Town Officials Don't Like "No" for an Answer

Town officials today came courting again to the stoop of the Board of Education, but the door remained closed.

The Board of Selectmen voted 2-0 today to pay $50,000 for an operational audit of the townside budget, and First Selectman Ken Flatto and Selectman Sherri Steeneck wanted the Board of Education to give town officials some control over an upcoming audit of the school board's budget.

But the overture, already rebuffed once by the school board, met with another rebuff this afternoon from Board of Education Vice Chairman Pam Iacono.

In a phone interview after the selectmen's meeting, Iacono said the school board about a month ago determined it wanted an independent auditor to review its books and to have the school board's Finance, Budget & Community Relations Subcommittee oversee that auditor.

"I was very neutral," Iacono said of her position back then on having town officials on the oversight committee, "but the majority [of the school board] felt that, because it's our budget, it's our responsibility to see that it's audited."

Iacono said town officials would be notified of when the school board subcommittee meets and were welcome to attend.

At today's Board of Selectmen's meeting, Flatto and Steeneck again raised the issue of town officials having some control over the Board of Education's upcoming audit.

Flatto said the school board should include a member of the Board of Finance or Board of Selectmen on the committee that oversees the audit of the Board of Education's budget, adding that having a Board of Finance member involved on the oversight committee "could give it more credibility."

Flatto added that the Board of Education ought to begin its audit sooner than July 1 - which is when $50,000 for the audit in the school board's 2010-11 budget will become available - to ensure the auditor has enough time to make recommendations for the school board's 2011-12 budget.

Flatto said the town, by approving money ahead of July 1, would be able to give its auditor four to five months to do work, compared to two or three months if the money wasn't available until July 1.

Iacono said the Board of Education's goal also was to have its auditor's recommendations in time for the Board of Education to prepare its 2011-12 budget.

Flatto said he planned to contact Board of Education Chairman Sue Brand about having the school board reconsider its position to not give town officials some control over the school board's audit.

"A number of members of the Board of Finance are interested in seeing this process work jointly and not spend more money on this audit than we have to," Flatto said.

Steeneck said she was "dismayed" the school board decided to do its audit on its own.

Brand wasn't available this evening to say if she would ask her board to reconsider its decision.

Flatto described the upcoming audit of the townside budget as "essentially a process and efficiency review."

The townside operating budget in 2010-11 is proposed at $86.4 million, including retiree benefits, a $4.9 million, or 6 percent, increase over the current townside operating budget of $81.5 million, including retiree benefits.

The Board of Education's proposed 2010-11 budget is $141.6 million, a $2 million, or 1.4 percent, increase over its current $139. 6 million budget.

Annual debt service in 2010-11, proposed at $23.8 million, is 10.3 percent lower than current annual debt service of $26.6 million.

The overall $251.7 million town budget for 2010-11 still requires review and approval by the Representative Town Meeting.

The $50,000 funding request approved Wednesday by the Board of Selectmen for an audit of the townside budget still requires approval from the Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting.