►
Description
City of Groton municipal meeting: Committee of the Whole Special Meeting April 13, 2020. To view the agenda click the link below.
Link: http://cityofgroton.com/event/special-committee-of-the-whole-agenda-12/?instance_id=3067
A
A
Okay,
who
continued
pursuant
to
the
state
of
Connecticut
executive
order,
number
7b,
protection
of
public
health
and
safety
during
covered
nineteen
pandemic
and
response
further
suspension
or
modification
of
statutes
dated
March
14
2020,
twenty
suspending
in-person
meeting
requirements.
All
public
meetings
will
be
closed
to
the
public.
At
this
time,
public
means
will
be
televised
in
real
time.
On
Groton
municipal
television
channel
two
and
online
I
have
a
proclamation
that
I
would
like
to
read
from
the
I.
C
D
A
Thank
you
for
all
that
you
do
and
for
your
leadership
at
the
wonderful
Ed's,
a
water
treatment
plant
and
continued
success.
I
would
like
to
give
a
coven
19
update,
we're
a
skeleton
crew
in
the
Municipal
Building.
Now
we
are
still
providing
services
for
those
of
you
that
are
interested
in
what
services
we
have.
Please
call
the
department
and
you
can
schedule
an
appointment
if
they're,
providing
new
services,
police,
fire,
trash
and
recycle
are
in
full
status,
so
those
are
considered
essential
and
we
are
still
providing
those
electric
water
and
sewer.
A
A
A
Department
of
Emergency
Management
and
homeland
security
website,
Health,
District
and
legislators
to
get
rapid
test
kits
for
electric
boats.
Electric
boat
can
test
their
personnel
and
establish
priorities
for
them.
We
are
working
with
the
town
and
the
governor
with
executive
order,
7s
and
7w
regarding
tax
deferment
for
those
that
are
impacted
by
the
cove
at
nineteen
pandemic.
The
decision
has
not
been
completely
made,
but
that's
required
to
be
decided
and
voted
upon
by
April
25th
the
beaches
and
the
parks
are
still
open.
A
I
have
not
closed
the
beaches
or
parks
I
remind
you
that
if
you
go
to
the
beaches
and
parks
that
no
smoking
is
allowed
at
the
beaches
of
the
parks.
Also,
if
you
walk
your
pets,
make
sure
that
are
on
a
leash
and
pets
are
not
allowed
in
the
water
or
on
the
sand,
so
maintain
social,
distancing.
There's
a
lot
went
down
there
today
and
been
down
there
in
the
past
few
days.
A
There's
a
lot
of
cars
that
are
there,
but
there
aren't
many
people
out
walking
those
people
that
are
out
walking
are
in
groups
of
two.
Maybe
three
max
remember.
If
you
go
down
there,
even
if
you
social
distance,
if
you
got
a
group
greater
than
five
you're
breaking
the
executive
order,
so
the
groups
of
five
or
less
six
foot
distancing
so
one
of
the
things
that
we
need
to
do.
We
need
to
continue
to
maintain
social
distancing,
wash
your
hands
if
you,
if
you
can't
wash
your
hands,
frequently
use
some
kind
of
hand.
A
Sanitizer
also
bleach
wipes
to
wipe
down
and
disinfect
for
things
that
you
touch
and
wear
mask.
If
you
are
going
out
somewhere,
for
example,
the
grocery
store
Walmart
Lowe's
any
place
where
you
cannot
safely
socially
distance.
Wear
your
mask
also
consider
wearing
gloves.
But
if
you
wear
your
gloves,
remember
whatever
you
touch
gets
on
that
glove
and
whatever
gets
on
that
glove
now
goes
to
the
next
thing
you
touch.
A
So,
if
you're,
not
if
you're,
not
paying
attention
to
what
you're
touching
and
what's
on
your
hands,
you're
actually
doing
yourself
a
disservice
and
you're
spreading
the
you're
potentially
spray
to
the
contamination.
When
you
take
off
your
gloves,
remove
them
inside
out,
so
the
contamination
is
inside
and
then
dispose
of
the
gloves
and
your
use
mask
in
the
trash
receptacle,
don't
throw
them
on
the
ground.
Your
trash,
clean
up
after
yourself.
We
all.
We
learned
that
when
we
were
children,
pick
up
your
toys
clean
up
after
yourself,
don't
make
a
mess
all
right.
A
for
the
electors
of
the
city
of
Groton
and
all
others
qualified
to
vote
to
solicit
input
from
them
concerning
the
proposed
FY
2021
city
of
Groton
budget
pursuant
to
the
state
of
Connecticut
executive
order,
number
7b,
protection
of
Public,
Health
and
Safety
during
covered
19
pandemic
response,
further
suspension
or
modification
of
statutes
dated
March
14
2020.
This
is
spending
in
person
open
meeting
requirements.
All
public
meetings
will
be
closed
to
the
public.
At
this
time,
public
meetings
will
be
televised
in
real
time
on
Groton,
municipal
television,
channel
2
and
online
budget.
A
A
So
the
first
thing
we're
going
to
talk
about
today
is
referral
six,
nine,
zero
city
budget,
presentations,
I,
think
the
council,
oh
I'm,
sorry
you're
right,
you
are
correct.
Thank
you.
The
clerk
Patrick,
the
first
thing
we're
going
to
do
is
we're
going
to
do
767,
which
is
building
and
zoning
vehicle
purchase.
So
with
that
Carlton
Smith
built
for
the
building
and
zoning
inspector
will
lead
off
good.
E
Evening,
mayor
good
evening,
councillors
I
am
here
to
request
a
an
approval
to
replace
a
2007
Chevy
Cobalt.
There
is
currently
being
used.
I
have
some
we've.
We've
evaluated
it
because
of
some
of
the
repairs
that
have
been
requested
on
the
vehicle
for
new
struts
in
the
front.
The
struts
and
two
front
tires
come
to
1050,
seven
dollars
and
73
cents
on
the
evaluation
with
the
kelley
blue,
blue
blue.
Look,
it
came.
E
E
F
D
D
A
F
A
E
F
F
F
D
It
does
make
sense
in
some
cases
to
purchase
in
bulk.
There
are
certain
instances
like
with
this
vehicle.
We
actually
use
the
state
bid
list,
so
the
state
will
put
out
a
competitive
bid
for
each
type
of
vehicle
and
all
the
or
all
vendors
are
able
to
put
in
a
bid,
and
then
the
state
takes
the
best
one
and
then
recommends
that
and
what
that
does
is
set.
The
reduction
in
the
manufacturer
suggested
retail
price
and
then
another
percentage
off
of
any
add-ons
to
it.
A
The
challenge
that
we've
looked
at
it
that
we
come
across
here
that
we
looked
at
because
I've
talked
to
some
department
heads
and
to
find
an
instructor.
You
us
about
this-
is
that
we
would
need
to
we'd
have
to
basically
to
get
this
started.
You'd
have
to
double
fund,
meaning
you'd
have
to
buy
the
vehicles
that
you
need
and
then
develop.
The
escrow
account
in
order
to
have
the
money
to
buy
the
the
the
vehicles
in
the
future.
So
that
is
one
of
the
reasons
why
I'm
not
pursuing
that
now
now.
A
Having
said
that,
when
you
guys,
when
I
finally
give
you
the
budgets
and
you
look
at
the
budget,
one
of
the
things
that
I'm
doing
with
the
fire
department
this
year
is
we're
gonna
put
aside
110
150
we're
putting
aside
150
thousand
dollars
because
we're
fixing
that
or
we
are
repairing
the
truck
that
we
have
now.
So
the
good
news
is
we'll
have
a
relatively
new
truck.
A
The
bad
news
is,
the
end
of
life
will
end
at
the
same
time,
another
expensive
truck
ends,
and
so
what
I'm
trying
to
do
instead
of
having
to
to
bond
both
those
out
15
years
from
now,
is
put
aside
money
make
that
commitment
and
then
have
money
set
aside
so
that
we
can
buy
one
of
the
trucks
outright
and
then
only
have
to
bond
the
other
truck,
so
we're
gonna
I'm,
looking
at
doing
a
hybrid
kind
of
program
with
the
fire
department.
Does
that
answer
your
question?
A
A
A
A
A
We
sent
you
the
mayor's
budget
message,
the
first
three
pages
of
the
well
actually
page
I,
and
then
we
sent
you
three
pages
for
revenues
and
expenses
with
the
cover
letter,
and
basically
it
is
dear
members
of
the
City
Council,
as
required
by
article
6,
section
2
alpha
of
the
Charter
I,
submit
to
you.
The
proposed
budget
for
fiscal
year,
2021
FY
2021
I
am
submitting
a
budget
which
includes
a
decrease
of
1
million
five
hundred
thirteen
thousand
and
three
dollars
in
comparison
to
FY
2020.
A
The
large
decrease
in
the
proposed
budget
is
based
on
the
prior
year
increase
in
building
permit
revenues.
This
budget
also
includes
contractual
services
for
assistant,
with
the
additional
inspections
that
may
be
required.
These
additional
contractual
services
will
be
funded
through
the
use
of
fund
balance
based
on
unexpected
contractual
services
that
were
budgeted
for
and
FY
2020.
The
budget
also
follows
the
FY
2020
budget
with
funding
for
capital
projects
and
continues
efforts
to
reserve
funds
for
future
purchases
of
vehicles.
The
use
of
undesignated
fund
balance
will
be
$1,850,000.
A
This
would
leave
a
healthy
reserve
of
twenty
three
point:
zero,
seven
percent,
slightly
more
than
FY
2020.
The
proposed
budget
would
produce.
No
change
in
the
mill
rate,
maintain
the
mill
rate
of
four
point:
three:
zero
Mills:
the
city
continues
to
be
fiscally
responsible,
I
am
behind
in
getting
you
the
budget
books
you'll
get
the
budget
books
this
week.
There
were
some
thank
ordered.
The
Charter
you're
supposed
to
have
them
on
the
6th.
I
failed
to
do
that.
A
There's
lots
of
reasons,
but
with
the
Cova
denied
teen
thing
going
on
and
then
I
had
a
budget
that
was
that
was
prepared
with
a
slight
increase
and
then
based
on
the
town
council
and
the
RTM
I
decided
to
look
harder
at
our
budget
and
Ron
uhas
and
I
went
through
the
budget
to
have
the
budget
that
I'm
going
to
present
to
you
that
you're
going
to
get
in
the
next
couple
days,
and
then
we
will
start
our
budget
review
process.
Next
Monday
a
couple
things:
the
reserve
will
be
a
23%.
A
The
recommendation
from
the
bond
council
is
between
20
and
25
percent,
so
that
puts
us
in
the
middle
and
that's
a
good
place
to
be.
Some
people
may
question
the
use
of
the
of
the
fund
balance,
but
the
fund
balance
were
being
fiscally
prudent
based
on
the
expenditures
and
the
expectation
of
revenues
for
this
year
with
permit
fees.
A
Also,
if
you
look
at
the
annual
raises,
plus
the
increases
that
non-departmental,
meaning
insurances,
opah
workers,
comp
those
kind
of
things
we
had
about
a
three
to
a
four
percent
increase
in
those
line
items
and
yet
we're
still
able
to
come
in
at
four
point
three
mils.
So
we
are
being
sensitive
to
the
taxpayers.
We
I
recognize
and
understand
what
they
are
going
through
and
so
we're
trying
to
be
consistent
with
what
the
town
is
going
to
do,
and
we
were.
A
A
D
So
normally
it
was
going
to
be
our
March
cow
before
everything
kind
of
went,
sideways
got
past
it.
The
order
from
the
partner
from
RSM
was
going
to
come
in
and
do
his
annual
overview
of
the
June
30
of
19
audit,
with
everything
going
on
I
will
just
go
through
it
rather
quickly
today
and
kind
of
give
you
the
highlights
that
he
would
have
done,
and
then,
if
we
have
questions,
we
can
go
through
those.
So
you
have
your
reports
in
front
of
you.
Then
you
go
to
page
one.
That's
the
the
independent
auditors
report.
D
This
is
the
auditors
opinion
on
our
financials.
The
financial
statements
are
the
city's
responsibility.
That's
all
the
city,
information
and
the
auditors
responsibility
to
just
give
an
opinion
on
that
information
they're.
Their
actual
opinion
is
on
page
two
on
the
top,
which
was
a
non-qualified
opinion
or
a
clean
opinion,
meaning
that
there
was
no
issues
with
with
the
audit.
D
If
we
flip
now
to
page
13,
that's
where
the
financials
start
from
a
number
standpoint,
and
it
starts
out
with
the
government-wide
roll-up,
which
is
on
page
13
and
14.
This
is
where
it
takes
all
the
city's
operations,
the
trust
funds
and
puts
them
kind
of
into
one
spot
to
make
it
look
like
if
it
were
a
business,
has
to
everything
in
one
in
one
area
as
opposed
to
the
fund
accounting,
which
kind
of
has
it
all
spread
of
spread
apart.
D
D
If
we
go
to
page
15
and
16,
that's
where
the
governmental
funds
are
located,
which
made
up
with
a
general
fund
and
the
non
major
fund,
the
complete
listing
of
the
non
major
funds
can
be
found
on
page
79
and
80,
which
include
all
the
special
revenue,
funds
and
capital
project
funds
and
the
permanent
funds.
The
those
funds
are
all
smaller,
so
they
just
combine
them
all
into
one.
If
they're
in
the
past
you
may
remember,
last
year,
the
equipment
replacement
fund
was
considered.
A
major
fund.
D
As
of
June
30th
2018,
the
general
fund
had
fund
balance
is
6.7
million,
of
which
5.6
million
was
unrestricted.
The
key
financial
measure
is
the
unrestricted
fund
balance
as
a
percentage
of
expenditures.
This
was
thirty
six
point:
eight
percent,
as
of
June
30th,
2019,
based
on
actual
expenditures
and
the
fund
balance.
This
is
the
number
that
the
mayor
just
spoke
about
where
they
recommend
the
rating
agency
between
the
twenty
and
twenty
five
percent,
so
it
is
on
the
high
side.
D
However,
when
you
compare
that
fund
balance
the
unrestricted
with
the
budgeted
twenty
twenty
expenditures,
as
your
call,
we
had
a
increase
last
year.
That
number
is
twenty.
Eight
point,
nine
percent.
So,
while
looking
at
it,
that
is
what
allowed
us
to
use
utilize.
The
fund
balance
more
going
into
this
upcoming
budget.
D
D
If
we
flip
the
page,
18
18
to
21
are
the
proprietary
funds
which
include
the
electric,
the
water
and
sewer
fund,
as
well
as
the
internal
service
fund,
which
is
worth
which
the
fund
that
maintains
all
the
self-funded
insurance
programs
and
such
that's,
where
that's
located
there,
we've
cooked
the
page,
23
and
24.
Those
are
the
trust
funds
which
consent
its
consist
of
the
pension
and
the
other
other
post-employment
benefit
trust
fund.
Those
are
combined
into
one
here.
D
D
No.11,
which
starts
on
page
50,
talks
about
the
pension
and
the
other
post-employment
benefits
trust
funds.
It's
always
a
main
target.
Those
are
bigger
funds
when,
when
it
comes
to
dollars
and
cents
in
there-
and
that
is
one
of
the
liabilities
that
we
talked
about,
one
of
the
common
questions
asked
is:
what
is
the
funding
of
these
plans
as
of
June
30th
2019?
The
funding
for
the
pension
plan
was
ninety
three
point.
Three
seven
percent
funded
and
the
opah
trust
fund
was
forty
one
point
three.
Four
percent
again.
D
This
liability
is
truly
taken
as
a
snapshot
as
of
June
30th.
So
if
the
market
is
good,
that
number
may
be
up
if
the
market's
bad
it
could
be
down.
But
overall,
the
key
thing
is
that
the
pension
is
in
a
really
good
spot
being
funded
in
that
ninety
ninety
three
percent
bracket,
the
opamp,
is
lagging
behind
it.
That's
rather
new
I
believe
that
fund
was
started
in
2009
timeframe,
so
that
is
getting
caught
up.
We
have
been
diligent
in
with
continuing
to
fund
that
plan
and
not
cut
that
out
of
the
budget
to
maintain.
D
A
D
This
is
something
that
first
goes
to
the
Retirement
Board
and
goes
to
them
for
an
action
item.
First,
what
this
is
is
a
cost-of-living
adjustment
based
on
his
kind
of
an
historical
process
that
was
set
up,
which
was
the
use
of
the
the
annual
increase
in
the
CPI
W,
which,
from
2018
to
2017.
That
increase
was
one
point.
Six
six
percent
taken
a
quarter
of
that
increase.
It
brought
the
recommended
Cola
increase
for
pre
2017
retirees
to
a
point,
four
two
percent
increase
for
the
year.
D
D
What
was
sent
out
as
part
of
your
packet
was
the
actuarial
cost
estimate
for
this
you'll
see
the
impact
on
our
actuarial,
determined
contribution.
The
ADC
would
be
$25,000
a
year.
The
impact
overall
liability
would
be
roughly
one
hundred
and
eighty
eight
thousand
keep
in
mind
that
when
we
do
our
actuarial
evaluation,
there
is
a
cola
assumption
that's
in
there
and
I
believe
trying
I
believe
it's
at
like
a
two
percent
IRR
somewhere
in
that
range.
I
can't
remember
offhand,
but
it
is
more
than
this.
D
A
F
F
A
Counselor
depo
first
and
then
counselor
Sanford,
was
the
second
okay
we
are
in
the
executive
session
would
be
to
include
the
council
and
Human
Resources
and
that's
it
I.
Will
we're
gonna
I'm
going
to
take
the
laptop
into
my
office
and
call
her
and
call
her
in,
and
there
will
be
a
motion
basically
to
move
it
to
mayor
if
they
accept
it,
move
it
to
mayor
councillors.
Okay,.