MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE WESTON BOARD OF FINANCE FOR MARCH 9^TH, 2006

 

The Board of Finance of the Town of Weston met on Thursday, March 9^th, 2006 at the Weston Town Hall in Weston, Connecticut.  Members of the Board present were: Messrs. Sargent, Atkinson, Nichols, Carter, O’Brien, and Muller.  Also present were: Scott Bassett of McGladrey & Pullen (auditors for the Town of Weston), Tom Landry (Town Administrator for the Town of Weston), Rick Darling (Financial Advisor and Assistant Town Administrator for the Town of Weston), and Mrs. Diane Hartman (Town Treasurer for the Town of Weston).  Chairman Sargent called the meeting to order at 8:05 p.m.

 

The first item to come before the Board was the minutes of the meetings of December 8^th 2005, January 12^th 2006, February 13^th 2006 and February 15^th 2006.  Several members of the Board asked for copies of the minutes from December 8^th 2005 and January 12^th 2006 because they did not have them.  The Secretary will send out copies of the minutes for these two dates and they will be discussed and approved at a future date.  Mr. O’Brien asked for several typographical errors to be corrected in the minutes as follows: in the minutes of February 13^th 2006, Page 1, Paragraph 1, Line 6 – the spelling of the word “Financial.”  On Page 2, Paragraph 11, under Account 210-Police Services, the following sentence is to be added: “the Board of Finance will meet with the Chief regarding staffing and overtime as well as the services of the Police Dept.”  In the minutes of February 15^th 2006, Page 1, Paragraph 1 – the spelling of Mr. Muller’s name be changed from “Nuller” and Mrs. M. M. Kohler’s changed from “Koller.”  On Page 1, Paragraph 2, Line 3 – the dollar amount changed to read “$40,271,557.  Also, on Paragraph 5, the last two sentences of said paragraph be eliminated so that it reads: “There was much discussion about where the point is that the enrollment will be declining according to NESDEC projections and how that will impact the budget.”  Mr. Muller moved that the minutes of the meetings of February 13^th and 15^th 2006 be approved as amended.  Mr. Carter seconded and the vote was all in favor.

 

Chairman Sargent reminded the Board that, under Item 4 of the Agenda for tonight’s meeting, neither the Review of the ED-001 report of the Board of Education nor a representative from the Board of Education was available.  Chairman Sargent briefly outlined the contents of this report and said that he will ensure that a copy is sent to each member of the Board of Finance before the next meeting on the subject, which was tentatively scheduled for Thursday March 30^th 2006.  The Board of Education has offered to host this meeting on School premises.  Proper notice of said meeting will be sent out shortly.

 

The next item to come before the Board was Item 3 of the Agenda: discussion of the investment and deposit policy of the Town of Weston with Diane Hartman, Town Treasurer.  Mrs. Hartman gave a full report to the members of the Board of Finance outlining the Town policy objectives on investments, types of investments, length of investments, types of institutions, and percentage of investments at any particular institution.  She also handed out copies of the Town Treasurer’s Report as of January 31^st 2006 with additional supporting documents.  The Board went on to discuss the appropriate amount of investments in any single institution, criteria for picking institutions and duration of investments.  Mrs. Hartman outlined her duties and gave investment reports on her work for the Town.  Chairman Sargent said that the Board would like to be shown that report and that it would be presented in the summer.  Mrs. Hartman agreed to meet with the Board within the next three months and to present a report listing banks, their asset size, capital ratios and other data so that the Board can determine a list of approved depositing banks.  Additionally, Mr. Darling will work with Mrs. Hartman and the Town auditor to ensure that the town policy is consistent with GASB-40 guidelines.

 

The next item to come before the Board at this time was Item 2 of the Agenda for this meeting: the Review of the Auditor’s Report.  Mr. Rick Darling introduced the representative Mr. Scott Bassett of McGladrey &Pullen.  Mr. Bassett outlined their work on this report.  He highlighted several important points in the report, paying particular attention to those that must be complied with.  There is also an opportunity to add methods of controlling and tracking funds of the Town and the use of impressed accounts, as detailed in the management letter.  Additional work will take place with the Town and Board of Finance on these topics.

 

Mr. Bassett also reviewed the letter to the Town of Weston dated November 15^th 2005 from McGladrey & Pullen, which made recommendations as to the items that should be handled in a different manner.

 

Mr. O’Brien moved that the Board of Finance accept the Auditor’s Report from McGladrey & Pullen as presented.  Mr. Atkinson seconded and the vote was all in favor.

 

There was no further business to properly come before the Board at this time.  The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Betty B. Greaves

Recording Secretary