Board of Finance Regular Meeting Minutes-10/20/15
CALL TO ORDER
Simsbury Board of Finance Chairman Peter Askham called the regular meeting of the Simsbury Board of Finance to order at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. The meeting was held in the main meeting room in the Simsbury Town Offices located at 933 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT. Also in attendance were the following board members: Barbara Petitjean, Nicholas Mason, Jeff Blumenthal, Linda Schofield and Moira Wertheimer. Others in attendance were: First Selectman Lisa Heavner, Director of Finance Joe Mancini, Simsbury Public Schools Business Manager Burke LaClair, Water Pollution Superintendent Tony Piazza.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
All stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.
MINUTES
Mr. Blumenthal made the following changes to the July 21, 2015 minutes:
Under “Approval of Minutes” section, six paragraphs down the sentence that reads “Mr. Blumenthal amended to Main Street is working on that the Simsbury mill rate has not increased in two years and in fact saw a slight decline each year, and also the overall competitive real estate values, neting NerdWallet.com rated Simsbury No. 1 in the state for young families”, Should be; “Mr. Blumenthal amended to Main Street is working on that the Simsbury mill rate has not increased in two years and in fact saw a slight decline each year, and also that, overall competitive real estate values, according to NerdWallet.com rates Simsbury No. 1 in the state for young families.”
Under the “Update on year end” section, the sentence that reads “Mr. Mancini said overall he is still seeing a lot of favorability on the revenue side expenses are relatively flat.”, should read; “Mr. Mancini said overall he is still seeing a lot of favorability on the revenue side and expenses are relatively flat.”
Under the “Approval of Board of Education Funding and Using the non-lapsing account” section the third line of the first paragraph should be taken out, and “After discussion, all voted in favor and the motion passed 5-0-0” should be put in its place. In the seconded paragraph the first and second lines should read “Ms. Schofield moved to use $390,000 for energy efficiency improvements for the fiscal year 2015-2016 budget. Mrs. Petitjean seconded the motion.”
Mr. Mason moved to approve the July 21, 2015 minutes as amended. Mrs. Petitjean seconded the motion. All were in favor; motion passed unanimously.
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL REPORT
Members from the WPCA gave a presentation to the Board of Finance on where the Water Pollution Control Agency is going with the plant. The WPCA funding is from user fees and there is no impact on the Towns taxes. WPCA internally covers their own Capital cost year to year and they use the sewer reserve to pay for capital. The sewer usage rate for homes in Simsbury is approximately $335 and the facility connection charge is approximately $4,095. For non-residential homes, the WPCA charges $4.25/100cf. The WPCA reported that the reserve fund balance is $4,433,551 and the anticipated 2015 expenditures are approximately $1,620,000. The water plant is averaging about 20 connections a year; however, they had anticipated more connections when they expanded the plant.
FINANCE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Mr. Mancini handed out his Director’s Report and indicated that nothing has changed from last month’s Director’s Report. He reported that Simsbury Farms is going to be unfavorable $57,000.
Mr. Mancini reported that the Auditors have started and he will have draft transfers at the end of November. The audit will be completed about the same time line as last year.
Mr. LaClair, from the Board of Education, reported that the 10/1 official enrollment number is 4,133 students. Enrollment is down approximately 2-3% this year from last year’s numbers.
PROPOSED CALENDAR FOR 2016 (HANDOUT)
Mr. Askham reported that there is a handout regarding the proposed calendar. This calendar is for the Boards information and does not have to be finalized for a couple more months.
POSSIBLE TRANSFERS FOR 6/30/2015
REVERSE TRANSFERS
Board members discussed the following reverse transfers:
Self-Insurance Fund:
6/30/2015
- 6/30/2016
- CNR Increase
LONG RANGE PLANNING
Mr. Mancini reported that the Long Range Planning has not yet had an opportunity to meet. There are representatives from all three Boards. He is hoping for a meeting next week.
Board members discussed the following areas that long range planning will address. They are as follows:
Model out the next two to five years
Plan to eliminate past service costs
Develop a plan for capital available
Constant Budget Number
5% debt service
4% debt service
OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Askham reported that there is still a loose end with the Special Revenue fund for sale of sand. Mr. Askham would like to set up rules on how the expenditures come back to the Board of Finance. Mr. Aksham would like Mr. Mancini to set up a policy regarding this issue.
ADJOURN
Mr. Blumenthal made a motion to adjourn at 7:25 p.m. Mrs. Scofield seconded the motion. All were in favor; the motion passed unanimously.