Simsbury, CT - Board of Finance Minutes

Paul Henault, Chairman, called the Regular Meeting of the Board of Finance to order at 8:32 p.m. in the Henry James Memorial Middle School Cafeteria, 155 Firetown Road, Simsbury, Connecticut. The following members were present: James Belfiore, Candace Fitzpatrick, Peter Askham and Michael Wade. Also present were Kevin Kane, Finance Director, David Holden, Business Manager, Anita Mielert, First Selectman, and other interested parties.

Chairman Henault noted receipt of Mr. Kane’s April 17, 2001 memo regarding budget transfers (Addendum 1). He pointed out that the BOS plans to cover their budget deficit through line item changes in the budget.

Chairman Henault noted receipt of Mr. Toner’s May 9, 2001 memo (Addendum 2). Mr. Kane explained that no transfer from the General Fund is being requested. He pointed out that the Simsbury Farms Special Revenue Fund has an $88,000 fund balance and any deficit would be covered by the fund balance, unless it exceeds $88,000. Ms. Fitzpatrick requested that Mr. Toner discuss his request with the BOF before they take action on this item.

Ms. Fitzpatrick moved to table Mr. Toner’s request to amend the fiscal year 2000/01 Simsbury Farms Special Revenue Fund, Revenue and Appropriation Budgets. The motion was seconded by Mr. Belfiore and carried unanimously.

Mr. Holden reviewed the items which resulted in a BOE budget deficit. He stated that these deficit figures were included in the funds which were transferred to cover the deficit, and the prediction has not changed.

Mr. Kane stated that his memo includes the budget transfers approved during this meeting. He stated that it appears that the deficits will be kept within the BOS budget. He noted that there is a possibility that the BOS budget will have a surplus which should be appropriated toward re-evaluation. Mr. Kane reviewed the amount of Reserves and stated that the current fiscal year began with $4.6 million in Reserves and should end with $4.6 million in Reserves.

Ms. Mielert stated that recently $64,000 in delinquent taxes were collected and since February there has been an $800,000 reduction in delinquent taxes. She stated that the Town may receive $63,000 and $244,000 in taxes, from properties with leans, prior to the end of the current fiscal year.

Chairman Henault stated that the BOS and miscellaneous budgets passed, but the BOE budget was defeated by more than 600 votes. He reviewed the role of the BOF, based on the Charter, when a budget is defeated at referendum (Addendum 3). Chairman Henault noted that the BOE budget must be passed by June 11th in order for the tax bills to be mailed on June 29th. He stated that alternatively, the BOF can set a temporary mill rate and a second set of tax bills would be sent which would reflect the adjustment based on the approved budget.

Mr. Belfiore suggested that the BOF determine a sellable mill rate and use that to determine the bottom line BOE budget amount. Board members discussed various scenarios based around the tax rate, the BOE budget percentage increase, and the use of surplus. Mr. Askham stated that there is a compelling argument for the BOE budget based on enrollment. He suggested that utilizing the 4% budget guideline and adding the 3.25%-3.5% increase in enrollment, an acceptable BOE budget increase may be in the range of 7%.

Mr. Askham expressed his feeling that the tax increase should be below 6% and surplus should be used to offset the budget. Mr. Belfiore expressed concern that by utilizing surplus, the surplus will not be available to take the sting out of re-evaluation. Ms. Fitzpatrick stated that she does not advocate the use of Reserves, particularly since it will not have a large impact on the mill rate. Mr. Askham suggested that if the BOE budget is reduced by $750,000 and $200,000 of surplus is factored into the equation then the tax rate would be 5.5% which would still allow an increase in the BOE budget of 7%.

Mr. Wade moved to adopt a $42,539,588 Board of Education budget for fiscal year 2001/2002, which is a $750,000 reduction in the proposed 2001/2002 Board of Education budget and is a $2,823,877 increase over the 2000/2001 Board of Education budget. The Board of Finance agrees to the use of $200,000 in surplus funds in fiscal year 2001/2002. The adopted budget and use of surplus would generate a 5.52% increase in property taxes, which would increase the current mill rate by 1.9 mills to a 36.3 mill rate. The motion was seconded by Mr. Belfiore.

Mr. Askham expressed concern that the BOF guard the use of Reserves and not spend another $1 million next year. He stated that if the BOS or BOE anticipate a deficit in next year’s budget they need to have a plan to address the deficit in a more timely manner than occurred this year. Mr. Wade noted that, based on the time schedule for a Town Meeting and Referendum being held prior to June 11th, there is no time for the revised budget to be sent back to the BOE.