Board of Finance Meeting Minutes-7/16/13
BOARD OF FINANCE
REGULAR MEETING - 6:00 PM
JULY 16, 2013
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Paul Henault, Chairman called the Regular Meeting of the Board of Finance to order at 6:00 P.M. on Tuesday, July 17, 2013 in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices located at 933 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT. The following members were also present: Barbara Petitjean, Jeff Blumenthal, Peter Askham and Nick Mason. Also present were Mary Ann Harris, Finance Director; Mary Glassman, First Selectmen; Burke LaClair, Board of Education Business Manager; Matthew Curtis, Superintendent of Schools; Lydia Tadone, Board of Education; and other interested parties.
1. Approve Minutes
• June 18, 2013 – Regular Meeting
Ms. Petitjean made a motion to accept the June 18, 2013 minutes as presented. Mr. Askham seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.
2. Interdepartmental transfers
Ms. Harris walked the Board through the interdepartmental transfers, pursuant to a handout she provided to the members. She answered questions regarding specific transfer dollar amounts.
Mr. Mason moved to approve the proposed interdepartmental transfers in the amount of $490,822.09. Mr. Blumenthal seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Then the Board discussed the intradepartmental transfers with Ms. Harris, noting these transfers do not need Board of Finance approval.
3. School Technology Presentation
Mr. LaClair presented the Technology Status Report to the Board. Mr. LaClair began by covering the topic of Client Virtualization (aka "Cloud Computing"). He spoke about the benefits of this system as well as the challenges of getting it implemented. He said they are through Phase I of the project. He described the details of Phase I and then reviewed the expenditures to date. He then reviewed the Goals of Phase II (2013-2014) and Phase III (2014-2015). The utilization and benefits of SMARTboards were then discussed as a result from a question from Mr. Henault. The issue of security, related to Cloud Computing, was then discussed. Mr. LaClair then moved onto the second portion of the presentation called "Instructional Technology" which reviewed the utilization of new technology. He spoke specifically about the Innovation Subcommittee and the recommendations from that subcommittee. Mr. Curtis spoke about the new benchmarks that will be used in terms of testing platforms related to technology. Mr. LaClair then reviewed the Next Steps regarding technology and he outlined the 2013-2014 Accessibility to Technology and projected for 2014-2015.
Mr. Blumenthal made a motion amend the agenda in order to go into Executive Session at this point in the meeting, prior to addressing agenda items #4 & #5. The motion was seconded by Ms. Petitjean and was unanimously approved.
Mr. Mason made a motion to go into Executive Session in order to to discuss the topic of Board of Education Labor Negotiations at 6:52PM. Ms. Petitjean seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.
6. Executive Session-Board of Education Labor Negotiations
At this point in the meeting, the Board went into Executive Session with Mr. Henault recusing himself from the topic and he excused himself from the remainder of the meeting.
Mr. Mason made a motion to come out of Executive Session at 7:24PM. The motion was seconded by Ms. Petitjean and was unanimously approved.
Mr. Askham made a motion to table the two remaining items on the Agenda (Items #4 & #5) until the next Regular Meeting of the Board of Finance. The motion was seconded by Ms. Petitjean and was unanimously approved.
Ms. Petitjean made a motion to adjourn the July 17, 2013 regular meeting of the Board of Finance at 7:30PM. The motion was seconded by Mr. Blumenthal which was unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
____________________________________ ______________________________
Paul Henault, Chairman Leslie U. Faraci, Commissions Clerk