TOWN OF GRANBY
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MINUTES
JANUARY 20, 2009
The regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was called to order by First Selectman John Adams at 7:30 p.m.
PRESENT: John Adams, Sally King, Mark Neumann, and William F. Smith, Jr., Town Manager
OTHERS: Michael Guarco, Chairman Board of Finance, Gordon Bischoff, Francis Brady, Scott Kuhnly, Al Wilke, and Fred Moffa (arrived late)
Cal Heminway, Chairman Board of Education, Matt Wutka, Ed Ohannessian, Ron Walther, Deborah Torgersen, and Alan Addley, Superintendent of Schools
First Selectman Adams opened the meeting by stating that the only business of the night is the Three Board Meeting. As a result of that, all other portions of the agenda will be deferred.
IV. BUSINESS
First Selectman Adams began the meeting by welcoming all the Board members, town staff, and the public. He also congratulated President Obama as our newly sworn President of the United States and wished him well.
First Selectman Adams spoke about Connecticut’s projected budget deficit as being roughly $2.5 billion or 13.6% in 2010 and $3.2 billion in 2011. He presented slides from Speaker Donovan showing Connecticut’s surpluses and deficits history, specifically its FY 2010 deficit, and what taxes are generated in Connecticut. Another slide from Speaker Donovan was on the topic of regionalism solutions as a new idea for a brighter Connecticut. Some regionalism solutions mentioned were re-formation of regions, regional property tax revenue sharing, maintain regional performance incentive grants, regional collective bargaining, health care pooling, and major financial incentives from the state. First Selectman Adams commented long-term changes in government are needed to address these shortfalls.
First Selectman Adams reviewed the Municipal Plus-One Budget starting with those services the town is committed to maintain. Wages and salaries showed a 1.79% increase over the 2009 budget. Fringe benefits came in at 1.12% over, miscellaneous commitments were .36% over, and adjustments were .09% over. A total for those committed items is $291,100 or a 3.35% increase over 2009. He further reviewed new staffing requests amounting to $178,200 with fringe benefits at 2.05%. The total committed and new requests came in at $469,300 or 5.41%.
In light of the poor economy, the expectation of receiving much revenue from the state is not good. In order to help keep costs down, the town has taken measures such as a hiring freeze, an expenditure review process, completed energy conservation measures, and reviewing other cost expenditures. The town hopes to develop a budget with the expectation of cuts from the state. There is not much more they can do until after the Governor gives the budget address in February.
Cal Heminway, Chairman of the Board of Education, spoke about how they have cut heating costs by turning the temperature down in the buildings and keeping it turned down when school is not in session. Mr. Heminway stated that in order to keep things at a 2% increase, they would have to make some personnel adjustments. He reminded everyone that cutting too much will short change the future.
Michael Guarco, Chairman of the Board of Finance, indicated the state budget has deteriorated and will get worse by spring. In order to stay at a 2% increase in our budget, it would mean a decrease of 4 to 5% in the state deficit budget. The situation is not good. We need to find long-term solutions. Mr. Guarco stated that the Board of Finance needs to wait to see what happens with the Governor’s budget in February in order to know just where we stand and what kind of adjustments may be needed to our budget.
All the other Board members commented about the situation we are facing this year. Most seem to agree that there is not a quick fix solution. We need long-term solutions, and everyone needs to work together to make this happen. We need a budget that will support the town and one that we can afford.
Town Manager Smith commented that regionalism is something he has always been in favor of to help cut costs, but typically these approaches take time to adopt. He also stated that dipping into our reserve as necessary, should be tied to a recovery plan. He further stated that we cannot strip ourselves of legal obligations such as state mandates.
First Selectman Adams ended the evening by saying Granby is in pretty good shape compared to other towns in the area. We have been careful with spending in the past and we do have some reserves. We will get through this by working together.
ON A MOTION by First Selectman Adams, seconded by Selectman Neumann, the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously (3-0-0) to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
William F. Smith, Jr.
Town Manager
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