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2004-03-27Bz dget Meetmg Ma~ ch 27 200-I BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING Saturday March 27 2004 BOE Conference Room - 11 00 a m Minutes 1) Call to Order Vice Chairman Anthony Legnanl called the Budget Committee Meeting to order at 11 18 am 2) Roll Call 3) 4) Those in attendance were Chairman Joseph Aresimowicz (12 10 p m ) Councilor Llnda Clmadon Councilor Anthony Legnanl Councilor Ida Ragazzl Mayor Adam Sahna Councilor Scott Veley Pledge of Allegiance DISCUSSIOn and possible action concerning the Budget Town Manager Haberman stated that he received a request to delete hne item #1 7 402 2 Small Dump Truck from the Highway Department and reinstate #1 45 402 1 Large Dump Truck for Pubhc Grounds Councilor Clmadon moved to eliminate #1 7 402 2 Small Dump Truck Highway Department and reinstate #1 45 402 1 Large Dump Truck Pubhc Grounds Seconded by Councilor Ragazzl Those voting in favor were Councilor Clmadon Councilor Legnanl Councilor Ragazzl Mayor Sahna Councilor Veley Vote being 5 0 (MOTION CARRIED) Town Manager Haberman stated that he 1S suggesting that the Town go out to bond $500 000 for the roads for a 10 year period Councilor Clmadon inquired if bonding for road improvements is usually done on a municipal level 1/9 Bz dgetMeetmg Ma~ch 27 200d Town Manager Haberman replied that the State and some municipalities do bond for road improvements Anna Johnson stated that the Town does not currently have any long range planning in place for a vehicle replacement program She stated that there is currently $250 000 funded in the Road Improvement account If we subtract approximately $70 000 to pay for the first year principal and interest for the road improvement bonding and put the remaining portion into the Transfer to Capital Fund Vehicle Replacement Account it would accomplish two goals 1) it would get the work road done and 2) establish a multi year planning program for vehicle replacement Councilor Ragazzl stated that she is not in favor ofbon&ng for road improvements Town Manager Haberman stated that bonding for the road improvements would not increase our indebtedness He stated that the Town has $100 000 in principal and interest dropping off this year and there have been no plans to replace it He feels that this is a way for the Town to leverage its cash to accomplish a lot more in a very tough year He does not feel that the cost of interest would not be more than what we would gain in the long haul Councilor Clmadon asked if this would have an impact on future bonding Town Manager Haberman stated that there would clearly be competing interest but he feels that he would be negligent as a business manager not to present some options Anna Johnson explained that the over the past few years the Town did not appropriate any funds for road improvements through the General Fund Operating budget She stated that come June 2004 the State Highway Fund which was subsidized by the State Town Aid Road Grant will be depleted and the Town will have to make appropriations through the General Fund Operating budget to continue to do roadwork Councilor Veley stated that bond rates are very low right now and if this does not affect the mill rate as it now stands and it would help the Town get ahead for future years he may be in favor of it Councilor Clmadon asked if this would have to go to a Public Hearing Anna Johnson stated that this would be part of the budget but it would have to go to a Public Hearing Recessed at 12 00 p m Reconvened at 12 27 p m 2/9 Bz dget Meetmg Ma~ ch 27 200-I Mayor Sahna moved to increase Account gl 6 170 20 Principal Town by $50 000 and increase Account gl 65 170 20 Interest Town by $18 750 £or the road improvement bonding Seconded by Councilor Clmadon PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6 0 (MOTION CARRIED) Mayor Sahna moved to add an additional $ 0 000 to Account gl 67 160 7 Capital Vehicle Improvement Fund Seconded by Councilor Legnam PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6 0 (MOTION CARRIED) Chairman Areslmowlcz moved to increase the Tax Collection Rate from 98 / to 98 5/ Seconded by Councilor Clmadon Anna Johnson stated that she was comfortable with the increase which equates to an additional $200 000 PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6 0 (MOTION CARRIED) Chairman Areslmowlcz moved to reduce Account #1 6 268 Road and Bridge Improvements to $0 Seconded by Councilor Legnam PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6 0 (MOTION CARRIED) Councilor Ragazzl moved to reduce the Capital for the Board of Education from $100 000to $50 000 Seconded by Councilor Legnam John Richards stated that the Board of Education will have to try and make do with whatever funding they receive for Capital projects PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6 0 (MOTION CARRIED) Councilor Ragazzl moved to increase Account #1 61 44 Site & Building from $100 000to $125 000 Seconded by Chairman Areslmowlcz /9 Bz dget Meetmg Ma~ ch 27 200-I PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6 0 (MOTION CARRIED) Len Zlehnskl Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission stated that due to an error in a previous reduction an adjustment needs to be made to the Summer Program Band manpower account Chairman Areslmowlcz moved the following proposed changes as presented by the Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman gl 42 110 Summer Programs reinstate $480 gl 42 1 Worker s Comp reinstate $16 gl 42 15 Social Security reinstate $ 6 Seconded by Mayor Sahna PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6 0 (MOTION CARRIED) (Councilor Clmadon exited the meeting at 12 42 p m ) Town Manager Haberman recommended that the Committee could reduce Account gl 0 254 Programming DP Service to $0 Chairman Areslmowlcz moved to reduce Account gl 0 254 Programming DP Service from $11 200 to $0 as recommended by the Town Manager Seconded by Councilor Ragazzl Those voting in favor were Vote being 4 1 Chairman Areslmowlcz Councilor Legnam Councilor Ragazzl Mayor Sahna Opposed Councilor Veley (MOTION CARRIED) Recessed at 12 45 p m Reconvened at 1 00 p m Discussion on Identified Grants & Imbedded Grants Councilor Ragazzl stated that all departments were asked to cut their budgets and she feels that in all fairness the Private Grants should also be cut Chairman Areslmowmz moved to reduce the Amended Budget of Identified Grants by 5 / with the exception of the St Paul s School grant 4/9 Bz dgetMeetmg Ma~ch 27 200d Seconded by Councilor Ragazzl Councilor Legnam stated that some of these grants have already been cut and he is not in favor of any more cuts to the grants He feels that the money will have to come out of pocket for the parents and some kids may not be able to play because of this cut Councilor Veley stated that he would not be in favor of this motion because he feels the Board of Education is the one that it is benefiting from this cut He feels that rather than cutting the grants by 5 / that the Board of Education should be reduced to a 7 / increase rather than the 7 5 / increase Chairman Areslmowlcz withdrew his motion and Councilor Ragazzl withdrew her second Councilor Ragazzl moved to cut the Identified Grants by 5 / except St Paul s School grant No second Councilor Legnam moved to approve the Amended Budget for the Identified Grants as follows 1 42 287 1 Babe Ruth/Little League $ 4 500 1 42 287 10 Women s Softball $ 600 1 42 287 11 Travel Basketball $ 2 000 1 42 287 2 Soccer $ 2 000 1 42 287 Midget Football $ 4 000 1 44 287 4 E Berlin Library $ 5 500 1 44 287 5 Berlin Library $ 5 500 1 59 287 8 St Paul s School $50 000 Seconded by Councilor Veley Those voting in favor were Chairman Areslmowlcz Councilor Legnam Mayor Sahna Councilor Veley Opposed Councilor Ragazzl Vote being 4 1 (MOTION CARRIED) Councilor Legnam moved to reduce Account #1 6 250 Trash Removal for private schools by $7 700 Seconded by Mayor Sahna Those voting in favor were Chairman Areslmowlcz Councilor Legnam 5/9 Bz dget Meetmg Ma~ ch 27 200-I Mayor Sahna Opposed Councilor Ragazzl Councilor Veley Vote being 2 (MOTION CARRIED) Committee Members Comments on the Proposed Budget and the Budget Process Councilor Veley stated that the Departments on the Town s side of budget have cooperated immensely He was against the 5 / reduction that was made across the board for the departments because he felt it should have come out of the Board of Education budget He would like to see the 5 / reinstated to the Berlin VNA budget because they are a revenue producing department and they should have the resources to continue to bring in more revenues In addition he stated that he was in favor of reinstating the St Paul s School grant but was not in favor of removing the $7 700 for their trash removal Councilor Ragazzl stated that she would like to see the Supervisor position requested by the Berlin VNA reinstated She feels that the Nursing Department does need another position and it will help bring in additional revenue Councilor Legnam stated that we did hit the Town side very hard but feels the Board of Education has been hit very hard over the past few years and they are trying to straighten out the wrong that occurred during the last budget They tried to make the Board of Education a little more solid than it was and to restore programs that were cut last year He feels that the $7 700 that was deleted from St Paul s School trash removal would not affect their school grant He stated that he feels the 2 1 mill rate increase is a livable increase Mayor Sahna stated that he looks at the school systems as being our greatest asset in this Town Aside from the fact that they account for a large portion of the budget he truly believes that the children are the future of the town If they have a great experience in this town they will be encouraged to come back and live in this town and perhaps work and open up their own businesses in town He feels that if we continue to cut education there are people who will go elsewhere to get their children the proper resources Rather than pushing people to go out of town to find these services for their children in the school system he would like to encourage them to stay The Board of Education did take a substantial hit last year and if you minus the one time Anthem fee the Board of Education is only receiving a 9/ increase to cover some of their Operational side of the budget and the balance to be used to restore programs He feels this budget is a step in the right direction He stated that fiscal responsibility is not only sometimes foolish over spending but sometimes foolish under funding We have to set a budget that is going to take us into the future for this Town Though he cannot say that he is extremely pleased with the 2 1 mill rate increase he does not feel it is an easy decision for anyone After having no increase for the past two years we are looking at an increase based on a $200 000 6/9 Bz dget Meetmg Ma~ ch 27 200-I assessment of a little over a dollar per day He feels that paying that increase is worth paying for the Board of Education needs and other services in town Chairman Areslmowlcz stated that his goal was to have a Budget Committee that we have not had in the past He wanted it to be more interactive with the Department Heads allow more input from the staff and to take all things stated by the Department Heads and members of the public into consideration He feels that they have successfully accomplished this at this time He has long been a proponent of a moderate mill increase every year which this town cannot seem to do We are always trying to catch up and we cannot go on like that forever Everybody knew there would be a tax increase this year we can all disagree on how much we think it should be but we knew it would happen He is somewhat satisfied with the outcome but he is totally pleased with the budget process He thanked Town Manager Haberman Asst Town Manager Herman Mlddlebrooks Jr Anna Johnson Finance Director Len Zlehnskl Budget Analyst all Department Heads and Board of Education members for all their interaction and participation Town Manager Haberman stated that this is his eleventh budget and stated how difficult it is to do a budget like this one He would like to reiterate that from a process standpoint it has been one of the most pleasant budget processes that he has ever been through and probably for one of the most difficult budgets He thanked the Committee members for giving staff the opportunity to do the job that they have done on the budget Water & Sewer Budget Councilor Ragazzl moved to accept the Water & Sewer Budget for Fiscal Year 2004/2005 as presented (See attached) Seconded by Councilor Legnam Those voting in favor were Chairman Areslmowlcz Councilor Legnam Councilor Ragazzl Mayor Sahna Councilor Veley Vote being 5 0 (MOTION CARRIED) Mayor Sahna moved an increase of 2 1 for the mill rate for the 2004/2005 Fiscal Year Seconded by Councilor Legnam Mayor Sahna withdrew his motion Councilor Legnam withdrew his second Mayor Sahna moved to increase the mill rate by 2 1 bringing the total mill rate to 27 4 for the 2004/2005 Fiscal Year 7/9 Bz dgetMeetmg Ma~ch 27 200d $) 6) Seconded by Councilor Legnam Those voting in favor were Vote being 4 1 Chairman Areslmowlcz Councilor Legnam Councilor Ragazzl Mayor Sahna Opposed Councilor Veley (MOTION CARRIED) Acceptance of Minutes Chairman Areslmowlcz moved to approve the minutes of March 15 2004 Seconded by Mayor Sahna Those voting in favor were Vote being 4 1 Chairman Areslmowlcz Councilor Legnam Councilor Ragazzl Mayor Sahna Abstained Councilor Veley (MOTION CARRIED) Chairman Areslmowlcz moved to approve the minutes of March 18 2004 Seconded by Mayor Sahna Those voting in favor were Vote being 5 0 Chairman Areslmowlcz Councilor Legnam Councilor Ragazzl Mayor Sahna Councilor Veley (MOTION CARRIED) Chairman Areslmowlcz moved to approve the minutes of March 15 2004 Seconded by Mayor Sahna Those voting in favor were Vote being 4 1 Adjournment Chairman Areslmowlcz Councilor Legnam Councilor Ragazzl Mayor Sahna Abstained Councilor Veley (MOTION CARRIED) 8/9 Bz dget Meetmg Ma~ ch 27 200-I Mayor Sahna moved to adjourn the meeting at 1 42 p m Seconded by Councilor Legnam Those voting in favor were Vote being 5 0 Chairman Areslmowlcz Councilor Legnam Councilor Ragazzl Mayor Sahna Councilor Veley (MOTION CARRIED) Submitted Marsha Busnarda Acting Clerk of the Meeting Joseph Areslmowlcz Chairman 9/9