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1967/10/24BERLIN~BOARD OF FINANCE OCTOBER 2&, ]967 I, iEMBEES PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Chrm. Boron, W. S. Brown, T. Ward, Jr., S. Sargis, B. Delaney and R. Sprag2 Mrs. Blanche Mahan (Hartford Courant) Ail members were present promptly at 7:30 pm except ~rs. Delane~ Mr. Doran advised that some of the members were endeavoring to keep other business commitments this evening in the expectation that the Board of Finance business might be completed early enough. Mr. Doran advised that since this was the first meeting of the Board after t}]e election, one of the items of new business was the election of a chairman and that as a courtesy he wcul~ like to hold action on that item until Mrs. De]sney was present which wou]~ also make a complete Board. Therefore, with the consensus of the members present Mr. Doran called the meeting to order st 7:35 pm to t~ke up some of the minor rcutir, e items. ~I].fUTES AFFROVED: September 19, 1967 and Telephone Poll dated 10/20/67 CORKESPON~E~!CE: l) 10/6/67 A. Powers to Bf. of Finance--Community House ~s being used as ~rop-in~center for elderly citizens. The floor is fn deteriorating condition and request ~:550 to replace the floor with vinyl tile. 2) 10/20/67 A. Powers tc Pd. o£' Fin~nce--~onument on Wcrt~ington Ridge ~s fn netd o£ repair. ~-~'~ from .'l[rcd ~ Nocere t~ repair the monument ~mcunts ~ ~.~,5. 2c~u~zt tl~!s wor]% bc ~onc bc£orc the winter to avoid more serious problem~. 3) 10/2&/67 J. F. Lutkus, Treasurer Berlin Public Health Nursing Ser%~cc to Boar~7 of Yintncs r~%ucsting ?dditionzl funds in the ~mount of' ~600 to pay e~ponses o¥cr ~nd ~Love original ~llocetion to advertise for public health nurse super¥iscr. ~) 9/22/67 ~i. Sylvia to Board of ~'inance reg~r~in~ ~femorial Eay expenses for 1967. The following transfers were voted: 1) Confirming the poll ¥ote of 10/18,/67 es follows: The sum of ~500 from General Fun~ to ~126b ~[emorial Day (five concurring votes: I~essrs. Brawn, Sargis, Sprague, ~[erd snd Dorsn; )irs. Eelaney had not yet arr~ved) ?) A ~fthin-budget-transfer in account ~lSb ~igO To%~ yroperties ~n the amount of ~350 to replace the floor in the Community House (re comm. I~[rs. Delaney appeared while this matter was being considered approximately 25 minutes after the meeting had been in Frogress. ?[hen the call was made for the vote, ~irs. Pelaney ~nnounced that she was abstaining for the reason that she be!JoYed this meeting wes il!egel in that it was a special meeting and that notice of the meeting had not been filed with the Town Clerk in accordance w~th ?ublic Yet 723 passed by the 1967 General Assembly. Mr. Boron stated that he hsd hoped to t~ke this matter up under ~[ew Business; that this was the Board's first meeting since the effectfve date of the ~ct (Oct. lst) an~ he felt that the Board could readily work out a Frocedure which would be the most convenient and acceptable for all concerned ~n complying w~th the Act for future meetings. ]<r. Doran's attempts to ex~lain that he believed that this meeting was legal went unheeded by MrS. Zelaney, ~ir. Sprague and r.~r. ?~srd who kept insisting that the matter be referred to Town Counsel. Since there were still several matters of Town business to teke care of end since there were three members who were not contesting the legality of the meeting (~[£ssrs. Lornn, Sergis and Brown), ~r. Eor~ proceeded with the business of the meeting. Transfer No. 2 to repair the Community House floor wss passed by three concurring votes: Messrs. Brown, Sargis end Boron. Three abstaining: ~[rs. Delaney, Mr. Sprgaue and Mr. 7~erd. 3) The sum of ~600 from ~127 Contingency to ~52a Professional Staff for Public Health Nurses. (re comm. ~3) by three concurring votes: Messrs. Brown, Sargis and Dor~n: Three abstaining: ~[rs. Delaney, Mr. Ward and Mr. Spr~gue BILIS: 1) ~73.08 to Mrs. R. Polaske for secretarial services rendered from 9/12/67 thru 10/23/67 for Board of Finance. ;pproved for payment out of ~6 Bd. of Finance Expense by three concurring votes: Messrs. Brown, Ssrgis ~nd Doran; Three abstaining: Mrs. Delaney, Mr. ¥;erd and Lit. Sprague. NEW BUSINESS: 1) Re Communication ~'2 St was voted (Mrs. Delaney abstaining) to acknowledge the First Selectman's letter of 10/20/67 and to request a reccmm~endetion by the Park & Rec. Dept. 2) Mr. Doren returned to the subject of the legality of this meeting and said he !would like to discuss it now under New Business ss he had previously intended. He explained that he believed that the Board could quickly work out acceptable and convenient procedures to comply not only with Public Act 723 but also with Public Act 791 which permits poll votes within certain limitations. From his knowledge as a State Representetlve in the 1967 General Assembly, Mr. Doran explained some of the mertinent background of these Acts. He felt that it was not necessary tc ask ~o~ Counsel if thfm meeting was legal according to Public ~,ct 72~. In regnrd to Public Act 791 (Poll Votes) Mr. Doren displayed a postcard prepared for this meeting at his resuest by the Clerk Pro-Tam on which was typed the motion for Transfer No. 1 with ~oxes for "Yes" or "No" vote by the member. He explained that this was just an example of how the Board might comply with Public Act 791 by having each member participating in a poll vote mail such a card to the Clerk Pro-tam. Board members mede several suggestions, one being to just give each member a supply of addressed c~rds and let them write in the suestion themselves. Mr. Boron explained that the Legisleture's purpose in calling for written response was to make sure that no member could change his verbal poll vote later on. ~r. Sprague moved, seconded by Mr. Ward, that the Board ~sk Town Counsel for an opinion on the legality of this meeting and the conduct of business by this Board in consideration of the requirements specified in ~ublic Acts 7P3 and 791. Voting for the motion by raise of hands were Mrs. Delaney! Mr. Sprague end Mr. Ward. Voting against were Messrs. Brown, Eoren and Sargis end the motion was declared lost. For the record Mr. Ssrgis called the Board's attention to the inconsistency of Mrs. Delaney's position, namely, that up Until this point she had held that the meeting and all business transacted by it was illegal and hence she would not end did not vote on e~rlier motions; however, she was not voting on this particular motion in this same meeting which she had held to be illegal. ~) Mr. Dorsn advised that the business of organizing was now before the Board and that it was in order to entertain nominations for chairman. Mr. SergJs nominated Mr. Dor~n for Chairman. Mr. Brown stated thst while he knew that no second was required he was pleased to second this nomination. Mr. Boron called for any further nominations. There being none, ~[r. Sargis moved that one ballot be cast for Mr. Dcran as chairman. Voting in favor were Messrs. Brogan, Doren and Sargis. Abstaining were ~[rs. Delaney, and Messrs. Spr~gue and ?!erd. There being three concurring votes, Mr. Doran was ~eclared Chairman. g) Mr. Sargis recommended that the Board be strengthened organizationally by appointing a Vice-Chairman which is a common practice with many Boards end Commissions. Mr. Doran said that he thought that such a step to strengthen the Board organizationally would make it easier for the Board to ~ct in the event of temporary absence o£ the Chairman and thus help prepare the Bo~rd to better serve the town's interests, particularly in cases involving some urgency. Mr. Sargis nominated Mr. Brown for Vice-Chairman. Mr. Lor~n called for any other nomdn~tions. There being none, Mr. Sargis moved that one ballot be cast for Mr. Brown as Vice-Chairman. Voting in fever were Messrs. Bro'~n, Doren and Sargfs. Abstaining were ~rs. Delaney, and Messrs. Sprague and Ward. There being three concurring votes, I~r. Brown was delclared Vice-Chairman. The meeting adjourned at 8:&5 pm. On November 2, 1967 Chairman Lor~n directed the Clerk Pro-Tam to enter and sign the entry of minutes dated October 2g, 1967 prior to their approval with the understanding that the Clerk's notes do not constitute tP~e record o£ the meeting. Clerk Pro-Tam I:{ECEIVED FOR FILING .._.~EJ;if_l N, CONN.