2018-04-26 Special TOWN OF BERLIN
BOARD OF FINANCE BUDGET MEETING
SPECIAL MEETING
Thursday, April 26, 2018
John "Doc" McIntosh Room
7:00 P.M.
A. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Lomaglio called the meeting to order at 7:00 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. NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Richards stated that the BOE Business Manager resigned and he has applied for
the position. The Board members agreed that Mr. Richards would be great in that
role and wished him good luck.
1. Discussion and possible vote on the General Government and Board of Education
FY 2019 budgets.
Chairman Lomaglio thanked the Berlin residents who voted in the recent budget
referendum. He stated that the budget presented by the BOF was reasonable, fulfilled
the Town's needs and addressed the 10-year plan created by the TC. Since it was
defeated, he assured the public that the BOF members received the message and will
do their jobs to best of their abilities. Chairman Lomaglio cautioned that surrounding
towns are vibrant and growing while Berlin is stagnant, and cautioned that a drastic
mill rate increase will be unavoidable in the future to catch up from years of under-
funding.
Chairman Lomaglio also stated that during his time on the 1990's BOF, no political
party got involved in the budget vote process, and this budget was used as a political
tool by Party Chairmen. He reiterated the BOF's request to TC to freeze tax increases
for seniors earning less than $37K annually.
1
Mr. Holmes added that he feels the BOF members did what they thought was right,
and stated that if the Town continues to cut funding Berlin will wander away from its
small-town, rural feel.
Mr. Delaney suggested that the BOF use its "Alternative 2" as a starting point, since
it already had a lower total than the original budget that was sent to the voters. (It
rolled the bridge rehab work into a planned bridge bond, took the TAR work out of
the levy budget and redirected to the General Fund, reduced the Contingency to
$300K and increased the interest income assumption to $275K.
BOE Bud�et:
Chairman Lomaglio asked Board Members for their thoughts on any possible BOE
modifications.
Per his original opinion, Mr. Bordonaro would like to reduce the BOE budget by
$400K.
Mr. Guite would like to reduce the BOE budget by $200K.
Mr. Holmes commented that the BOE was clear that $100K= a curricular program.
Mr. Richards is leaning toward a $1 OOK reduction.
Mr. Paradis would like a $l 00K reduction, but stated he is interested to see if a capital
offset could be reached without cutting BOE.
Chairman Lomaglio experienced drastic cuts to the BOE budget in the 90s (while his
son was in school) and they were devastating. He doesn't want to remove sports
programs or extra curricular programs, and instead prefers to sacrifice and cut capital.
Town Bud�:
Chairman Lomaglio asked Town Manager Healy which items he feels are top
priority. Mr. Healy responded that his top 3 are:
• 3 trucks (safety issue);
• vans to transport students (after discussing the merits of buying used, it was
decided that the school vans are better bought new due to the heavy usage.);
and
• McGee phones—Mr. Healy can push the other schools off to the future and
replace McGee only at a cost of$40K (save $45K)
The possible consolidation of functions between BOE /Town was discussed. There
may be advantages in terms of cross-training, back-ups and efficiencies, but there will
likely not be substantial financial savings.
2
The BOF discussed each line item and tentatively estimated a new budget using the
following reductions:
• -$1 OOK - Homemaking
• -$l 00K Nursing. The group discussed the fact that the department continues to run at
a$750K - $1 M loss annually. There are regulations that must be complied with, and
the Director will need to work out the particulars on how to operate the department
and comply with regulations with less funding.
• -$SOK- Police OT—PD w-as approved to move ahead with the cell renovation study,
and the vacancies should be filled. OT should be reduced.
• -$54K - Part-time salaries— Community Center, Library and Parks & Recreation.
• -$33K - Police cruisers—represents one of 3 vehicles. Mr. Simons will examine the
cars and decide which one can wait.
• -$25K—Masonry repairs at schools/Town buildings (Will eventually work into the
maintenance budget.)
• -$l OK - electrical panel upgrade (periodic small problems)
• -$lOK—McGee auditorium carpeting. (Will leave $15K in budget, reducing from
original estimate of$25K.)
• -$l OK- plumbing
• -$SK - drinking fountains
• -$8K - Police computer replacements—skip a cycle
• -$l OK- BHS electrical safety loads
• -$20K—BHS sports equipment cages
• -$l OK - security upgrade—cameras, wiring, public buildings.
• -$18K - pool cars
• -$35K - HVAC Senior Center
• -$17.5 - Public Service vans (Mr. Simons commented that this area is a good fit for a
used vehicle)
• -$40K - roof repairs - Physical Services
• -$8K—Community Center tables and chairs
• -$7K—Community Center Exercise equipment
• -$I SK - Senior Center kitchen cabinets
• -$45K - revaluation contribution (since the physical revaluation was just conducted,
contribution toward future revals will be delayed)
• -$15K- various technology (public computers at library, Town staff, renewal of
firewall software)
These proposed Town operational and capital reductions would result in a mill
increase of 1.13, or 3.56%. That increase would bring the mill rate to 32.74, and
property tax for a $250K home would increase by $198 per year.
a. Move to recommend the Board of Education budget of
$ to the Town Council per Section 7-6(e) of the
To��n Charter.
3
b. Move to recommend the General Government budget of
$ to the Town Council per Section 7-6(e) of the
Town Charter.
2. Discussion and possible revision of Regular Board of Finance meeting date(s) in
May, June, July & August.
BOF will meet again to finalize the budget revisions and vote on Wednesday,
5/2/18 at 7:00 p.m.
The regular 8/14/18 BOF meeting will be moved to Tuesday, 8/7/18 at 7:00 p.m.
E. ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Holmes moved to adjourn at 8:50 p.m., which was seconded by Mr. Paradis. The
motion passed unanimously.
Submitted by,
Dana Borges
BERCfMTOWN C(�.ERK�
2018 MAY -3 AM & 4�
� ��
�
4 6ERUti.C i: