MINUTES

WATERTOWN TOWN COUNCIL

PUBLIC HEARING #1

WATERTOWN HIGH SCHOOL

TECHNOLOGY ROOM

MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2008, 7:00 P.M.

PRESENT: &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Elaine Adams, Chairman

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Gary Bernier (arrived at 7:01 p.m.)

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; David Demirs

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Richard DiFederico

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Richard Fusco

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Carl Mancini

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Scott Marotta (arrived at 7:01 p.m.)

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Paul Rinaldi

ABSENT: &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Raymond Primini, Vice Chairman

OTHERS PRESENT: &= nbsp; Charles Frigon, Town Manager

= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Frank Nardelli, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director

1.&nb= sp; Convene Public Hearing - 7:00 P.M.

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Ms. Adams, Chairm= an, called the Public Hearing to order at 7:00 p.m.

Ms. Adams, Chairm= an, read aloud the following Notice of the Public Hearing for the record:

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Watertown, Connecticut

June 16, 2008

The Watertown Town Council will hold a Public Hearing on Monday, June 16, 2008 = at 7:00 p.m. in the Watertown High School Technology Room, 324 French Street, Watertow= n, CT to hear public comment= on the following proposals:

1. An Ordinance concerning Building Department’s withholding of permits to implement the provisions of General Statutes §7-148(c)(2)(B).

2. An Ordinance for the establishment of a Board of Education artificial turf and track repair/replacement fund.

Watertown Town Council

Public Hearing

June 16, 2008

Page 2

Dated at = Watertown, Connecticut this 11^th day of June, 2008.

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= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Charles Frigon, Town Manager

RETURN OF NOTICE

TOWN OF WATERTOWN

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

I = hereby certify that on June 11, 2008 I left a duplicate copy of the attached Notic= e of Public Hearing, Town of Watert= own, Connecticut with Virginia R= usso, its Assistant Town Clerk to be held on June 16, 2008.

I = further certify that I causes a copy of said Notice of Public Hearing to be publish= ed in the REPUBLICAN AMERICAN on June 11, 2008 which newspaper has a substanti= al circulation in said Town.

I = further certify that on June 11, 2008 I caused to be set upon the signpost or other exterior places nearest the Office of the Town Clerk and all other places and signpo= sts designated by the Town, a written copy of said Notice of Public Hearing sig= ned by the Town Manager of the Town of Watertown.

I = further certify that all of the above acts were done at least five (5) days before = the holding of the Public Hearing on June 16, 2008.

Da= ted: at Watertown, Connecticut this 11^th day of June, 2008.

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&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; = Charles Frigon

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; = Town Manager

TOWN CLERK’S CERTIFICATION AS TO

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND RETURN OF NOTICE<= /p>

I hereby certify that the attached Notice of Public Hearing and Notice of the forego= ing Return of Notice of Public Hearing are duly recorded in the records of the = Town of Watertown, Connecticut, and that Charles Frigon was Town Manager on the = date the Notice and Return of Notice were signed.

Dated at Watertown, Connecticut, this 11th day of June, 20= 08

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&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Virginia Russo, Assistant Town Clerk

Watertown Town Council

Public Hearing

June 16, 2008

Page 3

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Ms. Adams: First we can discuss the ordinance= concerning the Building Department’s withholding of permits to implement the provision of general statutes §7-148(c)(2)(B). First I’d like a brief overv= iew, if either Chuck or Frank can give an overview on this, and then we’ll take comments on that and then we’ll move to the second one about the artificial turf fund.

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&= nbsp; Mr. Frigon: This first ordina= nce concerns the Building Department’s withholding of permits and what it’s intended to do is to ensure that all of our taxes due to the Tow= n of Watertown are current, and once that’s been established the Building Department wil= l go ahead and issue a permit. If = that hasn’t taken place, if there are funds that are owed to the Town of <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Watertown, then t= he permit will not be issued. It’s very, very basic.

&= nbsp; Ms. Adams: Does anyone have a= ny comments for the record?

&= nbsp; Mr. Demirs: If you can afford= to put an addition on your house, then you can afford to pay your taxes.

&= nbsp; Mr. Frigon: This policy has b= een in place but an unofficial policy has been carrying this practice out for a nu= mber of years with great success. = This was Mary’s effort to make it a permanent and recognized policy.

&= nbsp; Ms. Adams: Hearing no comments we’ll move to the second item on the Public Hearing then, regarding t= he fund for the artificial turf field for the School Board. Frank or Chuck, if you can give a = brief overview on that?

&= nbsp; Mr. Nardelli: This is a separ= ate fund to be established for the artificial turf and track repair replacement. As you see on the ordinance there are 4 different type of revenues that can come into this, f= rom the Board of Education’s annual budget, rental payments for use of the fields, amounts raised for fundraising, and any charitable organizations wishing to make a donation. T= his fund will continue each year, it won’t be closed out, the balance wil= l be brought forward, it will probably be a kind of special revenue fund. We’ve passed this through the auditors and the town attorney and this is the result of that.

&= nbsp; Ms. Adams: I know that one of= the things I had wanted to see in this was the outside contributions, that anyo= ne may want to do in memory of, or any type of situation like that. Is there any comments or questions= ?

&= nbsp; Mr. Fusco: Nowhere in this do= es it say we definitely have to find money for them every year.

&= nbsp; Mr. Nardelli: That’s co= rrect.

&= nbsp; Mr. Fusco: So if when the bud= get comes and they have to give us line items and say we need $100,000 for this, then we vote on that?

&= nbsp; Mr. Nardelli: You mean when w= e go to expend the monies out of this fund?

Watertown Town Council

Public Hearing

June 16, 2008

Page 4

&= nbsp; Mr. Fusco: No, when we go to appropriate the money. The Bo= ard of Education brings us their budget. In their budget it’s going to say $100,000 for this line item.= That’s not written in stone,= that can be taken out if there’s not enough money, correct?

&= nbsp; Mr. DiFederico: I think what he’s saying is that we said we were going to put $59,000 into the sch= ool system, but it can’t be touched only for the turf.

&= nbsp; Mr. Nardelli: My understandin= g this year that the Board of Education cuts that line item out before the budget = gets approved, then obviously there is no money to be transferred. Is that what you mean?

&= nbsp; Ms. Adams: You mean when they actually go to spend it.

&= nbsp; Mr. DiFederico: In other word= s they can move money from line item to line item, that’s what he’s talking about.

&= nbsp; Mr. Nardelli: No, if there is $59,000 in their budget, and once that budget gets passed, immediately upon passing of that budget that money is supposed to come into this fund. They cannot take that money and tr= ansfer it to somewhere else. Once th= eir budget is approved then that money is in that line item.

&= nbsp; Mr. Bernier: I just want to p= oint out, down after the a, b, c, it explains just that, that there is no reallocation, no transfer, if it’s not specifically earmarked at the beginning they can’t transfer it in afterwards, and if there is a bal= ance at the end of the year, they can’t transfer that in, just whatever th= ey allocate up front.

&= nbsp; Mr. Frigon: Frank, if the Boa= rd of Education submits an annual budget with a dollar amount specifically to go = into this account, or into this fund, and the Town has no line item discretion o= ver their budget, does that money then go into this fund? Can they use that as a mechanism t= o fund this? If they submit an annual budget of $32,000,000, but $1,000,000 of those dollars are marked for this = fund but it’s included in their annual budget request, because the Town Council doesn’t have specific line item discretion with the Board of Education’s budget, can they use that mechanism to fund this?

&= nbsp; Mr. Nardelli: If they put $10= 0,000 in that line item for this fund and their budget passes, that money comes i= nto this fund, they can use it somewhere else . . . .

&= nbsp; Mr. Frigon: But we can’= t just take out that $1,000 and then bring their budget to referendum?

&= nbsp; Mr. Nardelli: No, their budge= t has to pass first.

&= nbsp; Mr. Frigon: Right, but that&#= 8217;s included, we don’t have line item discretion so we can’t say we’ll move your budget forward to referendum to a vote, that $1,000 n= eeds to come out.

&= nbsp; Mr. Nardelli: No, you canR= 17;t tell them that.

Watertown Town Council

Public Hearing

June 16, 2008

Page 5

&= nbsp; Mr. Mancini: Will that money = be put in a separate interest bearing account?

&= nbsp; Mr. Nardelli: Separate fund.<= /p>

&= nbsp; Mr. Bernier: What is the inte= rest bearing to that? I mean that = would help fund that?

&= nbsp; Mr. Nardelli: That’s co= rrect.

&= nbsp; Ms. Adams: Any other comments= or questions?

3.&nb= sp; Adjournment=

Ms. Adams, Chairman, Closed the Public Hearing at 7:10 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Elaine H. Adams, Chairman

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A= pproved: _______________________________

Lynn M. LaF= orme, Clerk