Minutes of the

Litchfield Budget Committee Meeting

Held on 9 January 2007

Present: B. Lemire, B Spencer, J. Caynon, B. McCue, D. Miller, M Falzone, J Harte, S. Martin, C. Hamblett
Absent: A Raccio

Mr. Lemire opened the meeting at 7:03 p.m.

PUBLIC INPUT
There was input from members of the public.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Approval of the minutes dated January 4, 2007 was deferred until the next meeting as all members had not been able to review them.

SCHOOL BUDGET/WARRANT ARTICLES – VOTING
Mr. Lemire explained that the Committee would not be voting on the warrant articles this evening as the School Board need to vote on them at their next meeting.
Mr. Miller raised the subject of student enrolment figures and pointed out that the percentage drop in the figures varied depending on the calculation used.  Mr. Spencer pointed out that when total enrolment figures were used, with a three year weighted average it worked out at a drop of 2%.

Mr. Lemire asked members whether there were any issues pertaining to the school budget that they wanted to ask about.  He also sought consensus of opinion as to how the Committee should proceed in voting on, and making amendments to the budget.  It was agreed that they should go through the summary by account function, raising questions as they moved through.

Mr. Martin stated that he had one additional item for $1,272 to add to the default budget which had not been listed on his e-mail which was for Special Education and is IEP driven

1100-1199 Series:
Line item 440 (Rental /leasing of copiers) – Mr. Harte sought to understand the figures for this year as he had compared them with last year’s figures and could not get the line items to equate.  There appeared to be approximately an additional $26,000 between the three schools in next year’s budget.  There followed a discussion during which the school representatives mentioned that the Risograph at the high school had been taken out which had resulted in an increase in the number of copies being done; the charge for ‘overages’ in the copying has been separated into another line item; next year there are number of pieces of equipment being replaced; the cost per page has increased.  Mr. Martin checked the figures for the total volume and extra pages and stated that it appeared that he had over budgeted the number of pages.

Mr. Harte stated he would like to put forward a motion to amend the figure in this function.  It was pointed out that there would first have to be a motion on the table for the bottom line.

Motion: by D Miller
To move to approve a bottom line figure of $19,254,460 for the School Operating Budget
Second: A Falzone

Mr. Martin clarified that the figure includes Food Service funds of $981,000.

 

Motion: by J Harte
To reduce the 1100 function by $3,125
Second: B Spencer
Vote: 7-0-0
The motion carried unanimously.

1200 Series:

Travel Mileage for Paraprofessionals - page 5 – Mr. Caynon pointed out that the money in this line item at 50cents/mile would be for 20,000 miles and this seemed rather high.
Mr. Martin stated that there are 8 students in placement and there will be three more for next year.  He explained that the teachers also travel between locations, and that the figure would have included the mileage for the Supervisor.  He then went on to explain the areas traveled to.

Miss Hamblett stated that money under Handicapped Tuition – goes back to the taxpayer if it is under spent.

Capital Reserve Funds – there was discussion about the amount of money in these funds with suggestions for use.

Motion: by J Caynon
To reduce line 569 (Handicapped Tuition) by $15,000
Second: B Spencer- for discussion
It was suggested that the Reserve Funds could be used if more money is needed.  Mr. Harte obtained clarification that it would be necessary to use the Reserve Funds for tuition (i.e. educating Special Education students).
Vote:  6-1-0 (Mr.Miller opposed the motion).
The motion carried.

2310-2319 Series: 

Motion: by B Spencer
To reduce the salaries of the School Board members by $2,536
Second: J Caynon
Mr. Spencer stated that his rationale for this reduction was that the School Board should receive the same 3% increase as the teachers.
Vote: 6-1-0 (Mr.Miller opposed the motion)
The motion carried.

Motion: by B Spencer
To reduce the School Treasurer’s salary by $2,150
Second: J Caynon
Mr. Spencer stated that he used the same rationale for this salary cut as in his previous motion.  He also requested a better description of the jobs for both the Town and School Treasurer positions and an hourly rate to do a proper comparison.  Miss Hamblett agreed to obtain this information for the Committee.
Vote: 6-1-0 (Mr.Miller opposed the motion)
The motion carried.

Motion: by B Spencer
To reduce the Moderator’s salary to $200
Second: J Caynon
Following a query from Mr. Harte, the Committee was informed that the Moderator received $307 from the Town.  Mr. Spencer explained the duties of the Town Moderator.
Vote: 6-1-0 (Mr.Miller opposed the motion)
The motion carried.

Motion: by B Spencer
To reduce the salary of the District Clerk to $60
Second: M Falzone
Vote: 6-1-0 (Mr.Miller opposed the motion)
The motion carried.

Motion: by B Spencer
To cut the salary of the Clerk of the Checklist completely
Second: M Falzone
Mr. Spencer stated that the Town also funded this salary, referring to the information in the backup.  He stated he thought it should be removed from the School budget and let the Town sort it out.
Vote: 6-1-0 (Mr.Miller opposed the motion)
The motion carried.

4000 Series:

Motion: by B Spencer
To cut line item 330 (see page 3) from $20,000 to zero
Second: J Caynon

Discussion:
Mr. Spencer stated that he felt the design fees for the Building Committee should be a separate warrant article, and preferred not to have this in the Operating budget.  Mr. Miller stated that the School Board’s decision had been based on the ‘no means no’ law.

Mr. Miller informed the Committee that the Selectmen would know by April or May whether they could use Impact Fees for this.  In response to questions from Committee members, the school representatives explained that Impact Fees had been used predominantly over the last three years.  Mr. Martin explained that only if the Building Committee comes back with a decision to expand, can Impact Fees be used.  He also stated that they could not use overages.

 Mr. Spencer pointed out that the reason the Legislature changed the law was to let voters make decisions, and he felt that the Town has a responsibility to the voters to go back to them prior to spending any more money on this type of expenditure.

There was discussion about the reduction in the enrolment figures, with Mr. Miller respondin that there was more to a school than the square footage and the number of students.  The school representatives pointed out that the Building Committee need the money at the beginning of the year.  Mr. Miller pointed out that they do not know precisely what the money would be used for; therefore it is not possible to stipulate this in a warrant article and inform the voters.

For the benefit of the viewers, Mr. Lemire asked for clarification of what the requested money would cover.  Mr. Miller explained that the public wishes to see real numbers, therefore it would be necessary to have the numbers reworked as the previous ones were industry standards from four years ago, with minimal renovation.  Mr. Miller also stated that another option would be to build a smaller school in addition to the current one.
Mr. McCue pointed out that the potential cost of waiting exceeds what is being asked for.

Vote: 2-5-0 (Mr.Caynon and Mr.Spencer voted for the motion and everyone else was opposed)
The motion failed.

A check was made of the new bottom line with a new figure of $19,231,209 being agreed upon.  The figures for the Default budget which Mr. Martin would go to the School Board with were discussed, along with what items would be included in this figure.

Mr. Lemire suggested that the Committee work with the figure for the standard Operating budget.
Motion: by B Spencer
To amend the School Operating budget by increasing it to $18,007,254
Second: M Falzone -for discussion

Mr. Spencer explained that his figure took everything in Mr. Martin’s e-mail to the Committee, dated January 5th 2007; funded salaries at the 3% increase and did not fund the School Board salary increase.  Mr. Lemire clarified that Mr. Spencer had taken the default budget figure and had added $27,772 (the increases Mr. Martin was recommending the School Board add), plus he had added the increases the District had said were critical – apart from the School Board increase.

Mr. Martin pointed out that $20,000 was required for renovations and therefore Mr. Spencer’s amount was short of that $20,000.  Mr. Spencer stated that if his motion passes then cuts made were irrelevant.

Further discussion took place with clarification being provided to Mr. Harte that the School Board can juggle figures within the budget according to what they need.

Mr. Martin provided examples of what was not included in the default, and in response to Mr. Harte stated that he and Miss Hamblett would make recommendations to the Board regarding what to cut.

Wishing to put things in perspective, Mr. Lemire pointed out that last year’s appropriation versus what is on the table now amounted to a $1 million increase – three quarters of which related to teacher salaries.

Mr. Caynon pointed out that many of the Technology line items can be bought for less.

Motion: by D Miller
To amend the bottom line to $18,988,548
Second: J Harte
Mr. Miller explained that this would add the $20,000 for renovation.
Vote: 7-0-0
The motion carried unanimously.

Miss Hamblett thanked everyone for going through the process which she felt had gone smoothly.  She asked whether the Committee members had found the format of the presentation helpful in making their decisions and the members agreed that it had been. Mr. Lemire thanked the school representatives for their work.

Mr. Falzone and Mr. McCue asked to go through the numbers again to check the final bottom line figure.

Motion: by D Miller
To amend the bottom line to $19,008,528
Second: J Harte
Mr. Miller explained that this was to correct a math error in the previous figure voted upon.
Vote: 7 -0-0
The motion carried unanimously.

Miss Hamblett asked and received clarification that the School should post the information on the Budget Hearing and the Budget Committee meeting which would take place after the hearing.

The following dates were confirmed:

Miss Hamblett explained the seating format on stage at the Deliberative sessions.

Mr. Lemire asked for a budget summary from Mr. Martin for presentation at the Budget hearing.
In response to Mr. Spencer’s query, Miss Hamblett stated that the figures for 1st grade enrolment registrations should be available the last week of January, and definitely for the Deliberative session.

TOWN BUDGET/WARRANT ARTICLES – VOTING

Mr. Spencer stated that he had attended the Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday evening and that the health insurance figures have decreased.  He also stated that the Board of Selectmen had voted to remove a couple of warrant articles and have added the tazers to the Police budget.  He explained that the net effect of these changes covers the decrease in health insurance.  Mr. Spencer suggested that the Committee vote on the bottom line that they had previously approved.

Motion: by B Spencer
To move to approve a bottom line figure of $3,877,493 for the 2008 Town budget
Second: J Harte
Vote: 7-0-0
The motion carried unanimously.

Mr. Spencer stated he would inform Ms. Durocher of this figure.  He also stated that the Committee had not yet talked about the Default budget for the town.  He explained that the figure for the Default was higher than that of the Operating budget due to the culvert work for Albuquerque Avenue, but that there is no funding for other culverts in the Default.

Mr. Lemire asked if there had been discussion at the Board of Selectmen meeting about the Road Plan and was told no.

There was a brief discussion in response to a query from Mr. McCue regarding whether it might be useful to have the presentation slides showing on one of the public access channels for the benefit of the public.

There being no further business, Mr. Lemire asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting.

Motion: by J Harte
To adjourn the meeting
Second: D Miller
Vote: 7-0-0
The motion carried unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.