741 Colonel Ledyard Highway  
Ledyard, Connecticut 06339  
TOWN OF LEDYARD  
Finance Committee  
Meeting Minutes  
Chairman  
Kevin J. Dombrowski  
Regular Meeting - Hybrid Format  
Wednesday, January 18, 2023  
5:00 PM  
Town Hall Annex Building  
In -Person Location goes here  
Join Zoom Meeting from your Computer, Smart Phone or Tablet:  
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86065224602?pwd=c3RrdTQ1WTd5allUUEs1ZFVrbjl0Zz09  
by Audio Only: Telephone: +1 646 558 8656; Meeting ID: 860 6522 4602 ; Passcode:  
865037  
I
CALL TO ORDER  
the Meeting was called to order by Councilor Saums at 5:00 p.m. at  
the Council Chambers Town Hall Annex Building.  
Councilor Saums welcomed all to the Hybrid Meeting. He stated for the Town Council  
Finance Committee and members of the Public who were participating via video  
conference that the remote meeting information was available on the Agenda that was  
posted on the Town’s Website - Granicus-Legistar Meeting Portal.  
II.  
ROLL CALL  
Councilor Bill Saums  
Councilor Andra Ingalls  
Councilor Tim Ryan  
Present:  
Also present were the following:  
Mary McGrattan Town Councilor  
S. Naomi Rodriguez Town Councilor  
Matt Bonin Finance Director  
Don SteinhoffAdministrator of Human Resources  
Steve MasalinPublic Works Director/Town Engineer  
Jason HartlingSuperintendent of Schools  
Mike BrawneBr oard of Education Finance Committee Chairman  
Rachel MoserBoard of Education Director of Finance & Human Capital  
Mike BrawneBr oard of Education Finance Committee Chairman  
Branden Grabner Board of Education  
Nikoleta McTigueCliftonLarsonAllen LLP  
Stephen GrossCliftonLarsonAllen LLP  
Roxanne Maher Administrative Assistant  
III.  
IV.  
CITIZENS COMMENTS  
None.  
PRESENTATIONS / INFORMATIONAL ITEMS  
CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP Annual Audit Report Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2022  
Ms. Nikoleta McTigue of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP stated she was the Lead Auditor in  
conducting Ledyard’s audit noting that this was the fourth year they performed the  
Annual Audit for the Town of Ledyard. She proceeded by presenting the Annual  
Audit Report as follows:  
· Engagement Scope and Reporting:  
The Audit was performed under the following standards:  
o Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) in the United States of  
America.  
o The standards applicable to financial audits contained on Government  
Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States  
(GAGAS).  
o Uniform Guidance (Formerly Federal Single Audit Act) and the Connecticut  
State Single Audit Act.  
o Annual Audit Report Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2022.  
· Reporting Results in the Financial Statements  
o Reporting under GAAS (Generally Accepted Auditing Standards):  
Unmodified  
audit opinion.  
Councilor Saums asked Ms. McTigue to explain the term “Unmodified Opinion”  
Ms. McTigue explained an “Unmodified Opinion” was a clean opinion, which was  
the highest form of opinion they can give on the financial statements. It meant that  
there were no findings that rose to the level of modifying their opinion.  
Ms. McTigue continued by noting the Reporting Results for in the Financial  
Statements were as follows:  
o Emphasis of Matter Paragraph-GASB 87 Leases  
A right-to-use lease asset and corresponding lease liability was now recorded  
for lease arrangements where the term was greater than 12 months and the  
Town was the lessee.  
o
Significant Deficiency - Board of Education  
· Board of Education had a pre-paid expenditure  
· General Fund $345K  
· Aggregate remining funds $93K  
Ms. McTigue stated expenditure items must be reported in the Fiscal Year  
they occurred. She explained that regardless of when an expenditure was paid  
that it should be reported in the year that it belonged. A journal entry had to  
be made to make the correction.  
Councilor Saums asked Ms. McTigue to provide an overview of the types of  
findings.  
Ms. McTigue noted the following types of findings that could be identified during the  
audit process:  
(1) Material Weakness was a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal  
control over compliance such that the was a reasonable possibility that material  
compliance with a type of compliance requirement will not be prevented or  
detected and corrected in on a timely basis.  
(2) Deficiency in internal controls exists when the design or operation of a control  
over compliance does not allow management or employees, in the normal course  
of performing their assigned function, to prevent, or detect and correct,  
noncompliance with a type of compliance requirements of a program.  
(3) Other Deficiency was a combination of deficiency, in internal control over  
compliance with a type of compliance requirement that was less severe than a  
material weakness in an internal control over compliance, but important enough  
to merit attention by those charged with governance.  
o Reporting under GAAS (Included in both State and Federal Single audit  
reports):  
§ Reporting on Internal Control and Compliance at the Financial Statement  
Level:  
(1) Under Internal Control:  
§ No internal control findings or deficiencies were noted.  
(2) Under Compliance:  
§ No internal control over compliance/Compliance findings for the State and  
Federal Single Audits.  
Ms. McTigue noted all the reports were clean.  
· Financial Highlights  
· Total Governmental activities expenses totaled $71,299,629 as follows:  
ü Board of Education activities expenses: $49,505,397 or 63.8%  
ü General government expenses: $12,769,431 or 17.9%  
ü Public Safety expenses: $4,969,198 or 7.0%  
ü Public Works expenses: $4,381,495 or 6.1%  
ü Library expenses: $558,913 or 0.8%  
ü Park and Recreation expenses: $707,451or 1.07%  
ü Health and Welfare expenses: $1,288,537 or 1.8%.  
ü Interest expenses: $1,119,207 or 1.6 %  
o Net Position at year end was $87,819,651 ($65,890,987 in government activities  
plus $21,928,664 in business activities) a net increase of $1,658,3463,025,806.  
This increase was primarily due to the States Teachers Retirement Funds’  
proportionate share of the pension and OPEB liabilities associated with the Town.  
Ms. McTigue explained that the Net Position was all the assets, less the liabilities  
on an accrual basis. This includes all the Town’s funds: General Fund, Special  
Revenue Fund, Capital Project Funds, with the exception of the Trust and  
Agency- Pension Fund along with the long-term assets such as roads, bridges,  
land, buildings, etc.  
Ms. McTigue stated that Long Term Liabilities included the Pension, Other Post  
Employment Benefits Other Than Pensions (OPEB); Bonds, Notes, etc.  
Ms. McTigue went on to explain that the accrual basis was different from the  
modified accrual basis (day to day basis) where long term assets and liabilities  
were not included.  
o Government Wide Financial Statements - Governmental Activities and Business  
Type Activities combined: Ms. McTigue explained that the Business Type  
Activities were things such as the Water & Sewer Fund.  
§
Capital Assets $134,83,5817.5 million; net of accumulated depreciation. This  
was a decrease of $1.7 million from the prior year, while the business-type  
capital assets decreased by 2% (net) These changes include the following:  
o Construction in-progress increased by $325,118 for governmental-type  
activities for various town projects underway.  
o Business-type capital assets - there were no significant additions during the  
year.  
§ Net pension liability was $6.4 million an increase of $1.1 million over the  
previous year.  
§ Total Other Post-Employment Benefits Other Than Pensions (OPEB)  
Liability $14.4 million. Ms. McTigue explained this was measured as of June  
30, 2021 and was determined by an actuarial valuation as of that date. She  
sated the Discount Rate Discount rate virtually remained the same at 2.61%;  
and that the 20-year tax exemption rate was based on general obligation  
municipal bonds with an average rating of AA/Aa or higher. She noted that  
Ledyard received a rating of A/A stable from Standards and Poors.  
§ General Obligation bonds and notes, including premium, decreased by $1  
million. There were $4 million of new general obligation bonds issued during  
the year.  
o General Fund - Fund Balance $$4,971,207a decrease of $43,376  
· General Fund total fund balance $4,971,207 a decrease of $43,376 for the fiscal  
year.  
· Unassigned fund balance of $4.9M represented 6% of total general fund  
expenditures and transfers out. This was a reduction of $1,305,500 from last  
year’s Unassigned fund balance.  
· Capital Projects Fund total negative fund balance of y $5,048,236  
· Non-major governmental funds fund balance $5,365,616  
o General Fund Highlights:  
·
·
Property tax collections totaled $41,109,833~ $215K higher than budget.  
Total revenues and transfers-in were higher than budgetary estimates by $856K.  
· Expenditures were $$861,753 higher than budgeted appropriations. This was due  
to the under budgeting of Board of Education Healthcare.  
·
Budgetary Modifications (additional appropriations) for the year totaled  
$603,273 which were funded by fund balance.  
o Business Type Activities (Water & Sewer) and Internal Service Fund:  
· Water - net position was $17,288,188 a decrease of $248,955.  
· Sewer - net position $4,278,450a decrease of $113,071.  
§ Net position of the Enterprise Funds (Water & Sewer) totaled $21,566,638 as of  
June 30, 2022; this was a decrease of $362,026 from the prior year.  
§ Net position in the Internal Service Fund was $253,758a decrease from the prior  
year of $200,000. This was a result of transferring money from the General Fund  
to the Internal Service Fund.  
o Fiduciary Funds - Pension Trust Fund  
· Net position was $27.1 Million decrease of $4,893,404  
· Employer contributions to the fund were $1.1Million and were in-line with  
actuarially determined contribution.  
· Net investment earnings for the year were $2,575,358  
· Net Pension Liability $6,493,838  
· Benefit payments and administration expenses were $1.8 Million. These numbers  
were comparative to the prior year.  
Ms. McTigue deferred to Mr. Stephen Gross to review the Federal and State Single  
Audits:  
Mr. Gross stated under Uniform Guidance when there were $750,000 in expenditures  
that a thorough audit was required to be conducted which included the Federal and  
State Audits.  
· Federal awards expended - $5.3M  
· Major programs tested:  
ü COVID-19 Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) $1.4M.  
ü Child Nutrition Cluster - $1.5M  
· Results: Unmodified or Clean opinion was issued on compliance for major  
programs tested.  
· No findings on internal controls over major programs tested  
· State awards expended $17.4M, subject to test was $3.9M.  
· Major program tested:  
ü Tiered PILOT and MRSA Pilot $874K and $310K  
ü Vocational Agriculture $997K.  
· Results: Unmodified report on compliance for major program.  
· No compliance or internal control findings.  
Ms. McTigue explained that the Reports CliftonLarsonAllen LLP issued for these  
Audits were based only on the Programs that they tested noting that it was not an  
overall report based on all of the grants the town receives or spends.  
Councilor Ingalls questioned the threshold to determine which programs were  
selected to be tested.  
Ms. McTigue explained that the programs that were selected for testing was based on  
whether they received 2% of $200,000 and whether the program had been tested  
during the audit process during the last two years.  
·
Required Communications  
· Qualitative aspects of accounting practices:  
o New GASB 87 - Leases implemented during FY2022.  
A right to use lease asset and corresponding lease liability was now recorded for  
lease arrangements where the lease terms were greater than 12 months and the  
Town was the Lessee.  
o Significant Estimates:  
§ Net Pension Liability  
§ Net OPEB Liability  
§ Capital Assets - Useful Lives  
§ Allowance for Uncollectible Receivables  
§ Leases - Incremental Borrowing Rate  
Significant deficiency on internal controls over financial reporting:  
· Board of Education pre-paid items reported as expenditures in Fiscal Year 2022  
· General Fund $345K  
· Aggregate remaining funds $93K  
· Difficulties encountered in performing the audit - None.  
· Uncorrected/Corrected Misstatements  
Ms. McTigue explained that Uncorrected Misstatements were items that were not  
material and did not present any deficiencies in control, however, CliftonLarsonAllen  
was required to present if there were any entries that were not included in the Financial  
Statements. She continued by noting the following Corrected Misstatements:  
o Deferred outflows for contributions subsequent to measurement date for OPEB Plan 9  
Board of Education Healthcare for Retirees ( was immaterial to financial statement but  
required to report). The measurement date of the net OPEB Liability was done one year  
(June 30, 2021) prior to the reporting date of June 30, 2022. Any contributions made to  
the Plan after the measurement date are reported. (A7 in the Financial Statement).  
o Rehabilitation Loans Received - An adjustment to the beginning balance related to  
the Rehabilitation Loans Receivable. Although the Rehabilitation Loan program was  
there it had not been reported in previous years. Beginning with the Fiscal Year 2022  
they were now included in the Financial Statements. (was immaterial to financial  
statement but required to report).  
Finance Director Matthew Bonin explained that the Rehabilitation Program was a  
Revolving Loan Program. He stated there were certain conditions on when the funds  
had to be paid back to the town. Therefore, he stated it had to be set-up as a  
receivable and the balance has to be deferred. He stated there was really no impact to  
the financial statements.  
o Allocation of Net Pension Liability to business-type activities. The whole Net  
Pension Liability is reported as a Governmental Activity. However, some of the  
Pension Liability should be reported as a business-type activity. Because the town has  
decided to record the Pension Liability as a Government Activity that each year it  
will show as an Uncorrected Misstatement (was immaterial to financial statement but  
required to report).  
o Prepaid items for Board of Education - The following items were corrected.  
§ Board of Education had a pre-paid expenditure  
§ General Fund $345K  
§ Aggregate remining funds $93K  
Councilor Saums stated the intent for the pre-paid expenditures was to obtain a  
discount and he stated the need to correct the statement was a matter of accounting  
principles. Mr. Gross stated they were not sure if there was a discount associated with  
the pre-payment. Ms. McTigue stated regardless of the intent that the accounting had  
to be recorded in the year the expenditure was made.  
o Journal Entrees were corrected and were attached to the governance communications.  
·
Disagreements with Management - None.  
· Management Advisory Letter  
·
Capital Assets  
Capital assets information is currently being tracked within excel spreadsheets.  
As tracking such a large volume of information in this manner can lend itself to  
mistakes and be difficult to verify the propriety of the information.  
Recommendation - CliftonLarsonAllen recommended the Town consider specific  
capital asset software or a capital asset module to track the information.  
Councilor Saums questioned whether the Capital Asset comment was regarding the  
Excel spreadsheet used for large trucks (fire apparatus, public works, etc.). He stated  
the Excel spreadsheet provides features that other software does not provide. Finance  
Director Matthew Bonin explained that the Munis module did not provide a format  
that was useful and that he was looking at other software to track the town’s Capital  
Assets. However, he noted it could be a year or more before a software has been  
selected and implemented.  
· Rehabilitation Loans  
During the performance of our audit, management made us aware that the  
rehabilitation loans were not being properly tracked and reconciled to the general  
ledger.  
Recommendation - CliftonLarsonAllen recommended the Town consider  
implementing a formal loan listing and reconcile to the general ledger.  
· General Ledger Maintenance  
During the performance of the audit on the Water Fund, CliftonLarsonAllen  
noted an isolated incident in which two invoices that pertained to fiscal year 2021  
were expensed in fiscal year 2022.  
Recommendation - CliftonLarsonAllen recommended the Town consider  
strengthening current controls and procedures in this area.  
· Matters Noted in the Previous Year  
Ms. McTigue stated the following matters involving the internal control over  
financial reporting and its operation were noted in the previous year but have not  
been fully remediated. Again, CLA has offered their recommendations as  
constructive suggestions for consideration as part of the ongoing process of  
modifying and improving accounting controls and administrative practices for  
Ledyard.  
· Special Revenue Fund Accounting - Board of Education  
The trial balances presented for the audit for the Education Grant fund and the  
School Lunch Fund contained numerous account balances that were not properly  
recorded in accordance with grant accounting (accounts receivable, grant  
revenues, grant expenditures, etc.). As a result, adjusting journal entries were  
required for these accounts. CliftonLarsonAllen also noted that the Board of  
Education has made improvements from the prior year. The Auditors noted that  
all cash accounts were reconciled as of year-end.  
Recommendation - CliftonLarsonAllen recommended that all Board of Education  
fund trial balances be properly reconciled to the underlying, supporting data in a  
timely manner at year-end.  
Ms. McTigue stated although progress has been made by the Board of Education in  
tracking the Education Grant and School Lunch funds, which was reported in the  
prior year, that CliftonLarsonAllen would review the status of these comments  
during their next audit engagement. CLA has already discussed many of these  
comments and suggestions with various personnel, and that they would discuss them  
in further detail with the town, perform any additional study of these matters, or  
assist the town with implementing the recommendations.  
Ms. McTigue noted that progress has been made by the Board of Education in  
tracking the Education Grant and School Lunch funds, which was reported in the  
prior year.  
Councilor Saums stated that he would like to see the Town write a letter in response  
to CliftonLarsonAllen Auditors’ Management Letter to tell them the measures that  
have been implemented and the recommendations that the town has not implemented  
and the reason they have not as they work to address the items identified in the audit.  
Councilor Saums thanked Ms. McTigue for her informative report and presentation,  
and he opened the floor for questions.  
CliftonLarsonAllen Auditors Ms. McTigue and Mr. Gross left the meeting at 5:31  
p.m.  
RECEIVED AND FILED  
RESULT:  
V.  
APPROVAL OF MINUTES  
Finance Committee Regular Meeting Minutes of January 4, 2023  
Moved by Councilor Ingalls, seconded by Councilor Ryan  
VOTE: 3 - 0 Approved and so declared  
APPROVED AND SO DECLARED  
Andra Ingalls  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Tim Ryan  
SECONDER:  
3
Saums, Ingalls and Ryan  
AYE:  
VI.  
FINANCE DIRECTOR'S REPORT  
Finance Director Matthew Bonin reported that the Fiscal Year 2023/2024 Budget  
Preparation was underway. He noted all the Departments Heads have entered their  
budget requests in the ClearGov system. He noted that he and the Mayor would be  
meeting with Departments on January 25 & 26, 2023 to review their budget submittals.  
FINANCIAL REPORTS  
·
·
Revenue Report December 31, 2022  
Expenditure Year-to-Date Report- December 31, 2022  
Finance Director Matthew Bonin provided an overview of the following Financial  
Reports:  
·
Revenue Report dated December 31, 2022:  
Mr. Bonin noted the Revenues in the report were reflective of the postings thru  
November 31, 2022.  
o Impact Aid received to date was $50,000 - Mr. Bonin noted the Impact Aid was  
trending lower than what had been received by this time last year. He stated Board of  
Education Director of Finance and Human Capital Rachel Moser was looking into  
the reason the funding has not come in yet.  
Superintendent of Schools Mr. Jason Hartling stated they were at the mercy of  
Federal Government’s disbursement. He stated the delay of the Impact Aid may be  
related to what was happening in Washington D.C.  
o Nursing Revenues was trending to fall about $200,000 below budget by year-end.  
·
Expenditure Report dated December 31, 2022  
o Utilities were expected to come in over budget based on the rate increases of the  
power companies and cost of heating fuel.  
o Dispatch Salaries were trending over budget, similar to last fiscal year.  
Councilor Saums questioned whether the Emergency Communications Center was  
having to bring people in who were not normally scheduled to work. Mr. Bonin  
stated Dispatch has had a lot of overtime because they did not have any part-time  
dispatchers to help fill shifts. He stated a few years ago the schedule was changed  
and that Police Chief Rich was struggling with the budget.  
Councilor Saums noted that the Outside Police Overtime was typically not an issue  
because the contractors pay the town to have a police officer at the site. Mr. Bonin  
stated that there was a timing issue involved because it could take some time before  
the contractor paid the town for the police officer and vehicle.  
Councilor Saums stated during the budget preparation that he would like to discuss  
whether the town could save some money by balancing the staffing with the  
overtime. He stated sometimes overtime was a good deal but sometimes overtime  
was not a good deal, noting that it would depend on how much overtime they were  
incurring.  
COMPLETED  
RESULT:  
OLD BUSINESS  
Continued discussion regarding the status and possible changes to Capital Improvement Plan  
(CIP) and Capital Non-Recurring (CNR) Fund based on the American Rescue Act Funding  
(ARPA) and the process to approve ARPA Projects and expend ARPA Funding.  
1.  
Councilor Saums stated Finance Director Matthew Bonin provided an updated  
spreadsheet regarding the status and funding for the ARPA Projects. He stated in the  
interest of time this evening that the Committee would defer this discussion to their  
February 2, 2023 meeting.  
NO ACTION  
RESULT:  
Any other Old Business proper to come before the Committee.  
None.  
2.  
VII. NEW BUSINESS  
Discussion and possible action on the transfer of the Board of Education FY 21-22 operating  
1
budget audited surplus of $448,253 to the BOE Capital Reserve Fund in accordance with the  
Town Council adopted resolution that created the funding mechanism. Not factored into the  
aforementioned surplus is the Board of Education Healthcare deficit for the same audit  
period of $861,753.  
Finance Director Matthew Bonin provided some background noting that the Town  
Council adopted a Resolution on September 28, 1988 that established a separate line  
item within the Town Capital Reserve Fund (Fund 210) for Capital Expenditures for  
the Board of Education. He explained per the Resolution, all surplus funds returned  
to the General Fund by the Board of Education were to be deposited in the Capital  
Reserve Fund for the Board of Education. He went on to explain per the Resolution  
that “Surplus Funds shall be defined as reserves accumulated by the Board of  
Education according to their year-end audit statement”.  
Mr. Bonin went on to explain that the General Fund ended Fiscal Year 2021/2022  
with an overall operating deficit of $43,375. He stated the deficit reduced the Fund  
Balance at year end to $4,971,207. He noted the biggest factor leading to the deficit  
was the under budgeting of Board of Education Healthcare. He stated the Healthcare  
for active employees was under budgeted by approximately $350,000 and healthcare  
for retirees ($512,000) was erroneously omitted entirely from the budget for a total  
shortfall of $861,75. Councilor Saums noted that the Board of Education Healthcare  
resides on the General Government side of the leger, however, he stated it was a  
Board of Education expense which would reduce the Board of Education’s surplus.  
Mr. Bonin continued by noting that in addition to the healthcare deficit, several  
Board of Education revenue sources fell well short of budget noting the following:  
· Impact Aid fell short of budget by almost $113,000; and  
· Tuition revenues fell short of budgeted projections by almost $257,000.  
Mr. Bonin went on to state that it should be noted that the Vo-Ag Stabilization  
Funding exceeded the budgetary estimate by $302,00; but that the excess funding had  
already been transferred out of the General Fund by a previous Town Council action,  
noting that the overall net impact to the General Fund for all these items was a  
$783,500 reduction to the Fund Balance.  
Mr. Bonin explained the following factors resulted in a direct impact reducing the  
Fund Balance by $1,305,500:  
· During Fiscal Year 2022 they transferred out of the prior year’s Board of  
Education surplus of $566,000.  
· The reduction to Fund Balance increased to $1,349,500.  
· Budgetary savings and revenues in excess of budgetary estimates in the Town  
portion of the budget  
Mr. Bonin stated the budgetary savings and revenues in excess of budgetary estimates  
on the Town side of the budget led to an overall Fiscal Year 2021-2022 deficit of  
about $50,000.  
Mr. Bonin continued to explain the Town’s Fund Balance Reserve Fund Policy  
adopted on May 23, 2018 called for a minimum Undesignated Fund Balance that  
equated to 7% of current year General Fund expenditures with an ultimate goal of  
10%. He stated as of June 30, 2022, the Undesignated Fund Balance was 6% of  
current year General Fund Expenditures.  
Mr. Bonin explained that transferring non-budgeted funds out of the General Fund  
would only further deplete Undesignated Fund Balance. He went on to explain that  
the Fund Balance and compliance with the Town’s Fund Balance Reserve Policy  
was one of the areas of focus for the Bond Rating Agencies. He stated falling below  
the Policy threshold further could have a negative impact on the Town’s bond  
rating.  
Mr. Bonin suggested going forward the Board of Education Operating Budget  
include a Capital Line like the General Government Budget has. He explained the  
current Resolution for funding the Capital Reserve Fund for the Board of Education  
would always have a negative impact on General Fund Undesignated Fund  
Balance because it was calling for the transfer of funds to the Capital Fund that  
have not been factored into the budget. Therefore, he stated a potential alternative  
to this funding method would be to budget for the Board of Education’s capital  
contribution to a Capital Fund, similar to how the Town funded its Capital  
expenses.  
Superintendent of Schools Jason Hartling stated a lot of analysis has been conducted  
regarding the Healthcare funding relative to last year’s situation with the Board of  
Education’s healthcare expenses not being properly funded. He stated this year would  
be a change in both revenues and expenses for how Healthcare would be budgeted.  
He stated for the Board of Education Retirees it would be a wash, noting that what  
the Board of Education Retirees pay in was what the town pays out, with the  
exception of +/- the $10,000 - $15,000 that was paid out for fees.  
Mr. Hartling continued by addressing the Board of Education’s over expenditures,  
noting that the Board of Education Central Office could not figure out where the  
numbers came from. Finance Director Matthew Bonin stated the numbers came from  
the Audit Report. Board of Education Director of Finance and Human Capital Rachel  
Moser stated that she pulled a final year to date report and that the Audit numbers  
were off, noting that the actual expenditures were $33,165. Mr. Hartling stated the  
budget overage of $33,165 was about 1.4% of the Board of Education’s total budget.  
He stated this cost could be related to a few moves in or out of the School District of  
high costs students and or inability to execute on particular pieces. He stated it was  
what the Board of Education generally expected.  
Mr. Hartling went on to address Revenues stating that the revenue has always been  
booked on the town side of the budget ledger and he commented that it shifted  
depending on whether it was to the positive or negative. He stated the each year the  
Board of Education recommended the revenue numbers for the annual budget  
preparation; however, the Town Council ultimately decided the revenue numbers  
that would be included in the budget. He went on to state whereas the Healthcare  
conversation, as they have discussed in the past, the Board of Education had no input  
relative to what the Board of Education Healthcare number should be in the budget.  
He stated that he has advocated to continue the practice that has been happening for  
the last fifteen years and that if they wanted to have a different discussion on what  
that should look like for this fiscal year or next fiscal year, then they should have that  
discussion transparently between the Board of Education and the Town Council, so  
that they were all on the same sheet of music noting that this decision that should be  
taken lightly.  
Mr. Hartling commented on the Board of Education’s capital expenses and he stated  
every capital improvement outside of projects that have been bonded were being  
bucketed into that Board of Education Capital Non-Recurring Fund. Therefore, he  
stated that he agreed with Finance Director Matthew Bonin, in that the current  
practice provided in the 1989 “Resolution Creating a Funding Mechanism for  
Making Annual Appropriations to a Capital Reserve Fund for the Board of  
Education” was not the best way to budget their capital improvements. However, he  
stated given Ledyard’s per pupil rate that he did not have any room in their budget to  
provide an allotment for capital expenses. He stated that they have been repairing the  
school buildings and making capital improvements on any excess funding they had  
from year to year. He stated in analyzing the Board of Education’s annual surplus that  
there was about $2 million over the past five years that has not been transferred into  
the Board of Education’s Capital Non-Recurring Fund. He stated as the Schools  
Superintendent that he was representing the Board of Education and he stated that  
there were a lot of conversations that needed to be had to figure out a path forward.  
Councilor Saums stated for a number of years he has had a concern about how the  
Board of Education’s capital expenses were handled, and he commented that there  
may be a better way to budget for the Board of Education’s capital expenses. He  
noted as an example, the program the General Government had in place to budget for  
the replacement of fire/emergency apparatus and public works trucks/equipment. He  
explained that funding was allocated every year so that when the time comes to  
replace a piece of equipment the funding was in place. He went on to state that not  
only was the town funding the Board of Education’s capital expenses out of the  
budget surplus that the town was also borrowing money to do that. He stated when  
they borrow (bond) money they pay interest, ultimately costing the town more  
money. He stated that a much larger discussion to address these issues needed to be  
had.  
Mr. Hartling stated by delaying the transfer of the Board of Education’s surplus to  
their Capital Fund would put many projects at risk. He stated last summer (2022)  
they were not able to do the High School Classroom Renovation projects because of  
supply chain issues. He stated if they do not move forward with the process that the  
classrooms would not get done again this summer (2023). He stated that they were  
having the same issues with the Board of Education Central Office and School Roof  
Replacement Projects noting that delays and cost escalations would also impact the  
projects.  
Board of Education Finance Committee Chairman Mike Brawner stated that he  
agreed that the Board of Education and Town Council needed to have discussions  
regarding capital expenses. He suggested after this budget season they schedule a  
Joint Meeting between the two Finance Committees (Board of Education and Town  
Council) to brainstorm. Councilor Saums stated he agreed with Mr. Brawner. He  
stated the short-term issue and the question they had to answer was “What to do the  
Surplus this year” as explained by Finance Director Matthew Bonin this evening.  
Councilor Ryan stated that he had some questions regarding the math in the  
spreadsheet. However, he stated it was something they could work out during another  
discussion. He stated before the Board of Education and the Town Council Finance  
Committees had any discussions, that they need to understand the Capital  
Non-Recurring Fund Balance and the cadence and phasing for the funding needed for  
the planned expenditures. He stated at a minimum that he would need to understand  
where they would land in terms of anything that would impact the Capital  
Non-Recurring Fund. He stated this information was critical to understand before  
they decide on what to do with the movement of money.  
Councilor Saums suggested they have a meeting soon to understand what the math is  
and to try to come to an agreement between the Board of Education and Town  
Council on what was happening with the General Fund and the Capital  
Non-Recurring Fund. He stated that they also have an outstanding task to put a  
procedure in place on how to handle healthcare expenses overall.  
Finance Director Matthew Bonin stated that they could not wait until after the Budget  
Season to discuss the Board of Education’s capital expenses, explaining that they  
needed to discuss the funding source.  
Superintendent Hartling stated the past practice has been to transfer the Board of  
Education’s budget surplus to their Capital Fund in accordance with “Resolution  
Creating a Funding Mechanism for Making Annual Appropriations to a Capital  
Reserve Fund for the Board of Education”. Therefore, he stated the funds should be  
transferred to the Board’s Capital Non-Recurring Fund. He went on to state in the  
Board of Education’s approved Capital Plan that there were projects that would be  
funded from: (1) Board of Education’s Capital Non-Recurring Fund (CNR); (2)  
Town related funds; and (3) Bonding. He stated it was not assumed by any member  
of the Board of Education that any item on the Capital Improvement List would be  
simply transferred over from the CNR Fund. He stated this was an unspoken  
conversation, noting that it was not the general understanding. He stated based on the  
Annual Budget Town Meeting the presentation regarding Capital Improvements that  
one would think that the projects were being funded by all new money, with “Grants”  
written in another column. He stated it was a less than clear explanation of where the  
Board of Education’s Capital Funds were coming from. He stated the Board of  
Education has put together a Fiscal Year 2023/2024 Capital Improvement Plan,  
which included what they needed to finish out from this current year and what they  
believed should be in their Capital Fund based on the end of year balance provided by  
the Auditors, which would get them thru the next capital cycle. However, he stated  
there were items on the Board of Education’s Capital Plan that the Town would need  
to decide whether they wanted to take on, noting that the Board of Education would  
never have enough money in their Capital Fund using their Budget Surplus to do the  
work that needed to be done to maintain and upgrade the Schools Facilities the way  
they need to be maintained.  
Mr. Hartling concluded his comments by stating that if the Board of Education’s  
Fiscal Year 2021/2022 budget surplus was not going to be transferred to their Capital  
Fund that they would not be able to move forward with the High School Classrooms  
Renovations this summer because he would not be able to order the equipment in  
time for the projects to be executed, noting that they would be kicking the can down  
the road again.  
Councilor Saums stated he understood Mr. Hartling’s comments; but that the Finance  
Committee would not be making a recommendation this evening.  
DISCUSSED  
RESULT:  
MOTION to adopt proposed revisions to the "Resolution Establishing  
2.  
Administrator/Department Head Benefits" as contained in the draft dated January 9, 2023.  
Moved by Councilor Ryan, seconded by Councilor Ingalls  
Discussion: Councilor Saums stated the Finance Committee began discussing  
proposed revisions to the “Resolution Establishing Administrator/Department Head  
Benefits” at their January 4, 2023 meeting. He stated one addition to the Resolution  
stated that Department Heads would be paid at a rate that may not be less than the  
percentage of the highest union-contracted increase for that fiscal year. He stated  
because the Committee felt that the Resolution, as written, could be subject to  
misinterpretation, they withdrew the item and asked that the phrase be more carefully  
worded to avoid unintended consequences.  
Councilor Saums went on to state that subsequent to their January 4, 2023 Finance  
Committee meeting that he and Administrator of Human Resources Don Steinhoff  
discussed a revision to the proposed language in the Resolution that would refer to  
CCM’s Municipal Labor Relations Data Reporter as the basis for Gross Wage  
Increases (GWI).  
Councilor Saums noted the proposed language to the Resolution was as follows:  
“Employees shall be paid at the rate as designated by the Mayor or contractually  
negotiated. Increases in wages shall be effective on the first day of July and may not  
be less than the highest gross wage increase (GWI) percentage of the highest union  
contracted increase for that fiscal year.”  
Councilor Saums stated using the CCM’s Municipal Labor Relations Data Reporter  
as the basis for Gross Wage Increases (GWI) that the following new language was  
suggested:  
“Employees shall be paid at the rate as designated by the Mayor or contractually  
negotiated. Increases in wages shall be effective on the first day of July and may not  
be less than the average negotiated gross wage increase (GWI) percentage for the  
same fiscal year as reported by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities in the  
CCM Municipal Labor Relations Data Reporter for the month of January of the  
calendar year in which the Mayor is assembling the proposed budget.”  
Councilor Saums explained an example of how this langue would be applied using  
the attached table, would be if the Mayor were proposing a budget for the coming  
year FY23-24, that he would use the average negotiated GWI for FY 23-24 which  
was 2.40%.  
WITHDRAWN  
WITHDRAWN  
Tim Ryan  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Andra Ingalls  
SECONDER:  
Any other New Business proper to come before the Committee.  
3.  
MOTION to recommend the Town Council allocate funds from the American Rescue Plan  
Act (ARPA) for the replacement of the following HVAC Systems:  
•
•
Ledyard Emergency Services Building at 11 Fairway Drive  
Ledyard Parks and Recreation/Senior Citizens Facility at 12 Van Tassel Drive  
In addition, that the Public Works Director solicits bids for the projects in comparison to the  
cost estimates already obtained from the State Bid List.  
Councilor Saums stated that there were three items that were an unanticipated  
expense and he asked Public Works Director/Town Engineer Steve Masalin to  
provide an overview of the items.  
Public Works Director/Town Engineer Steve Masalin stated this year there have been  
a number of HVAC issues noting the following:  
· Town Hall HVAC System failed this past summer. The $80,000 HVAC System  
was replaced using funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).  
· Bill Library HVAC System was also replaced.  
· Emergency Services Building on Fairway Drive HVAC Systems failed (both  
heating and air conditioning). Mr. Masalin stated the system was 21 years old and  
he explained that they just completed heating system, which was paid for using  
the Building Maintenance Reserve, in an unanticipated way.  
· Parks and Recreation/Senior Citizens Facility on Van Tassel Drive HVAC  
Systems failed (both heating and air conditioning). Mr. Masalin noted the air  
conditioning system failed last summer and they had to use window units. He  
stated the heating system was limping along, noting the 32 year old original gas  
boiler was inefficient. It was also noted that this facility was used as a Cooling  
Center during the summer months.  
Mr. Masalin went on to state cost estimates were obtained thru the State Bid List to  
complete the HVAC needs for both Emergency Services Building ($190,000) and the  
Parks and Recreation/Senior Citizens Facility ($150,000). He stated the combined  
estimated cost for the two buildings was $340,000. He stated although one of these  
HVAC projects could be paid from the Building Maintenance Capital Reserve  
Account, that it would completely exhaust The Building Maintenance Reserve  
Account and he noted that other scheduled projects on the docket would have to be  
set aside for lack of available funding. He stated he presently has not asked for more  
of an appropriation this year for the Building Maintenance Reserve Fund than has  
been made in the last few years. Therefore, he stated that they would need some  
supplemental funding to address both the Emergency Services Building and the Parks  
and Recreation/Senior Citizens Facility HVAC Systems, whether the funding comes  
from a special appropriation or grant funding, which he did not see on the horizon.  
Councilor Saums stated he was shocked by the estimated costs to replace the HVAC  
Systems at these two town facilities. He stated although there was some residual  
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding that they were planning to use the funds  
for the Ledyard Center Sewer Extension Project. However, he stated because the  
HVAC Systems were time sensitive that he would suggest using some ARPA funding  
for the HVAC Systems, noting that the town would more likely be able to obtain  
grant funding for the Ledyard Center Sewer Extension Project over HVAC Systems.  
Mr. Masalin explained that the time sensitive part was because this State Bid  
Contractor had exclusive commitments from May 1- September 1, 2023. He stated if  
they do not move forward with these State Bid List proposals that they would need to  
find another contract through a different proposal and hope that the function costs  
would be similar.  
Councilor Saums stated he had reservations about using the State Bid List Contractor  
because the cost seemed high. Mr. Masalin noted in replacing the Town Hall HVAC  
System last summer (2022) that they were able to bring the Contractor in under the  
State Bid List noting that the cost was lower. Therefore, he stated if they were going  
to use the competitive bid process that they would have a different means of  
measurement of what their absolute dollar value would be based on that process. He  
also noted that they would have to prepare the scope and specifications for the bid  
process. Councilor Saums recognized the work and time involved to solicit  
completive bids and he stated that based on the cost estimates already obtained that it  
may be worth it.  
Councilor Ryan stated it was unfortunate that the HVAC Systems at both Emergency  
Services Building and the Parks and Recreation/Senior Citizens Facility have failed.  
He noted the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) spreadsheet shows that there were  
some uncommitted funds that would support these projects. He stated that he agreed  
with Councilor Saums in that the town would have a better chance of obtaining grant  
funding for the Ledyard Center Sewer Extension Project than they would for the  
replacement of HVAC Systems. However, he stated this was not the situation they  
had hoped to be in. He stated that he also agreed that the longer they delayed the  
projects that the cost would only increase.  
Finance Director Matthew Bonin stated the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)  
Funds had to be committed by December 31, 2024 and spent by December 31, 2026.  
MOTION to recommend the Town Council allocate funds from the American Rescue  
Plan Act (ARPA) for the replacement of the following HVAC Systems:  
•
•
Ledyard Emergency Services Building at 11 Fairway Drive  
Ledyard Parks and Recreation/Senior Citizens Facility at 12 Van Tassel Drive  
In addition, that the Public Works Director solicits bids for the projects in  
comparison to the cost estimates already obtained from the State Bid List.  
Moved by Councilor Saums, seconded by Councilor Ingalls  
Discussion: See above.  
VOTE:  
3- 0 Approved and so declared  
**POST MEETING NOTE**: 1/23/2023 - This item was not included on the Town  
Council’s January 25, 2023 Agenda.  
From: William Saums <WSaums@ledyardct.org>  
Sent: Monday, January 23, 2023 2:23 PM  
To: Andra Ingalls <aingalls@ledyardct.org>; Timothy Ryan  
<tryan@ledyardct.org>  
Cc: Roxanne Maher <council@ledyardct.org>; Steve Masalin  
<pwd@ledyardct.org>  
Subject: HVAC system motion for Wednesday night  
Andra, Tim,  
Steve Masalin called me Thursday after the finance meeting to say he had  
spoken with Shawn Ruszczyk about getting bids for the HVAC work instead of  
using the state bid system. Shawn provided more details about the systems  
involved in the EMS and Senior Center buildings, and said that putting an  
RFP together would be complicated due to the complexity of the systems and  
structures involved.  
Steve says he would need to hire an engineer to develop the specifications for  
the systems, and that doing so and managing the RFP would add cost to the  
process. He says they already have two quotes from two firms using the state  
bidding system, and he would like to take the motion off Wednesday’s agenda  
until he can put more thought and detail into the project.  
Just letting you know this will be coming back to finance when he has more  
information, so we will not move on it Wednesday night. Even if we don’t get  
bids, it will require council action to use ARPA funds.  
The Motion to use of ARPA Funding for the replacement of the HVAC Systems at  
the Emergency Services Building and the Parks and Recreation/Senior Citizens  
Facility would come back to the Finance Committee at a later time.  
RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL  
Bill Saums  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Andra Ingalls  
SECONDER:  
IV  
ADJOURNMENT  
Councilor Saums moved the meeting be adjourned, seconded by Councilor Ingalls.  
VOTE: 3 - 0 Approved and so declared, the meeting was adjourned at 6:21 p.m.  
Respectfully submitted,  
William D. Saums  
Committee Chairman  
Finance Committee  
DISCLAIMER: Although we try to be timely and accurate these are not official records of the  
Town.