2026-09-16 - Board of Finance

00:02Okay, we're back into the regular

00:04session. So, it's 7:46.

00:07We ended executive session at 7:45. The

00:10public's coming back into the room. And

00:12the first item of business is

00:15um discussion and action on the plant

00:18the plantfill flood study.

00:23>> What?

00:25There's none. Yeah.

00:29Um yeah, there is no uh initiatives to

00:32discuss. So we'll go to Plantsville

00:34Flood Study.

00:36>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. This um was

00:38something that the engineering

00:40department applied for in 2024.

00:43As you know, there's been a um

00:46I don't want to say it doesn't happen a

00:48lot, but there's been a history of

00:50sporadic flooding in Plantsville. Um we

00:52applied uh two or three different times.

00:55This time we did we were awarded the

00:57grant to study the problem. It doesn't

00:59have any actual

01:02earth moving or or construction, but

01:04this is just a study um from the federal

01:06government. So, it came from the federal

01:07government. Um it was a $300,000

01:11grant, $400,000 in total, $300,000

01:14provided by the um federal

01:16administration and then a $100,000 25%

01:21um local mandatory match.

01:25Um so background on this, u we've been

01:28working on our flooding infrastructure

01:31for quite some time. As you may

01:32remember, uh, I put $200,000 into the

01:35the current year last this budget to

01:38keep working on those attention basins,

01:39cleaning out our our drainage. It was

01:42cut. Um, so this is this is an important

01:45issue. Um, but town council

01:49referred this matter to the board of

01:51finance to determine how and if the town

01:54should fund this. There is leftover

01:57money from the plansville safety project

02:00that was completed about a year and a

02:02half ago. Um, and the 10 engineering

02:05staff has suggested that that capital

02:07money be shifted and allocated for this

02:10if the town wants to proceed.

02:15>> It's okay if I just a clarifying

02:17question. You you mean for the

02:19hundred,000? That's the money you're

02:20looking for, not just for the match.

02:22Just

02:23>> 100 is the match. Yes. Y

02:27but for a h 100,000 we can go and clear

02:30our detention ps we could actually do

02:31real work to me 400,000 albeit whoever

02:35pays for it even if another country came

02:38in and wanted to be so gracious and it

02:39wasn't even anybody's taxpayer dollars

02:42400,000 just to study a flood in a town

02:46that we've owned since 1779 or whatever

02:49it is seems like a lot of money to just

02:53study the problem and and a $400,000

02:57study is likely to lead to a

02:59multi-million dollar um plan. I I'm

03:03wondering if our hundred,000 isn't

03:05better spent just doing the work we need

03:08to do, sweeping our roads, cleaning our

03:10catch basins, maybe cleaning up along

03:12the river, like study it ourselves and

03:15just do the practical things. I I don't

03:17just a thought. I I don't I don't

03:19understand 400,000 just to study

03:21flooding and plants. And then with all

03:24the work, look at what happened down at

03:25the coast just this week. Everything was

03:27flooded. Um, you can't prevent it,

03:30right? You mitigate the risk to a point.

03:32You're not going to whatever we do here,

03:33we could spend $10 million and we may

03:36still get flooded just as as our other

03:38towns did just this past week. Big

03:41floods.

03:42>> It says plans, but it it does encompass

03:46the the focus is the plants flooding,

03:48but it encompasses everything, you know,

03:50that flows down upstream. So, I mean, I

03:53don't know how far updated look, but

03:54it's

03:56they're looking at the symptom of

03:57Plantsville,

03:58>> not just Plansville.

03:59>> What prompted us to go out or you to

04:02look for this grant or

04:04>> this was applied for before I was on

04:07board? Um um before the current county

04:10engineer was on board. Um it's been

04:13applied for for like I said several

04:15times. Um we do have a problem

04:18>> in Plantsville. So, the thought was, can

04:22we try to get some money to least

04:24>> when's the last time we were flooded?

04:29>> Several years ago. Um, it was when the

04:32Dunkin Donuts area was the car was stuck

04:34there. That had to be at least three,

04:37two or three.

04:39>> If we don't accept this grant, is there

04:43any do you know if there's any um like

04:46stipulations that we couldn't apply

04:47again in a year, we couldn't apply

04:49again?

04:50No. Okay.

04:51>> No, there's there's no prejudice that

04:53I'm aware of. I can I can absolutely

04:55follow up, but I don't believe there's

04:56any formal prejudice.

04:57>> Okay.

05:01>> I mean, it's capital related and we we

05:03we struggle to do operational things,

05:06but we have some flexibility with

05:08capital things. So, I don't think the

05:09issue is really does it burden us to do

05:11this, but it's just is it practical? Is

05:14it the right decision to to take

05:17$400,000, a hundred of ours, 300 from

05:20the federal government, whatever, and

05:22spend it on a study that is likely only

05:25going to come back. They're not going to

05:26say, "Oh, you're beautiful. Everything's

05:27nice over here. Clean the sewers. You're

05:29all set." They're going to come back

05:31with a multi-million dollar rroot the

05:34river or do something major.

05:38>> I just wonder if it's worth it. A while

05:40ago, I think um local contractors were

05:43involved in downtown Southernington when

05:45they built the condos off of Center

05:47Street. They had to dig a big crater. It

05:49looks like a a crater fell from Mars

05:52over on um Farmstead. They went into

05:54that land on Farmstead. And for every

05:56yard of dirt they built up downtown,

05:59they had to dig a yard out of a big

06:01hole. So, if you go on Farmstead to the

06:04piece of property we own, there's a

06:06massive hole. you like you look at it

06:08and it's a big hole in the ground

06:10because that absorbs the water where

06:12when they added a yard of dirt or or

06:14whatever yards of dirt downtown to build

06:16the condos, they they raised the the the

06:19dirt. So, they had a equal and

06:21offsetting reaction with this big giant

06:23hole. That's just little practical

06:25stuff. And that didn't cost anything. Um

06:28I mean [clears throat] the builders had

06:30to do it. So if you're going to fill,

06:32you had to dig. Um but this seems like

06:35400,000. What's next? That's what I'm

06:38worried about. A $400,000 study. What's

06:40next?

06:41>> But John, it's not 400,000. It's a h

06:43100,000. That's how I look at it. It

06:45sounds money. If you want to mitigate

06:47risk for future potentially could be a

06:49good thing, right? Because to your

06:51point, it's probably a multi-million

06:53dollar

06:54>> project sitting here. Are we doing the

06:55right thing to to approve it or are we

06:58getting ourselves into some big

07:00financial

07:02project and then later say after the

07:04study, oh, we're not going to do it.

07:06We've had cases where we did studies and

07:08then never acted on them because we

07:10didn't like or couldn't afford the

07:12result of the study.

07:13>> Maybe we'll get another grant to pay for

07:15the actions. You know, whatever the

07:18study says you got to do X, Y, and Z.

07:20Maybe a year or two down the road from

07:22the study, you'll get money. The water

07:25department has got a couple million, I

07:26think, for something. I mean,

07:28>> maybe you'll get that money.

07:29>> Yeah. I think you owe it to the

07:30businesses down there.

07:32and say, "Yeah, the problem's not not

07:34there just because we don't know about

07:35it,

07:35>> right?" No, it's there. I've worked

07:38through some big floods down there.

07:40Yeah, it's

07:42>> I guess you're right. It does push back

07:43all the way to the tire company, Don

07:46Stevens, and the whole studio.

07:49>> Yeah, it gets it's it's real.

07:51>> And Alex, you said the 100,000 would

07:53come from where?

07:56Town staff suggestion is for leftover

07:59plants billill safety

08:02when we did that plantsville project we

08:03delivered it there's money left over

08:05came in um over 100 I think 132

08:08>> is in the capital right now

08:09>> okay that would cover 100%

08:12>> yes

08:13>> okay

08:13>> and that money came from

08:17>> uh that money that's town money because

08:19we had to spend all of our ARP already

08:21so

08:22>> and you said that this grant um the

08:25request was has been in process for

08:27years. 2024 we applied

08:31>> I believe in the spring of 24

08:33>> and John I hear you fiscally but we if

08:36we look the other way and said oh you

08:37know we didn't spend the money because

08:39we didn't want to spend it and a flood

08:40happened you know it's going to be a bad

08:42look on us

08:43>> my other side is can our own engineering

08:45department recommend two or three things

08:47that fix it or is this study going to be

08:50that much smarter or insightful than our

08:52own folks I mean what what do they do

08:54with one of these studies are they that.

08:57>> So, here's the really frustrating part.

09:01Yes, they can. Absolutely.

09:04In order to apply for more funding to

09:07actually do the work,

09:10there want there needs to be a technical

09:13report showing.

09:15>> So, we need the study to

09:17>> to get more money, right?

09:19>> It makes sense.

09:20>> It it doesn't make sense logically, but

09:22it makes sense in the guarant.

09:25Well, but they need to know all the

09:26details in order to they don't want to

09:28get into it.

09:29>> Yes. Exactly.

09:31>> Well, we do have the money. I'm not

09:33concerned at all with 100,000 because

09:35it's capital. I'm a lot more concerned

09:38if it was operating.

09:40I think we're tight operationally, but

09:42capital we've got millions.

09:43>> Yeah, we took the flood operating money

09:45out of

09:46>> What's the timeline on this?

09:48>> I was supposed to sign a letter in

09:50August. So we have a uh extend and a

09:53verbal extension from FEMA right now.

09:55>> Assuming you sign the letter then what

09:57happens from there?

10:00>> The grant will go through we um go out

10:03to RFP

10:04for uh engineering services

10:08and we submit invoices and get

10:11reimbursement as it comes through. Um

10:14assuming you send a paper a

10:17recommendation to council, right? So,

10:18you're going to either say no

10:20recommendation, a negative

10:21recommendation, or a positive

10:22recommendation with a funding source,

10:25and then council will

10:26>> All right,

10:27>> let's let's move to that vote.

10:29>> Yeah.

10:29>> So, we, you know, a motion would be to

10:31recommend in favor of of paying our

10:34$100,000 match and taking the funding

10:37from uh excess project surpluses.

10:41>> So, moved.

10:42>> Second.

10:44>> Motion is second. Um, we'll do roll call

10:46vote because it's a separate item.

10:49>> Mr. Leven,

10:50>> yes.

10:50>> Mr. Britain,

10:51>> yes.

10:52>> Mr. Berdo,

10:53>> yes.

10:53>> Mr. Serno,

10:54>> yes.

10:54>> Mrs. Wade,

10:55>> yes.

10:56>> Chair Larry,

10:57>> yes.

10:59>> Okay.

10:59>> Information that was uh out of the

11:02Plantsville

11:03safety. Correct, Mrs. Wade.

11:05>> Correct.

11:05>> Okay. Thank you.

11:09>> Okay. Thank you. Next item, self-

11:12insurance update.

11:17you know missing the full packet.

11:19>> Yeah.

11:20>> Do we not get the full report in the

11:21packet?

11:22>> So, I did provide um a revenue update.

11:25We have not updated the expend

11:27expenditures yet to date. Um I did want

11:30to just point out that this year we did

11:33um the transfers from the general fund

11:36and sewer early this year. So that's why

11:39you'll notice that the ending cash

11:40balance is higher than normal at this

11:42time of year. Um but for next month, we

11:45will have the expenditures updated.

11:48>> That's the most important spreadsheet

11:50that we look at.

11:51>> Yeah.

11:52>> Okay.

11:52>> We just been busy trying to get the

11:55audit wrapped up. Um our goal is to have

11:58it done by next week. The auditors are

12:00coming in early this year and we want to

12:01make sure we're on time this year. So

12:03that's what we've been focused on.

12:05>> It's early anyway. We I want to be

12:08wrapped up next week. Yeah.

12:09>> Okay. Let's move Let's move along. We'll

12:11go into the financial assessment of the

12:13town. Chrissy, anything on revenue or

12:16expenses so far in?

12:18>> Um so our revenue is about 115,000

12:22um over what we had budgeted.

12:25So we're looking good there.

12:37Um the trend is usually higher in

12:39interest income as we saw last fiscal

12:42year. So that continues with this fiscal

12:44year. We're um about 168,000

12:48over what we had budgeted. Um currently

12:51our building permits are a little bit

12:53lower than what we had budgeted. We're

12:55about 15 uh 52,000 under what we had

12:59budgeted for this time in this year.

13:02uh building permits and fees. See, it's

13:05down. I also noticed that some of the

13:07PNZ meetings have been cancelled. Is

13:09there a correlation between some of the

13:10development that's going on that's not

13:11maybe on pause or things are just still

13:13building up?

13:14>> It's it's slowing down.

13:16>> Yeah.

13:16>> Not nothing dramatically, but I I met

13:19with the building department this past

13:20week. We have an open position there.

13:22One of the inspectors and I've

13:25uh I'm keeping it open to hiring yet

13:27because I want to have some flexibility

13:29in case things get go really low. I

13:31don't want to have to let people go. So,

13:33we're kind of just tempering our

13:36expectations right now.

13:36>> Year-over-year, is this is this a

13:38seasonality thing or is this just kind

13:39of the trend right now? Just slowing

13:40down.

13:41>> Uh building department says it's it's

13:44not seasonal. It's there's a little bit

13:46of a a slowdown. Thanks.

13:55>> Okay. The expense side.

13:58Um, so for expenses, um, as far as our

14:01contingency line item, we started the

14:03budget this year with 925,000.

14:07Um, on the agenda for approval this

14:09evening is 104,8518.

14:14If that is approved, um, the balance

14:18will be 812,498.92.

14:26Aside from that, um we're not seeing um

14:30any out outstanding expenditures or

14:32anything out of the ordinary.

14:38So, um for revenue,

14:41um tax season is over. So, um our

14:44shortterm

14:46accounts have gone up significantly. Um

14:49our balance through

14:52uh the end of August, beginning of

14:54September is

14:56126.9

14:58million. The interest rates are holding

15:00steady at 3.86%

15:03to 4.45%.

15:06And our long-term

15:08um accounts are at 21.27

15:13million with an interest rate of 3.8%.

15:18>> Christy, are any of your interest rates

15:19tied to any indexes?

15:22Because the rates went up today, so I

15:23was just curious. Um, so this is as of a

15:26couple weeks ago. Um, we ran the report

15:29so it's not accurate as of today

15:32>> because your short term is that in like

15:353 to six month kind of like investments.

15:37>> Yes, correct.

15:38>> Someone say roll over. Correct.

15:39>> You get better rates.

15:40>> Yep.

15:48And then um I had met with Chair Larry

15:51and um we kind of revamped the

15:53unassigned fund balance spreadsheet. Um

15:56so hopefully this is more user friendly

15:59and easier um to follow. But um we since

16:04we did receive our um audited financials

16:09as of June 30th, 2025, we had updated

16:12the spreadsheet. Um and right now our

16:17total in our excess rainy day fund with

16:20everything um that we have forecasted

16:25to be used, we have a balance of um

16:29around 10 million. But then when we take

16:31in account everything we plan on using

16:35um it's about 9.2 million.

16:40So um according to the audit that we

16:44received for FY25 um we had um over 2

16:48million left in our fund balance. So

16:51that definitely helped us out.

16:52>> And you vetted out the 9 million, right?

16:54You think based upon the peg point from

16:57the audit that that's right. Nothing in

16:59there is committed and we're thinking

17:02it's free. It's available.

17:03>> Correct. Yep.

17:04>> Okay.

17:07I do, you know, the new format I think

17:10flows a lot nicer for people to look at.

17:12>> Yes, I agree.

17:14>> And just remember what was a year and a

17:16half ago, we didn't even have a format,

17:17right? We started it and then we revised

17:19it. I hope everybody

17:23likes it or could easily relate to it

17:26because it starts from a point in time

17:28from an audited number

17:30>> and then it rolls forward and then

17:32anything we think we're going to use

17:35>> we have to get it in there like for

17:37example next year's budget will come

17:39along it will have an increase in

17:41spending we could just assume now of 4%

17:44just put a number 5% and then take 11%

17:50of that and lock it away because that's

17:53going to be how much we need to keep our

17:55rainy day fund in place. So, anything we

17:57know about or anything we commit to

17:59should be in there even if it's still

18:01technically unassigned and that's what

18:03the right hand side of the schedule

18:04does.

18:05>> It earmarks forecasted items that are

18:08going to affect it. So, the last column

18:09on the right is the column that shows

18:12what should be available.

18:15But the question is, is that number

18:17right? I know when we went through the

18:18budget, we had some um challenges

18:21because some capital projects were

18:24committed to, but the money wasn't set

18:27aside and and it it it actually should

18:30have come from our excess rainy day. So,

18:33we're good now, though. So,

18:38>> all right.

18:40So, we're I mean, we're healthy in that

18:41regard, but again, that's not

18:43operations, that's capital.

18:45All right. Any questions on any of that?

18:49All right. Next item of business page.

18:55Um, subcommittee report. Sewer.

18:58>> Um, all financially at sewer. Uh, the

19:02PCB remedial action plan uh is going out

19:06to bid soon. Uh, they're planning to uh

19:09begin work in November, I believe. Um,

19:12so they're hoping to uh get at least

19:15three bids and uh once we get those in,

19:18we'll find out what portion of that will

19:20be paid for by uh GE money. So,

19:24>> and that's work in the plant itself or

19:27out in the field somewhere?

19:28>> Oh, no. That's out in the field. This is

19:30a a a PCB remediation site. I'm drawing

19:33a blank. Um, Alex, do you know the

19:35location exactly? It's an old GE

19:36>> at the plant. Not inside. It's it's

19:39soil. the soil near the Yeah. the plant

19:42and

19:42>> because of the issue because they're

19:43going to build some more um

19:46>> equipment they can move.

19:48>> It's easier to clean up in the winter.

19:50So, we're targeting

19:53>> that's it.

19:54>> Public works getting ready to wrap up

19:56paving season. I'm sure the everyone in

19:59town will be happy when roads are stop

20:02being blocked and everything, but

20:03they're winding down with paving season,

20:05but that's about it. Yeah, they'll be

20:07ramping up for leaves before you know

20:08it. Public works. So,

20:11>> were announced today. Okay. Encourage

20:13folks to go to a bit.

20:17>> And did we defund the cleaning of the

20:19detention ponds? I noticed they look

20:21like dense woods lately. I I forgot

20:24where we are with that because that's

20:25part of this flood thing.

20:26>> We did for a year, right?

20:28>> We we took it out, pushed it back a

20:30year. The history on we you wasn't we

20:32didn't take care of them for 20

20:33something years. ARPA money came in and

20:36and it was used um many million dollars

20:38to do the heavy lifting.

20:41Um right now there was a $200,000

20:44proposal every year to keep up with it.

20:46Um and the agreement was or the the

20:48thought was cut it this year and just

20:50get back on track next year.

20:52>> Okay.

20:56>> Open space.

20:58>> Yeah, not a lot going on there, but uh

21:00Go Island is uh seems like it might

21:02become a thing. Um, a lot of lot of talk

21:04with Unico and uh and uh some some other

21:08organizations down there about cleaning

21:09it up and trying to get that to revive

21:12it again. So, and Pleasant Street's

21:14coming along really well. If anybody has

21:16noticed the barn and some of the land in

21:18the back, it's really coming along and I

21:21think the partnership with the

21:22agricultural school is going to be

21:23really significant for us and and save

21:25us money there too. So,

21:28>> economic strike.

21:30Do

21:30>> we have a member assigned to economic

21:32strike?

21:34But I think [snorts]

21:36anything, Alex,

21:38>> um, nothing. Nothing.

21:41>> What's the update with the Bank America

21:43building over here?

21:46>> It's my understanding that the new owner

21:48has been doing some remodeling and is

21:50looking for a a restaurant tenant. The

21:53owner is not an operator. He's a local

21:55investor and trying to get someone to

21:57rent it.

21:58>> But it's no longer ours. It was sold to

22:00him. So, we're

22:01>> it's we're off the hook for it. They

22:03actually found a uh underground oil tank

22:06uh last week and

22:08>> so we are not

22:11>> and planning and zoning approved it. So,

22:13it's ready to ready to go.

22:17>> Okay.

22:19Okay. Um we talked about the fire

22:22department. Any other liaison activities

22:24to discuss?

22:27All right. We'll go to um

22:29communications. We'll go to public

22:31communications. Anybody from the public

22:33like to speak?

22:35[clears throat]

22:37Oh, wait. I gotta hold on there. I gotta

22:38push the button.

22:40>> Okay, good.

22:41>> Hi. Good evening. My name is Richard

22:43Cooper, 79 Barbara Lane. Um,

22:47[clears throat] so

22:50I'm here to ask the town to broaden the

22:52way that we think about substance abuse

22:54prevention.

22:56I appreciate the prevention work already

22:58being done, but prevention shouldn't be

23:00the entire conversation. There are

23:03people in our community who were already

23:05in recovery, and they need support, too.

23:08Becoming a recovery friendly community

23:10could mean reducing stigma, connecting

23:12people with treatment and recovery

23:14resources, supporting recovery friendly

23:16workplaces, and helping people maintain

23:19stable housing and employment.

23:22To me, that is still substant use

23:26prevention. It's just looking at the

23:27whole puzzle.

23:29Preventing addiction when we can and

23:31supporting people who are already in

23:33recovery so they can stay there.

23:36I'm [snorts] asking the town to consider

23:38becoming a recovery friendly community

23:40and making recovery support part of a

23:43broader sub substance [clears throat]

23:44use strategy.

23:50This is something that I personally plan

23:52on um advocating for uh at the council

23:55level, but I'm here because this is

23:58going to require funding.

24:00Um I personally cannot think of a better

24:03use of our tax dollars than

24:05[clears throat] than investing in

24:06programs that support recovery and save

24:09lives.

24:11I [snorts] understand where I am right

24:13now, but I'm also going to add this.

24:15Personally, I also think it is important

24:17to at least give people a real chance to

24:19seek out their own understanding of God.

24:22For those who can only think in terms of

24:24dollars,

24:26I'd also like to point out that such an

24:27approach would save the town money in

24:29the long run.

24:31That's all I have. Thank you.

24:36Okay. Any other communications?

24:39Okay. We'll go to board communications,

24:41member to member.

24:46Okay, hearing none. Any town department

24:48presentations?

24:51>> Just not a presentation, but just some

24:53insight on the budget process. We are

24:55ramping up this next year's budget

24:57already. Um the finance director and

24:59myself have been talking about how we

25:01can improve

25:03the process for the board of finance,

25:04town council, the town overall. So,

25:07we're looking at um working with Munice

25:10to develop a five-year projection. We do

25:12the capital in five years. So we thought

25:15it's appropriate to to to project five

25:17years out the best we could operational

25:19as well. So to know what your decisions

25:21do this year, we'll do year two, year

25:24three, year four. Um we're going to do

25:28our best. It won't be science. We're

25:29going to ask our department heads if

25:31they know any changes, big changes

25:33coming down the road, they can plug

25:34those in. If not, we will just roll

25:38forward the numbers that are presented.

25:40Um, with that, I I'm going to speak with

25:42all the members individually at some

25:45point in the next few weeks, asking them

25:47if they have any feedback on the budget,

25:49if there's something that they like see

25:51to give town staff some guidance on

25:53where they want to land. Um, do we want

25:56a level services budget? Do we want a a

26:00cap on an increase of the budget? Do we

26:03want a decrease in the budget? Um, so

26:05it'd be good to get some guidance from

26:07this board. So when we present the

26:09budget to you,

26:11it's more or less in line of what your

26:15expectations.

26:18Again, it's new. We're we're do our best

26:20to improve the process every year.

26:26All right. Um there's no other

26:27presentations, so we'll go to

26:29administrative business. I'd like to

26:31take these um these items all together.

26:35There are eight of them. I'll read them.

26:37Uh and again for anybody watching or

26:39just starting to follow these meetings,

26:41these are cases where the town received

26:43a check and it just has to be

26:45appropriated back to the line item, the

26:48department in which it it belongs so it

26:51could be spent. So that's why it's just

26:54simple. They call it consent agenda

26:56because it should just be approved as it

26:59comes in. But it's our job to do that.

27:01So there are eight items. I'll go

27:02quickly. Appropriation $373.78

27:06special revenue highway Kerma damaged

27:09property appropriation $10,70048

27:14police um damaged police cruiser that's

27:17probably insurance refund uh

27:20appropriation

27:21uh 15,4289

27:25special revenue police damaged police

27:27cruiser appropriation $3,553

27:32special revenue Town Clerk nominee fee

27:34program appropriation 250,052

27:38and50

27:40General Paskki Terrace um

27:44project appropriation grant 101,9740

27:50uh General Pilaski Terrace appropriation

27:54grant 136,85805

27:59uh General Pilaski Terrace and another

28:02appropriation grant 61,7501

28:07um General Pilaski Terrace. Do we have a

28:10motion to approve them all as as they're

28:13presented?

28:13>> So moved.

28:14>> Second.

28:15>> Any discussion?

28:17All those in favor signify by saying I.

28:20>> Opposed? Abstain.

28:21>> Motion carries. All the consent items

28:23one through eight carry 6. Next one we

28:26get into administrative business.

28:30Hold on.

28:31Okay.

28:33Uh, department transfer from the 2526

28:37year, $444 even the health department

28:41for special duty revenue to the health

28:44department professional fees.

28:46>> Make a motion to approve the transfer.

28:50>> Second.

28:50>> We have a motion to second. Any

28:52discussion? All those in favor signify

28:54by saying I.

28:55>> I.

28:56>> Opposed, abstain. Motion carries. 6.

28:58Number two, a transfer from contingency

29:01$45,000

29:04um from highway grounds tree

29:06maintenance.

29:10>> I can speak

29:10>> for the micro burst, right?

29:12>> This was the July 4th. We have typically

29:15put $45,000 in the budget every year.

29:18Hasn't gone up, but we wiped it all out

29:20plus some from the Fourth of July uh

29:23storm.

29:24>> Yeah. I'll make a motion to approve.

29:27Motion in a second. Any further

29:29discussion? All those in favor signify

29:31by saying I.

29:32>> Oppose. Abstain. Motion carries. 6.

29:35Number three, contingency transfer

29:4056,35108,

29:43animal control, animal control assistant

29:47officer.

29:52>> Do we have a motion to start discussion?

29:55>> Mr. Sure. I will just I'm just going to

29:57say I know it says contingency transfer

29:59on the memo on your agenda and it said

30:02it on the report of the contingency

30:04earlier in the in the um packet, but

30:08this is not a request from contingency.

30:10Um as you see, I I did put some verbiage

30:13on the the memo instead of I normally

30:15just sign them off as in support. I

30:17didn't do that in this one. I left it

30:19and I don't know where the suggested

30:21transfer would come from. And a

30:23contingency transfer should be noted

30:24here as an appropriation.

30:26>> Correct.

30:27>> That's a not a conting It is a

30:28contingency transfer, but it should be

30:30noted as appropriation.

30:32>> So, I just want to make that clear.

30:33We're not requesting out a contingency.

30:35I we don't town staff doesn't know where

30:37this money.

30:38>> They're just requesting.

30:39>> We're just sending it to you from the

30:40police commission.

30:41>> Can you give us some more background on

30:42this, Alex? I got this letter

30:45>> the other day and I

30:47>> and I have several questions on it, but

30:50I'll let you give the background on it.

30:51we were closers to it.

30:53>> So, we'll start back on the budget

30:55process of this current year. Um,

30:58everybody was here. Uh, Mr. Britain, um,

31:00what happened was throughout the budget

31:03process for the police, there were they

31:05made some changes. There were some

31:06additions, some deletions to to fund a

31:08couple additional new officers in that

31:12um, the assistant animal control officer

31:14was eliminated out of the budget. Town

31:15council signed off on that, approved it,

31:18and that's what happened. Uh the

31:22police union, the local union brought a

31:24um a formal complaint with the state

31:27labor board. The police union president

31:32um their council I believe our labor

31:35attorney, our police chief

31:37met among others with the state labor

31:40board there last week, I believe last

31:42week. Um, and

31:46this was the proposal that was made to

31:49the town to drop the

31:53uh formal complaint with the state of

31:54Connecticut.

31:58My concern is we eliminate that second

32:02shift position and put that money

32:04towards a street cop, a boot on the

32:06ground. And so if we add this is this

32:10add this money back. Do we eliminate an

32:12officer? The one we it was supposed to

32:15and they were supposed to hire someone

32:17part-time to assist which they haven't

32:20done yet. Um I talked to Chief Dailyaly

32:23because of the labor issues they were

32:24going to pausing to help backfill during

32:27the busy season which is coming to an

32:29end and we're going into the slow season

32:31and that's why we really a limit part of

32:34reason why we cut it out of the budget

32:37and it didn't get back in even through

32:38councils because there's ups and downs.

32:41There's a very slow season for the

32:43second shift

32:44>> in the winter dogs for the dog pound

32:48>> in in the winter, right? There's not a

32:50lot of calls uh for service for animal

32:53calls in the winter. It gets slow and

32:55that's was part of the reason and that

32:56was why we said we would hire a they

33:01could hire a part-time officer

33:03um non-union uh work as needed and we

33:08gave the green light for that. My issue

33:11is

33:13this letter says that someone on this

33:16board talked to the police union

33:17directly. I'm going to go down the roll.

33:19Was it you, Katie?

33:21>> No.

33:21>> Wasn't me. Was it you, Kevin?

33:23>> No.

33:23>> Was you, John?

33:24>> No.

33:25>> Joe?

33:27>> Bob?

33:28>> No.

33:28>> All right. Cuz that's called direct

33:30dealing. That's a violation of

33:31Connecticut labor law. You can't direct

33:34deal with a union. There's things the

33:35way to do it. It's got to go through

33:36Alex. It goes through lawyers. And

33:38that's my concern. Um, this letter

33:42insinuates that someone direct dealing

33:45from the board with the union. I I do

33:46have a problem with that. We don't

33:48personally negotiate with unions as

33:50board members. We don't do that. Um,

33:53and I don't know. I mean, it's saying it

33:57happened here and same with the the town

33:59council. I have concern there, too. Um,

34:04I know uh the union president was called

34:07off the road and they asked him the

34:08police commission and he didn't want to

34:10say who he was speaking with. I don't

34:11know. I just say we haven't even gotten

34:16to the point of hiring the part-time

34:20ACO to backfill that for their need. Um,

34:25what was good is we got another officer

34:27street cop on it and that's what was

34:28important to me. That's why we made this

34:30change and that's why

34:33I don't see um the reason for this yet

34:38as of yet because we haven't even gave

34:39it a it's not even going as we planned

34:42during the budget season because of the

34:46labor issue in

34:47>> let's make the motion then we'll go to

34:48discussion.

34:49>> Okay,

34:49>> let's get the motion on the table in

34:51proper order.

34:53>> So just for discussion purposes you can

34:55make a motion to fund and then we could

34:57have discussion.

34:59doesn't mean you have to be in support

35:00of funding it.

35:02>> But where are we funding it from?

35:04>> We

35:06never [laughter] never never discussed

35:07it.

35:08>> This came to us.

35:09>> You can make a motion to deny it

35:11outright.

35:11>> Make a motion to deny then.

35:14>> I'll make the motion to deny.

35:15>> I'll second.

35:16>> All right. We have a motion to deny in a

35:18second. Further discussion.

35:20>> Alex, did you talk to the chief about

35:23like why they haven't hired hired the

35:24part-time person that would be helping

35:26there?

35:27>> I did. I'm not at liberty to there's the

35:31town is very comfortable with its

35:34decisions but at this time I'm not going

35:36to speak publicly. I can talk to you

35:37offline if you'd like about it. C

35:39>> can I just ask without asking you to go

35:41further into that were were they going

35:43to hire a part-time person or were we I

35:45thought we may have approved um a police

35:48officer who could do that work as well

35:50part time like I thought it was

35:53additional overtime. We never said a

35:55person or they came back with thoughts

35:57like that.

35:58>> Okay. Okay.

35:59>> But we didn't ask him to come back. We

36:00That was just chatter. We just said

36:02>> he he what he said is you could

36:04eliminate my car. You could um reduce

36:08overtime a certain amount at 50 or

36:1075,000 but increase in the animal

36:13control fund increase overtime a certain

36:15amount. And then please leave in there

36:18the two new police officers. Okay. So

36:21the budget as presented had the animal

36:23control officer in it, had the car, had

36:25the regular overtime. A conversation

36:28occurred during the budget process and

36:30we the board of finance eliminated the

36:32animal control officer eliminated the

36:35car, reduced regular police overtime and

36:38increased or uh overtime in the uh in

36:42the animal control fund based upon

36:45conversations with the chief with the

36:47chief.

36:47>> Okay.

36:48>> So the trustee knows it. Yeah. He never

36:50said that. And to his credit or his

36:53defense, he never said, "I don't need

36:55the position." He said, "I support

36:58police officers and I'm willing to give

37:00it up." He didn't say [clears throat] it

37:02was any way unnecessary or ancillary. He

37:04said,

37:04>> "Crect.

37:05>> He needs people to answer police calls,

37:07>> but he had a

37:08>> he needs more police officers to answer

37:10police calls." That's what he said.

37:11>> That's was his Yes. That to the chief's

37:14>> exact defense.

37:17So, right now we have a motion to deny

37:20uh any further discussion.

37:24So, let's just do a because it's a

37:26little bit good of a contentious item

37:28with that letter and everything else.

37:30Let's just do a um and this has and our

37:32vote here has nothing to do with the

37:34need or the the animals. I mean, if

37:37we're still in discussion, I'll just add

37:38that my motion to deny or my support of

37:41denying this comes from the fact that we

37:44established a budget. We we did put a

37:47contingency in the budget, an unknown

37:49item. We always do that. We also have

37:52somewhat of an austere budget overall

37:54because it came to us at 9 and a half%.

37:56We got it to 4.3. We we squeeze this

38:00budget and we don't have we have while

38:02we have money for capital we heard

38:04earlier we don't have money for

38:06operations. The trees have already

38:08encroached on our budget tonight

38:10[clears throat] where we're not we're

38:11just getting into the year and we're

38:13we're down a 100,000 or so on our

38:16contingency. That's very soon to be down

38:19that much and there's no specificity of

38:22where to get this money from. And the

38:25$56,351

38:27is just the salary. It's not fully

38:29loaded. Doesn't have in it the benefits,

38:31the health insurance, the fully loaded

38:34um uh provision for for the uh the

38:38reinstatement of a person. So, I just

38:41don't know where we're going to get the

38:42money from. And also I believe that we I

38:45know that we've last meeting we advanced

38:48the uh hiring of the assistant fire

38:51chief which was delayed uh multiple

38:54months by the town council. We pulled it

38:56up that came at a cost. We asked them to

38:58take it from salaries knowing that that

39:01may come back to us later in the year

39:04because there wasn't enough there. The

39:05salary line may run tight or dry in the

39:09fire department and they may come back

39:10on contingency. So this is a year I

39:13think we have to guard contingency and

39:15again it's no reflection on um the level

39:18of work required at the dogs the person

39:21who had the job before it has nothing to

39:23do with any of that it's purely we made

39:26a budget we squeeze to make the budget

39:28and we got to stick with it my opinion

39:32my my vote

39:35okay we'll go to a roll call

39:38>> Mr. Leven

39:39>> yes

39:39>> Mr. Britain

39:40>> yes

39:41>> Mr. Bone.

39:42>> Yes.

39:42>> Mr. Serno.

39:44>> Yes.

39:45>> Mrs. Wade.

39:46>> Yes.

39:46>> And this was a motion to deny. So it's

39:49it's 6 to deny.

39:54>> Okay. Um last one. A contingency

39:57transfer $3,500 into the assessors for a

40:01stipen. And we're still working on that

40:03issue.

40:04>> I can speak on this because this is a a

40:07one-off. The much like the fire

40:09department, the assessor uh has worked a

40:13year and a half by herself with no

40:15deputy. She's salary. She doesn't get

40:17comp time. She doesn't get overtime.

40:19She's worked nice and weekends.

40:22>> My my request to the board of finance is

40:24to give her less than a one pay period

40:27stipen to it. It's not going to pay for

40:30her time, but it's to acknowledge on

40:32behalf of the town someone who did two

40:34jobs for a full year.

40:37I made a mistake in my comment. I

40:39thought I for a moment I thought

40:40registar assessor. Yeah,

40:42>> assessor. Yeah, I'll make a motion to

40:44approve. Second.

40:46>> Motion in a second. Any further

40:47discussion?

40:49All those in favor signify by saying I.

40:51>> I. I.

40:52>> Uh opposed, abstain. Uh carry 6. And now

40:56we'll um

41:02there's nothing else. We'll look for our

41:03favorite motion. Actually, John and

41:06sorry, there was one more thing. At our

41:08uh July 29th meeting, we tabled the

41:11approval of our June 17th minutes. So, I

41:14don't know if we can take it up today,

41:16but we have not approved them yet or if

41:18we want to just continue the table. So,

41:21>> you can make it agenda then.

41:23>> Do or do we want to do it at the next

41:25meeting? So, if people I don't know if

41:27everyone had a chance

41:28>> minutes.

41:29>> Yeah, I at our July meeting, [laughter]

41:32we tabled the June meeting minutes.

41:35Oh, because we Yeah, let's do it. Let's

41:37Let's We have to make a motion to add it

41:39to the agenda. So, do we have a motion

41:41to add the the the June minutes to the

41:44agenda?

41:45>> I'll make the motion.

41:46>> Second.

41:46>> Motion second. All in favor?

41:48>> I.

41:48>> And now we need a motion to approve the

41:50minutes.

41:51>> So moved.

41:52>> Second.

41:52>> Any correction to the minutes?

41:55>> All those in favor signify by saying I.

41:57>> I.

41:58>> The June minutes 60 are approved. Thanks

42:00for bringing that up. Good job. Okay. So

42:02now our our favorite motion at 8:28.

42:06>> So moved.

42:08>> Second.

42:08>> Ajourn. Yeah. Sorry.

42:10>> Got a [laughter] second. All in favor? I

42:12>> I.

42:12>> All right. Thank you everybody.

42:14>> Thank you. I'll stop the