Board of Finance

Approved by the Board of Finance MINUTES October 15, 2024 Vol. 7. Page 434 BOARD OF FINANCE Vote: Unanimous REGULAR MEETING CITY HALL AUDITORIUM / ZOOM September 17, 2024 A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Finance was held on Tuesday, September 17, 2024. Attendance was in person and by Zoom. Present at City Hall were Mayor Elinor Carbone, Comptroller Olivia DeRosa, Treasurer Dan Farley, Manager of Budgets and Planning Erika Johnson, Fleet Manager Emil Castro, and Board of Finance Members Laurene Pesce, Wendy Traub, and Jim Wright. Board of Finance Member Christopher Anderson joined via Zoom. Board of Finance Members Deborah Iannacito and Christopher Beyus were absent. Mayor Carbone called the meeting to order at 5:06 p.m. beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mrs. Pesce, the Board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. No one from the public wished to speak. APPROVE MEETING MINUTES On a motion by Mrs. Traub, seconded by Mr. Wright, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Regular Meeting Minutes from August 20, 2024. On a motion by Mrs. Pesce, seconded by Mr. Wright the Board voted to accept the Special Joint Meeting Minutes with the City Council from September 3, 2024. Mr. Anderson abstained. AUDIT PRESENTATION Leslie Zoll from Clifton Larson Allen (CLA) gave a presentation on the FY23 Audit findings. She went into detail surrounding the Terms of Engagement, Executive Summary, Financial Highlights, Federal and State Single Audit, Governance Communication, and Industry Insights and Emerging Issues. She further explained the details of the internal control findings in the Financial Statements. One was a material weakness in Financial Reporting, and it was repeated from last year. There were two significant deficiencies in the Federal Single Audit found, one was there was no independent review of ARPA reports submitted, which was due to the shortage of staff. The other was non-compliant with procurement standards in accordance with Uniform Guidance, which was completed just not by June 30, 2023. Mrs. Traub asked if the City’s funded pension plans were in an acceptable range, and Ms. Zoll said they were. Mrs. Traub asked if there was a cut-off to which items would be audited, Ms. Zoll said that they do look at the material items and will choose other items to sample. Mrs. Pesce asked if the pension and OPEB liabilities negatively impact the bond rating, Ms. Zoll said the OPEB liability is much higher than most cities. Mrs. Pesce questioned the paid sick time and vacation time, Ms. Zoll said that in 2025 the vacation time and sick time will be shown as a liability within the financial statements. Mrs. Pesce asked about budgeting and expending for Public Works and Public Safety because they were not closing out equally, Ms. DeRosa said that there are a lot of items in each of those budgets and will have to research it further. VEHICLE REPLACEMENT BUDGET On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Anderson, the Board, on the recommendation of the Vehicle Replacement Advisory Board, voted unanimously to approve the Vehicle Replacement Budget for FY 2024/2025, pending City Council approval. Mrs. Traub asked how the Vehicle Replacement Advisory Board was comprised, Mayor Carbone told her that it was Chris Beyus from the Board of Finance, Anne Ruwet from the City Council, Glenn McLeod from the Board of Public Safety, Glenn Royals, Emil Castro the Fleet Manager, Ray Drew the Public Works Director, Olivia DeRosa the Comptroller, and Pennie Zucco the Purchasing Agent. CITY PERFORMANCE REPORTS On a motion by Mrs. Traub, seconded by Mrs. Pesce, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Performance Reports for the City. BOARD OF EDUCATION On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mrs. Traub, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Board of Education Budget Performance Reports. Mrs. Traub said the report that was sent a few months ago, which wasn’t ready showed a $300,000 surplus at year-end. The was some unusual activity in several accounts in June 2024 of $1.8 million spent on special items. She provided examples of money spent and then asked if it was used for the year intended. The BOE would have had a surplus of over $2 million. Mrs. Traub asked for transparency in all departments. Mayor Carbone told the Board that the City side is careful to look at the contract dates and if it starts after July 1st then it will be approved in the next fiscal year, which is a best practice. Mayor Carbone approves every single purchase order that the City processes. Any purchases that are presented that weren’t budgeted are questioned by the Purchasing Agent. Mrs. Pesce said that the City had purchased salt ahead of time, Mayor Carbone explained the City would transfer funds to the Capital Reserve for that purpose. She said any surplus that any department has including the BOE should come back to the Board of Finance to be transferred into Capital Reserve, so there is a clear paper trail. Mrs. Traub said with the statute change the BOE surplus no longer must come before the Board of Finance to transfer their surplus, Mayor Carbone said the State Legislature changed statute 10-248a which required the BOE to come before the Board of Finance to transfer any surpluses into the Capital Reserve. It was changed effect immediately, so the BOE doesn’t need to go before the Board anymore, they just must transfer any surpluses into an educational fund, MINUTES Vol. 7. Page 435 BOARD OF FINANCE REGULAR MEETING CITY HALL AUDITORIUM / ZOOM September 17, 2024 which doesn’t need to be approved. Mrs. Traub would like to see the BOE transfer their surplus into this educational fund, to be used for educational purposes the following year. Mayor Carbone said a paper trail is so important. Mr. Wright asked if the educational fund is used for everything educational, and Mayor Carbone said it would be. BUSINESS BY DEPARTMENT HEADS On a motion by Mrs. Traub, seconded by Mr. Wright, the Board voted unanimously to consider business by department heads. Mayor Carbone shared that Emil is getting ready to retire. Treasurer Dan Farley shared with the Board that since the City started the Capital Tax Recovery Program (CTR), the company has gotten 54 out-of-state license plates and collected $36,855.78 in fees and fines, $16,346.12 which was paid to CTR for their fees, the City keeps the rest. He said that going forward the City will retain 100% of tax collections. Mrs. Pesce asked how CTR can figure out if they are an out-of-state vehicle, Mr. Farley said that they check with the state the vehicle is registered. Mayor Carbone said the City is in a two-year contract, and once they find them, and bring them into compliance with our City, they will be on our tax list. She said they would go back three years to assess to see how much these vehicles owe. Mrs. Traub asked what the standard is to legally switch a registration, and Mr. Castro said 90 days. BUSINESS BY MAYOR & MEMBERS On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Anderson, the Board voted unanimously to consider business by the Mayor and members of the Board of Finance. Mrs. Traub said the money that is allocated for street projects has been happening around town, and they are keeping up with them. Mrs. Pesce asked about the sale of Aquarion, taking property off the tax rolls and whether we have a leg to stand on, Mayor Carbone said that this is not a done deal yet. There would be a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT), which would be some relief. The experience with MIRA is an example of oversight and is worried about a Regional Water Authority. Mr. Wright asked if there would be a rate freeze, Mayor Carbone expects that user fees would go up. Mrs. Pesce asked who determines if they are a not-for-profit, Mayor Carbone said PIRA. Mrs. Pesce asked if there were any updates on the Pedlar, Mayor Carbone said there is a court date on November 5, 2024, where Torrington Development Corp. will file their final report for the next steps. Mrs. Pesce asked if Jason Hospitality could object, Mayor Carbone said they could, they still own the building however they must prove that they can complete the development of the property. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mrs. Pesce, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 6:29 p.m. Respectfully submitted by ATTEST: Heather Abraham, Asst. City Clerk CAROL L. ANDERSON, CITY CLERK CAROL L. ANDERSON, CITY CLERK