Board of Finance

Minutes of the Regular meeting of April 20, 2006

Present: Ralph C. Gold, chairman, Celia Senzer, Sally Hart, Tom Bechtle, Anne Ingvertsen, Earl Brecher. Alternates: Ginger Betti, John LaPorta. Gordon M. Ridgway, first selectman.

The minutes of the March 16 meeting were approved as presented.

Addition to the agenda: Transfer in the General Fund.

Gordon Ridgway reviewed the recent history of the ballfield at Furnace Brook. A pavilion to be erected there needs extra funding which will be sought from STEAP I, from the portion allotted to the Neoweld site remediation.

Tom Bechtle moved and Earl Brecher seconded a motion

To recommend to the Town Meeting drawing $30,000 from the Municipal Reserve to complete work on the ballfield pavilion to be reimbursed by the Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant of June 2002.

The VOTE to approve was unanimous.

The clerk presented the revenue estimates for FY 2007. The Grand List for 2005 increased by 1.94% which means that one mill is 243,310; 98% of one mill is 238,440, Cornwall’s budgetary mill which allows for bad debt. Chairman Gold explained his reasoning behind a new idea for using the undesignated fund balance (the net of all previous budgets) to supplement the current budget. He proposed using 80% of the budgetary excess (if there is one) each year to decrease taxes in the following year. Thus, 80% of $148,307, FY 2005’s excess, is $118,650. When this amount is added to the revenue budget, the non-tax revenue increases to $677,809. The budget level for FY 2007 is $5,879,752; subtract $677,809 from that number and divide the result by the budget mill and the mill rate is revealed – 21.8, the same as the current year.

Ralph remarked that his plan to use 80% of the budgetary excess still leaves a 20% increase in the fund balance. In other words, the rate of increase is less than it would normally be and the taxpayer is less overburdened..

In discussion of the proposed expenditures for FY 2007, Celia Senzer asked why, when the CCS population is decreasing, the Board of Education’s expenditures continue to increase -- $140,000 for FY 2007. Gordon replied that the number of Cornwall students at the high school is still large and, as Earl pointed out, much of what happens at Region One is out of Cornwall’s control.

The budget hearing for the town is April 21 at 7:30. Members were encouraged to attend.

Celia moved and Tom Bechtle seconded a motion to transfer in the General Fund:

FROM: 01-466-100-00 Contingency $4,000

TO INCREASE: 0142664016 Tree Maintenance

The VOTE to approve was unanimous.

The meeting adjourned at 8:365 pm.

Lisa Lansing

Clerk