Minutes

Connecticut River Valley Council of Elected Officials

March 25, 2009

 

Attendance:  Please see attached list

 

            The meeting was called to order at 12:10 p.m. at the Sage on the Waterfall in Chester CT.  Tom Marsh introduced the new owner of the restaurant Peter DeNapolis. A roll call of the members followed.

 

1.  Minutes:  The minutes of February 25th were noted, but approval of the minutes was waived.

 

2. Nomination of Officers:  A vote was taken for approval of nominated officers:  Tom Marsh, Chairman, Rich Cabral, Vice Chairman, Jon Brayshaw, Secretary, Mike Pace made a motion to accept the new slate of officers, Dick Smith seconded the motion. All were in favor.

 

3. Business

            1. Legislative Committee Reports

                        Joe Courtney’s Office:  None

                        Governor Rell’s Representative, Jeff Nelson: 

                        Current budget deficit is $667 million

                        Legislative budget is expected in April.

                        Stimulus projects: go to www.recovery.ct.gov  to see shovel ready town projects.              The projects are an on-going process.

                        Full slate of savings has not been approved by legislature.

                        There is an $8billion short fall over next several years.                   

            A budget discussion ensued, and it was suggested that the selectmen not make drastic cuts right now and that if a good budget is completed in July, there will be fewer surprises in January.

            2. Discussion of future meeting locations and business after hours event:

                        The questions of moving the CRVCEO meeting sites each month was discussed. A suggestion was made to meet quarterly, on the first and last month of each quarter...  Several members thought the meeting should have a 12-month schedule listing the host town each month.          

                        Rich Cabral asked that the selectmen email him at rcabral@townofkillingworth.com with their suggestions regarding location and frequency of CRVCEO meetings.

                        An after hours meeting might draw the legislators to attend the meetings or a breakfast meeting in Hartford might be a consideration. Rich will review the suggestions and respond to the selectmen.

            Dick Smith said the May 20th meeting from 10:00 a.m.-2:00p.m. in the State Capitol sponsored by COST is an important meeting and advised the selectmen to attend.  There will be publicity sent our shortly concerning this meeting. He cautioned that there must be contact with the legislators.

            Mark Walter brought up the issue of the regionalism of the probate court.  Do we want to redefine where we want our regional probate sites to be, or do we want the State to decide?

            Mike Pace said that putting a plan together and presenting it to Hartford is far better than having a plan dictated to us.  Jeff noted that the probate court issue is a big fiscal issue, the courts lose money yearly and are earmarked for cutbacks.

            Susan Bransfield said that the Middletown Regional Probate system works very well and suggested we ask that probate judge to speak at one of the CRVCEO meetings.

 

5. Old Business

            1. Roundtable Discussion:  Tom asked each selectman to briefly discuss their tenure and background: 

            Dick Smith, Deep River:  20 years experience as selectman and has served on boards and commissions in Hartford. 

            Phil Miller, Essex:  He is serving his third term.  Phil appreciates the expertise and knowledge of the members of the CRVCEO. 

            Sue Bransfield, Portland:  She sits of board of COST this year and is delighted to meet people from all of the State.  Sue previously worked for the Dept. of Education.  This is her third term.

            Jeremy Shingleton, Cromwell:  This is his first year.  Previously, Jeremy was a VP at Webster Bank.  His area of expertise is finance, and he is trying to make the town run more efficiently.  He also manages the town’s pension portfolio.  His emphasis is on economic development.

            Laura Francis, Durham:  Laura was the town clerk for a number of years, and this is her first term as selectwoman. 

            Tom Marsh, Chester: Tom is in his second term, and said the first two years were difficult.  He has found the members of the CRVCEO very helpful. The regionalism issue is of great concern to him.  Tom intends to get more involved with COST and CCM.

            Tim Griswold, Old Lyme:  Tim has served 6 terms, and served 18 years on the Board of Finance prior to becoming the first selectman.  He has recently hired a finance director.  He believes volunteer appointments are important and keeps in contact with his volunteers serving on town committees as much as possible.

            Rich Cabral, Killingworth:  Rich said things are good in Killingworth.  He asked that selectmen be aware of Region II DEMHS meetings scheduled in May, one in Cheshire and one in Guilford.  He noted that Mike Pace is on the Board of the ETD, and things are coming along quite well with that agency.

            Mike Pace, Old Saybrook:  Mike has been 10 years as first selectman.  His previous career was in education. 

            Tony Bondi, Haddam:  Tony served on the Board of Education for 8 years and was a volunteer fireman for the town.  In 1999 he ran for 1st selectman. 

            Mark Walter, East Haddam:  Mark worked for 25 years in sales.  He enjoys bringing the right people together resulting in a win. 

            Laura Francis noted she is active in CCM and raised the issue of changes to the resident state trooper program.  The town of Durham has had 1 state trooper since 1997.  She distributed information about the COPS grant. Funding opportunities are available through DEP and are reviewed with officials at the OPM.  Laura would like to hire another trooper.  Several selectmen suggested she consider part time retired policemen who have their benefits and would like to work 18 or so hours a week.

            Laura asked if the selectmen care to join several towns in a joint bidding project; thereby lowering costs.  She asked the selectmen to contact her if they want to lower their costs through joint bidding.

            A CIRMA – MIRMA discussion took place.  Selectmen were cautioned to make certain they have a policy statement on rating of plan selected.  MIRMA might not be the best choice.

            2. 17-Town Regional Update:  Jean spoke briefly on the issue and noted that all members received an overview of CRERPA and the MidState RPA. Options were noted and discussed. 

            Geoff Colegrove explained that the two RPAs were quite similar.  He also noted that his FTE is 40 hours, while CRERPA’s is 35. He said that parallel situations exist.  Geoff felt that it would be wise to wait until the OPM study is finished in 2011 to discuss regionalism. Efficiency through regionalism is not necessarily true. He maintains that the towns need time to study the OPM report and assimilate the issues.

            Tom Marsh suggested that CRERPA craft a letter about waiting until 2011 concerning regionalism until the study is completed.

            Motion to adjourn was made by Rich Cabral, seconded by Tom Marsh.  All were in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Pat Anthony, Clerk