Minutes
Present: Pemberton, Karvelis, Thompson
Also present: Finance Director Gniadek, 4 members of the public and Police Chief Fuchs (for a portion of the meeting)
First Selectman Pemberton called the February 17, 2015 meeting to order at 8:07 am
FY 2015-16 BUDGET DISCUSSION AND ACTION
Discussion began with a review of the adjustments to the budget discussed at the February 9, 2015 meeting. These included the addition of the BAN principal payment, request from Mark Twain Library, reduction in Heritage Center programming account, addition to Capital Nonrecurring Account for revaluation, dump truck for Highway Department, legal for Historical Review Committee, and building repairs for Old Town House. $50,000 was added to the Legal Account and $5,000 was added to the Grant Account to accommodate a pending request from the Redding Easton Boys and Girls Club.
The placeholder for the Mental Health Task Force recommendation for a part time social worker was discussed. Mrs. Pemberton suggested looking at the reallocation of resources prior to making a decision on this item. A reduction in the Contingency account was discussed and included.
The biggest drivers in the budget are the $60,000 in Capital Nonrecurring Account for the Revaluation ($180,000 to be funded over the next three years), and $50,000 for Legal Account.
Discussion of the SSO (School Safety Officer) position for the Police Department followed. Chief Fuchs was present for this portion of the meeting. Chief Fuchs revisited the role of the SSO, the current staffing configuration, the costs of overtime coverage, The Police Department is currently authorized for 17, and the current configuration is 15 plus 2 in the schools. The addition of a part time SSO will change the configuration to 16 plus 1.5 in the schools. The Selectmen asked Chief Fuchs if he could quantify the cost of overtime due to scheduling, as opposed to time off or sick time, in the future. The SSO is considered a pilot program, will be instituted in the current fiscal year, overtime costs will be tracked on a monthly basis, and if the program is not working, it will be discontinued.
The final budget number, $14,075,568, represents a 2.06% increase of the current year budget.
Motion: move that the Board of Selectmen approve and send to the Board of Finance an operating budget for 2015-16 of $14,075,568, which represents a 2.06% increase over the current year. Karvelis, Thompson. Approved. Unanimous.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion: move to adjourn the meeting. Karvelis, Thompson. Approved. Unanimous
The meeting adjourned at 10:10 am.
Submitted by Mary Maday, Recording Secretary