Minutes
Board of Finance - Minutes - Apr 10, 2026
Apr 10, 2026
A public record published by the Town of Simsbury (simsbury-ct.gov). mySimsbury indexes it and makes it readable; it is not the official copy. View the original file.
1 Town of Simsbury Board of Finance Special Meeting Minutes April 10, 2026 Present: Members in attendance: Lisa Heavner, Lalitha Shivaswamy, Bert Helfand (by Zoom), and Art Wallace (by Zoom). Others in attendance included: Amy Meriwether, Finance Director; Marc Nelson, Town Manager; Bob DeCrescenzo, Town Attorney; Wendy Mackstutis, First Selectman; and Melissa Appleby, Budget Director. Call to Order: Ms. Heavner called the meeting to order at 2:02 p.m.in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Hall. Agenda Items: a) Capital Non-Recurring Funding Legal Discussion with Town Attorney Ms. Heavner said that the Board is looking for a legal opinion before it proceeds with budget adoption, specifically regarding “traditional payback” mechanism of budgeting. Mr. DeCrescenzo opened by explaining that a current year tax levy pays for the expenses in that year, unless it is related to debt service. He said that Section 808 of the Town Charter allows a capital non- recurring (CNR) account to be established, as it references Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 108, which enables a municipality to use current year funds to pay off a prior year’s expenses. He said that the Town must follow the procedures in Chapter 108, which calls for a recommendation of the Board of Finance to be approved by the legislative body, which is the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Heavner said that the legislative body is the voters at referendum, for the purposes of initial appropriations. She also said that CGS Section 108 talks about a capital reserve fund, which is different from Simsbury’s CNR fund. She said that the traditional payback method of budgeting is permitted under CGS Chapter 106, Section 7-346. Discussion ensued regarding the relevance of this statute to Simsbury’s traditional payback program. Mr. DeCrescenzo said that Simsbury’s CNR projects do not distort the overall budget, and therefore this statute does not apply. Ms. Heavner said that the total amount of projects – $416,250 – is material to the overall budget. Mr. DeCrescenzo said that the Town should adopt an ordinance to spell out how Chapter 108 would be implemented in Simsbury. Mr. Helfand asked whether the Board of Selectmen would have taken formal action at some point to approve the traditional payback program. Mr. DeCrescenzo said that this program was only approved through the budget process each year, except in this budget cycle. Ms. Meriwether walked through the relevant sections in the audit and reviewed the CNR fund analysis. She pointed to the interfund balance section of the audit, noting that there are no interfund balances pertaining to capital. She turned to the section on interfund transfers, where the $416,250 can be found. She said that because this is an interfund transfer, there is nothing to be paid back, and there is no loan. 2 Ms. Meriwether reviewed a spreadsheet showing how the CNR fund was set up. She said that the fund was prefunded, so there are funds available to cover the expenses. Mr. Nelson said that the reference to CGS Chapter 106, Section 7-346 is defeated by the “in perpetuity” nature of this. He said the intent of the statue is to smooth a large expense, but what Simsbury does with the $416,250 allocation is the same every year. Ms. Meriwether said that from an accounting standpoint, nothing needs to be satisfied as there is a zero balance in the fund every year. Mr. DeCrescenzo noted that the fund will still be in use with the Board of Education, so there are no concerns about “discontinuance.” Ms. Heavner asked for clarification on prior references to having $1.9 million in the CNR fund. Ms. Meriwether said that there is $1.9 million in the fund, but that the original intent was to use those funds to offset the expenses. She said we can change the practice by doing nothing, as the fund always balances to zero. Ms. Heavner said that this is a policy decision. Dr. Shivaswamy said she needs time to evaluate this. Mr. Wallace said that he is comfortable moving ahead with the recommendation of the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen, as long as this shift is properly communicated. Ms. Heavner said that there is no legal prohibition for doing what the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen have recommended, or for going back to the traditional payback. She suggested keeping the traditional payback program in place and reviewing it over the summer. She said that this program was set up to avoiding cutting cash contributions to capital, and that the current proposed budget does reduce cash for capital in the operating budget. Mr. DeCrescenzo said that it would be a good time to develop an ordinance regarding the capital reserve fund. Mr. Nelson said that the CNR fund was not set up under Section 7-346. Mr. DeCrescenzo said that he could not find a reference to Section 7-346, and that the CNR expenditures do not meet that threshold. He said the structure fits better under Chapter 108. Adjourn: Mr. Helfand made a motion to adjourn the Special Meeting of the Board of Finance at 3:16 p.m. Dr. Shivaswamy seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Melissa Appleby Budget Director Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 General Fund (GF) Revenues Town Reserve (Prefunded Balance) A 832,500 A Town Year 1 CNR GF Contribution 83,250 Pmt 1 83,250 Pmt 2 83,250 Pmt 3 83,250 Pmt 5 83,250 Pmt 5 416,250 Total Pmts Town Year 2 CNR GF Contribution 83,250 83,250 83,250 83,250 B Town Year 3 CNR GF Contribution 83,250 83,250 83,250 Town Year 4 CNR GF Contribution 83,250 83,250 Town Year 5 CNR GF Contribution 83,250 Total Town CNR Revenues 832,500 83,250 166,500 249,750 333,000 416,250 D Board of Education Reserve (Prefunded Balance) A 1,100,600 A BOE Year 1 CNR GF Contribution 110,060 110,060 110,060 110,060 110,060 BOE Year 2 CNR GF Contribution 110,060 110,060 110,060 110,060 BOE Year 3 CNR GF Contribution 110,060 110,060 110,060 BOE Year 4 CNR GF Contribution 110,060 110,060 BOE Year 5 CNR GF Contribution 110,060 Total BOE CNR Revenues 1,100,600 110,060 220,120 330,180 440,240 550,300 D Total Revenues 1,933,100 193,310 386,620 579,930 773,240 966,550 Expenditures Town CNR ‐ 416,250 416,250 416,250 416,250 416,250 D BOE CNR ‐ 550,300 550,300 550,300 550,300 550,300 D Total Expenditures ‐ 966,550 966,550 966,550 966,550 966,550 Net Income/(Loss) 1,933,100 (773,240) C (579,930) (386,620) (193,310) ‐ Fund Balance, July 1 ‐ 1,933,100 1,159,860 579,930 193,310 ‐ D Fund Balance, June 30 1,933,100 1,159,860 579,930 193,310 ‐ ‐ D Fund Balance Breakdown E Reserve (Prefunded Balance ‐ Town) 832,500 832,500 832,500 832,500 832,500 832,500 Town Year 1 CNR Balance Payoff (333,000) (249,750) (166,500) (83,250) ‐ Town Year 2 CNR Balance Payoff (333,000) (249,750) (166,500) (83,250) Town Year 3 CNR Balance Payoff (333,000) (249,750) (166,500) Town Year 4 CNR Balance Payoff (333,000) (249,750) Town Year 5 CNR Balance Payoff (333,000) Total Town Fund Balance Portion 832,500 499,500 249,750 83,250 ‐ ‐ Reserve (Prefunded Balance ‐ BOE) 1,100,600 1,100,600 1,100,600 1,100,600 1,100,600 1,100,600 BOE Year 1 CNR Balance Payoff (440,240) (330,180) (220,120) (110,060) ‐ BOE Year 2 CNR Balance Payoff (440,240) (330,180) (220,120) (110,060) BOE Year 3 CNR Balance Payoff (440,240) (330,180) (220,120) BOE Year 4 CNR Balance Payoff (440,240) (330,180) BOE Year 5 CNR Balance Payoff (440,240) Total BOE Fund Balance Portion 1,100,600 660,360 330,180 110,060 ‐ ‐ Total Fund Balance 1,933,100 1,159,860 579,930 193,310 ‐ ‐ Notes B ‐ If the model kept going the Year 2 CNR would be paid off in Year 6, Year 3 CNR would be paid off in Year 7 etc D ‐ As you can see when the fund is finally built out after Year 5, it is in a position where the annual contributions into the fund equal the expenditures and the fund balance is zero CNR Fund Origination Analysis A ‐ One 1/5 of the traditional payback is charged to the General Fund in the year of purchase. The remaining 4/5 are paid from the General Fund over the next 4 years. The 4/5 of the balance to be paid over 4 years was prefunded as not to have an interfund loan situation or have the CNR fund in a deficit position. C ‐ If the CNR had not been prefunded and the $1.9M reserve did not exist, the fund would be in a deficit of $773,240 and this would be considered an interfund loan. But because the payment were prefunded, the fund is not in a deficit position and there is no interfund loan E ‐ The Fund Balance breakdown section shows what makes up the fund balance being reported. In Year 5 when it is built out you will see the prefunded amount offsets the amounts still to be paid on the CNR expenditures from Years 2‐5. The is pattern will carry on in perpetuity as you will see on the "Current CNR Fund Analysis" tab 2021/2022 A 2022/2023 A 2023/2024 A 2024/2025 A 2025/2026 A 2026/2027 Proposal General Fund (GF) Revenues Town Town 2018 CNR from GF 83,250 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ Town 2019 CNR from GF 83,250 83,250 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ Town 2020 CNR from GF 83,250 83,250 83,250 ‐ ‐ ‐ Town 2021 CNR from GF 83,250 83,250 83,250 83,250 ‐ ‐ Town 2022 CNR from GF 83,250 83,250 83,250 83,250 83,250 ‐ Town 2023 CNR from GF 83,250 83,250 83,250 83,250 ‐ Town 2024 CNR from GF 83,250 83,250 83,250 ‐ Town 2025 CNR from GF 83,250 83,250 ‐ Town 2026 CNR from GF 83,250 ‐ Town 2027 CNR from GF ‐ Total Town CNR Revenues 416,250 416,250 416,250 416,250 416,250 ‐ Board of Education BOE 2018 CNR from GF 110,060 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ BOE 2019 CNR from GF 110,060 110,060 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ BOE 2020 CNR from GF 110,060 110,060 110,060 ‐ ‐ ‐ BOE 2021 CNR from GF 110,060 110,060 110,060 110,060 ‐ ‐ BOE 2022 CNR from GF 110,060 110,060 110,060 110,060 110,060 ‐ BOE 2023 CNR from GF 110,060 110,060 110,060 110,060 110,060 BOE 2024 CNR from GF 110,060 110,060 110,060 110,060 BOE 2025 CNR from GF 110,060 110,060 110,060 BOE 2026 CNR from GF 110,060 110,060 BOE 2027 CNR from GF 110,060 Total BOE CNR Revenues 550,300 550,300 550,300 550,300 550,300 550,300 Total Revenues 966,550 966,550 966,550 966,550 966,550 550,300 Expenditures Town CNR 416,250 416,250 416,250 416,250 416,250 ‐ BOE CNR 550,300 550,300 550,300 550,300 550,300 550,300 Total Expenditures 966,550 966,550 966,550 966,550 966,550 550,300 Net Income/(Loss) ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ Fund Balance, July 1 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ Fund Balance, June 30 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ Fund Balance Breakdown Reserve (Prefunded Balance ‐ Town) 832,500 832,500 832,500 832,500 832,500 ‐ Town 2019 CNR Balance Payoff (83,250) Town 2020 CNR Balance Payoff (166,500) (83,250) Town 2021 CNR Balance Payoff (249,750) (166,500) (83,250) Town 2022 CNR Balance Payoff (333,000) (249,750) (166,500) (83,250) Town 2023 CNR Balance Payoff (333,000) (249,750) (166,500) (83,250) Town 2024 CNR Balance Payoff (333,000) (249,750) (166,500) ‐ Town 2025 CNR Balance Payoff (333,000) (249,750) ‐ Town 2026 CNR Balance Payoff (333,000) ‐ Total Town Fund Balance Portion ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ Reserve (Prefunded Balance ‐ BOE) 1,100,600 1,100,600 1,100,600 1,100,600 1,100,600 1,100,600 BOE 2019 CNR Balance Payoff (110,060) BOE 2020 CNR Balance Payoff (220,120) (110,060) BOE 2021 CNR Balance Payoff (330,180) (220,120) (110,060) BOE 2022 CNR Balance Payoff (440,240) (330,180) (220,120) (110,060) BOE 2023 CNR Balance Payoff (440,240) (330,180) (220,120) (110,060) BOE 2024 CNR Balance Payoff (440,240) (330,180) (220,120) (110,060) BOE 2025 CNR Balance Payoff (440,240) (330,180) (220,120) BOE 2026 CNR Balance Payoff (440,240) (330,180) BOE 2027 CNR Balance Payoff (440,240) Total BOE Fund Balance Portion ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ Total Fund Balance ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ CNR Fund Analysis Fiscal Year 2021/2022 thru Fiscal Year 2026/2027