Board of Finance - Minutes - 03/13/2024

FIFTEEN ROPE FERRY ROAD
WATERFORD, CT 06385-2886
Board of Finance
Budget Hearing Minutes *REVISED*
Present:
Elected:
Staff:
2
PHONE: 860-442-0553
www waterfordctorg
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Waterford Town Hall
Chairman Glenn Patterson, Ronald R. Fedor, Bill Sheehan (via telephone), Michael
Rocchetti, Robert Tuneski, David Peabody, Joseph Filippetti
Robert J. Brule, First Selectman
Kimberly Allen, Finance Director; Bigi Ebbin and Patricia Waters, Registrar of Voters; Paige
Walton, Assessor & Board of Assessment Appeals; Alan Wilensky, Tax Collector; David
Campo, Town Clerk; Paul Goldstein, Representative Town Meeting; Rob Brule, Board of
Selectmen; Rebecca Hall, Admin Assistant Finance Office/BOF Recgrding Secretary
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Establishment of a quorum and call to order: g =
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March 13, 2024. g AS
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‘An opening statement regarding the budget process was made by Glenn §atterson,
Chairman.
‘Standing Motion: A motion was made by Bill Sheehan and seconded by
Ron Fedor to have a standing motion by Michael Rocchetti and seconded by Joseph
Filippetti to consider each budget as presented.
Vote: 7-0-0 Motion:
Registrar of Voters Budget:
Opening comments were given by Bigi Ebbin. The Registrars are in the process of starting
Early Voting. They received a grant in the amount of $10,500 grant from the State to help
cover costs of staffing and equipment necessary for Early Voting. New training is required
of the registrars and poll workers will also need additional training.
Chairman Glenn Patterson asked how the money from the grant will be used. Ms. Ebbin
replied that most will be used for staffing. Another portion will be used for new supplies
like scanners and label makers that are required to conduct Early Voting. Chairman
Patterson asked how many stations will be set up in Waterford for Early Voting, Ms.
Ebbin said one (1) station will be set up in the Appleby Room at Town Hall. Kimberly
Allen, Director of Finance, added that in preliminary budget meetings with the registrars
itis clear that the $10,500 will not cover all costs.

Board of Finance Budget Minutes ~ March 13, 2024
Page 2
Ron Fedor asked about normal hours of work for the registrars. Ms. Ebbin said they
typically work 15 hours per week but during election time will be more like 10 hours per
day.
Motion by Michael Rocchetti and seconded by Joseph Filippetti to tentatively approve
the Registrar of Voters budget request for FY24/25 in the total amount of $96,525
Vote: 7-0-0 Motion: Passed
Assessor Budget:
The Assessor, Paige Walton, began discussions by sharing that the Grand List, as of the
end of January, is $4.51 billion which is a slight decrease from last year. The department
had been streamlining how they conduct business by going almost completely paperless.
Manual data entry has been minimized by synchronizing inter-departmental software
programs.
Chairman Patterson asked about the difference between the Assessment Aide vs
Administrative Assistant position. Ms. Walton said the Aide’s job mostly backup clerical
work and does not require specific training like the Administrative Assistant.
Bill Sheehan questioned how the department reaches elderly residents who are not
online, do not seek access to online services, and do not attend the town’s Senior Center.
Ms. Walton said they could run ads in the paper or, by the suggestion of Ron Fedor, have
an article written about the department by a local newspaper for more exposure. Ms.
Walton stated that the department sends information to Senior Services to forward out in
their newsletter as well.
Chairman Patterson requested a 5-year trend analysis report to be included with next
year's budget request.
Motion by Michael Rocchetti and seconded by Joseph Filippetti to tentatively approve
the Assessor budget request for FY24/25 in the total amount of $287,213.
Vote: 7-0-0 Motion: Passed
Board of Assessment Appeals Budget:
Motion by Michael Rocchetti and seconded by Joseph Filippetti to tentatively approve
the Board of Assessment Appeals budget request for FY24/25 in the total amount of
$1,742.
Vote: 7-0-0 Motion: Passed

Board of Finance Budget Minutes — March 13, 2024
Page 3
6.
Tax Collector Budget:
The Tax Collector, Alan Wilensky, shared that his department has collected 99.2% of this
year’s Grand List. Last year at this time, tax collection was at about 98%. The department
has collected approximately $6.5million this year up 6.83% from last year. The Tax
Collector will be working in conjunction with the town’s attorney to ramp up collections.
Mr. Wilensky foresees collecting about $1.Smillion by the end of the FY24.
Members of board commended the Tax Collector on his accomplishments through this
past year. Ron Fedor questioned if there were other companies the town could utilize
other than Quality Data Service (QDS). Mr. Wilensky said there are very few other
businesses that do what QDS does so the town is limited in options. Given another choice
of businesses to use, the Tax Collector prefers QDS and appreciates the relationship they
have established.
Corrections to the budget backup documents were suggested as the board members
noticed discrepancies between the summary page and paperwork. Mr. Wilensky will be
sure corrections are made as the budget passes to the next board for review.
Motion by Michael Rocchetti and seconded by Joseph Filippetti to tentatively approve
the Tax Collector budget request for FY24/25 in the total amount of $232,331.
Vote: 7-0-0 Motion: Passed
Town Clerk Budget:
David Campo, Town Clerk, began discussions by thanking his staff for their consistent and
eloquent response to the town’s concerns as the first level of contact with residents. He
stated that they try to run the department as lean as possible with marginal increases
after some reorganization (like storage management) in the office this past year.
Bill Sheehan congratulated Mr. Campo and his assistant for being certified town clerks in
the State of Connecticut.
Ron Fedor asked if Mr. Campo was aware of the new Cyber Security System being looked
at by IT for the Town. Mr. Campo had indicated his department utilizes thumb drives for
data storage and the firewall of the new security program may render that type of
storage useless. The Town Clerk was certain they would work out a system compatible
with IT’s new security program and has backup systems in place if the thumb drives are
no longer permitted.
Glenn Patterson asked and received clarification from the Town Clerk that the Avenu
Equipment Rental line was a renewal of an existing contract that included an increase in
rates for certain supplies/features.

Board of Finance Budget Minutes ~ March 13, 2024
Page 4
Motion by Michael Rocchetti and seconded by Joseph Filippetti to tentatively approve
the Town Clerk budget request for FY24/25 in the total amount of $264,849,
Vote: 7- 0 Motion: Passed
Representative Town Meeting Budget:
Motion by Michael Rocchetti and seconded by Joseph Filippetti to tentatively approve
the Representative Town Meeting budget request for FY24/25 in the total amount of
$18,903.
Vote: 7-0-0 Motion: Passed
Board of Selectmen Budget:
1* Selectman, Rob Brule, spoke about new staffing in his department. An additional
administrative assistant will be added when the Executive Administrative Assistant is
absent. This ensures that the office does not stop working.
Bill Sheehan asked how many people represent the cost in the Administrative section as
no detail of number of individuals is present in the backup. 1* Selectman Brule stated
that one administrative person is working at a time, not both. Mr. Sheehan stated it is in
the Budgetary Guidelines to present this information to the Boards.
Mr. Sheehan continued his questions by asking about the status of the State of
Connecticut closing the project on Cross Road. Mr. Brule answered that the state is
working on closure but is waiting for certain aspects of the job to be signed off as is
typical of any state work. Mr. Sheehan asked about JR Consulting and if they had any
experience with municipalities when Mr. Brule decided to use them. The 1% Selectman
said he used them several years ago and knew of them from his previous job. Mr. Brule
added that training has been added to his budget. Mr. Sheehan inquired about The Rise
Group and if this has been “given up on”, Mr. Brule answered that he never gives up on
anything and he meets with them regularly.
Chairman Patterson noted that a correction needed to be made to line 53020 - the
summary sheet says $1500 but the backup says $800 on page 3. This was noted by the 1
Selectman and he said corrections will be made for next Board review.
Bill Sheehan made a comment that he made last year as well: He said the entire budget
could use more detail. He stated that this budget from the 1* Selectman was the
sketchiest of all budgets. It does not give a good understanding of how the office spends
money. Mr. Sheehan shared his disappointment that this was not done and mentioned
that the 1% Selectman’s budget should set the example to all other departments’ budget
presentations.

Board of Finance Budget Minutes ~ March 13, 2024
Page 5
10.
Motion by Michael Rocchetti and seconded by Joseph Filippetti to tentatively approve
the Board of Selectment budget request for FY24/25 in the total amount of $206,405.
Vote: 7-0-0 Motion: Passed
Adjournment:
Motion by Robert Tuneski and seconded by Ron Fedor to adjourn the Budget Meeting of
the Board of Finance at 9:01 p.m.
Vote: 7-0-0 Motion: Passed
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fetlecca L. Hall, Secretary C
Respectfully submitted
l)WHA
John Shéehan, Clerk