RECEIVED MARCH 25, 2010 @ 9:30 A.M.
Kerry Miserendino, Redding Asst. Town Clerk
REDDING BOARD OF FINANCE
REGULAR MEETING
March 22, 2010
Minutes
Filed subject to approval
Present: Alvarez (Chairman), DeSalvo, Dolan, Guffey, Mazzucco, Simeonidis
Also present: First Selectman Ketcham, Selectman Takacs, Selectman Pemberton, Controller Gniadek, Treasurer O’Donnell, Tax Collector Moisio, a representative of the Redding Pilot and 25 members of the public.
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Alvarez at 7:30 pm in the Hearing Room of the Town Office Building.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion: move that the Board of Finance accepts the minutes of February 22, 2010 as submitted. Guffey, DeSalvo. Approved. 5-0-1. Mr. Simeonidis abstained.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Frank Scott, Umpawaug Road: Mr. Scott, representing NABR, addressed the Board of Finance, asking how the budget expenditure number prior to the March 4 Public Hearing had changed as a result of what was said at the meeting, and asked what impact the NABR informal petition had on budget planning. Mr. Alvarez responded that the Board of Finance was meeting tonight to discuss the budget and impact of the Public Hearing, adding that both the Selectman’s budget and Board of Education budget had been adjusted since that meeting. Regarding the petition, Mr. Alvarez noted the question was not a clear and that 20% of the signatures on the petition were of persons not registered or of minors.
Lewis Goldberg, Dayton Road: Mr. Goldberg, a Redding Board of Education member, stated that he has asked the NABR representatives how the education budget could be reduced by 10% in light of the Connecticut regulations stipulation that an amount less than the previous year cannot be budgeted. He has followed up with others and Mr. Andrews, but has had no response to his question.
Gwen Denny, Wayside Lane: stated that the NABR 10% in 2010 with no impact on services would be impossible to achieve. She requested email addresses for the board members or a way to get comments to the Board of Finance from members of the public unable to attend the meetings. Mrs. Denny commented that the current school budget is too low and recommended adding back some of the programs. Regarding the capital expenditure plan, she commented on the need for attention at Redding Elementary School, especially in the area of heating/ventilation and carpet replacement.
Jeannie Wendschuh, Deer Spring Road: Mrs. Wendschuh offered her support for adding back the ½ position for enrichment at RES and the ½ position for Woodshop at JRMS. She supports the repairs to the school buildings, and asked that $1,000,000 in roadway repair/reconstruction in the operating budget rather than borrowing for the road work.
Mary Brannon, Gallows Hill Road: commented that her family moved to Redding for the schools, and she would support a higher Board of Education budget, and offered her support for the Woodshop course at JRMS.
Tina (name unclear) Fire Hill Lane: she moved to Redding for the school system and asked that the schools be maintained.
TAX COLLECTOR’S REPORT
Tax Collector Moisio reported the Town received $50,000 toward back taxes from Georgetown Green, the company purchasing the GLDC property. This represents an earnest payment, and they expect to pay the remaining back taxes ($450,000) prior to June 1, 2010.
Mrs. Moisio reported the tax collected to date is 99.5% of the total to be collected. Mr. Simeonidis asks if there was any evidence of distress from taxpayers or an increase in foreclosures. Mrs. Moisio reported the number of foreclosures and bankruptcies is down, and there have been only a small number of taxpayers requesting a temporary payment plan.
CONTROLLER’S REPORT
Mr. Gniadek highlighted his written report:
1. Revenues: no change from last month.
2. Expenses: MIRMA (Municipal Interlocal Risk Management Agency), the agency providing workers compensating coverage through a self-insured program, has assessed the Town a total of $277,000 for the period from 7/1/2002 through 6/30/2009. The expected payment of $46,000 is expected for this year and Mr. Gniadek recommended it come from the Contingency Account. For next year, the Town is being billed $93,000 (1/3 of the total) due on 7/1/2010. Mr. Gniadek and Mrs. Ketcham have scheduled a meeting with MIRMA to get an explanation/understanding of the assessment.
CMERS (Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement System) has notified the Town that the contribution to the retirement plan has been increased from 7.5% to 9.5% for town employees and from 9.75% to 13.75% for Police. This will increase the amount in the proposed budget by $68,000.
3. Medical Premium reduction: increasing the H.S.A. from $1500 to $2,000 for single coverage and from $2,000 to $4,000 for family coverage, there is a savings of $27,000. In addition, he noted that there is pending legislation to eliminate the state tax on medical premium of 1.75%, saving an additional $22,000.
4. IT Services: the current IT provider contract will not be renewed for the next year. The Town will be partnering with the Redding Board of Education IT department as part of the shared services approach. Details are still being worked out.
5. Station Road Bridge Project: this project is going out to bid. The project will be 100% reimbursed from the LoCIP funds provided by the State. The work is anticipated to be done in July and August.
BOARD OF EDUCATION LONG RANGE CAPITAL PLAN
Ed Miller, chairman of the Board of Education’s Long Range Capital Plan subcommittee presented the capital budget request. He provided information regarding the work of the subcommittee and outlined the various recommendations. The request for fiscal 2010-2011 totaled $3,210,000. The work included building envelope(brick façade, windows & roof) work at RES, HVAC work at RES, bathroom fixture replacement/repair at both schools, flooring replacement at both schools, and ceiling replacement tiles at RES. The plan is to have work begin on these items during the 2010 summer months.
Two additional projects are planned for the following two years. These items, water system at both schools and the septic system at RES, require lead time for the design work necessary to bid the work.
Mrs. O’Donnell, Chair of the Redding Long Range Capital Planning Committee will assemble the Town’s list of capital requests and the Board of Education’s list into one complete document for further review and discussion. The Board set a special meeting for April 7, 2010 to discuss the capital list further.
2011 BUDGET DISCUSSION AND ACTION
Mr. DeSalvo reported the Region 9 Board of Education approved a budget originally submitted at an increase 4.01% and reduced to 2.76%. The Redding proportion of the budget will be an increase of 1.12%, while Easton’s share will increase by 4.63%. He added that the Central Office budget, a portion of the overall budget for Region 9 and the Redding Board of Education, was approved at a Tri-board meeting in January and contains a placeholder for a 6% increase in salary for the Asst. Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and the Director of Finance. He commented on the fairness of increases in general. The high school salary increase is 2.9%, the Redding administrator increase is 3.15%, while last year the town employees (non-union) only received 2%. Mr. DeSalvo added that he would
support the Woodshop course at JRMS and has had many additional calls with support from members of the community.
Discussion of the proposed budget followed. The proposed operating budget, with the adjustments Mr. Gniadek discussed earlier, is $44,722,593, and represents an increase of 1.96%.
Mr. Simeonidis left the meeting (9:07 pm)
Mr. Dolan commented that most of the speakers at the Public Hearing supported the budget, and many urged the Board of Education to increase the budget. He stated he would support the proposed budget as it now stands.
Mr. DeSalvo questioned the amount to be put into the Reserve account, especially if the Georgetown project was moving forward and their back taxes were being paid. Mr. Alvarez commented that there has not been a discussion/decision regarding the level of funding for the Reserve account.
Mr. Alvarez agreed that most present for the Public Hearing was supportive of the budget and he believes the proposed budgets serve the whole community.
Motion: move that the Board of Finance approve an operating budget for fiscal 2010-2011 of $44,722,593 which represents a 1.96% increase over the current operating budget. Mazzucco, Dolan. Approved. Unanimous.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Julia Pemberton: commented that the capital projects for the schools should include appropriate oversight or project manager. History in Redding has show that projects of this type should not be managed by a committee of volunteers.
Lucy Cushman, Woodland Drive Extension: agreed with the comments made by Mrs. Pemberton.
Mike D’Agostino, Glen Hill Road: commented that the school’s subcommittee does not object to project management, but the projects proposed are individual projects, not an entire renovation.
Jeannie Wendschuh, Deer Spring Road: asked that the Board of Finance have the discussion of policy regarding the Reserve account and make a decision, and also create policies for the capital planning and payment of bans. Formal written policies are important to the management of the town. Mr. Alvarez responded that the board will discuss the policy for the Reserve account at the April meeting.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion: move to adjourn. Mazzucco, Dolan. Approved. Unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Maday, Recording Secretary
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