Standing With BOF—

Council Rescinds Several Finance Committee Actions

By John Voket

A move last week by the Legislative Council Finance Committee to reduce millions in proposed Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) expenditures was met with little support, and no success, when the full council met in a special meeting January 14.

During discussions on the proposed actions by the full council, several members acknowledged the CIP is simply a planning document containing financial placeholders, not an authorization to spend taxpayer dollars, or even the full amount proposed for spending on large capital projects during five subsequent fiscal years.

That overarching fact seemed to motivate the full council to rescind several finance committee recommendations, either by a failing vote, or because motions failed to be seconded.

Only the actions on three Parks & Recreation proposals were tabled for lack of information because nobody from that department was in attendance to answer questions at Wednesday’s meeting.

Working along with “invited guests” including Board of Finance Chairman John Kortze and Councilman Gary Davis, the subcommittee — Dan Amaral, Jeff Capeci, Po Murray, and Chairman Joseph DiCandido — hammered out CIP recommendations January 6, that were set to be deliberated and acted upon by the full council the next night. But the regular January 7 council meeting was canceled when the Booth Library closed because of icy conditions, leaving the group with no place to legally conduct its pending business.

Going into Wednesday’s special meeting, the finance committee’s proposed CIP actions included:

*Moving $550,000 from the CIP that was earmarked to finance additional modular classrooms for the high school into the district’s operating budget;

*Moving $490,000 for the Police Department’s comprehensive analog to digital communications system upgrade from bonding into the general operating budget;

*Removing $1 million per year for five years from a $2 million annual proposal earmarked to underwrite open space purchases;

*Cutting proposed bonding for the Phase 1 construction of a senior / recreation facility at Fairfield Hills from $4 million to $3.38 million;

*And postponing a $620,000 Dickinson Park infrastructure upgrade from 2009 to 2010.

At the same time, the subcommittee entertained a previous request by Parks & Recreation Commission Chair Ed Marks and Director Amy Mangold to reinstate $350,000 in the 2009 CIP to fund critical improvements to the department’s maintenance facility on Trades Lane.

Since the sequence of meetings among the finance committee, the full council, and the Board of Finance were realigned due to last week’s weather-related council cancellation, the finance board was able to take up the package of committee recommendations January 12, which resulted in a memo to the full council unanimously rejecting all the recommendations except for its proposed cut to the senior / rec center.

Mr Kortze reiterated what his panel unanimously determined were uniformly unwise steps before the full council. He also clarified along with town Finance Director Robert Tait, that the $2 million originally committed for bonding open space purchases in the next fiscal year was already spent, further diluting the finance committee’s net reduction recommendation.

First Selectman Joe Borst weighed in before the council, supporting the full $2 million annual open space funding. Mr Borst explained that the intent over the final four years of the plan was to create a “bundled” allocation of up to $8 million the town could have available to negotiate open space acquisitions.

“In this economy, with real estate prices falling, now’s the time to buy land, not to cut the budget,” Mr Borst added.

Council member Pat Llodra agreed citing both the financial and quality of life benefits to preserving as much open space as possible in the current economy.

“It’s a compelling reason to support the purchase of open space,” Ms Llodra said. “It’s a foolish idea to try and find savings here.”

Council member Po Murray, who is also a finance committee member, countered, saying the full funding at $2 million per year is being requested without any apparent or appropriate long-term planning. But the $4 million net cut to proposed open space bonding was narrowly defeated in a 6-5 vote.

After clarifying that the council, by regulation, could only reprioritize projects or cut dollar amounts without specifying specific projects in the CIP, Mr DiCandido made separate motions to cut the $490,000 and $500,000 previously tied to the police radio upgrades and school modulars. But both motions subsequently failed for lack of a second.

The council is expected to finalize its endorsement of the CIP during its regular meeting January 21, after hearing from Parks & Rec representatives on the three aforementioned capital requests.

In other news, John Torok, Newtown’s former school district business manager, Board of Finance member and Economic Development Commissioner was sworn in January 14 to fill former councilman Christopher Lyddy’s vacant seat on the Legislative Council.

The official, who was nominated unanimously by the Democratic Town Committee, stepped up immediately, attending and voting with the council Wednesday evening.

Mr Lyddy’s resigned the council January 2, prior to being seated as Newtown’s state representative this week.