Held in the Town Hall Meeting Room for the first time, the annual Three-board Meeting to review expenditure needs and fund balance expectations for the upcoming year was well organized and available to all residents due to the room’s Zoom capability.
First Selectman Mark Fiorentino began the meeting noting that “…this is the first step in the preparation of the municipal budget. It is an opportunity to hear what the priorities of the three boards are.”
The Plus-One Budget is a view of big-ticket items such as contractual obligations, anticipated benefit and insurance costs, utilities and other mandated expenses. The Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education present their Plus-Ones to the Board of Finance at the Three-board Meeting in mid-January, after which the BOF develops a preliminary budget guideline by the end of January. After three budget workshops, a finalized guideline is adopted in February.
Reporting for the Board of Selectmen, Fiorentino commented on the Plus-One budget packet that was available to all residents (go to granby-ct.gov and click on Public Documents/budgets reports) and was displayed on the large screen in the meeting room. It was clear that the largest costs are in utilities and payroll. Town Manager Erica Robertson noted that the BOS Plus-One was basically a maintenance budget. It fulfills mandated costs and contractual obligations for wages. Moderate increases in such items as software application fees are minimal in comparison to the large increases in fuel, electricity, waste collection fees and winter materials such as sand and road chemicals.
Two full-time patrol officers and one full time public works person were requested, but not funded in this budget. Robertson hopes that as the strategic plan is developed, these positions can be added next year. The proposed BOS Plus-One for town operation expenditures shows a 4.98 percent increase, not likely to be acceptable to the BOF. Robertson said she looked forward “to working together to meet the needs of our residents while being conservative in our budgeting.”
BOE Chair Sarah Thrall presented the BOE Plus-One, developed in alignment with the “Moving Forward Together Strategic Plan 2021-2025” for the Granby schools. The Board’s financial challenges include the rising cost of utilities, transportation and significant increases in special education expenses. Also, costs from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (initiated in 2020) have been transferred to the BOE operating budget; the ESSER grants paid in part for texts and special education costs. The BOE Plus-One shows a 5.94 percent increase.
In discussing the BOE budget, BOF member Jenny Emery noted that the published decrease in enrollment was dramatic. Superintendent Dr. Jordan Grossman explained that the disparity was investigated with a second polling company when it was noticed, but a definitive answer had not been reached. With all the new housing at the Grand, the 280 and Harness Way, it would seem that enrollment is going to increase rather than decrease.
BOF chair Mike Guarco wants to keep the mill rate change under 2 percent. It may be possible to keep the rate low by drawing more from the general fund. He noted that the sizeable fuel increases affect all the boards. At the time of the Three-board Meeting Guarco had no real changes yet in place from last year’s budget because the final town budget is dependent on the governor’s budget and that is not announced until the first Wednesday of February. For more details on finances, see Guarco’s article on beginning on page 1.
BOF member Al Wilke noted that last year’s increase in the grand list was helpful. He asked Robertson if she could predict any such increase this year. She replied that she did not have any figures at this point but expected there would be an increase as a result of the new housing. Wilke suggested that a study of cost-saving measures that have been taken by the BOE and BOS should be undertaken. “Every dollar we save in a given year is one we don’t have to spend in the next one,” he noted.
Bill Regan on Zoom asked if the boards can shop for electricity and fuel the way homeowners can. Robertson replied that yes, the boards do just that.
With no further input from the public, Fiorentino closed the meeting.