Over the course of two Monday meetings April 13 and 20, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal and Town Finance Director Robert Tait briefed the Boards of Finance and Selectmen on whether the COVID-19 situation has inordinately drawn down the current operating budget.

The first selectman also offered a few preliminary ideas about how to maintain conservative control on 2020-21 budget spending given the unknowns facing Newtown as the new fiscal year rolls out in July.

Rosenthal told both boards while the Newtown Community Center and Edmond Town Hall are facing revenue shortfalls from curtailed activities and events, Newtown’s municipal budget has so far been spared any substantial damage from COVID-19 related hits.

During a Zoom hosted Board of Finance meeting April 13, Rosenthal was asked to make his first official report on implications of the coronavirus on Newtown’s operating budget. He covered similar ground with Selectmen Jeff Capeci and Maureen Crick Owen last Monday.

Access BOF meeting audio by CLICKING HERE

During his report to the officials, Rosenthal told finance board members Sandy Roussas, Keith Alexander, Ned Simpson, Chris Gardner, and John Madzula (Matthew Mihalcik was absent) that operational savings is currently providing flexibility to day to day spending — roughly totaling $350,000. He also told selectmen that the school district was currently on track to produce about a $1 million surplus come June 30 and the end of the current fiscal cycle.

Despite added costs for increased acquisitions of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and personnel costs for additional cleaning and sanitizing of municipal facilities and vehicles, the first selectman said the town has not incurred any budget impact.

Rosenthal did warn that added cleanup costs related to the independent volunteer ambulance service may require a municipal contribution in addition to the already budgeted costs underwriting supplemental paramedic services and the biannual contribution toward ambulance vehicle replacement.

He also told the finance board that Edmond Town Hall’s Board of Managers was projecting losses in excess of $34,000 in the coming weeks as the normally busy theater, gym, Alexandria Room, and meeting rooms sit empty with cancellations mounting.

On the other hand, Rosenthal said the Community Center is facing a current operating loss of approximately $138,000. This is the result of canceling already booked events, freezing existing memberships, and not being able to activate any new ones that were processed in the days before the facility closed under state orders in response to the virus emergency.

Health Plan Unaffected

Both boards asked about any increased burdens affecting the town’s self-insured health plan. Tait responded saying the fund is still in excellent shape as co-pays are not being issued. He added that town and school staff are generally postponing any elective doctor visits and procedures, which also helps preserve the health plan fund balance.

Finance Vice-Chair Keith Alexander asked what would happen if claims somehow began to spike, and Tait reminded him the town has maintained a stop-gap insurance policy for just such an emergency that covers up to $125,000 per claim if the fund is somehow exhausted.

Rosenthal already previewed his plan to recommend the Legislative Council move to reduce the 2020-21 budget request to produce a zero tax increase. (Read that report by clicking the link below)

Council Readies For Next Steps In COVID Impacted Budget Process

The first selectman told both boards the proposed zero-increase budget was logical and appropriate since for the first time, voters would not be endorsing or rejecting the town and school spending plans at referendum. However, before the council acts to ratify an adjusted budget, they would need to agree on a couple of related matters.

First would be whether to grant up to a 90-day deferment to local property taxpayers whose first installments would be due July 1. The alternative would be to grant a reduced interest rate on delinquent payments while keeping the July 1 due date in place.

Rosenthal told both boards he would lobby strongly for the 90-day deferment. By going that route, the first selectman warned that 2020-21 budget allocations would need to be monitored very carefully.

He said if the financial picture worsened measurably, he would rather have a plan in place beforehand, saying there still might be a need for intra-year budget reductions. Rosenthal said he was also planning to freeze all but critical hiring for the time being, and would be asking Superintendent of Schools Lorrie Rodrigue to consider following that practice as well.

Selectman Crick Owen said she approved of the first selectman’s plans saying it is “the right thing to do.” She agreed that taking a conservative approach now and with the new budget “makes a lot of sense to me.”

Rosenthal said if the council acts at its April 22 special meeting to reduce the 2020-21 budget requests along his suggested metrics, then public advisories about the emergency adoption process would begin in The Newtown Bee and through other sources including the town’s “News & Information” e-mail blasts and other media sources.

He said at the council’s meeting on May 6, members of the public could comment on the adjusted budget proposals. If there was no substantive comments requiring further deliberation, the council could act at that or its May meeting on the 20th.

The first selectman said that even if the budget was ratified on May 20, there would be sufficient time to print and process tax bills for mailing. He added that holding off until at least early May gives time for folks to digest any supplemental information circulating about the budget proposals and the major capital bonding authorizations that would be part of the council’s action.

In the coming weeks, The Newtown Bee will also provide added reporting to help inform taxpayers about these projects.