Board of Selectmen Minutes

ATTENDANCE: The meeting was convened by Chairman Bliss in the Town Hall Meeting Room at 7:36pm with members Mr. Major and Mr. Miller present. Town Administrator Landry was also present. Mr. Major led the group with the Pledge of Allegiance.

FY07-08 BUDGET: The Board reviewed last week’s Board of Finance vote to reduce the requested Board of Education budget by $550,000. The Selectmen had recommended a reduction of $260,000. Board members discussed the reduction, and pointed out that since $200,000 of it was reflective of lower health insurance costs, which were not known at the time. Accordingly, that means the program funding reductions resulting from the Board of Finance vote total $350,000, as compared to the $260,000 Board of Selectmen recommendation.

Mr. Major said that there was much misunderstanding regarding the magnitude of the reduction. He thought it important for the community to know that the effective reduction was $350,000, not $550,000. Additionally, he wanted the Board of Education to know ( BOE members Ellen Uzenoff and Phil Schaefer were in attendance) that he and the entire Board of Selectmen will work with the Board to assist in any way to assure that these reductions do not have an adverse impact on direct educational programming. Mr. Major said that he would be open to the idea of a supplemental appropriation if it was the only way to avoid direct cuts in educational programs.

Mr. Bliss echoed these statements, and said the Board of Finance would not meet to reconsider its vote. The reductions therefore, need to be addressed as a reality, and he was also willing to assist the BOE in these planning efforts in any manner that would be helpful. He said the falling staff-student ratio (7.5 to 6.8 over 5 years) was not an issue that has been addressed by the BOE, and seems to be a major reason for the Board of Finance reduction. Mrs. Uzenoff said this was difficult to track year-to-year on a consistent basis. For example, the decision to add security personnel a few years ago was an entirely new category of employee which had not existed before.

Mr. Miller encouraged the BOE to solicit indemnification plan pricing for the school’s health insurance plans when it seeks bids for the self insured services this year. He thought it possible that the system could benefit from aggressive pricing from an indemnity insurer.

Mr. Major suggested that a joint fall meeting at which the BOE discussed its program objectives for the next year, and the Board of Finance outlined its budget objectives, would be helpful to the process. Mr. Schaefer and Mrs. Uzenoff thought this was a good idea. Other discussions centered on more direct budget line items, and efforts to track enrollment numbers accurately.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: At 8:23pm, Mr. Miller made a motion (Mr. Major second) to enter executive session regarding a pending claim concerning the police commission. Audience member Patricia Heifitz questioned the purpose of the meeting. She asked whether this was a personnel issue or a legal issue, and if so, which one. Mr. Bliss said that he had spoken with the state FOI office on Friday, and was advised that the Board could indeed enter executive session for this discussion, and that the wording on the agenda was as given him by the FOI office. He deemed the motion in order, and called for a vote. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Bliss said he did not know if the Board would reconvene in open session for purposes other than adjournment.

At 8:32pm, Board members and Mr. Landry convened in executive session in the First Selectman’s office. No votes were taken, except that at 9:25 pm, a motion (Mr. Major, Mr. Miller second) to adjourn executive session and reenter open session was made and passed by unanimous vote.