These minutes are for informational purposes only. For official minutes, please contact the Town Clerk's Office.
BOARD OF FINANCE
MAY 21, 2002
REGULAR MEETING
1. CALL TO ORDER
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Finance was called to order at 8:32 P.M. in the Henry James Junior High School cafeteria. The following members were present: Chairman Paul Henault, Peter Askham, Candace Fitzpatrick, Nicholas Mason, Kevin North and Michael Wade. Also present were First Selectman Thomas Vincent, Finance Director/Treasurer Kevin Kane, Board of Education Business Manager David Holden and other interested parties
2. APPROVE MINUTES
April 1, 2002 Budget Workshop
Mr. Askham moved to approve the minutes from the April 1, 2002 Budget Workshop. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fitzpatrick and carried unanimously.
April 2, 2002 Public Hearing
Mr. Askham moved to approve the minutes from the April 2, 2002 Public Hearing. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fitzpatrick and carried unanimously.
April 9, 2002 Regular Meeting
Mr. Askham moved to approve the minutes from the April 9, 2002 Regular Meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fitzpatrick and carried unanimously.
3. OPERATING BUDGET TRANSFERS
Mr. Kane reviewed his April 15, 2002, memo: "Fiscal Year 2001/02 Budget Transfer" (Addendum I).
Mr. North moved to approve the General Fund Budget Transfer as outlined in Mr. Kane's memo of April 15, 2002. The motion was seconded by Mr. Askham.
A brief discussion ensued.
The vote was unanimous. The motion carried.
4. APPOINTMENT OF AUDITOR PURSUANT TO C.G.S. 7-396 AND 4-232
Mr. Kane joined in discussion concerning extending the contract for the current auditor Blum, Shapiro & Company, P.C. He explained that the new contract would run for three years, increasing 3.5% per year, and would not include GASB34. The Town would, however, be expected to have them do the GASB34 work as well. That would be an additional $7,000 to $7,500 over three years which Mr. Kane stated is not excessive compared with other companies.
Mr. Askham noted that the Town should be careful to not violate any new laws. He added that there are new Yellow Book (Government Auditing Standards) rules and that there will be new rules effective a year from now.
Mr. Kane noted that there are not many firms out there for this job. He suggested setting up a meeting with Blum, Shapiro to go over the scope of the GASB34 engagement.
Mr. North recommended establishing an audit sub-committee who would be responsible for having discussions with Blum, Shapiro on GASB34 and come back with a recommendation for the whole Board.
Mr. Askham stated that he has a meeting set up with Mr. Kane and the person from Mr. Askham's office who does the GASB34. He noted that this person has already been to a seminar on it. He stated that Blum, Shapiro has given the Town a list of what has to be done, but the Town needs to sit down with them and decide which of the items they will do and which the Town will do. He added that the price they are offering is very good, and that his firm charges a lot more for GASB34 work.
Ms. Fitzpatrick moved to appoint Blum, Shapiro as the auditor for the Town of Simsbury for a period of three years. The motion was seconded by Mr. North and carried unanimously.
Ms. Fitzpatrick moved to establish a sub-committee to talk with Blum, Shapiro regarding GASB34. The motion was seconded by Mr. Mason.
It was decided that Mr. Askham and Mr. North would comprise the aforementioned sub-committee.
Ms. Fitzpatrick amended her motion to name Mr. Askham and Mr. North as the sub-committee. Mr. Mason amended his second. The motion carried unanimously.
5. INVESTMENT INCOME
Mr. Kane presented a projection of investment income for 2002/03 of $590,778.26. He demonstrated that the monthly interest rate dropped dramatically over the past year. Mr. Henault agreed that this is a continued area of concern.
6. FINANCIAL REPORTS
Board of Education
Mr. Holden provided the Board of Finance members with Dr. Townsley's April 9, 2002, memo: "Financial Report/Quarterly Budget Analysis". He noted that the report showed no significant change. The projected surplus through June 30, 2002 is $35,954.
Mr. Henault asked about the status of the self-insurance fund. Mr. Holden passed out a graph: "Town of Simsbury/Board of Education Rolling 12-Month CIGNA Paid Claims". He stated that they seem to be pretty close to on target in relationship to their anticipated premiums paid this year relative to the claims. He noted that premiums are going up 28% next year.
7. Board of Finance
Mr. Kane reviewed his May 14, 2002, memo: "Financial Performance Report - Ten Months Ended April 30, 2002". Mr. Henault questioned what the hang-up is on the Stoddard Reservoir and Hall Farm Grants. Mr. Vincent answered that the State is slow in paying, and there were a few papers that had to be re-done a year and a half ago. The paperwork is now complete and has to go through the process.
8. Simsbury Farms Special Revenue Fund
Mr. Kane reviewed his "Summary Report" spreadsheet and stated that they are running about even with last year, maybe a little better. He stated that a lot depends on May and June golf, but they'll probably run a deficit.
9. DISCUSS RESULTS OF REFERENDUM; POSSIBLE ACTION
Ms. Fitzpatrick read off the ballot numbers and the corresponding number of YES and NO votes (unofficial):
Ballot Yes Votes No Votes
1 - Board of Selectmen budget 2,666 1,054
2 - Board of Education budget 2,537 1,217
3 - Sewer Use, Residential Rental Properties, Dog 2,813 881
Simsbury Farms/Special Programs, Non-Public
Schools, Debt Retirement, and Capital &
Nonrecurring budgets
4 - Simsbury High School Renovation project 2,691 1,073
5 - Sewer Treatment Plant Expansion project 2,769 934
It was noted that all items passed. Mr. Henault stated that the Board would have further discussions in the future with respect to the high school and to the sewer plant regarding bonding. Mr. Henault was glad to note that the voter turn-out was larger than normal. One poll worker in the audience stated that it was 23%.
10. MILL RATE CONSIDERATION
Mr. Kane passed out his worksheet: "Town of Simsbury Board of Finance Projected Mill Rate" to the Board members. Mr. Askham asked if there were any risk of the collection rate going down. Mr. Kane answered that he foresees no risk at this time.
Ms. Fitzpatrick moved to set the mill rate for the year 2002/03 at 39.1. The motion was seconded by Mr. Askham and carried unanimously.
11. OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business.
12. ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Askham moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:08 P.M. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fitzpatrick and carried unanimously.
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Paul W. Henault, Chairman Roxanne Farrell, Clerk
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