741 Colonel Ledyard Highway  
Ledyard, Connecticut 06339  
TOWN OF LEDYARD  
Finance Committee  
Meeting Minutes  
Chairman  
Kevin J. Dombrowski  
Regular Meeting  
Wednesday, March 1, 2023  
5:00 PM  
Town Hall Annex Building - Hybrid  
Format  
In -Person: Council Chambers, Town Hall Annex Buiilding  
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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:  
Excused:  
In addition, the following were present:  
Mary McGrattanTown Councilor  
S. Naomi RodriguezTown Councilor  
Fred Allyn, III Mayor  
Matt Bonin Finance Director  
Jennifer Smith Library Director  
Jim Mann Director of Emergency Management  
Wayne Donaldson Board of Education Director of Facilities & Grounds  
Roxanne MaherAdministrative Assistant  
III.  
IV.  
V.  
RESIDENTS & PROPERTY OWNERS COMMENTS  
None.  
PRESENTATIONS / INFORMATIONAL ITEMS  
None.  
REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES  
MOTION to approve the Finance Committee Regular Meeting Minutes of February 15, 2023  
Moved by Councilor Ingalls, seconded by Councilor Saums  
VOTE: 2 - 0 Approved and so declared  
VI.  
FINANCE DIRECTOR'S REPORT  
Finance Director’s Report  
Finance Director Matthew Bonin reported that work continues on the Fiscal Year  
2023/2024 Budget preparation. He noted the State of Connecticut has revised their  
estimated increase for the Partnership 2.0 Healthcare Plan to 7.5% for next fiscal year.  
He also noted that Administrator of Human Resources Don Steinhoff has been talking  
with Brown and Brown Insurance, who was handling a consortium of towns that left the  
State’s 2.0 Partnership Healthcare Plan. He stated if the Brown and Brown Healthcare  
Consortium Plan could provide a comparable insurance plan to what Ledyard currently  
had that the town may be able to join their Healthcare Consortium which would be about  
a 4% - 5% increase in healthcare costs for the town.  
VII. FINANCIAL REPORTS  
Financial Reports  
Finance Director Matthew Bonin provided the following Financial Reports:  
·
·
Revenue Year to Date Report dated January 31, 2023  
o Revenues received to date were at about 60% of what was budgeted.  
Expenditure Year to Date Report dated January 31, 2023  
o Dispatch Overtime were trending over budget.  
Councilor Saums noted that the Dispatch Overtime was trending over budget.  
Mayor Allyn, III, explained that the Dispatchers have claimed that they were not  
fully staffed until November 1, 2022. He stated the jury was still out on the Pitman  
Schedule Concept explaining that it was something that the Collective Bargaining  
Unit asked for in the last negotiation. He stated the Pitman Schedule was  
twelve-hour shifts and that he believed that they were finding that the shifts were too  
long. He went on to state as a result of the longer shifts that every two-weeks they  
were accumulating 4 hours of overtime. He stated this Labor Contract was up for  
negotiation this year and that he believed they needed to discuss what constituted  
appropriate staffing in the Dispatch Center.  
o Retirement Cash Out $75,000  
Councilor Ingalls questioned the status of the Retirement Cash Out Account noting  
that to-date there has not been any expenditures out of this budgeted account.  
Mayor Allyn explained the Retirement Cash Out Account was used to cash out  
sick-time, vacation time, and comp-time when employees retired. He stated quite  
often these expenses come up toward the end of the fiscal year. He noted as an  
example that MIS Director Regina Brulotte was retiring tomorrow (March 2, 2023)  
after twenty-years of service to the town. He stated the Cash Out Account would be  
used should there be any pay outs required.  
VIII. 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.  
NO ACTION  
RESULT:  
Any other Old Business proper to come before the Committee.  
None  
2.  
IX.  
NEW BUSINESS  
MOTION to appropriate $51,838 to Account #21050101-58790-G0015 (Library Capital -  
New Equipment - Misc. State Grants) upon the receipt of a State Library Grant for the same  
amount.  
1.  
In addition, authorize the funds to be expended for the Gales Ferry Library E-fiber  
installation.  
Moved by Councilor Ingalls, seconded by Councilor Saums  
Discussion: Councilor Saums provided some background noting at their January 12,  
2022 meeting the Town Council authorized the Mayor to submit an application for  
E-Rate funds and a matching State Library grant to cover the installation cost of a  
fiber network to the Gales Ferry Library along with a request for E-Rate funds to  
supplement up to 50% of the annual maintenance and internet cost, noting that the  
cost to install the fiber was about $90,000. However, he stated since that time  
Frontier Communications has been installing fiber all over town. Therefore, he  
questioned whether they should discuss the option to connect the Gales Ferry Library  
to the Frontier Communications fiber.  
Mayor Allyn, III, stated Frontier Communications would be covering 100% of  
Ledyard with their fiber network. He stated although Frontier’s work was supposed to  
be completed by December, 2022, that they were still working on the project. He  
went on to state because he had the same question as Councilor Saums, that he  
contacted the Frontier Communications Enterprise Manager to discuss the costs for  
the Gales Ferry Library to connect to Frontier. He explained although there would be  
no cost to install the equipment or to run the line to the Gales Ferry Library, that the  
monthly fee would be $1,000. He stated for residential use the cost of Frontier  
communications would be $79.00 per month for 1-Gigabyte of internet service. He  
stated it was great for residential users but very costly for commercial users. He  
stated in speaking to the Frontier Communications Enterprise Manager he told him  
that the Gales Ferry Library was part of a municipality and that he was told that  
municipalities fall under the Enterprise Division, noting that there was no special  
deals for small towns.  
Mayor Allyn went on to explain that because the Grant funding would pay for the  
fiber installation for the Gales Ferry Library to connect to the Connecticut Education  
Network (CEN) and after the E-Rate discount, which would pay for 50% of fiber  
maintenance fee that the Gales Ferry Library’s annual maintenance cost would be  
$3,600 per year for now, minus the current annual $828, (cable internet) that the  
Library’s net annual cost would be $2,772 for each year of the 20-year CEN  
Contract, noting that there would not be a monthly fee. Therefore, he stated moving  
forward with this grant opportunity was the best option for the Gales Ferry Library.  
Councilor Saums stated the Grant Funding would pay for 100% of the installation of  
the fiber. Library Director Jennifer Smith stated that was correct, noting that both  
parties have signed off on the Connecticut State Library Grant totaling $51,838. She  
stated as Mayor Allyn mentioned, this funding included half of the expense for the  
20-year Dark Fiber IRU Lease, and the full cost of all network equipment, fiber  
operations and maintenance, along with any additional equipment needed. She stated  
the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has committed $36,950 to  
this project for the remaining half of the fiber lease. These funds would be paid  
directly to the Connecticut Educational Network (CEN) and would not flow through  
the town. She went on to explain with the E-Rate discount, which would pay for 50%  
of fiber maintenance fee that the annual cost for the Gales Ferry Library for the  
annual maintenance would be $3,600 per year. She stated they were currently paying  
about $75.00 per month ($828 annually) for the Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)  
internet service. It was noted that minus the current annual $828 for the DSL internet  
service that the net annual cost for the CEN service was about $2,772 or $231 per  
month.  
Ms. Smith stated the Bill Library has been using the Connecticut Educational  
Network (CEN) for 5 - 6 years and that they have not had any issues with the fiber  
network. She stated it worked well and the patrons were able to connect and were not  
getting kicked off the internet. However, she stated at the Gales Ferry Library they  
have internet connection issues, noting that it was better in some areas of the building  
than in other areas of the building and patrons as well as staff have had issues with  
the current Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) line. She stated that the internet service the  
Gales Ferry Library was currently providing to its patrons was problematic, noting at  
times staff has not been able to attend on-line meetings because they could not  
connect to the internet. Councilor Saums stated with the new equipment and new  
router that he believed the Gales Ferry Library would be happy with the CEN fiber  
line.  
Councilor Ingalls stated that all of these requests were good improvements.  
However, she stated that she was nervus about the budget overall. Councilor Saums  
stated that he believed that there would be better news on the upcoming budget  
preparation than what was reported last week. Mayor Allyn stated that he previously  
reported that the Department Heads Fiscal Year 2023/2024 Budget requests came in  
higher than what he would have liked to have seen. However, he stated that the  
numbers were starting to polish up well. Councilor Saums stated although the Town  
Council would have some difficult decisions to make on the upcoming proposed  
Fiscal Year 2023/2024 Budget that he was comfortable with moving forward with  
these Grant opportunities to connect the Gales Ferry Library to the CEN Fiber line.  
VOTE: 2 - 0 Approved and so declared  
Councilor Saums thanked Ms. Smith for attending tonight’s meeting.  
Library Director Ms. Smith left the meeting at 5:15 p.m.  
RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL  
Andra Ingalls  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Bill Saums  
SECONDER:  
2
1
Saums and Ingalls  
Ryan  
AYE:  
EXCUSED:  
MOTION to appropriate $13,000 to Account #21020301-57300-G0015 (Fire Marshall - New  
Equipment - State Grant).  
2.  
In addition, authorize the expenditure of up to $13,000 for replacement of copper cable  
running to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with fiber cable.  
The funding source for this project is the Town of Ledyard’s FY 2023 Nuclear Safety  
Emergency Program Funding Allocation (2022-44).  
Moved by Councilor Ingalls, seconded by Councilor Saums  
Discussion: Director of Emergency Management Jim Mann explained that last year  
they received Nuclear Safety Emergency Funding for the Emergency Operations  
Center Technology (EOC) Upgrades. However, he stated they were still having issues  
with the data flow to the Connecticut Educational Network Fiber (CEN) connection  
in the school’s main data room. He stated their investigation found that about  
ten-years ago when the moved the School’s Management Information Systems Room  
(MIS) to its new location to provide space for the relocation the Emergency  
Operations Center at the High School that for some unknown reason staff did not  
complete this section in fiber but instead used copper cable for a 165-foot section,  
which was the source of their data flow problems with the CEN connection to the  
EOC.  
Mr. Mann went on to explain they were only able to get two venders to come look at  
the project to provide a quote to replace the copper cable with fiber for the entire run  
from the data room to the EOC. However, he stated only one vendor, CBS Company,  
provided a quote, noting that the second vendor stated because they would not  
interface with other persons work they were not willing to take this project,  
explaining that they had proprietary equipment.  
Mr. Mann continued by noting in a letter dated February 23, 2023 he appealed to the  
Nuclear Safety Emergency Program (NSEP) to request $13,000 for the necessary  
upgrades to replace the copper cable with fiber in the Emergency Operations Center.  
He stated that he included some contingency in the request in case other issues were  
found during project. He stated the NSEP Region 4 replied to his letter in an e-mail  
stating that they would provide 100% reimbursement the town for the cost to correct  
the issue.  
VOTE: 2 - 0 Approved and so declared  
Councilor Saums thanked Mr. Mann for attending tonight’s meeting.  
Director of Emergency Management Jim Mann left the meeting at 5:48 p.m.  
RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL  
Andra Ingalls  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Bill Saums  
SECONDER:  
2
1
Saums and Ingalls  
Ryan  
AYE:  
EXCUSED:  
MOTION to grant a Bid Waiver to Marineland, Spectrum Brands Pet, LLC of Blacksburg,  
Virginia in the amount of $32,590 due to receiving fewer than the required three bids in  
response to Bid #LPS 22-10 (Ledyard Public Schools Agricultural Science Small Animal  
Habitat), in accordance with Ordinance #200-001 (rev 1) “An Ordinance for Purchasing”.  
3.  
Moved by Councilor Ingalls, seconded by Councilor Saums  
Discussion: Councilor Saums stated Board of Education Director of Buildings and  
Facilities Wayne Donaldson solicited Requests for Proposals Bid #LPS 22-10  
(Ledyard Public Schools Agricultural Science Small Animal Habitat) and did a lot of  
work in calling and sending e-mails to vendors to try to obtain proposals to purchase  
equipment and cabinets to house small animals such as birds, ferrets, reptiles for the  
Agri-Science Program (Vo-Ag). However, he stated only one vendor, Marineland,  
Spectrum Brands Pet, LLC., replied, but that they only sent price lists. He stated after  
talking with Mr. Donaldson last week, that Mr. Donaldson went back to the vendor  
and confirmed that their pricing was as contained in the Pricing Sheet and that they  
would honor those prices. He also explained that in researching the equipment  
needed that Mr. Donaldson found that Marineland, Spectrum Brands Pet, LLC., was  
the only vendor that made enclosures that would fit into the classroom. Therefore, he  
stated the Board of Education has requested a Bid Waiver to purchase the necessary  
equipment to house the small animals in the Agri-Science Lab.  
Board of Education Director of Buildings and Facilities Wayne Donaldson explained  
the Agri-Science Lab had a limited low ceiling and the doorway was narrow.  
Therefore, he stated to get the equipment into the room that it had to be a certain size.  
He stated the other two companies he contacted would not provide a bid proposal,  
noting that the units they sold were too high to fit into the space. He stated this  
equipment would be paid for from the Agri-Science Grant funding noting at their  
September 14, 2022 meeting the Town Council authorized the Board of Education to  
spend up to $146,558 from Account #21070101-5826 (BOE CNR ASTE) as outlined  
in the Board of Education Fiscal Year 2021/2022 Supplemental Spending Plan for  
Agri-Science Program. He stated in addition to the $32,590 listed on the pricing sheet  
that there would freight and pallet charges.  
Councilor Saums stated if the Vendor, Marineland, Spectrum Brands Pet, changed  
their pricing that the Board of Education would need to come back to request another  
bid waiver.  
Councilor Ingalls questioned whether this equipment was replacing old units or  
whether this was a new project. Mr. Donaldson stated the small animals was a new  
Agri-Science (Vo-Ag) Project explaining that they have done away with the large  
animals such as the horses and cows program and have replaced it with the small  
animal program. He stated the small animal program would teach the Agri-Science  
students how to groom dogs and take care of reptiles and birds, etc. He stated this  
equipment would house the small animals.  
VOTE: 2 - 0 Approved and so declared  
Councilor Saums thanked Mr. Donaldson for attending tonight’s meeting.  
Board of Education Director of Buildings and Facilities Wayne Donaldson left the  
meeting at 5:23 p.m.  
RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL  
Andra Ingalls  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Bill Saums  
SECONDER:  
MOTION to set the Mayor’s salary at $107,000 Retroactive to July 1, 2022.  
4.  
Moved by Councilor Ingalls, seconded by Councilor Saums  
Discussion: Councilor Saums stated setting the Mayor’s Salary was governed by  
Article XIX of the Connecticut Constitution (amending Article Xl.), which was  
passed in 1982, noting that it stated the following:  
“The compensation of an elected official of a political subdivision of the state whose  
term of office is four years or more may be increased once after such official has  
completed two years of his term by the legislative body of such political subdivision.”  
Councilor Saums stated the Mayor’s Salary has not been increased since 2019;  
explaining that per Article XIX of the Connecticut Constitution because the Mayor  
in serves a four-year term, the compensation may be increased only once after the  
completion of two years of a term. He stated the requested salary represented a 3.1%  
increase per year for a total 12% increase during the course of four year term.  
Mayor Allyn, III, explained as an elected Mayor that the salary could only be adjusted  
one-time halfway thru the four-year term, which should have been in 2021. He stated  
the Mayor’s salary could be adjusted two-years into the next term. He stated that he  
supported the request not just for himself, (though he would benefit) but also for  
those that seek this role after his term. He stated that it was important to have a wage  
that would garner interest from the most qualified parties for the role as Mayor. He  
noted that there were six other positions in town that were being pay above the  
Mayor’s Salary, setting aside any salaries for the Board of Education.  
Councilor Ingalls stated that Ledyard’s Mayor was underpaid, noting that during the  
time someone was elected and serving as the Mayor there was never a minute that  
they were “Not the Mayor”, noting that they were the Mayor 7-24 stating that they do  
not get the weekends off. Councilor Saums stated he agreed with Councilor Ingalls’  
comments noting the many evening meetings the Mayor attended as well as the many  
events he attended on weekends.  
Mayor Allyn stated with this annual 3% increase on each of the previous years that  
the $107,000 salary would remain at this rate until at least Fiscal Year 2025/2026.  
VOTE: 2 - 0 Approved and so declared  
RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL  
Andra Ingalls  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Bill Saums  
SECONDER:  
2
1
Saums and Ingalls  
Ryan  
AYE:  
EXCUSED:  
Any other New Business proper to come before the Committee.  
None  
5.  
X.  
ADJOURNMENT  
Councilor Saums moved the meeting be adjourned, seconded by Councilor Ingalls.  
VOTE: 2 - 0 Approved and so declared, the meeting was adjourned at 5:27 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.