Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Deep River Board of Finance Meeting - January 27, 2026

Town Meetings — Tuesday, January 27, 2026

BodyDeep River, Connecticut

SessionTown Meetings

DateTuesday, January 27, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:41:14

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:57

Good evening.

0:58

This is a call to order for the uh Deep River Board of Finance meeting.

1:02

It's uh January 27th, and it is 658 uh PM.

1:09

Okay, so first we're gonna do the roll call.

1:12

Uh Catherine Russell here.

1:15

Carmella Balci.

1:17

Here.

1:17

Jacqueline Carmel.

1:18

Yeah, I'm here.

1:20

I'm here.

1:21

Uh very low.

1:22

Here.

1:23

And uh Michael.

1:25

Here.

1:25

Okay.

1:26

Full house.

1:29

All right.

1:30

Second on the agenda is the approval of the minutes for January 6th.

1:35

So moved.

1:36

Second.

1:37

All in favor?

1:38

Aye.

1:39

Any opposed?

1:40

The ayes have it.

1:43

That's approved.

1:45

Okay, the next item is uh audience of citizens, and I see no citizens here.

1:52

So uh we'll move on to uh Mr.

1:56

Linder.

1:57

Uh Treasury report.

1:58

All right, thanks.

1:59

Let's try to make it quick.

2:02

Um on the uh Deep River Town Deposit Report, just a couple of things real quick.

2:07

Uh we did add in um the uh Deep River Public Library, they do use the tax uh tax identification member for the for the town.

2:17

Also, we just uh changed um signature cards for the uh for the uh library because uh the signature card that they actually had on file included the previous uh librarian who hasn't been uh been with the town for a while, and uh it just had um uh the uh Linda um thank you Linda Hall who just resigned as the um board chairman so it was replaced, the signature card was replaced with uh me and uh uh Carol as signers on that account, and also with uh two new people.

3:00

Um Donna Migrone, who was actually now the chairman of the board, and um she's also the treasurer, and with uh Susan Rooney, who's now the librarian.

3:13

So that's been uh that's been taken care of and updated, and Carol and I signed all the checks that's on under dual dual control.

3:21

Um the Board of Finance, the the monthly financial report.

3:26

Oh, just the other thing is that the um uh CEN bank actually dropped their rates by a quarter of a percent, so they're now down to three and uh half percent, whereas Liberty Bank has uh stayed constant at at uh at the four percent.

3:42

So that's kind of where we are there.

3:44

I had taken a lot of money out of uh uh a CEN bank and did a wire transfer uh into Liberty Bank so we can get the four or four percent interest.

3:54

Um so as far as the monthly financial summary.

3:57

I'll just go through this really quick.

3:59

I don't know, unless you have any questions, you can uh you can certainly read through this.

4:04

Um general fund balances uh were ahead of last month by a million four hundred and eighty-six thousand dollars.

4:12

Uh most of that is just uh tax revenue monies that have been uh coming in.

4:16

Um let's see for rate changes.

4:20

Um again, I I kind of went over with a send bank.

4:23

Uh we of course you know the Federal Reserve that reduced their rates three times, and uh I just put uh kind of a history with uh with the with the um with the rates here on this on this sheet.

4:36

Capital improvements borrowed, there's no disbursements made this month.

4:40

Um the ARPA funds.

4:48

Dispersed uh five thousand two hundred and eighty dollars, and uh we still have remaining our committed amount of two hundred and nine thousand four seventy-seven.

5:00

So again, that's what the balance is, but that those monies have been committed, they just haven't been dispersed.

5:03

Uh wire transfers.

5:05

We did I did four wire transfers um in the last month.

5:09

Three of those went from um, well actually they all went from uh into the Liberty Bank money market account.

5:15

As I said, I had uh I had wired monies from a CEN bank uh to Liberty back on uh 1230 for a million dollars and three other uh wire transfers one for 400,000, one for 600,000, one for a million uh for two million dollars uh went from general fund to our Liberty Bank money market account, and most of that money again is coming in from tax revenues.

5:39

Uh our education equalization grant um we will receive our second installment uh at uh on January 31st for 413,601 25, and the third installment won't be due until um won't be coming to the town until April 30th.

5:58

Um our total balances are up over uh last month by a million five hundred and forty-two thousand um short-term investments uh we budgeted for for the fiscal year 150,000 dollars.

6:14

Uh year to date, uh as of January 27th, seven months at the months into the fiscal year, we've received 130,463.62 cents in interest.

6:25

We're at 86.98%, so we just need 19,536.38 to hit that 150,000 dollar goal.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Budget Equity Analysis█████████████████████████████████████████████50%

Personnel Matters██████████████15%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████████10%

Education█████5%

Public Engagement█████5%

Fiscal Sustainability████4%

Parks and Recreation███3%

Procedural██2%

Technology and Innovation██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Deep River Board of Finance Meeting - January 27, 2026

The Deep River Board of Finance convened on January 27, 2026, at 6:58 PM. The meeting covered the treasury report, pension plan updates, anticipated 2026 financing, the District 4 budget process, and several financial reports. No citizens were present for public comment.

Consent Calendar

Minutes from the January 6, 2026 meeting were approved unanimously by voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

No citizens were present; the public comment portion was skipped.

Discussion Items

Treasury Report: Treasurer Tom reported on the Deep River Town Deposit Report, including the addition of the Deep River Public Library using the town's tax identification number. He noted that he has designated three users with online access to town deposit accounts at Liberty Bank, including Paula and Tara from the finance department (full access) and Jackie, treasurer of the Community Health Committee (limited to two accounts).
Pension Meeting Highlights: The pension committee approved the investment policy statement. The town employee pension plan has 8 participants with 1 additional joining; eligibility requires one year of town employment and 100% vesting after five years. There was discussion about the pension plan's compliance with municipal funding requirements. The actuary is waiting on firefighter data before determining the town's funding position, but as of the last audit, the town is in compliance. Board members discussed whether non-voting pension committee members should have more latitude in investment decisions, with some members expressing low risk concerns.
Selectman Items: The Board discussed an expected budget overrun in a specific area (details not fully specified). The Board also reviewed the status of structuring constable overtime to shift from full-time to part-time, which was previously discussed.
2026 Financing: The Board discussed the anticipated financing for a new brush truck. The recommendation is to borrow only the amount needed for the first payment on the brush truck in August, rather than borrowing the full $1.5 million upfront. No vote was taken, as this was an informational discussion.
Board of Education Budget: The Board reviewed the District 4 (Deep River/Chester/Essex) budget process. The school budget is approximately $1.7 million over previous levels, driven primarily by salary and health benefits for additional full-time special education teachers. The Board noted that public attendance at the district's three budget meetings was nearly nonexistent, with no citizens from Chester or Essex attending. The budget will be locked in before other town budgets are decided.
WPCA Financial Support: The WPCA had identified a highly qualified candidate for a part-time position who was expected to start in early February, but the candidate instead chose to pursue a full-time position. Date for the next step was not specified.
2026-2027 Budget Process: The Board reviewed the schedule for budget workshops. Three workshops are scheduled before the next Board of Finance meeting. The Board emphasized the importance of attending the February 3rd workshop on public works and transportation. Guidance was given to not include any budget increases, with adjustments to be made after negotiations.
Service Charges and Financial Reports: The Board discussed a specific service contract that is expected to be cheaper than a previous provider (identified as 'better than Frontier'), though one-time fees apply. The Board also briefly discussed summer programs revenue at 93% ($36,000) and a major grant for the Deep River Elementary School Roof. Several questions about specific line items and accounts were deferred to the next meeting.

Key Outcomes

Approve the minutes of the January 6, 2026 meeting.
Maintain the current pension investment policy and continue to monitor compliance with municipal funding requirements.
Proceed with a phased approach for 2026 financing, borrowing only the amount needed for the first brush truck payment in August.
Hold budget workshops before the next Board of Finance meeting, with a public works and transportation workshop scheduled for February 3, 2026.
Defer detailed review of certain financial report questions to the next meeting.
The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent after a motion to move to the final agenda item.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. This is a call to order for the uh Deep River Board of Finance meeting. It's uh January 27th, and it is 658 uh PM. Okay, so first we're gonna do the roll call. Uh Catherine Russell here. Carmella Balci. Here. Jacqueline Carmel. Yeah, I'm here. I'm here. Uh very low. Here. And uh Michael. Here. Okay. Full house. All right. Second on the agenda is the approval of the minutes for January 6th. So moved. Second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it. That's approved. Okay, the next item is uh audience of citizens, and I see no citizens here. So uh we'll move on to uh Mr. Linder. Uh Treasury report. All right, thanks. Let's try to make it quick. Um on the uh Deep River Town Deposit Report, just a couple of things real quick. Uh we did add in um the uh Deep River Public Library, they do use the tax uh tax identification member for the for the town. Also, we just uh changed um signature cards for the uh for the uh library because uh the signature card that they actually had on file included the previous uh librarian who hasn't been uh been with the town for a while, and uh it just had um uh the uh Linda um thank you Linda Hall who just resigned as the um board chairman so it was replaced, the signature card was replaced with uh me and uh uh Carol as signers on that account, and also with uh two new people. Um Donna Migrone, who was actually now the chairman of the board, and um she's also the treasurer, and with uh Susan Rooney, who's now the librarian. So that's been uh that's been taken care of and updated, and Carol and I signed all the checks that's on under dual dual control. Um the Board of Finance, the the monthly financial report. Oh, just the other thing is that the um uh CEN bank actually dropped their rates by a quarter of a percent, so they're now down to three and uh half percent, whereas Liberty Bank has uh stayed constant at at uh at the four percent. So that's kind of where we are there. I had taken a lot of money out of uh uh a CEN bank and did a wire transfer uh into Liberty Bank so we can get the four or four percent interest. Um so as far as the monthly financial summary. I'll just go through this really quick. I don't know, unless you have any questions, you can uh you can certainly read through this. Um general fund balances uh were ahead of last month by a million four hundred and eighty-six thousand dollars. Uh most of that is just uh tax revenue monies that have been uh coming in. Um let's see for rate changes. Um again, I I kind of went over with a send bank. Uh we of course you know the Federal Reserve that reduced their rates three times, and uh I just put uh kind of a history with uh with the with the um with the rates here on this on this sheet. Capital improvements borrowed, there's no disbursements made this month. Um the ARPA funds.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com