Finance Director Initiates Quarterly Reporting On Capital Projects

By John Voket

Newtown Finance Director Robert Tait is continuing with his plans to expand and formalize reporting on taxpayer funded projects and public access to other local financial documentation by introducing his first draft capital projects tracker during the March 21 Board of Selectmen meeting.

During a brief presentation, Mr Tait circulated the first of what he promises will be quarterly reports that will be presented to town officials as well as posted on the town website for taxpayer perusal. The documentation will also be accessible to readers under The Bee’s “Follow the Money” document library at newtownbee.com.

“We’re trying to make this as simple as possible,” Mr Tait said of the requirement for any town department head with “ownership” of a capital project to maintain regular updates. He told selectmen that the template includes a two-page description of each project along with photos, which were black and white in the initial draft, but will be full-color in the future.

The report will also include a financial summary of each project, including the total of any bonding received and regular updates on any money spent on each project.

The finance director also requested input from selectmen, and plans to make the same presentation and request as he circulates the documents to Board of Finance and Legislative Council officials. Mr Tait said he expects the document to undergo some tweaks and design updates.

The photography of projects will show updated images as projects commence and progress toward completion, First Selectman Pat Llodra added.

Among the oldest capital projects on the report is the high school addition, which was bonded in August, 2009. According to the report, $35,805,716 has been spent on the project to date, out of the $41,576,000 authorized by taxpayers in a sweeping referendum the previous April.

Another entry bonded at the same time, the Phase 1 improvement for the Parks and Recreation maintenance building, is the only capital project on the current schedule that has retired the total amount of $825,000 required for the project.

By the same token, the second phase of improvements to that Parks and Rec facility, which has another $350,000 authorized and appropriated for bonding, is showing no expenditures made to date. After the high school expansion, the next most expensive project on the report is the Newtown Middle School roof renovation, which was estimated at $4.8 million and reduced to $4.25 million for appropriation.

Only $15,170 of that appropriation has been spent to date.

The most expensive nonschool project on the capital report is the controversial design and demolition phase of a town Parks and Rec Community Center, originally reflecting a $1 million request, but eventually appropriated at $1,425,000.

As of the first quarter report, $1,056,088 has been spent, primarily on demolition and some unanticipated hazardous material remediation that developed in process at Litchfield Hall on the Fairfield Hills campus — the site of the proposed recreation center.

The report ends with some detail on expenditures related to various projects, which also notes if projected line item aspects of any project have come in under or over budget. For example, a new phone system in the high school addition originally approved at $50,000 came in 339 percent over budget, after final expenditures of nearly $170,000 for the phone system was documented by the finance director’s office.