Board of Finance Special Meeting Minutes-1/23/14
BOARD OF FINANCE
SPECIAL MEETING - 5:00 PM
MINUTES
JANUARY 23, 2014
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Askham, Temporary Chairman, called the Special Meeting of the Board of Finance to order at 5:04 P.M. on Thursday, January 23, 2014 in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices located at 933 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT. The following members were also present: Nicholas Mason, Barbara Petitjean, Linda Schofield and Moira Wertheimer. Also present were Mary Glassman, First Selectman, Sean Kimball, Interim Finance Director, Matthew Curtis, Superintendent of Schools, Burke LeClair, Board of Education Business Manager, Lydia Tedone, Board of Education Chairman and other interested parties.
- Three Board Meeting with Board of Selectmen and Board of Education to discuss:
- FY15 Operating Budget
Superintendent of Schools Mr. Curtis presented the Simsbury Public Schools Budget Preview slides illustrating the Downward and Upward Pressures. Enrollment is on the downward side, particularly in the last five years. The Board of Education is looking at some scenarios to try and keep costs down. The Insurance and Pension obligations have seen the most significant growth in recent years. Other Upward Pressures are from Innovation in Technology, Responsiveness to Special Education Needs, Education Reform/Mandates and School Security/Capital.
Mr. Curtis discussed the lower enrollment in our schools, which has impacted the staffing levels in the school system, reducing it by approximately 7%. The slides also illustrated the Benchmarking Per Pupil Expenditures for 2012-2013, Drivers of the 2014-15 Budget, Financial Knowns, Other Savings Operational Efficiencies, Responding to Educational & Organizational Needs and Preliminary Budget Range.
Mr. Michael Goman, Old Stone Crossing, who is on the Personnel Negotiations Committee, noted that the burden of paperwork for teachers is mandated from the state. The committee is looking at these issues to try and reduce the paperwork.
Mr. Mason voiced his concern regarding the percentage of the budget that goes to education vs the percentage amount to all other things in town compared to towns similar to Simsbury. Mr. Curtis stated that he believes that Simsbury is not that far out of line with these other towns.
Mr. Chris Kelly, 10 East Townstead, noted that, with regards to Simsbury’s benchmark, which seems higher than other similar towns, you have to keep in mind that there are four factors that contribute to this: General Budget, Board of Education Budget, Average of Indebtedness and Contribution of Surplus.
First Selectman Mary Glassman discussed and presented slides for the Town of Simsbury Budget Preview. Ms. Glassman stated that once the budgets are received in her office, she has until March 1st to present to the Board of Selectmen. Due to the budget workshops, the Board of Selectmen will be receiving these budgets on February 27th. These budgets will be reviewed and presented to the Board of Finance on March 25th.
Slides presented were: Pressures on Town Budget, Recent Board of Selectman Budget History, Budget Increases/Decreases, Mill Rate Distribution, Median Net Taxable Assessments, Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go, Board of Selectmen Budget History, Cost Saving Efforts, Budget Planning Checklist and Budget Workshops.
- FY15 Capital Improvement Budget
Ms. Glassman stated that the Capital Plan is not yet ready and is still in draft form.Ms. Glassman noted that they have asked PFM Group to help meet the Capital Improvement goal of a 7% debt level, which the Board of Finance has set as a guideline and also meets the needs of the town.Mr. Kimball presented an analysis of the Capital Improvement Plan that was completed by PFM Group.Slides included Market Update, Current Debt Capacity Under 7% Guideline, Current CIP & Plan of Finance, Plan of Finance A, Details – Plan of Finance A and Plan of Finance B.
- FY15 Capital Non-Recurring Budget
Mr. Askham noted that more was added to this fund for the current year which is now at approximately $986,000.
2. Election of Chair and Vice Chair
Ms. Petitjean noted that Mr. Blumenthal was not in attendance, however, she had spoken to him prior to the meeting and he stated that he is comfortable with the Board doing the election tonight and that he supported both Peter Askham and Nicholas Mason for their roles.
Ms. Petitjean made a motion to nominate Peter Askham to serve as Chair and Nicholas Mason to serve as Vice-Chair. Ms. Schofield seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.
3. Approve Minutes – December 17, 2013 – Regular Meeting
Nicholas Mason made a motion to table the minutes until the next meeting. Ms. Petitjean seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.
4. Finance Director’s Report
Mr. Kimball briefly reviewed the Finance Director’s Report. Mr. Kimball noted that the tax collections went well in December. The auditor is available for the March Regular Meeting of the Board of Finance and Mr. Kimball will ask for her to attend. Mr. Kimball also noted that the report shows the listing of all the financial consultants that Mr. Askham had requested. Mr. Kimball stated that all of these consultants would be available in the future if any issues or questions arise and Mr. Askham stated that he would like to see several of these consultants come in.
Mr. Kimball discussed the hiring of the new Finance Director noting that several strong candidates came in for a large panel interview. There will be a final review of candidates next week.
Mr. Askham made a motion to move up to Item Number 7 “Discussion on 2014 Board of Finance Meeting Calendar and Possible Action” on the Agenda. Ms. Petitjean seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.
5. Discussion on 2014 Board of Finance Meeting Calendar and Possible Action
Mr. Kimball noted that are a lot of things involved and no decisions have to be made at this time, however, it has to be decided if the Board of Finance wants to have two public meetings. There could be just one public hearing, depending on when the budget is actually filed, that is what triggers the referendum dates. Two scenarios are: Option B, which includes having a special meeting of the Board of Finance. While not technically a hearing, but with a public audience, it could be a substitute for that if the Board did not want to make its budget approval decision on the same night as the hearing. Option A would involve the Board approving the budget immediately following the one public hearing.
Ms. Glassman noted that there were late nights for these meetings and it is a lot to do in one night. She suggested closing the public hearing and having another meeting after that to go through analysis and finally adopt the budget. Mr. Kimball noted that the Board must vote within ten days after the last hearing. Option B could mean the Board holds a Special Meeting that could be the vote rather than actually holding a full formal second public hearing. The Board could have public audience prior to its vote to get any last minute things sorted out. The only issue with that scenario is that it would fall into school vacation week.
Mr. Kimball noted that the Board of Finance currently has two public meetings scheduled with the second meeting being on April 29th. Mr. Askham stated that he would prefer one public hearing. Mr. Kimball noted that Good Friday and Easter fall within the 10 calendar days so the latest they could hold the meeting would be April 16th.
6. Discussion of FY 2015 Budget Guidelines and Possible Action
- Operating Budget
Mr. Askham noted that guidelines were discussed a month ago and wanted to hear what the Board members thoughts were and what direction the Board was going.
Mr. Mason stated that he is concerned with what the current tax rate is for the Town of Simsbury. He would like to see the mill rate come in flat or possibly down. Mr. Mason said that he would like to see from the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education what -1%, 0% and +1% produces in the kind of budget they put together. Ms. Schofield and Ms. Wertheimer also agreed that they would like to see a 0% increase if possible as long as the programs and services are maintained at their current level.
Ms. Petitjean expressed her concern that she does not have enough information on the Board of Selectmen budget. She does not know what contractual obligations are driving the budget at this point. She noted that the Board of Education shared their preliminary budget which has an increase of over 1%. Ms. Petitjean agreed with asking for a 1% and 0%, but felt that asking for
-1% from the Board of Education this year is not practical.
Mr. Askham suggested giving a range for the Board of Selectmen and Board of Education budgets and measuring the impact. Mr. Askham stated that he would also like to see a mill rate reduction and noted that the Town has built the reserves to 12%. Mr. Askham said that he would not have a problem with a -1%/0%/+1% as a guideline but could deviate from that if necessary. He also noted that he will have to see what the Grand List will come in at.
- Capital Improvement Program
Mr. Askham stated that everything is coming into their guidelines with everyone focused on making this work utilizing the 7% guideline, which is not absolute, but only a guideline.
- Capital and Non-Recurring Budget
Mr. Askham noted that this budget will stay the same as the prior year because it was increased last year.
7. Goal-Setting Discussion
Mr. Askham requested that everyone look at the goals that were submitted and come back to the next meeting with the three most important goals so everyone can formulate what they think would be priority goals. Mr. Askham is looking for short-term for the budget season and for long range planning. Ms. Petitjean noted that it will be difficult to choose three goals from the list the way it is currently formatted. Ms. Petitjean and Ms. Schofield volunteered to organize these goals in a manner that would make them easier to address.
8. Committee Assignments
Mr. Askham noted that Mr. Blumenthal stated that he would like to work on the Annual Report committee. Ms. Wertheimer also volunteered to be on the committee. Ms. Glassman will get back to the members on the timetable.
Ms. Petitjean requested to stay on the Facilities Taskforce committee. Mr. Mason and Mr. Askham will stay on the Retirement Sub-committee. Mr. Mason will also stay on the Insurance committee. Mr. Askham and Mr. Mason will be on the Hartford Task Force committee. Ms. Wertheimer will be on the Business Development committee. Ms. Schofield will be on Senior Center committee. Ms. Petitjean will continue to follow the Public Building committee.
9. Other Business
- Items for Next Meeting
Ms. Schofield would like to know what we invest our reserves in and what our options are. Mr. Askham stated that there is an investment policy for the money that was created a few years ago that the Board can review. Mr. Askham would like to get a schedule of what investable assets we have and some recommendations on how to do it better which could provide tax relief.
Mr. Mason stated that he would like to follow-up with the Culture, Parks and Recreation committee. He noted that the Simsbury Farms now has a five year plan. Ms. Glassman noted that Mr. David Bush, who chairs the Culture, Parks and Recreation committee, is going to schedule a three board meeting, which would include the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance.
Ms. Petitjean noted that we may want to look at another location for the Board of Finance meetings. With so much going on, the meetings may run long and there are meetings scheduled after each of the Board of Finance meetings in the Main Meeting Room. Mr. Mason stated that SCTV has the best set up in the Main Meeting Room and this would be the best place for the meetings. Another suggestion is to change the start of the Regular Meetings to 5:30. Mr. Askham asked the members to get back to Mr. Kimball if they can do the meetings at 5:30.
- Follow-up List
There were none at this time.
Adjournment
Ms. Petitjean made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:57 p.m. The motion was seconded by Ms. Wertheimer and was unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
__________________ ______________________
Peter Askham Leslie Brigham
Chairman Commissions Clerk