BOARD OF FINANCE
FEBRUARY 10, 2015
Page 1 of 2
APPROVED
Attendance:
Chairman John Grabowski, John Ford IV, Sally Huyser, Sharon
Huxley, Chip Spear
Absent: Robert
Brinton Jr.
Visitors: First
Selectwoman Derrylyn Gorski, Bruce Loomis, Nich Poulmas, Janice Howard, John
Pellicano, Barbara Haag, Pat Martin, Melissa Canham-Klein, Buff Bacheimer, Fran
Doba, Pua Ford, William Brinton
Chairman Grabowski called the meeting of the Board of
Finance to order at 7:05 p.m. The
meeting was held in the Seletmen’s Conference Room of the Bethany Town Hall.
APPROVAL OF
MINUTES
Chairman Grabowski called for a motion of approval for the
minutes of the previous meeting of February 3, 2015. The motion was moved by Sally Huyser and
seconded by John Ford IV. Sharon Huxley
moved to amend the minutes by adding that the Fire Marshal had requested $750
in his budget for a Deputy Fire Marshal and $2,400 for an Assistant Fire
Marshal. The vote was then called on the
amended minutes. The vote taken was four
(4) yes votes and one (1) abstention that of Chip Spear because of his absence
from that meeting.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Chairman Grabowski did not have anything to report about the
Amity Finance Committee because of meeting cancelations. The re-scheduled meeting will be held
tomorrow night.
LIBRARY BUDGET
PRESENTATION
Melisa Canham-Klein, Librarian for the Clark Memorial
Library was present to go over the Library budget for fiscal year 2015-16. The Library is requesting funding for an
Assistant Librarian and a Grant Writer. Melissa gave a progress report to the
Board of Finance regarding improvements made over the past year and special
programs they are having for residents of all ages. Their proposed Wish List budget is
$286,668. The budget for fiscal year
2014-15 is $213,742. They prepared
proposed budgets with a 0% budget, one with a 2% increase and one with a 2%
decrease.
REGISTRAR OF
VOTERS
Will Brinton and Pua Ford presented the budget for the
Registrar of Voters. Their budget is
28.4% less than last year. There are
less elections next year. The Registrars
were questioned about the cost of the upcoming Republican primary. Will indicated that above the usual costs of
a primary they will have to purchase a memory card for the machines for an
additional cost of $750.
PARK AND
RECREATION
Janice Howard and Nick Poulmas distributed copies of the
budget for the Park & Recreation Commission. The budget for Park & Recreation was
reduced to $197,926 from $209,989 for this fiscal year due to changes in
programs. The Board discussed increases
in the minimum wage and how this affects the cost of labor for all the programs
and the life guards.
CONSERVATION
COMMISSION
The operating budget for the Conservation Commission will
remain the same as this fiscal year at $500.
Bruce Loomis was present to ask the Board of Finance to consider putting
in two line items in the Capital Expenditures, one for $50,000 for the fiscal
year 2015-16 budget for Land Acquisition contribution, and one for $50,000
additional to make up for under- funding of the Land Acquisition Fund since
2010. This fund has been used in the
past to purchase parcels of land on the Conservation Commission Open Space Plan
list. Sharon Huxley wanted to know when
the Acquisition Fund was started and was it for the purpose of buying land or
just toward expenses to buy land.
FIRST SELECTWOMAN
GORSKI
First Selectwoman Gorski gave the Board members copies of
the Solid Waste budget, Selectmen’s budget and Veterans Memorial Park budget
for them to look over for the next meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Adjournment was called at 9:15 p.m. after a motion was moved
by Sharon Huxley and seconded by Sally Huyser.
The vote was called. The vote was
unanimous.
Respectfully
submitted,
June
G. Riley
Clerk,
Board of Finance
