Board of Finance

Minutes of the Meeting of April 15, 2004

Present: Ralph C. Gold, chairman, Tom Bechtle, Earl Brecher, Celia Senzer, Roger Kane, Sally Hart, members. Anne Kosciusko, alternate. K.C. Baird and Ken Keskinen, selectmen and Barbara Gold, chairman of the Board of Education.

The minutes for the meeting of March 18 were approved with one change: On p. 2 where the increase in mills is discussed, .9 should be 1.4.

Barbara Gold presented an update of the BOE budget.

• The line for certified staff has been reduced by one full salary; the physical education teacher’s position, soon to be vacant, has been set for a mid-range salary. The outcome is less than originally planned.
• A series of changes to the number and nature of health insurance coverages resulted in a net upward tick of $1,000.

An estimated $38,920 has been left out of the budget. These funds might be needed if the “worst case” or most expensive outcome results from new hires. The board agreed as it had for FY 2004 to hold the amount in reserve to be available to the BOE if needed.

Celia Senzer expressed her concern that this budget would be presented to the town without a full understanding of the outcome of the negotiations with the non-certified staff at CCS. No clear date has been set for resolution of the issues on the table.

K.C. Baird presented the changes the Board of Selectmen have made in their budget. Adjusting three salaries upward slightly, and reducing the 911 contract by $1,500 and the contingency fund by $3,000 were the last of a series of changes which brought the revised budget down almost $40,000 from the level originally presented to the Board of Finance. The capital budget also declined $13,000 because of a reduction in the road improvement line. A $10,000 line for fire hydrants in West Cornwall Village was added.

The total FY 2005 budget now is $5,213,231 up 4.2% over FY 2004.

Earl Brecher moved and Tom Bechtle seconded a motion to transfer in the Capital Projects Fund:

FROM: Road improvement $3,000

TO INCREASE: CCS Projects

The vote to approve was unanimous.

The meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm.

Lisa Lansing

Clerk