BOARD OF FINANCE

AUGUST 12, 2014

Page 1 of 2

DRAFT

 

Attendance:  Chairman John Grabowski, Sharon Huxley, Robert Brinton Jr., John Ford, IV, Chip Spear

 

Visitors:  Raymond Pantalone, First Selectwoman Derrylyn Gorski

 

Chairman John Grabowski called the meeting of the Board of Finance to order at 7:12 pm.  The meeting was held in the Conference Room of the Bethany Town Hall. 

 

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Chairman Grabowski attended the Amity Financial Committee meeting on Monday.  John reported that Amity should have a surplus of $800,000.  Some of the surplus will probably be taken to offset the deficit in the OPEB Trust.  At this time there is a deficit of approximately $160,000 in the health insurance fund.  Aetna did a study regarding next year.  They estimate that there could be a shortfall of $350,000 by the end of next year.  If this is true, the money should be added to the health insurance budget from the surplus.  The Committee felt that $20,000 should be reserved for auditing alignment.  The facilities manager reports that there are problems with the cooling tower.  This matter will need further study.  At this time there was no estimate for cost of repair.  The Committee discussed bringing natural gas into the Orange Junior High School.  This would be a big savings to the fuel account, however it would not be complete during this fiscal year.  The parking lot at Amity High School is in need of work.  There are a lot of pot holes in several areas. 

 

EMERALD ASH BORER DISEASE

Raymond Pantalone was present to explain to the Board of Finance members the damage the emerald ash borer is doing to the ash trees in Bethany.  He is requesting funds to inoculate the ash trees along the Bethany roadside.  The emerald ash borer will destroy the trees and they will have to be taken down.  The ash tree becomes very brittle when they die and this will cause a real hazard.  He estimates the treatment will cost $150 per tree.  This will have to be done each year for the next five years.  Following discussion Sharon Huxley moved to take $5,000 out of Contingency to start this program.  If more is needed an additional request will have to be made.  Chip Spear seconded the motion.  The vote taken was unanimous. 

 

CMED

First Selectwoman Gorski gave Board of Finance members an update regarding CMed.  The 911 calls for Bethany will be answered by CMed until January 1, 2015.  By that date Bethany will have to have in place an emergency service to handle the 911 calls.  There are several options to look into.  First Selectwoman Gorski requested up to $5,000 to hire a consultant to look into these options from an independent perspective.  Following discussion Sharon Huxley moved to taken up to $5,000 from the Contingency Fund to do this study and give a recommendation.  Chip Spear seconded the motion.  The vote taken was unanimous.

 

 

 

 

ADJOURNMENT

Adjournment was called at 8:05 pm after a motion was moved by Robert Brinton Jr. and seconded by Chip Spear.  The vote taken was unanimous.

 

 

                                                                                                                Respectfully submitted,

 

 

                                                                                                                June G. Riley

                                                                                                                Clerk, Board of Finance