New Fairfield’s Board of Finance (BOF) met on Wednesday, December 21. During the meeting, they primarily discussed two topics: the 2021-2022 surpluses for the Town and school budgets and the Medical Reserve Fund.

With large 2021-2022 surpluses remaining for both the Town and school budgets, the BOF is tasked with determining how best to use those funds. Both Town and school officials created lengthy capital improvement project lists and requested that surpluses be returned to cover those fees. While in the wake of the pandemic, the full surpluses were returned, the long-standing precedent was for the BOF to return 50% or less of the funds. They acknowledged that the capital projects on the lists will need funding in the future and understand that the nonfrivolous purchases are intended to hold down future budgets. However, after lengthy discussion, the BOF nearly unanimously agreed that returning 25% of the surpluses was reasonable, with the balance of the surplus being transferred to offset a projected Medical Reserve Fund shortfall (see below).

Both Town and school officials will revise their potential spending list to 25% of their surpluses at $110K for the Town and $90K for education. Their original proposed spending included a wide range of capital improvement needs, from removing an oil tank and replacing flooring at the Middle School to computer hardware/software and well testing. One item that was questioned on the Town’s list was a $50K consulting fee for the Planning Commission—it was noted that confidence in the plan may not be high when the previous pricey plan did not include the indication that the Town would need to replace one school, let alone two.

BOF member Ms. Cheryl Reedy asked everyone to practice more “belt tightening” overall. She observed that the school district and Town have enormous capital need, “but we don’t have enormous dollars available to fund it.”

Town Treasurer Ms. Olga Melnikov detailed a plan to possibly start using a special medical fund—Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPM)—to pay retired teacher and police officer medical claims. To date all retiree claims were paid from the same general open medical account that is now slated to have a significant potential defi cit, with a moving projected estimate in the high six figures, in current year-end projections. Having served as a slowly accruing, rainy day retiree medical reserve, the multi-million dollar OPM fund would become a way to ease the many pressures that are going to affect budget planning, if approved.

Board members in attendance were split on whether this fund should be used and there was interest expressed in more fully funding the general medical account. Melnikov was asked to revise the medical report she periodically supplies to the BOF to include “more concrete” information and more frequent distribution. Melnikov stressed that much of the information is speculative with unknown variables, such as the total number, and widely ranging dollar figures, of claims. On the other side, she noted that there was unanticipated State revenue that offsets the fund, which also contributes to the difficulty in reporting. Reedy commented that, as the medical fund has begun to dip, more scrutiny is correctly focused on it. “We’ve got to have medical reports on a monthly basis so we can keep on top of this because that’s our job,” she said. The BOF will also reconvene their medical insurance subcommittee for informational purposes in the lead up to the full budget season.

At the meeting’s end, board member Ms. Thora Perkins asked for an update on the finances associated with the court case regarding the bus lot. Reedy agreed that this would be interesting information for taxpayers.

The next regular New Fairfield Board of Finance meeting is scheduled f or Wednesday, January 18, 7:30 p.m.

By Sarah Opdahl