Minutes
Board of Finance - Minutes - Apr 21, 2026
Apr 21, 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 Regular Meeting Minutes April 21, 2026 Present: Members in attendance: Lisa Heavner, Lalitha Shivaswamy, Regina Pynn, Bert Helfand, and Art Wallace. Others in attendance included: Amy Meriwether, Finance Director; Marc Nelson, Town Manager; Tom Fitzgerald, Deputy Town Manager; Wendy Mackstutis, First Selectman; Matt Curtis, Superintendent of Schools; Jeff Tindall, Board of Education Chair; Melissa Appleby, Budget Director; Lisa Miceli, Library Director; Nick Boulter, Chief of Police; Tom Roy, Director of Public Works; Tom Tyburski, Director of Culture, Parks, and Recreation; Kelsey Chamberlain, Deputy Finance Director; and other interested parties. Call to Order: Ms. Heavner called the meeting to order at 5:46 p.m.in the Main Meeting Room in the Simsbury Town Hall. Pledge of Allegiance: Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Ms. Heavner opened the meeting by noting that we have received updated information regarding our current year health insurance claims which may impact the decision to use health insurance reserves to offset the FY27 budget. She said that the Board will be discussing strategies to address this. Agenda Items: a) Public Hearing on Fiscal Year 2026/2027 Operating and Capital Budgets Lori Boyko, 15 Oakhurst Road, expressed disappointment with the current budget environment, pointing to a trend of growth in staffing levels, and an increase in scope of programs and projects funded by the Town and Board of Education. She said that the town’s values are being diminished and that people cannot afford the increase in expenses. Ms. Heavner asked for an overview of the information provided by Lockton, the benefits consultant. Ms. Meriwether said that our current year claims are projected to be $3.5 million higher than what was budgeted due to a spike in claims during the second half of the year. This projection would result in the reserve fund ending the year at 18% of expected claims, while the target is 20-25%. Ms. Pynn asked if this is driven by large claims hitting the stop loss amount, or if it is a lot of smaller claims causing the increase. Ms. Meriwether said we need more data in order to understand the specific drivers of this increase. Mr. Wallace asked whether this trend is seasonal; Ms. Meriwether said that there is typically some seasonality associated with health insurance claims, but not to this extent. Dr. Shivaswamy asked if health insurance costs in general have increased, or if it is claim-specific. Ms. Meriwether said that we will be receiving more information from Lockton to help us understand if this is market-driven or if this is a temporary spike due to specific claims. Dr. Shivaswamy asked what happens if our reserves fall below the amount referenced in our policy. Ms. Meriwether said that in the past, we have put money into the fund at year-end to get back to the desired reserve levels. She said we would need to contribute approximately $500,000 to get back to a 20% reserve level. 2 Ms. Meriwether provided three options: the first is to proceed as planned in BOS approved budget, and replenish the reserve. In this case, general fund reserves could be assigned to feather in the impact of using reserves in FY27. She said the second option is to assign year-end savings to offset the FY27 budget rather than using the health insurance reserves. In this case, general fund reserves would still be assigned to feather in the impact. She said the final option is to increase the budget and tax for an additional $1 million rather than using health fund reserves or general fund reserves. Ms. Meriwether noted that we have until year-end to decide on options 1 and 2 as we will be receiving more information on the trends and how much funding we will need. She said the third option would be time sensitive. Ms. Heavner asked Ms. Meriwether to proceed with the quarterly budget report before the Board moved on to discussion. b) Town Fiscal Year 2025/2026 Budget Status Report as of March 31, 2026 Ms. Meriwether reviewed the quarterly report, starting with revenues. She said that revenue is projected to come in approximately $1.5 million higher than budgeted, primarily due to tax collections and an increase in investment returns. In regards to the tax collections, she noted that there have been recent court settlements that offset the typical surplus generated due to the difference between the budgeted collection rate and the actual collection rate. Mr. Wallace asked if those settlements are locked in such that they would have an impact moving forward. Mr. Nelson said that the impact would hold until the next revaluation. Ms. Meriwether provided an overview of the projected year-end expenditures, which are anticipated to come in under budget by approximately $1.47 million. She said the total projected surplus is approximately $3 million, which would result in a fund balance of 18.85%. Ms. Heavner said that the surplus is within 1-3% of budget, which is consistent with the Board’s goal. c) Board of Education 2025/2026 Budget Status Report as of March 31, 2026 Ms. Meriwether said that the projection for the Board of Education year-end expenditures is very close to the budgeted amount. She said that we are expecting a decrease in our excess cost reimbursement for special education related costs, but that this corresponds with a decrease in expenditures. Ms. Appleby noted an increase in the Open Choice grant of $146,000 more than anticipated for the current year, and a total increase over last year’s award of approximately $297,000. This is driven by an increase in Open Choice student enrollment. d) Budget Discussion and Possible Action Ms. Heavner said that if we had the information regarding health insurance earlier in the process, we would not be using reserves to offset the operating budget. She said that if the Board is going to increase the budget, the budget should be re-noticed for the public in advance of the next hearing date. She said that it would be prudent to do this as the Board does not have enough information. She also said that the Board could consider using cash for bond-funded projects in order to decrease debt service costs in future years. Ms. Heavner also said that the Board needs to consider reinstating the General Fund- Traditional Payback method of funding for small capital. Discussion ensued regarding a continued review at a third hearing on Wednesday, April 29. Board members discussed raising taxes for the potential increase in health insurance costs as opposed to using year-end savings. The Board also discussed potentially using the capital reserve fund for projects on the CIP; there was consensus to delay this decision. Ms. Heavner asked when we will go out to bond again, and Ms. Meriwether indicated that the next debt issuance would be in the spring of 2027. 3 The Board reviewed and discussed the draft budget motions. Ms. Heavner noted that the Board of Selectmen intended to include $20,000 in the Probate budget for a one-time moving expense. She also noted that the Board of Selectmen cut $39,000 from Legal, and determined that the Board would not restore that cut. Ms. Heavner also introduced an unforeseen issue related to the motor vehicle tax reimbursement. Ms. Meriwether explained that the state caps the motor vehicle mill rate at 32.46, and that this is a combined rate of the Town and Fire District. She said that the Town previously allocated a portion of the reimbursement to the Fire District, but following a clarification of the legislation, the Fire District was to receive a reimbursement directly from the state. However, in FY26, we learned that the Fire District is not receiving the reimbursement directly from the state, and the state indicated that the Fire District has to claim a mill rate in order to receive the reimbursement. Ms. Meriwether said that following a meeting with the Fire District, we have proposed that the Fire District take 0.1 mills out of the 32.46 cap in order to trigger the reimbursement. She said that this will decrease the Town’s collection by $30,000 in FY27, but that we will get it back through the state reimbursement in the following year. Ms. Heavner said that the Board can take care of this when they set the mill rate. The motor vehicle tax rate would be set at 32.36 rather than 32.46. The Board made several motions to amend the budget that will be presented at the next hearing date: Ms. Pynn made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to fund the Regional Probate Court relocation in the amount of $20,000, to be funded as a General Fund Operating transfer. Mr. Helfand seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Ms. Pynn made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to decrease the Emergency Management-Public Agency Support-SVAA Ambulance budget by $200,000 to reflect the reallocation of expenses to the capital improvement plan (CIP). Mr. Helfand seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Ms. Pynn made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to decrease the Operating Transfers-Capital Reserve Fund revenue budget by $200,000 to reflect the reallocation of funding to the capital improvement plan (CIP). Mr. Helfand seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Ms. Pynn made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to add the Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance Association ambulance purchase to the capital improvement plan (CIP) in the amount of $200,000, to be funded through the capital reserve fund. Mr. Helfand seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Mr. Helfand made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to assign $100,000 from General Fund reserves for potential fluctuations in the price of fuel. Ms. Pynn seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Mr. Helfand made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to increase Interest on Investments by $180,000. Mr. Wallace seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. 4 Dr. Shivaswamy made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to increase the Operating Transfers CNR Payback budget by $416,250 to account for Police Vehicles in the amount of $134,000 and Street Sweeper in the amount of $282,250. Ms. Pynn seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Dr. Shivaswamy made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to decrease the Highway Labor & Equipment Small Capital budget by $270,000. Ms. Pynn seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Dr. Shivaswamy made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to decrease the Police Department Small Capital-Police Vehicles budget by $134,000. Ms. Pynn seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Dr. Shivaswamy made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to amend the CIP to reflect the following funding for the Public Works Street Sweeper: $282,250 through General Fund-Traditional Payback; $58,000 through the NIPs grant; and $4,750 from Town Aid Road. Ms. Pynn seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. There was consensus among the Board members regarding the intent to set the motor vehicle mill rate at 32.36 mills. Dr. Shivaswamy made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to eliminate the use of Health Fund reserves in the amount of $800,000 and to increase the Board of Education budget by $800,000. Mr. Wallace seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Dr. Shivaswamy made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to eliminate the use of Health Fund reserves in the amount of $200,000 and to increase the Board of Selectmen Major Medical Insurance line item by $200,000, to a total of $3,404,195. Mr. Wallace seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Dr. Shivaswamy made a motion to re-notice the FY27 budget as amended, and schedule a public hearing for Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 5:45pm in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Hall. Mr. Helfand seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Ms. Heavner reviewed a draft communication regarding these changes to be posted to the Town website from the Board of Finance. Ms. Heavner asked Ms. Mackstutis if she has any updated information regarding the state budget. Ms. Mackstutis said that ECS funding is an ongoing topic of discussion, including a change to the base formula. Ms. Mackstutis shared that the Town of Avon is experiencing similar increases in health insurance costs, and that they are moving to the state health insurance plan to control costs. Ms. Meriwether said that we regularly evaluate this option, and that moving to the state plan would be cost prohibitive for Simsbury. Ms. Pynn requested an update on the Performing Arts Center project. Mr. Roy said that there is approximately $226,000 remaining in contingency, and that the project timeline is very tight. He said that the only potential addition to the project could be security cameras. Dr. Shivaswamy asked about 5 big screen televisions, as there was a newspaper article about this; Mr. Roy said that this is not part of this project. e) Finance Director’s Report Ms. Meriwether noted that the total supplemental appropriations for the year are well below the 3% threshold, above which a referendum would be required for additional supplemental appropriations. In regards to pooled investments, she noted the 3.70% return on investment in the money market, and the 3.83% return on 9-month CD. Review of Minutes: f) April 7, 2026 Regular Meeting Minutes Dr. Shivaswamy made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to approve the minutes of the April 7, 2026 Regular Meeting. Ms. Pynn seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. g) April 10, 2026 Special Meeting Minutes Dr. Shivaswamy made a motion, effective April 21, 2026, to approve the minutes of the April 10, 2026 Special Meeting. Ms. Pynn seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Adjourn: Mr. Helfand made a motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of Finance at 7:32 p.m. Dr. Shivaswamy seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Melissa Appleby Budget Director 1 Appleby Melissa From: Meriwether Amy Sent: Friday, April 24, 2026 1:00 PM To: Appleby Melissa Subject: FW: Online Form Submittal: Board of Finance Contact Form From: noreply@civicplus.com <noreply@civicplus.com> Sent: Friday, April 24, 2026 12:30 PM To: Meriwether Amy <ameriwether@simsbury-ct.gov> Subject: Online Form Submittal: Board of Finance Contact Form Board of Finance Contact Form Name Kelly Kearney Email Address kjk@claritymarketing.biz Phone Number 860-836-0319 Comment/Question Hi! Thanks for all that you do for Simsbury. My wife, Kathy, and I have been residents for 26 years. Kathy also grew up here. We're advocating for budget progress based on the suggestions of the professional Town Manager, who has extensive experience in these matters. We applaud the BOF and all that you do, and we certainly appreciate it. if the Town Manager says that the budget as written will be adequate due to a projected financial surplus at EOY, for reasons of certainty, timing, and moving forward expeditiously, we recommend following his guidance and suggestions. Please know your expertise is not in question, nor is your dedication to the Town. That said - lets move forward and get this done. Raising taxes when a surplus is projected is something that simply would not pass muster with Town residents - nor would chopping departmental budgets in the same scenario. Thanks so much for reading this and listening to the perspectives of residents! Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.