Minutes of Budget Meeting on April 2nd, 2009

Present Y- N

Regular Members;

Y

Anne Ingvertsen

N

Earl Brecher

Y

Celia Senzer

Y

Sally Hart

Y

Ralph Gold

Y

Tom Bechtle

Alternates;

Others;

N

John LaPorta

Y

Barbara Herbst, Board Clerk & Finance Director

Y

Jack Preston

Y

Gordon Rigeway, First Selectman

Y

K.C.Baird, Selectman

Call to Order:

7:30 AM

Chairman

Asked Jack Preston to sit in for Earl Brecher

Additions to the

None

Agenda

Minutes:

None

Final Discussion

First Selectman Ridgway presented the final proposed expenditure budget. Highlights

of Selectmen's

of the final changes were presented and included a 0% salary increase for all Selectmen, the

Proposed Budget

Highway Foreman and the Hammond Beach lifeguards. All other non union salaries and hourly

wage rates would be increased by 2%. Health Savings Account health insurance will be

mandatory for all employees and will save the Town of Cornwall approximately $13,000 (thirteen

thousand dollars) over the Blue Cross Blue Shield product. The Highway Snow Removal line

has been increased by $20,000 (twenty thousand dollars) over the 2009 budgeted amount.

The Highway Vehicle/Equipment Maintenance line has been increased by $5,000 (five thousand

dollars) and the Land Use budget has been decreased by $2,750 (two thousand, seven hundred and

fifty dollars). The request for a new line item in the Social Service budget for a clerk has been denied.

The CVFD budget was presented at a reduction of 4.73% or $6,950 (six thousand, nine hundred and

fifty dollars). Bulky waste has been reduced by $10,000 (ten thousand dollars) on the theory that

a reduction in construction will be reflected in a reduced need for bulky waste removal.

The Board of Education proposed budget is still the same, a reduction of .81% or $30,868 (thirty

thousand, eight hundred and sixty-eight dollars). Capital Projects have been reduced by $245,500

(Two hundred and forty-five thousand, five hundred dollars) because the BOS have renamed

the CVFD tanker line to CVFD **truck fund** which will be a perpetual line for CVFD

vehicles, funded at $30,000 (thirty thousand dollars) per annum.

The four portions of the budget reflect that BOS portion of the budget is up by 1.82%, the

Capital Projects portion of the budget is down by 43.41%, the Debt Service portion of the budget

is down by 2.71% and the BOE portion of the budget is down by .81% for a combined reduced

budget over the FY 2009 budget of 4.09%

First Selectman Ridgway and the Finance Director presented three scenarios for financing the

proposed expense budget. Based on the proposed income budget presented at the March 19th

meeting, the only variable that will affect the Mil rate is the use of Undesignated Fund Balance (UFB).

The GFOA (Governmental Finance Officers Association) recommends, at a minimum, that

the general-purpose governments, regardless of size, maintain unreserved fund balance in their

general fund of no less that five to 15 percent of regular general fund operating revenues, or

of no less than one to two months of regular general fund operating expenditures.

The auditor reported that FYE 2008 the UFB (for the General Fund) was $1,447,683 or 25.68%

of the total general fund expenditures. To fund the FY 2009 revenue budget, $330,000 was used

leaving $1,117.683. The FY 2010 expenditure budget and a reserve of 15% dictate

a set aside of $870,000 which translates into $247,683 available for funding the FY 2010 budget.

Using NONE of the UFB would increase the Mil rate, using the entire available portion of the UFB

would decrease the Mil rate by less than 1/2 of a Mil and using a little over half of the

UFB would keep the Mil rate the same.

Discussion:

General discussion ensued and everyone agreed that they like the concept of keeping the Mil

rate the same to fund the FY 2010 budget. A Budget Hearing date of April 24th 2009 was

set back in January so it was decided that the board clerk would place the legal notice

and make copies of the proposed income and expense budgets available prior to the meeting at the

Town Clerk's Office, the Selectmen's Office and the Finance Office.

Adjournment:

8:00

Motion:

Celia Senzer

made a motion to adjourn

Sally Hart

Seconded the motion

Motion passed unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted:

Barbara Herbst

Board Clerk