ANNUAL BOROUGH & BUDGET MEETING (Draft Minutes)
April 18, 2009 ~ 9 AM at
The annual Borough meeting was
called to order at 9:03AM by Warden Don Maranell with approximately 40 voters
in attendance. Present were Burgesses Scott
Bates, Kathryn Burchenal, Jeffrey Callahan, Robert Scala and Clerk-Treasurer, Frederick
Souza. Burgesses Sarah Blair and Edward
McCreary were not in attendance.
On a motion by Burgess Callahan,
seconded by Burgess Bates, Frederick Nicholas was unanimously appointed
moderator. Following brief procedural
remarks by Mr. Nicholas, and on a motion by Burgess Bates, seconded by Burgess
Scala, reading the call of the meeting was dispensed. The following is the call as printed in the New London Day.
This is to warn voters and taxpayers of the Borough of Stonington that
the Annual Borough and Budget Meeting will be held on April 18, 2009, at 9 A.M.
at the new Firehouse to approve the minutes of last year’s meeting, to hear the
Warden’s report, to act on a budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010,
to consider a Highway Department Capital Improvement Program, to select
trustees for the Waldron Fund, and to consider such other business as may come
before the meeting.
Approval of Minutes:
After the public was given the opportunity to review
the minutes, Burgess Callahan moved acceptance which was unanimously approved.
Warden’s Report:
Warden Maranell opened quoting FDR and using the
famous line, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This was in reference to the current national
financial recession and the fact that those present were there to consider a
budget for fiscal year 2009-2010.
The
following are highlights of the Street Comissioner’s (Warden Maranell) report:
à The School and
à Broad Street underwent serious drainage repair
à The Wall Street Sea Wall was repaired
à Snow Removal no longer used sand and salt, but rather
the new sugar/salt combination used by the Town of
à Now that Spring has arrived, street sweeping will
begin.
à Yard waste removal is at an all-time high.
à $20,000 in State grant money was obtained for the
Cannon Restoration Project, and the cannons will soon be going to Texas A&M
for electrolytic bath treatment. The
reimbursement from the grant has been submitted and expenditures thus far are
in the range of $28K. Further debate regarding the
Public Buildings Commissioner ( Jeffrey Callahan):
à Renovations to Borough Hall have been put on hold
pending the funds remaining in the budget; however, the main issue of much
needed roof repair was undertaken. The
roof was rebuilt to include a slight pitch to allow for water run-off. The approximate cost of the repair was $27K.
à On-going leak issues with the firehouse were also
addressed and seem to be under control.
à The total in the building fund is $243,701 and
approximately $35K of that was used in the above repairs.
à Geo-thermal energy was considered in the planning for
Borough Hall renovations, but is cost prohibitive and has been abandoned.
à Inasmuch as the energy budget for public buildings
amounts to approximately 1% of the total budget, planning will address
lighting, modern heat controls and a more modern and energy efficient boiler.
Brief discussion took place regarding the Borough Hall
project, and at this point, Sandy Fromson asked if it makes sense to spend
close to $600K on the Borough Hall building and whether it would make more
sense to simply make it handicapped accessible.
Burgess Callahan noted that the elevator system is the most disruptive
and expensive part of the project, but the committee has looked at the concept
of phasing in portions of the project rather than addressing it all at once.
Jim Quinn asked if Capital Funds are being used for
repair and whether that is appropriate, and Ben Blake asked if the handicapped
accessibility should be eliminated as a cost reduction measure. Warden Maranell noted that any renovation
will need to bring the building up to code.
He also noted that such discussion will take place as the project moves
forward and that the firehouse is available for some meetings which is
convenient because it is handicapped accessible already.
Fire Commissioner (Robert Scala):
à There are 25 volunteers in the Departments
à The firehouse equipment is in good order
à There is a truck fund established for future
purchasing since the trucks are getting older
Public Affairs & Safety Commissioner
(Scott Bates):
à In the area of Emergency Management, there has been
good coordination with the police and fire departments.
à A traffic guard was added at
à A 20 mph speed limit for parts of the Borough has been
approved and is now enforceable.
à Crosswalks have been updated to bring them into
conformity with established safety code recommendations
à Burgess Bates made a plea for participatory democracy
in which individual citizenry would help to police their own. This followed several comments regarding
safety on
In other discussion, Jim Quinn asked about emergency
preparedness and hurricane procedures. Warden
Maranell pointed out that questionnaires regularly go out from the Town
regarding the location of people who need special assistance and there is generally
poor response; however, those who are interested should contact the office for
further information. Kate Love asked
whether there is ever a drill and also what to do in the event of a flood and
was informed that
Sandy Fromson pointed out the evacuation plan required
for Stonington Commons and suggested that such a plan is needed for the
Borough. She also suggested that the
present plans should go out with tax bills when they are mailed, and that more
details belong on the Borough website.
Sanitation Commissioner (Kathryn
Burchenal):
à Sue Cordeiro and Roger Collelo were commended for
their efforts.
à Dog waste is an ongoing issue and requires
self-policing.. Reminders have been sent out and signs will be posted in
various “hot spots” to help curb the issue.
à Trash collection and animal control were discussed and
residents reminded that the ordinance is that people are NOT to leave bags on
the street any earlier than the morning of collection unless in a container.
à The Town has begun to catalogue the utility poles so
that a census of them will be available.
In other discussion, Archie Leslie pointed out that
there are many feral cats in the point area of the Borough and asked that the
issue be addressed since some residents feed them and the Town will not respond
to cat related problems and considers them “rodents”.
Emily Wharton asked that plastic bag dispensers be
more readily available, particularly on
In the absence of Utilities
Commissioner Edward McCreary, it was
pointed out that the many new utility poles near the
Sidewalks and street lights are being monitored on a
regular basis and any outages should be reported so that we can help correct
the problem. Additionally, some
residents have been billed for snow removal since they did not follow through
as required by ordinance.
Warden Maranell also noted that Parks Commissioner Sarah Blair continues to work on the
Further discussion of various points led to comments regarding
pothole repair at the Point. Skateboarders and the possibility of a skateboard
facility were discussed, and it was noted that Wimpheimer Park was established
for passive recreation as have most public parks in the Borough and therefore
cannot be used as such a facility. The
Town is researching to solve this problem.
Overall cleanliness of streets was discussed with most
of those speaking out dissatisfied with the cleaning and leaf removal
procedures and schedules. Tony Inzerro
noted that the streets need to be cleaned more often than once a year.
Budget:
A summary of the proposed budget follows:
Income
Grants and Reimbursements $169,747
Fire Protection Fees 106,024
Other Income 31,273
Property Taxes 723,672
Total Income $1,030,716
Appropriations
To Ordinary Expenditures
General
Government 222,178
Boards &
Commissions 44,490
Fire Department 192,765
Hydrants 39,000
Public Buildings 22,506
Street
Department 176,173
Parks, Trees
& Rights of Way 16,200
Sanitation 1,800
To Contingency Expense
25,000
To Debt Service 156,140
To Special Revenue & Trust Funds
Infrastructure
Reserve Fund 114,464
Cannon Fund 15,000
Wayland’s Wharf
Fund 5,000
Total Appropriation $1,030,716
Jim Quinn moved that the budget under consideration be
brought to a vote and was seconded by Burgess Callahan.
Juan O’Callahan then asked to address those assembled
with some information and presented charts and graphs delineating the
percentages of increase in the General Government expenditures over the past
several years. By his calculations this
area of the budget is increasing at a rate of approximately 14.5% per annum,
and he feels that instead this money should have been used to reduce
taxes. He then presented the following:
AMENDMENT
TO THE PROPOSED
“THAT
THE PROPOSED BUDGET TOTAL APPROPRIATIONS BE REDUCED BY CIRCA 7%, TO
APPROXIMATELY $955,000, (THAT IS, REDUCED FROM $1,030,716), THROUGH REDUCTIONS
IN CERTAIN ACCOUNTS AND SUB-ACCOUNTS AS DETERMINED AND AGREED BY THE BOARD OF
WARDEN AND BURGESSES, AND ASSISTED BY BOROUGH RESIDENTS, AT ONE OR MORE FURTHER
BUDGET-DETERMINATION PUBLIC MEETINGS TO BE SCHEDULED AS NECESSARY.”
Discussion
of the amendment and also on the budget followed with many similar comments.
Sandy Fromson supported the budget based on the issues
previously discussed.
Jim Quinn questioned what is being done with the funds
and also pointed out the state of the recessionary economy suggesting that this
might be the year to tighten up expenses.
Burgess Callahan noted that most of the money is going
to the street funds and tried to clarify the meaning and intent of the
amendment. He also suggested that the
budget could easily show a different total if $100,000 was not transferred.
Jim Quinn responded that the goal was not to simply
transfer or not transfer funds, but to slow down the growth of expenditures.
Martha Mitchell referenced tax abatements and learned
that no abatements have happened at the Borough level other than those required
by law.
Lisa Bates asked what the effect might be of reducing
the budget and the responses suggested that the quality of life in the Borough
might be negatively impacted.
Burgess Bates pointed out that the Borough is looking
at millions of dollars in infrastructure repair and suggested that the money should
remain as an investment in the community.
Burgess Callahan proposed putting more money into the
Street Reserve fund by transferring $50K.
Sandy Fromson suggested that since we have plans for
work and expenditures that will takes us several years to accomplish, perhaps a
good place to reduce funding would be in the Professional Services line item.
Archie Leslie noted that there was some discrepancy in
the intent and actual purpose of the amendment and its subsequent impact.
Warden Maranell suggested the amendment be defeated
because the needs have increased and in the past Contingency Funds were often
used which has reduced that as a source.
Mary Thacher noted that the contingency expenses have
increased considerably.
Betty Richards noted that the amendment talks to the
overall expenditure of money, not merely transfers.
Jim Quinn called the question, and the vote on the
amendment was taken.
The result was 28 voters in favor of the amendment,
and 11 voters opposed to the amendment, so the amendment carried. This meant that the present budget was
defeated and that portion of the meeting will be adjourned to a time in the
near future.
Waldron Fund:
On a motion by Warden Maranell, seconded by Burgess
Scala, the following were named as trustees of the Waldron Fund—Eileen Jachym,
Rose Raffo, and Eleanor Casey.
Other Business:
Jim Quinn asked the Board to pursue the issue of
relocating meetings.
Scott Bates commended the work
done by his fellow Board members as he will not be seeking reelection to the
Board.
The
meeting recessed at 11:02 AM to be reconvened at a later date which will be
published once determined.
Respectfully
submitted,