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 Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Finance on June 13, 2006

 

The Board of Finance of the Town of Weston met on Thursday, June 13th, 2006, at the Weston Town Hall, Weston, Connecticut. Members of the Board present were: Messrs. Sargent, Atkinson, Nichols, Carter and Ms. Kopas. Also present were: Rick Darling, Director of Finance and Asst. Town Administrator; Mr. Scott Bassett from McGladney and Pullen, Auditors and Mrs. Diane Hartman, Town Treasurer. Chairman Sargent called the meeting to order at 8:15 pm.

 

Minutes:The first item to come before the Board for consideration was the minutes of the meeting of May 11th, 2006. On Page #2, Paragraph #2, Lines 3 and 4, the phrase "except Ms. Kopas who was op­posed" be deleted. On Page #2, Paragraph #3, Line #2 and #3 should read: "Mr. Atkinson seconded and the vote was all in favor." On Page #3, Paragraph #2, in the last line, same should read "Mr. Muller seconded.   Mr. Atkinson moved that the minutes of the meeting of May 11th, 2006 be approved as amended. Ms. Kopas seconded and the vote was all in favor. “

Town Gift Policy: The Board then went on to consider Item #2 of the Agenda for this meeting, review of Town of Weston Gift Policy, as pro­posed by the Selectmen. There was general discussion on this matter and the variety of items and accounts that could be involved. After much discussion, it is the recommendation of the Board of Finance that such gifts be handled as follows:

a.              Any gift of $25,000 up to $50,000 should be sent to the Board of Finance for information purposes.

b.              Any gift pf $50.000 or more, should be sent to the Board of Finance for approval

c.              Mr. Landry will communicate with the Selectmen and insure that the policies are aligned.

Additionally, Mr. Darling will discuss the gift policy with the Board of Education and   how to bring them into compliance. Mr. Darling remarked that he had a poor response to the letter sent out regarding details on Special Funds. Mr. Bassett (of the Town's firm of Auditors) stressed his desire to see these accounts con­solidated, particularly in view of the fact that the Town faces signifi­cant control and risk issues if not addressed. He particularly expressed concern about the School Imprest Account. Mr. Darling will make another attempt at gathering the requested information and determine further steps at our next meeting. Additionally, he will open a dialogue with the new Education Finance Director on the school accounts. There was discussion on the types of institutions the Town funds should be invested in and ways to determine appropriate investments (e.g. size of institution, credit rating, local presence). The Board reiterated that all investment decisions be made in the following order of priority -- safety, liquidity, yield. The Board also discussed breaking out its investment and depository/cash management policy. Mrs. Hartman agreed to compile a list of potential investment institutions with classifications like asset size, debt ratings, CD ratings, etc. and also agreed to draft dis­tinctive investments and cash management policies for the Board's consideration.

 

 Investment Policy:  The next item to come before the Board of Finance was Item No. 3 on the Agenda for this meeting, review of investment policy for the Town of Weston. Mrs. Diane Hartman, Weston Town Trea­surer, handed out a copy of her report dated 5/31/06 as well as a copy of the Investment Policy of the Town. (copies of these documents are attached hereto for your information). There was discussion on the Types of investments she is to make. Mrs. Hartman explained the various types of investments and how they are selected for investment. Mr. Bassett made suggestions that the auditors would like to see in use for some of these funds. There was much discussion on these invest­ment procedures.  Recommendations were made to Mrs. Hartman as to investments that might be made.                                                                          

 

Special Funds Policy: The next item to come before the Board was Item #4 on the Agenda - Review of Status of Special Funds Policy, with reference being made to Tom Landry's Memo to All Department Heads dated March 14, 2006, about this matter. There was much discussion with Mr. Rick Darling and Mr. Scott Bassett in connection with this matter. While these are small amounts of funds, they add up and could, in time, come back to haunt us in the future, depending upon how they are handled. This matter will be looked into and Mr. Darling will report back to the Board of Finance.

 

There being no further business to properly come before the Board at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty B. Greaves

Recording Secretary

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