Is Newtown’s top government structure better off without a Board of Finance?

That question was quickly dismissed as a non-starter as finance board members reviewed proposed language being prepared for the Legislative Council’s Charter Charge Committee and for possible consideration once a 2021 Charter Revision Commission is seated in a few weeks.

That is not to say that board of finance members were anxious to maintain the status quo — quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. Led by Democrat Ned Simpson, who drafted a number of proposals for charter consideration, the board seemed willing to support some shifting in responsibilities.

Primarily, the ideas Simpson floated during a regular meeting January 11 would — if approved and forwarded to the charter panel — call for minimizing the finance board’s role in reviewing and approving a number of routine appropriations and expenditures.

This would not only expedite the handling of certain defined matters as they flow between the originating boards of selectmen or education and the council, but it would also free up elected finance officials to perform deeper analysis of more short, medium, and long-term capital proposals and the implications of bonding or other means of underwriting.

But the first question Simpson floated — whether it was time for Newtown to eliminate even having a board of finance — was quickly dismissed by each of his colleagues.

Transitioning to other options for consideration, Simpson then suggested his fellow members weigh whether the board should be charged in the charter with being the town’s ultimate fiscal authority.

That would make the finance board the final decision-making body in all significant matters involving financial matters instead of the council. However, Vice-Chair Sandy Roussas believed this option would not be embraced by the council.

Simpson also noted that statutes he reviewed were not specific — it was unclear whether that type of localized governmental structure could exist under Connecticut law.

Another option Simpson suggested seemed to receive a more solid endorsement. Documentation that he shared during the discussion laid out the details for possible shifts in duties for consideration.

Detailed Financial Planning

One possibility would be to involve future boards of finance in more detailed financial planning for the community and limiting the board’s involvement in transfers unless they were substantial.

The suggested change would be from having the finance board review and assess virtually all financial operations like transfers and regular and special appropriations to only being involved in transfers and regular and special appropriations over $100,000.

A similar $100,000 minimum would be applied in situations involving the submission of financial impact statements related to grants or other forms of financial assistance for finance board review.

Regarding freeing up finance officials to become more involved in deep dive financial analysis, the Simpson proposal for council and possible charter commission consideration would involve the board publishing an annual review of town finances reflecting recent trends, actuals relative to forecasts, and forecasts for future measures of the financial state of the town.

This would encompass major sources of revenue — property tax, grants, and other — and expenditures, Simpson suggested.

“Input advice for this report will be sought from town boards, commissions and committees, and departments such as Board of Education, Board of Selectmen, Legislative Council, Pension Commission, Economic Development, Sustainable Energy, Planning and Zoning, Self-Funded Health Insurance Fund Commission, Appraiser’s office, and Business Advisory Committee,” the proposal suggests. “Data may also be obtained from groups such Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Realtors.”

That project would also involve tracking data including:

*Population demographics as it relates to use of town services and schools enrollment.

*Grand List projections considering substantial development and construction projects in the pipeline, real estate trends, and other considerations.

*Revenue forecasts, general funds based on the Grand List, state and federal funding, grants, and fee income with consideration given to both grant opportunities and major grants to the town set to expire.

*Expense forecasts modeling inflation factors and known non-routine expenses.

*A ten-year capital improvement plan (CIP-10) where recommendations involving capital asset projects in years one through five are already established in the charter, but adding provisions for “the development of regulations governing the Capital Improvement Plan for years six through ten and any subsequent amendments to the regulation becoming the responsibility of the Board of Finance.”

Impact Planning And ROI

In his proposal, Simpson also received buy-in from his colleagues over the concept of the finance board becoming more of a financial detail working arm of the council. Among the new set of duties would be establishing the board as the body that scrutinizes return-on-investment, cost savings, and financial impact.

Simpson said that while the charter currently identifies his board as having review of financial impact statements, the language to that effect should be strengthened. He also suggested considering an opportunity for the finance board to more rigorously review the CAFR, Pension Commission, and Self-Funded Health Insurance Fund Commission.

Under Simpson’s proposal, the board would summarize key trends, findings, and any recommendations for action to the council. If that idea is eventually adopted, these items would not be presented to council except as included in board of finance summary.

His draft charter report also suggests changing the capital improvement plan (CIP) review and approval process, possibly creating a new body of recruited expert residents who would systematically assess town facilities and the operating and capital needs to maintain them.

Along with that came an involved process for structuring CIP project estimates that would involve more general “order of magnitude” estimating procedures for out-year proposals, shifting to a second and more highly detailed Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) estimating process as those projects rolled into Year 3 of the plan.

As the January 11 meeting drew to a close, finance officials decided to further discuss and refine these and possible other points into a proposal that would go to the council at the next regular finance board meeting on January 28.