Board of Finance

Approved by the Board of Finance MINUTES November 19, 2024 Vol. 7. Page 436 BOARD OF FINANCE Vote: Unanimous REGULAR MEETING CITY HALL AUDITORIUM / ZOOM October 15, 2024 A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Finance was held on Tuesday, October 15, 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, and Board of Finance Members Laurene Pesce, Wendy Traub, Chris Beyus, and Jim Wright. Board of Finance Member Christopher Anderson joined via Zoom. Board of Finance Member Deborah Iannacito was absent. Mayor Carbone called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Beyus, 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 Mrs. Pesce, the Board voted to accept the Regular Meeting Minutes from September 17, 2024. Mr. Beyus abstained. PUBLIC WORKS AND PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGETS On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mrs. Traub, the Board voted unanimously to open discussion of the Public Works and Public Safety Budgets. Mayor Carbone said this is the response to the request from the previous meeting to answer why there were deficiencies in line items. She said it came mostly down to the timing of projects. Mr. Anderson arrived at 5:03 p.m. FY 23-24 BUDGET AMENDMENTS AND TRANSFER REQUESTS On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Beyus, the Board voted unanimously to approve the budget transfer requests for FY 23/24 as further described in the Manager of Budgets letter dated October 2, 2024, having been previously approved by the City Council. Mr. Beyus asked for more details, there are transaction amounts but no description. Ms. Johnson said below each line item is where they come from, for instance, Building Maintenance to Animal Control. Mayor Carbone told the Board that not every transfer was turned into a Capital Reserve. Mrs. Traub added that budget amendments were for overages that needed to be covered. Ms. DeRosa said that there were bills still being paid. Mr. Beyus asked why there was a half million transfer into the Internal Service Fund (ISF), Ms. Johnson said at the beginning of every fiscal year the employees received a deposit into their HSA, this was a transfer that wasn’t done, so it was pre-pay. BOARD OF EDUCATION TRANSFER REQUESTS On a motion by Mrs. Traub, seconded by Mr. Wright, the Board voted unanimously to open discussion on the request to transfer a $302,601.17 surplus from the Board of Education’s General Budget into their Capital Reserve Account for IT and Facilities Projects to be determined. Mayor Carbone told the Board, the letter of request was very vague, usually it included specific projects to be earmarked for. This request was dated September 25, 2024, and received on September 30, 2024. Mayor Carbone explained this year the audit started on time, and the accounts were already closed, so the letter was late. The balance had already been transferred to the City’s Fund Balance. She explained that the Board of Education (BOE) never paid for its final installment into the ISF fund for health insurance and withheld the employees’ last four premium payments. Mrs. Traub requested information for the $1.8 million additional spending in June and hasn’t received any information. She said the taxpayers think they are underfunding the BOE when it looks like they had a surplus of over $2 million at the end of the year. She said without the BOE paying for health insurance and the premiums coming out of the ISF for July, August, and September, any surplus should go back to the General Fund. Mayor Carbone told the Board Mrs. Traub’s request was sent to Mr. Wilson and Mr. Petruzzelli on September 16, 2024, reminding them that any Board can ask for additional information. Mr. Wright asked where the City was with the FOI request for the BOE, Mayor Carbone said they have sent multiple requests and have received some documents, but haven’t seen anything related to requests for proposals, proposals submitted, or the contract. She told the Board that Corporation Counsel filed a complaint with the FOI Commission two weeks ago. Mr. Wright suggested withholding the request for the transfer. Mr. Beyus disagreed, he said with the audit complete it is too late, and the funds are already slated for the General Fund. He said if there was a reason why the request was late, and not providing monthly reports that would be different, but by not complying with the requests it shows their intention. Mrs. Pesce asked if the other factors weren’t an issue, and just by the timing of the request, would the City be able to process it, Ms. DeRosa said yes, however, it would entail more work for the auditors. She added that trial balances were due by September 30, 2024, they had theirs in by September 15, 2024, so there was time to get this request earlier. Mr. Anderson said the BOF has always been flexible and accommodating in transferring any surpluses to Capital. He said he would hesitate to make prior period adjustments, as lenders and creditors use this to determine the Bond Rating and interest rate. This could have long-term.  MINUTES Vol. 7. Page 437 BOARD OF FINANCE REGULAR MEETING CITY HALL AUDITORIUM / ZOOM October 15, 2024 effects on the City. Mr. Beyus requested that the Corporation Counsel be at the next meeting to determine the next steps. Mayor Carbone said there should be an answer from the FOI Commission by then. On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Beyus, the Board voted unanimously to deny the request for the transfer of the FY 23/24 surplus of $302,601.17 and direct the Mayor to communicate with the Superintendent and the Director of Business Services, with a CC to the BOE Chairs, that the timeliness of the request coupled with the lack of budget performance reports and answers to a prior request for additional information with regard to the FY 24 expenditures is part of the reason why it’s difficult for the Board to make these decisions. CITY PERFORMANCE REPORTS On a motion by Mr. Beyus, seconded by Mr. Anderson, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Performance Reports for the City. TABLE: BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORTS On a motion by Mr. Beyus, seconded by Mrs. Pesce, the Board voted unanimously to table the Board of Education Budget Performance Reports. Mayor Carbone told the Board that reports were never received. BUSINESS BY DEPARTMENT HEADS On a motion by Mrs. Traub, seconded by Mr. Beyus, the Board voted unanimously to consider business by department heads. There was no business to be discussed. BUSINESS BY MAYOR & MEMBERS On a motion by Mr. Beyus, seconded by Mr. Wright, the Board voted unanimously to consider business by the Mayor and members of the Board of Finance. Mrs. Pesce asked how the City was doing on the revaluation. Mayor Carbone took a moment to tell the Board that the City Assessor submitted his resignation, and the Deputy stepped into the role of the Assessor. Mayor Carbone said all reports coming in have been positive. Mrs. Pesce asked if the closing of Stop & Shop would affect the revaluation, Mayor Carbone said the appraisals are based on square footage and fixtures inside the business. Mr. Wright asked about the passing of City Hall’s Mr. Scott, who worked in the Tax Office, Mayor Carbone said he tragically passed in a car accident over the weekend. She told the Board the Tax Office asked to close to attend services. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Mr. Beyus, seconded by Mr. Anderson, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 5:43 p.m. Respectfully submitted by ATTEST: Heather Abraham, Asst. City Clerk CAROL L. ANDERSON, CITY CLERK CAROL L. ANDERSON, CITY CLERK