reduction in part-time personnel or a reduction in hours. Mrs. Ketcham also clarified the 4-day work week for the town; the employees are working the same number of hours, but within the 4-day work week. The savings in energy costs have been substantial.
Assessor John Ford provided “Grand List” information for review. The Grand List has eroded about 1 ½% during the past year.
Board of Finance members discussed the Fund Balance. The current proposal includes $607,856 (same as previous year).
Tax collection rate was also discussed. The Tax Collection indicated a 99% collection rate was possible.
The current budget proposals total $43,863,777, or a 3.75% increase over the current year.
Motion: move that the Redding Board of Finance recommend to taxpayers a budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year of $43,863,777. Simeonidis, Dolan. Approved. 3-2. Mr. DeSalvo and Mr. Viscio voted in opposition.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Linda Koch: thanked Dr. Fossbender for sending the health insurance package out to bid and saving the taxpayers a considerable amount of money. She asked Mrs. Ketcham what the savings from the town side would be on health insurance. Mrs. Ketcham responded that the current budget proposal includes a $50,000 savings and she believes there will be more savings in that area.
Lewis Goldberg, Dayton Road and member of the Redding Board of Education: addressed the members of the public present regarding the importance of getting the vote out on the budget.
Bob Koch: cautioned that the economy may get worst and the BOF should be cautious.
Jamie Barickman, Church Hill Lane and Redding Board of Education: commented that this year the decrease in the grand list has a considerable impact on the budget and this needs to be explained to the voters.
Jennifer Carello, Little River Lane: question regarding the number of yes votes that are needed to get the budget approved. She will communicate with the school parent population regarding the importance of voting on the budget referendum.
Wendy (name unclear), Picketts Ridge Road: questioned what would happen if the budget fails. The response from the Board of Finance was that further reductions would be reviewed.
Gwen Denny, Wayside Lane: commented that the Redding school budget is far below a “maintenance” budget, a maintenance budget would be a 4.9% increase.
Mike D’Agostino, Glen Hill Road: commented that the Board of Finance needs to re-instill confidence. He asked if safeguards were now in place to prevent future problems with the fund balance.
CONTROLLER’S REPORT
Lori McHale, Acting Controller, provided the Controller’s report, the year-to-date expenditures, projected revenues, and the response to the Blum Shapiro Draft Management letter.
UPDATE ON TIF/GLDC
Mrs. Ketcham reported there was no new information.
ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
The meeting scheduled for May 27, 2009 was cancelled. The Board of Finance will meet on May 5, 2009, as scheduled, immediately after the budget referendum vote.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion: move to adjourn. DeSalvo, Dolan. Approved. Unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:37 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Maday, Recording Secretary
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