Board of Finance

Approved by the Board of Finance January 21, 2025 MINUTES Vol. 7. Page 442 BOARD OF FINANCE Vote: Unanimous SPECIAL MEETING ZOOM January 8, 2025 A SPECIAL MEETING of the Board of Finance was held on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. Attendance was by Zoom. Present were Mayor Elinor Carbone, Comptroller Olivia DeRosa, Deputy Comptroller and Manager of Budgets and Planning Erika Johnson, Board of Finance Members Deborah Iannacito, Laurene Pesce, Wendy Traub, and Jim Wright, Fire Chief Eric Borden and Deputy Fire Chief David Tripp. Board of Finance Members Chris Beyus and Christopher Anderson were absent. Mayor Carbone called the meeting to order at 3:01 p.m. FIRE DEPARTMENT RECRUIT TRAINING On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mrs. Iannacito, the Board voted unanimously to authorize the use of $31,500 of Contingency Funds for training expenses for four (4) Firefighter recruits, previously approved by the City Council, which is further explained in Fire Chief Borden’s memo dated December 30, 2024. Chief Borden explained to the Board the request was due to the lack of funding in the budget. He said the department was anticipating five vacancies, but at the time of budget adoption, there was only one true vacancy, so the others were cut. He told the Board they have five recruits enrolled in the Academy in the first week of February, so this request will pay for the four recruits to attend. Mayor Carbone added that the Department had looked at other line items for alternate funding, but those line items are not running under budget. Mrs. Pesce said to send the recruits to be trained they had to look at the Contingency and ask how much was left. Mayor Carbone told the Board that the Contingency was funded for $175,000 and has used $16,800 for SLR Design payment, and this request would bring the Contingency fund to $126,665. Mrs. Traub asked if there were cost savings for the Department being down the positions. Chief Borden said the hire back at straight time, so there is no overtime to cover any positions. She reiterated with five open positions the Board is not seeing the salary savings. Mrs. Traub asked if this was a typical request for the Contingency and if there were any other line items it could come from, Chief Borden said they need the funds for the first week of February and they cannot pull the funds from anywhere else. Mrs. Pesce asked if the Department got funds back when they went to other Fire Departments, Chief Borden said the Fire Department goes after the individual, which usually ends up in small claims. Mayor Carbone said there is legislature for the Police Department to get funds back if an Officer moves to another Police Department, but not for the Fire Department. Mr. Wright asked if there was an obligation to the City in the Firefighter’s contract, Chief Borden explained the contractual obligation is for three years, and if they leave before that the reimbursement is based on a sliding scale. Mayor Carbone added that the Human Resources Director has updated the offer letter, which now states that if they leave before the contractual obligation, they are to refund the City the cost of the Academy. Mayor Carbone confirmed with the Board that this request would leave $126,665 in the Contingency Fund halfway through the fiscal year. She said closer to the end of the fiscal year, the Contingency Fund works into the budgeting strategy. She told the Board that she has asked the Chiefs to ensure they do not overspend. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mrs. Traub, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 3:16 p.m. Respectfully submitted by ATTEST: CAROL L. ANDERSON, CITY CLERK Heather Abraham, Asst. City Clerk CAROL L. ANDERSON, CITY CLERK