2018-04-10 � , .
TOWN OF BERLIN
REGULAR BOARD OF FINANCE MEETING
April 10, 2018
John "Doc" McIntosh Room
7:00 P.M.
A. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Lomaglio called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
C. ROLL CALL
ATTENDANCE:
Commissioners Present: Sal Bordonaro, Kevin Guite, Mark Holmes; Sam Lomaglio; Gerald
Paradis; John Richards
Commissioners Absent: none
Staff Present:
Kevin Delaney—Finance Director
Jack Healy—Acting Town Manager
D. PUBLIC COMMENTS
E. APPROVAL OF PRIOR MINUTES: March 5 (Budget Meeting)
March 8 (Budget Meeting)
March 12 (Budget Meeting)
March 12 (Joint Meeting)
March 13 (Regular Meeting)
March 14 (Budget Meeting)
March 15 (Budget Meeting)
March 20 (Budget Meeting)
March 27 (Annual Budget Hearing)
March 28 (Budget Hearing)
Mr. Holmes moved to approve the 3/5/18, 3/8/18, 3/12/18, 3/12/18, 3/13/18, 3/14/18,
3/15/18, 3/20/18, 3/27/18 and 3/28/18 meeting minutes, which was seconded by Mr.
Richards. The motion passed unanimously.
F. OLD BUSINESS
1. Move to approve the transfer of$30,000 from the Buildings & Renovations account in
the Gris�vold School Portable Classroom fund to the Jail Cells account in the Police
Construction fund—Police
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F • •
Mr. Bordonaro moved to approve the transfer of$30,000 from the Buildings &
Renovations account in the Griswold School Portable Classroom fund to the Jail Cells
account in the Police Construction fund, which was seconded by Mr. Holmes. The
motion passed unanimously.
2. Move to approve the transfer of$25,619 from the Computer Equipment account in the
CNR fund to the Library Elevator fund—Library
Mr. Bordonaro moved to approve the transfer of$25,619 from the Computer Equipment
account in the CNR fund to the Library Elevator fund, �vhich was seconded by Mr.
Paradis. The motion passed unanimously.
G. NEW BUSINESS
1. Move to appropriate $172,515 from fund balance to the Radio System Upgrade account
in the Schools Department in the General Fund— Facilities
Mr. Delaney eaplained that in order to complete this work over the summer, the Town
must provide funds to order materials this fiscal year. The funds �vill transfer back into
the General Fund next fiscal year.
Mr. Bordonaro moved to appropriate $172,515 from fund balance to the Radio System
Upgrade account in the Schools Department in the General Fund, which �vas seconded by
Mr. Guite. The motion passed unanimously.
2. Revie�v Financial Status report - Finance
• Revenue is 93%to budget, last year at this time �vas 92% to budget. Tax
collection is at 98.9% year-to-date, w-hereas Berlin finished at 98.9% last year.
• Expenditures are slightly ahead of budget:
o Debt service slightly higher;
o Pension funding is higher this year vs. last year;
o Contractual raises in wages & fringes (Police contract being settled this
year vs. last);
o Storm related overtime is lower than last year, but over budget by $5,800.
o There are three areas of concern which are not overly controllable:
■ Electricity;
■ Legal (substantially higher than past years/budgeted for)—union
contract issues, grievances, arbitrations, different investigations;
■ Unemployment compensation.
• Insurance funds are favorable. General insurance is strong ($1.9M balance
against floor of$1 M) - funding $400K less than originally proposed.
• Pension fund—one retiree will be paid out. Mr. Delaney is working with HR and
the actuarial staff to determine amount. It may be accomplished �vithout a
transfer.
• Police radios—about 6 �veeks until completion. With encumbrances, the project
is over budget, but expect to finish on budget.
• Elevator—waiting for inspections. Expecting State reimbursements.
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BOF members discussed preparing an "action list" and identifying opportunities for
savings throughout the year. Mr. Healy suggested that a member of BOF, TC and BOE
join the Capital Committee. Chairman Lomaglio moved to nominate Mr. Holmes, which
was seconded by Mr. Paradis. The motion was passed unanimously.
Chairman Lomaglio proposed to add another item to the ne�v business agenda. Mr.
Paradis moved to add "Decorum"to the agenda, which was seconded by Mr. Bordonaro.
The motion passed unanimously.
3. Decorum - Chairman Lomaglio would like to institute a Decorum Policy, which would
insure that the ethics of the BOF not be jeopardized. Chairman Lomaglio feels that
disagreements should be resolved within the BOF, and any communication to outside
parties should go through the Chair. It was discussed that all members should treat one
another�vith professionalism and respect. Members also discussed the importance of
refusing an"invitation to the podium" in non-BOF meetings, particularly where a BOF
quorum is not present.
The BOF briefly discussed the events of the TC budget meetings. Chairman Lomaglio
stated that after being presented with a proposal by the Mayor to bond capital items, he
investigated the impact, and felt the numbers did not make sense. He felt that the
"Alternative 2" presented to TC funded many necessary items while lo�vering the tas
increase. (The motion to approve Alternative 2 did not pass in the 4/9/18 Joint Special
Meeting.)
H. ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Lomaglio moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 p.m., which �vas seconded by Mr.
Paradis. The motion passed unanimously.
Submitted by,
Dana Borges
ERt�.�N TO�W C��RK-
1818 APR I 8 PM� ��
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