Board of Finance Minutes

BOARD OF FINANCE

TOWN OFFICE BUILDING

40 OLD FARMS ROAD

WILLINGTON, CT  06279

SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Members Present:                                                                 Members Absent:

Jim Bulick, Chairman                                                                        Peter Tanaka

Mike Makuch, Vice-Chair                                                     Alternate - vacancy

Randy Belair, Secretary

Barry Wallett                                                                         

Laurie Semprebon

Bill Rankin – Alternate

Also Present: Erika Wiecenski, 1st selectman; Donna Latincsics, Business Manager; Tish Ignatowicz, Treasurer; members of the public.

Chairman Jim Bulick called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm.

Seating of Alternates

Laurie Semprebon motioned to seat Bill Rankin for Peter Tanaka, Mike Makuch seconded.  All were in favor, motion carried.

Approval of Minutes

Laurie Semprebon brought her concern to the Board that some people are quoted in the minutes and others are not.  She felt that she had made important comments and they were omitted.  It was explained that the minutes are just a summation and not verbatim.  The Board agreed to table approval of the November 16, 2017 minutes until the next meeting so that her comments can be reviewed.

Present to Speak – no one

New Business 

Election of officers (Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary)

Randy Belair nominated Jim Bulick as Chairman, Barry Wallett seconded.  All were in favor, motion carried.

Laurie Semprebon nominated Mike Makuch as vice-chair, Barry Wallett seconded.  All were in favor, motioned carried.

Jim Bulick nominated Randy Belair as secretary, Laurie Semprebon seconded.  All were in favor, motion carried.
Potential Conflicts of Interest.

Chairman Bulick addressed the Board about possible conflicts of interest.  Over the years we’ve had board members that are related to other elected officials or employees of the town.  These conflicts were handled by abstaining from any votes that could financially benefit board member’s families or businesses.  He wants everyone to be aware and thoughtful of these situations, so they do not become distractions to our board.

Review of Revenues and Expenses based on the latest CT State Budget Holdbacks and Lapses.

Donna Latincsics handed out pie charts with the latest revenue figures from the State.  The charts summarize the budget as approved at the referendum and what the budget looks like with the holdbacks and lapses (funds the Governor is withholding from the towns).  There is now a $468,131 shortfall in the Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) Grant from the state.  Discussion followed.

Annual budget letter discussion.

Chairman Bulick explained to the Board that the budget season is about to start and asked for suggestions in what to include in the letter.  The following topics should be discussed:

The Crumbling foundation problem continues to depress the grand list

The State reduced our ECS grant by $468,131

State budget is currently $2 million in deficit suggesting continued state revenue uncertainty

We will take $314,392 out of our General Fund to balance our budget this year

Our Region 19 representatives and Superintendent will receive a copy of this letter

Tom Fox, Eldredge Ridge Rd, spoke about the value of homes with the crumbling foundations.  He is a certified general appraiser.  He informed the Board that there are 3 ways to approach property value:

            1) sales comparison – comparing like property sales

            2) cost approach – devalue by the cost of the property by the needed repairs

            3) income approach – the money the owner can get from leasing out the property

Please take this in consideration so our grand list is not overly penalized.  There are values still in the homes and they can be rented out.

Chairman Bulick asked for an updated grand list projection from the Assessor, and updated State Revenue and Local Capital Improvement Program (LoCIP) grant estimates from the Finance Department.

Discussion followed. Chairman Bulick said that he will put together the budget letter and get it out to the town departments.

Review of discretionary spending freezes.

Selectman Wiecenski asked where things stand with spending freeze. Chairman Bulick said that the State keeps changing with their numbers.  We still need to keep discretionary spending in check until we see some stability in the State Revenue numbers.  We can visit this again in January.  In the meantime, if there is something critical needed it can be brought before our board for review.  Selectman Wiecenski said that there are two open positions that were approved in the budget but not filled.  The position to fill a vacancy in the Finance office and for a Planning & Zoning assistant.  The Board agreed that the Finance Office position should be filled as they felt the need was clear.  They would like to check with Planning& Zoning first regarding the assistant position.  Randy Belair offered to follow up.

Request for Funding of the Holiday Party.  

Don Berg asked to reschedule and discuss this at our January 18 meeting.  First Selectman Wiecenski said she would like to see something in the Spring at the River Road complex to thank employees and volunteers.  The Board of Finance would like the Selectmen to have an opportunity to address this issue first before getting involved.

Review of proposed CIP Forms.

Randy Belair presented the Board with newly proposed CIP forms that needs to be completed for department requesting Capital Improvements.  It will help to prioritize and categorize the requests.

CIP meetings need to start.

The first meeting is scheduled for December 21st at 6:30 pm

BOF Website discussion.

Tish Ignatowicz said the Town has a new web site.  The new site adjusts so that its user friendly with computers, tablets and cell phones.  The website is easier to use.  Each department / board / committee can update their own site and set up who is responsible for maintaining it.  Randy Belair attended the website training.  There is an opportunity here to put other things on there, i.e. attachments, charts, and correspondence.  He suggested that since the Recording Secretary submits the agendas and minutes, she can now post them to our site directly.  For now, Tish will continue to maintain the Board of Finance website until she is familiar enough to train others in their use.  Discussion continued.

Review Calendar of Regular Meetings in 2018.

Randy Belair motioned to accept the 2018 Regular Meeting calendar, Mike Makuch seconded.  All were in favor, motion carried.

Review Calendar of Special Budget Meetings in 2018.

Modifications were made to allow the Board of Education and the Selectmen have more time to develop their budgets given our fiscal challenges.

Randy Belair motioned to accept the 2017/2018 Budget meeting calendar as adjusted, Barry Wallett seconded.  All were in favor, motion carried.

Old Business

Teacher Retirement Benefit (TRB) collected before the CT State Budget was passed. Can this be returned to the town now rather than at the end of the fiscal year? We don’t want to adversely impact our Minimum Budget Requirement (MBR) calculation. – Chairman Bulick contacted George

Rafael of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.  George didn’t think the MBR calculation would be affected by the TRB funds collected, but provided a contact at the State we can check with.  He also recommended contacting an attorney should the board need to transfer the funds back to the town side before the end of the fiscal year.  The Board was reluctant to pursue this issue further.

Annual Report for Fiscal Year July 2016 through June 2017 was due September 30. Reminders have been sent out to officials and department heads that still owe reports. - Down to just a couple of missing reports.

Willington Public School Facilities Study. – no update

Correspondence

Correspondence between Chairman Bulick and George Rafael of CCM concerning the TRB.

Email received 2-Dec from Don Berg regarding Holiday Party Funding.

Email received 30-Nov from Bob Shabot regarding Willington Historical Society annual report.

Email received 27-Nov from Donna Latincsics regarding impact of holdbacks & lapses.

Email received 22-Nov from First Selectman Wiecenski regarding status of the budget freeze.

Email received 18-Nov from First Selectman Mailhos regarding budget holdbacks & lapses.

GOOD & WELFARE - none

ADJOURMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Debra L. Lewis

BOF Recording Secretary