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BOARD OF FINANCE
MARCH 30, 2004
SPECIAL MEETING
1. CALL TO ORDER
A Special Meeting of the Board of Finance was called to order at 9:53 P.M. in the Simsbury High School auditorium, 34 Farms Village Road, Simsbury. The following members were present: Chairman Paul Henault, Peter Askham, Candace Fitzpatrick, Nicholas Mason, Kevin North and Michael Wade. Also present were Finance Director/Treasurer Kevin Kane, First Selectman Thomas Vincent and other interested parties.
Ms. Fitzpatrick moved to amend the agenda to discuss Agenda Item #2, Veterans' Benefits, next. The motion was seconded by Mr. Mason.
2. VETERANS' BENEFITS
Mr. Henault reviewed two significant changes made to Connecticut General Statutes Section 12-81(f) by Public Act 03-44 during the last session of the legislature: 1.) A municipality may adopt an income guideline that is up to $25,000 above the State guidelines. 2.) A municipality may opt to provide a $10,000 reduction in the assessment of a property OR a 10% reduction.
Mr. Henault read the summary from the 1/7/04 memo, "Projected Revenue Loss From Expanded Veterans' Exemption" by Assessor David Gardner: "To summarize, the probable maximum additional revenue loss at the higher income limits, if the $10,000 exemption is applied, is approximately $74,000. If the 10% exemption is applied, the amount increases to $118,000."
The Board discussed the changes and varying impacts with Mr. Kane and Mr. Vincent. In answer to questions, Mr. Vincent stated that the BOS had not made any decision or approval on the matter but were waiting for the BOF to do so. It was stressed that any financial impact will occur in FY 05/06.
Mr. North asked if this could be reconsidered in a future year. He stated that since, in effect, this has not been included in budget deliberations to date or in tax rate projections, he sees this as a spending increase as much as a tax reduction for somebody else. He added that he is not demeaning in any way, shape or form the contribution that veterans have made in their service to the country, but he thinks this is a difficult year to enlarge on the benefit. He suggested delaying implementation until the Board could see a time when it would be more affordable.
Mr. Wade moved to adopt the $25,000 increase in the income level qualifier that's applied by the State along with the 10% of assessment adjustment as reflected in Connecticut General Statute 12-81(f) which was amended during the last session of the legislature by Public Act 03-44. The motion was seconded by Mr. Askham.
Ms. Fitzpatrick stated that in the future in this sort of request to the BOF she would prefer the BOS to take a policy action before they ask for the budgetary component
A vote was taken. The motion passed with four yes votes, one no vote (Mr. North) and one abstention (Mr. Mason).
ACTION ON PROPOSED 2004/05 OPERATING BUDGETS
Board of Selectmen
Ms. Fitzpatrick moved to approve the Board of Selectmen Operating Budget as proposed. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wade and carried unanimously.
Other Budgets
Mr. North moved to approve the other budgets as submitted for the 04/05 Operating Budget in the total amount of $9,500,788 which is broken down as follows:
$5,161,910 Debt Retirement
$ 367,035 Non-Public Schools
$1,332,035 Sewer Treatment Plant
$ 52, 041 Residential Rental Properties
$ 77,341 Dog Fund
$1,583,553 Simsbury Farms Special Programs
$ 926,873 Capital Non-Recurring
The motion was seconded by Mr. Wade and carried unanimously.
Board of Education
Mr. Henault stated that the BOE's proposed budget currently stands at 5.35%.
Ms. Fitzpatrick stated that she spoke pretty emphatically at the last BOF meeting about her feeling that the BOF needs to stick with the cap. She added that she heard a lot of emotional and compelling public comment this evening. She noted that she has two children in the Simsbury school system. She stated that she does not like the increasing class sizes or chipping away at the educational system, but she must remain true to the position in which she sits which is fiscal responsibility. She stated emphatically that she firmly believes it is not in the best interest of the Town to bring forward a budget that exceeds the cap this year.
Mr. Askham concurred with Ms. Fitzpatrick's views. He stated that the BOF deliberated long and hard when they set the cap, and since then, the Grand List has eroded more than they thought making the decision even harder. He added that if they had known the Grand List was going to be zero, maybe the cap would have been lower than the one they set. He thinks that, unfortunately, the cap is a number they have to live with this year. He would support moving the budget back to 4.5%.
Mr. Mason mentioned that last year's cap was 4.25% and stated that when this year's budget season started, he thought he would like to get some consensus in the BOF to work somewhere in the 4% range. He stated that he is willing to stick to the 4.5% cap because he thinks it's fair, but he recognizes that it is going to be really tough to do.
Mr. North reiterated his concurrence with his fellow Board members. He thinks that their deliberations at arriving at the cap were very thoughtful, and he also expected that they would be able to arrive at a budget increase this year that was smaller than last year. He heard many of the observations that were made tonight and is sympathetic to them. He is a strong believer in the value of education and recognizes that it is one of the key services that a town provides to its taxpayers. He noted that Simsbury's tax rate is already some 25% higher than the Town of Farmington and some 20% higher than the Town of Avon. He stated that he is in favor of sustaining the cap.
Mr. Wade stated that 4.5% is a reasonable number for the cap, but he opted to have the voters decide by forwarding the BOE's 5.35% budget proposal.
Mr. Henault stated that this is a very difficult budget season. He noted that he heard a lot of very good arguments for going above the 4.5% cap, but he added that he did not hear anything that would compel the Board to raise it.
Mr. North moved that the BOF send the proposed budget back to the Board of Education and ask them to resubmit a new budget to the BOF in compliance with their original cap. Mr. North calculated that the new budget would be in the amount of $49,822,625. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fitzpatrick. A vote was taken, and the motion passed with five yes votes and one no vote (Mr. Wade).
4. ADJOURNMENT
Ms. Fitzpatrick moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:30 P.M. The motion was seconded by Mr. Askham and carried unanimously.
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Paul Henault, Chairman Roxanne Farrell, Clerk
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