ENFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
COMMUNITY CONVERSATION
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2008
A Community Conversation was held at the Enfield Public Library on Middle Road, Enfield, Connecticut on Wednesday, April 9, 2008. Mayor Kaupin began the Community Conversation at 7:00 p.m.
Present from the Enfield Town Council were Councilmen Bosco, Crowley, Dumont, Edgar, Jones, Kaupin, Kiner, Lee, Mangini, Nelson and Ragno.
Also present from the Town of Enfield were Town Manager, Matthew Coppler; Assistant Town Manager, Daniel Vindigni; Town Clerk, Suzanne Olechnicki; Director of Public Safety, Christopher Bromson; Director of Social Services, Pamela Brown; Director of Libraries, Henry Dutcher; Director of Public Works, Pia Hawkes; Director of Finance, Lynn Nenni; Chief Technology Officer, Paul Russell; Chief of Police, Carl Sferrazza; Deputy Police Chief, Anjo Timmerman; Director of Economic Development, Ray Warren; Director of Human Resources, William Mahoney
Present from the Enfield Board of Education were Chairman Andre Greco, Gregg Stokes, Judy Apprusse-Desroches, Vincent Grady and Tom Arnone.
Chairman Kaupin stated if answers aren’t readily available this evening, answers will be posted on the Town’s website, or they will be available in written form at a future meeting.
Charles Woods, 11 Westerly Drive
Stated his belief the Town should change its Charter to allow people to vote on their own budget. He noted it could be set up with parameters whereby they only vote if a budget is increased greater than the rate of inflation.
Mr. Woods stated his belief the Town should go to a zero-based budget, and everyone would have to justify their budget.
He stated his belief the Town should establish cost centers. He referred to the school system and noted people don’t have a real grasp of the cost per student.
As concerns a Charter change, Chairman Kaupin stated they have put together information that explains the process that needs to be followed. He noted there has been no formal presentation regarding this, however, they will discuss this issue further at a Mayor’s Advisory Council level. He stated this is a matter that is being considered and studied.
Mr. Coppler agreed that zero-based budgeting is a philosophy needed to go forward. He stated his belief the Town Council stated last year they wanted to migrate toward that. He pointed out this budget continues breaking out the costs within the appropriate cost centers. He stated he did not believe they can switch right over to zero based budgeting since there needs to be a collection of data. He stated his hope that with next year’s budget, the Town will be 75% ready to go to zero-based budgeting.
Mr. Coppler stated he’s unsure what’s meant by cost centers. He pointed out on the Town side, they do break out all of their budgets within cost centers.
Jack Sheridan, 7 Buchanan Road
Expressed appreciation for the new budget book and noted he likes this format because it’s easier to understand.
Mr. Sheridan stated his belief the budget should be kept at 2%. He noted State statute says it’s illegal to have a budget greater than the revenue. He stated in order to do that they would have to use last year’s revenue.
He stated EMS was suppose to make a profit.
Mr. Sheridan stated his belief they need to be standardized on various jobs.
Mr. Coppler stated if they are following proper budget practices, they would not be basing estimates on what was received in previous years. He noted the budget is reflecting the lowest revenue projections from the State.
Councilman Nelson stated his philosophy has always been you cannot spend more than you make.
Councilman Crowley stated the Town doesn’t always receive the same amount of State money. He noted he would like to move the budget process a little later so that they had solid numbers from the State.
Councilman Ragno noted many things effect the budget, i.e., collective bargaining or if industry moves out of town. He noted in order to fund Town government, they have to take the time to study and figure out where fixed costs are coming from because that’s 80% of the budget.
Councilman Nelson pointed out last year, the State gave the Town $900,000 less than the previous year.
Councilman Lee questioned if it’s legal for a municipality to adjust its mill rate halfway through the year, and Mr. Coppler responded no. He added in terms of State revenue, if the State had a predictable process regarding State revenues, Mr. Sheridan’s philosophy might be possible.
Mr. Coppler stated they are very hopeful they’ll soon know what revenues will be coming from the State.
Mr. Coppler stated it’s very difficult to expect EMS to be funded 100% through user fees. He added even if they did that, they would still need some general funding. He noted it was always the intent there would be some subsidy from the General Fund. He pointed out EMS is now fully staffed, and they know, for the most part, what those costs will be. He stated they expected that number would grow over time, however, the reimbursement rates are not being adjusted as much as they would like from the federal and state levels. He noted the current trend is that Medicaid and Medicare calls are increasing, and they are losing money on those calls. He stated if it’s a private patient, there is a better reimbursement rate. He added they are not yet doing non-emergency transports. He pointed out non-emergency transports make more money.
Mr. Coppler stated to the credit of the EMS and the Public Safety Director they’ve moved EMS at lightning speed. He noted they’ve done an incredible job. He added it will take a little more work to get to the last step, which will be non-emergency transports.
Councilman Crowley stated unfortunately, they did not get the fire service on board as quickly as they would have liked, however, the fire service is now responding. He stated it’s hoped the involvement of the fire service will lessen overtime costs. He noted they’re hoping EMS gets to the point where they’re making money.
As concerns time standards on various jobs, Councilman Dumont noted a lot of businesses in the private sector are doing this. She noted she’s unsure if it’s feasible with the Town, but it would be helpful.
Councilman Ragno stated he’s an advocate of accountability. He stated his belief they need to inspect what they expect in order to get a more detailed accountability of resources.
Tom Walsh, Rosanne Street
Agreed with other speakers about a referendum budget. He stated his belief the Council shouldn’t be doing the budget until they know what they’re getting from the State. He stated his belief the Town should re-work when contracts get signed, and this shouldn’t happen a couple weeks before an election. He added he believes the public should have a little say in this. He stated his belief the Town Council can easily make it possible for the public to vote on their budget.
Councilman Mangini questioned whether the Town Charter states there’s a specific time frame as to when the budget is worked on and approved. Mr. Coppler responded yes.
Mr. Walsh pointed out this is another area that could be reviewed if the Town Charter is reopened for review.
Councilman Mangini stated the National League of Cities is looking at creative ways to address tax reform. She added property taxes are a big concern, and at some point there will be a plan to address these issues.
Councilman Crowley expressed concern about people voting on budgets when many people don’t attend Council meetings. Mr. Walsh stated he has heard people say they don’t come to meetings because the Council will do what it wants anyway.
Margaret Jedziniak, 232 Abbe Road
Stated she always wondered why the Town Council and previous Town Councils were so adamant about allowing voters to vote on their budget.
Ms. Jedziniak stated she has been trying to obtain a copy of the teachers’ contract from Enfield Public Schools. She noted she went to the library, however, the reference librarian was unable to produce this document. She stated she went to the Town Manager, and he procured it for her immediately. She stated her belief the school system should be more forthcoming with information. She questioned what happened with the Pentamation system in the school department.
Chairman Kaupin stated the Town Charter does say the prime responsibility of the Town Council is to set the budget. He noted he is now reconsidering this, and that is why they are gathering information. He pointed out the whole Charter will be open if this one issue is addressed.
Ms. Jedziniak stated out of 169 towns in Connecticut, only 12 communities are not allowed to vote on their budgets. Chairman Kaupin stated his belief it’s more than 12 communities, and they could get this information from CCM.
Councilman Lee stated there is an annual report that provides a breakdown by type of town, type of referendum and identifies the types of conditions that might trigger a referendum.
Chairman Kaupin stated the Town posts all its municipal contracts on the Town’s website, and perhaps it could be recommended the school system do the same.
Mr. Greco apologized to Ms. Jedziniak for her difficulty in procuring a teachers’ contract. Ms. Jedziniak noted her difficulty was with Central Office. Mr. Greco indicated he’d speak to Dr. Gallacher regarding this. Mr. Greco went on to state the school system does use Pentamation, however, it has not been enhanced.
Mr. Russell stated IT has done a lot of internal work, therefore, it might not be apparent to citizens. He noted they are working toward upgrading Pentamation so that there’s a lot more collaboration between teachers, parents and students. He stated it’s hoped this will be ready for the new school year.
Ms. Jedziniak stated she does not have a computer to view contracts. She noted she should have been able to access the contracts at the library.
Mr. Woods questioned whether there are any plans to move IT out of the high school. Mr. Russell stated it’s hoped they will be able to use that same space for IT.
Mr. Woods stated his belief they should turn Enfield High School into a middle school and put all high school students in Fermi High. He noted in that case, the IT Department would have to move out of Fermi High. He added Board of Education offices could move to the JFK Middle School building.
Andrew Christmas, Colony Road
Disagreed with the idea of voting on the budget. He stated his belief voters will not come out to vote.
Mr. Christmas stated he noticed there wasn’t much notification about this evening’s meeting. He feels more people would attend if there was more notice about such meetings.
He spoke about a method of bidding rather than sealed bids.
Mr. Christmas questioned what’s being cut and what is being added with the proposed budget.
Mr. Coppler noted $600,000 was cut from the school budget, and it was decided not to fill two or three positions that are currently vacant. He noted streetlights are being purchased, which will result in over $200,000 in savings next year. He pointed out the goal is to maintain the level of services that are currently being provided.
Mr. Greco referred to the school side of the budget and noted everything will be status quo.
Councilman Nelson stated this meeting was a last minute thing, and they did their best to pull it together.
Councilman Crowley commended Chairman Kaupin for getting this meeting together.
As concerns advertising these meetings, Chairman Kaupin stated his belief they have a good tool in Channel 16.
Lou Reale, 305 Broadbrook Rd.
Commended the Town Council for their openness. He also commended the Board of Education for their auditing activities.
Mr. Reale suggested the following cuts:
· Training & Employee Relations Coordinator - $66,000 + benefits
· Risk Manager - $72,000 + benefits (He noted the Town used to have a company called Frank B. Hall, and they would set up safety committees that met monthly.)
· Assistant Director of Public Works - $87,000 + benefits (He believes a Director and Deputy Director is enough)
· Solid Waste Equipment Operators – cut that number down to 13
· Full-time bulky waste pick-up driver
· Neighborhood Services Coordinator - $50,000 + benefits
· Family Resource Center Parent Educator - $38,000
· Eliminate Saturday pick-up for about $60,000 in savings. He questioned why they’re paying eight hours of overtime when tipper barrels are going to speed up the process.
· Water Pollution Control – He feels there’s too much contract work in this department, and he believes Town employees should know how to do this work.
· Social Services – He stated Enfield now spends $5.5 million dollars in social services, and he feels this is unbelievable. He feels this has an impact on Thompsonville’s revitalization because it attracts people from other towns to sell drugs and get things for free.
· Punch cards should be utilized when jobs are done
Mr. Reale stated he has suggested approximately $2 million dollars in cuts. He noted perhaps these savings could go toward the Police Department. He stated his impression no one is looking closely at these types of positions, and he feels these jobs should be reviewed and justified.
Chairman Kaupin referred to the $5.5 million dollars for Social Services and pointed out about $1.9 million comes from the taxpayers, and the balance from grants and client fees. He went on to state perhaps the Town needs to do a better job at explaining and justifying some positions.
Mr. Reale questioned whether all these social services make Thompsonville a better place, and Councilman Mangini responded yes and noted without these services, there could be an increase in crime. She pointed out many programs in Social Services are either co-funded or fully funded through grants from the federal and state government. She stated at budget time, they do look at the whole picture and question whether positions are justified. She went on to note the Town has a dynamic Social Services staff, and she’s very proud of them.
Councilman Nelson agreed with Mr. Reale concerning Social Services. He feels it should be fair for everyone. He noted free health care should be for everyone. He noted he has to pay for Social Service programs, but he cannot use them. He agrees that Pam Brown does a phenomenal job so that programs are not coming from his tax dollars.
Maureen Brennan, Sandpiper Road
Expressed her appreciation to the Town Council for this type of meeting. She went on to state her understanding that the Town and Board of Education are separate entities, however, she finds it unfortunate that the Town and Board are so separate because she doesn’t know if the Council is aware of the great things happening in the school system. She stated the Board worked very hard to present a reasonable budget, and the Board voted unanimously for this budget. She pointed out the proposed 3% increase over last year’s budget is already cutting from education, and it doesn’t meet status quo. She noted this was a conservative budget that was arrived at with much due diligence.
Ms. Brennan stated the Town Council should keep track of small businesses that are not registered or paying taxes. She noted she has suspicions that this practice exists.
She stated her belief that a 50 cent copy charge for Town documentation is reasonable.
Ms. Brennan questioned the possibility of the tax bills having a check-off box for an optional donation for the school system.
Referring to the $600,000 cut from the school budget, she asked the Town Manager from where will that money be taken.
Chairman Kaupin indicated they will look into the concern about small businesses not being registered or paying taxes.
Councilman Jones stated he absolutely supports education.
Councilman Bosco stated he believes in providing a quality education, however, more money doesn’t necessarily result in a better education.
Councilman Lee stated he supports a quality, cost effective education.
Councilman Dumont stated she believes in a quality education in the most cost effective way.
Councilman Ragno stated he supports education, and he also believes in accountability and allocation of resources that do the most good.
Chairman Kaupin stated his belief his track record shows he supports quality education. He noted both the Town and School System have to move forward, and they can’t sacrifice one for the other.
Councilman Nelson stated he supports quality education, however, he has a problem spending $70 million dollars on teachers. He stated it seems the money they are putting into education isn’t improving education. He noted there are some teachers that need to retire.
Councilman Crowley voiced his support of education and stated his belief Enfield’s teachers are top notch.
Councilman Mangini stated she does support quality education, and she believes in funding education with no caveats. She went on to voice her support of the teaching staff.
Councilman Kiner stated he supports education and he believes it’s the goal of this Council to provide a quality education so that students can continue on to college and become productive citizens of this town. He stated his belief Enfield teachers are dedicated.
Mr. Arnone stated the Board of Education needs its $600,000 back because right now they’re at bare bones. He pointed out the $10,000 per child expenditure is below the State average. He noted without Special Education requirements, the cost per child would be $8,000 to $9,000 per child. He stated people should be thanking Dr. Gallacher and the school system for keeping taxes down.
Robert Tkacz, Bernadino Avenue
Stated in 1990, Enfield’s population was 45,000 and about 700 inmates were included in that count. He noted the prison population rose from 700 to 2,900 during the 1990’s, and the population was still around 45,000. He questioned what happened to all the residential taxpayers.
Mr. Tkacz stated the actual per student expenditure is $13,000. He noted state statistics skew the numbers.
He commended the Town Manager for this budget. He stated his impression there’s a big difference between this meeting and the School Board meetings. He noted at Board meetings, there were employees from out of state defending their jobs. He stated his belief only taxpayers should be allowed to speak at budget hearings.
Chairman Kaupin referred to Page 20 and 21 of the Town Manager’s budget and noted the Town Manger did outline the municipal support for education dollars, which are $3,074,834.
Mr. Woods suggested they should take everything away from the schools, except teaching students. He noted the Town should take over the buildings and all the functions. He stated the Town is letting the school system manage the money, and he feels the Town doesn’t place enough parameters on the school system. He noted they have to look at other things, i.e., schools of choice. He went on to question why people with no children have to fund everything for families with children. He stated with binding arbitration, taxpayers are paying a lot of money for these people to be rich.
Connie Boyajian, Sherman Road
Stated she is happy to pay taxes for the schools. She pointed out when she was a child, someone without children paid for her education.
Ms. Jedziniak pointed out federal and state grants are taxpayers’ money, but out of another pocket. She went on to state they shouldn’t have changed the title of the South Road day care facility because this will result in salary increases. She went onto state her belief there are too many employees in social services.
Mr. Reale stated he was on the Board of Education for a short time years ago. He noted at that time he learned that if a teacher isn’t doing a good job, nothing could be done. He questioned the last time a teacher was suspended or fired for poor job performance.
Myron Boyajian, Sherman Road
Questioned the status of interscholastic athletics.
Mr. Christmas stated he purchased his home three years ago, and his taxes have gone up about 20% since then. He noted the well is getting dry, and he urged the Council to do everything they can with this budget.
Ms. Brennan stated her belief that part of the problem relates to unfunded mandates.
Mr. Sheridan stated the $5 million dollars for Social Services is still from the taxpayers.
He stated he is adamant against people talking in favor of the school budget if they’re not from Enfield.
Chairman Kaupin pointed out that all of the Budget Hearings are for residents and taxpayers only.
Councilman Edgar stated his belief the Town Manager did a good job bringing down the increase to 3.1%, and he believes the Council may be able to lower it further.
Councilman Nelson stated he will vote against any increase over zero percent.
Councilman Ragno stated his belief they have to be diligent about what they’re doing in Enfield.
Councilman Dumont stated the Council will be looking at this budget very closely to keep the taxes down.
Councilman Lee requested an outline of what the impact will be to Enfield Pubic Schools as concerns unfunded mandates.
Chairman Kaupin stated the Town Council will begin the budget workshops shortly. He noted the next opportunity for public input will be Wednesday, April 30 at the Enfield Senior Center. He encouraged everyone to attend that budget hearing.
MOTION #9759 by Councilman Nelson, seconded by Councilman Mangini to adjourn.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #9759 adopted 11-0-0, and the meeting stood adjourned at 9:30 p.m.