Officials dig into $4.23M budget for public works

CROMWELL >> The Board of Finance continued its review of the proposed 2017-18 budget Wednesday, focusing on the largest non-education portion of the budget.

Members began their examination of the proposed $49.37 million budget on Tuesday with presentations by Superintendent of Schools Paula M. Talty and Town Manager Anthony J. Salvatore. The board then began a review of its departmental request in the general government (non-education) portion of the budget.

General government, which also includes capital spending, amounts to $16.25 million of the overall budget. Its review, which started Wednesday, is scheduled to be completed Monday — with action taken on the police/public safety budget and the proposed $29.43 million education budget.

On Wednesday, the board spent most of its time on the $4.23 million public works budget.

Until now, the budget had been presented in eight parts, one for each “department” within the department.

Now, in a bid for what he said was clarity and efficiencies, Salvatore has combined all eight of those departments — vehicle maintenance, building and grounds, etc., — into one “public works department.”

He has reclassified the subordinate entities as “divisions” within the whole.

The questioning of Director of Public Works Louis J. Spina began on a somewhat unusual note as he was asked to explain an $80,000 reduction in his budget. Spina said that is the projected savings now that the town has “bought” nearly 1,300 utility poles and installed LED light fixtures on many of them.

Next, Spina was asked about an item under the “goals and objectives” which are now standard in each departmental budget. This particular goal involved education and training for highway department employees.

“I’ve always encouraged the employees to obtain as much additional training and education as they can,” Spina said.

The result is “certainly a different kind of ‘roads’ scholar,” finance board member Bob Milardo observed, in a joking reference to the international Rhodes Scholars program.

The board eventually adopted the highway budget without making any changes.

In the town manager’s budget, board member Amanda Drew asked Salvatore about a proposal to hire a part-time human resources coordinator.

In 2015, the town abolished the human resources director’s position. Now, Salvatore proposes bringing back a part-time coordinator at a salary of $40,000.

He did so in response to requests from two councilors, Salvatore said. But he acknowledged, “If I was here then, I would not have gotten rid of the HR position.”

The discussion came amid increases in the town’s legal fees. Salvatore said he hopes having the coordinator in place will help reduce those costs.

“After a year (with the coordinator in place), I hope to be able to show some reduction in legal fees,” Salvatore said. “Most towns, whether they have a manager or a first selectman, have someone in an HR role either as a human resources director or as an assistant town manager,” he said.

“Some of the many things we’re doing between my office and the finance office should probably be being done by HR,” he said.

Board member Allan Spotts voiced his support for the proposal, saying absent an HR person, “The town manager can get bogged down with HR issues and then other things don’t get done.”

In response to a question from Drew, Salvatore said he was reluctantly not renewing a University of Connecticut intern program. “It was money well spent,” Salvatore said, and “very well worth it.”

However, he did not feel he could justify retaining the internship program while adding the HR coordinator.

As they make their way through the budget, finance board members are acutely aware of the continuing uncertainty about state revenues to the towns in the coming fiscal year. There are no firm figures as yet.

Board Chairman John A. “Jack” Henehan asked Director of Finance Marianne Sylvester if a reduction in state aid could imperil the town’s coveted Triple A bond rating.

Having a Triple A rating markedly reduces the amount the town has to pay for borrowing money.

“To some extent, (bond rating agencies) look at the entire picture and how we handle it,” Sylvester said.

“They want to see how we manage our money,” and if things do change, “how we deal with the aftermath. They don’t want us draw on our fund balance. They prefer to see our taxpayers support the work of the town,” Sylvester continued.

Rating agencies “don’t necessarily approve of a town maintaining a flat mill rate,” Sylvester said. “The cost of living goes up,” and the agencies want to see towns keep abreast of those increases.”

The agencies favor “efficiencies in your operating budget. And when the grand list goes up, that’s a really good thing,” Sylvester continued. “But if you are using the fund balance to keep the mill rate flat, they would look at that negatively.”

During the nearly 11 years she has been finance director, Sylvester has consistently pushed for the town to show a continuing commitment to investing in its infrastructure and maintaining its fixed assets.