The town’s general fund balance has a surplus of $2.4 million thanks to unexpected revenues and smaller than expected expenses.
At Monday’s Board of Selectman meeting, the discussion of the good news wasn’t all good.
Before First Selectman Evonne Klein could begin the discussion about options for the surplus, Selectman Paul Hendrickson asked how the issue ended up on “the blog” the week before. The blog being dariennews.blogspot.com, a controversial anonymous blog that began during the contentious 2005 town election and continues to be monitored by anonymous “reporters.”
Klein said she did not know how the news of the surplus ended up on the blog, but said as soon as Finance Director Kate Clark Buch notified Klein and Administrative Officer John Crary of the surplus, an e-mail was sent to the Board of Finance.
Klein said the surplus is an opportunity. “I think it is an opportunity for us, there are a few projects on the table, and in looking forward to this budget season, I wanted to know what the Board of Selectman wants to do with this money,” she said.
Selectman Barbara Thorne said it “feels good” to think that the money could be used to fund projects.
Hendrickson said he’d like to see a financial forecast from the Board of Finance before any plans were made.
Selectman Linda Santarella returned to the issue of the blog and who leaked the information to it.
“I noted that this was blogged Thursday at 12 p.m. and we got our packets on Thursday night?” she said.
“The e-mail went to the Board of Finance and to me, we could FOI (Freedom of Information) the e-mails and find out who the Board of Finance forwarded it to. Or we could ask the Board of Finance who they speak to,” Klein said.
Santarella pointed out that while the surplus was public information, the public had the information before the selectmen did.
“We didn’t find out until Thursday night,” she said.
Crary said he and Klein found out Wednesday afternoon, and the agenda was set by Thursday morning, which included the discussion of the surplus as an item.
Selectman Susan Young wondered if the computer system at town hall could have been hacked, and Santarella expressed concern that the issue was able to hit the blog so quickly.
She said she spoke with the Darien Police Department about the matter.
“If that can happen so quickly, what else can happen? I spoke with the police department and asked them if they can investigate,” she said.
According to an e-mail obtained by The Darien Times from Police Chief Duane Lovello regarding the blog, comments on it that may be considered slander or libel are not criminal matters.
“In other words, anything deemed non-criminal in nature, such as slander or libel, are not police matters and the proper redress is through civil court process,” he wrote.
Lovello said a judge must evaluate if something is criminal in nature rather than a private citizen. He further wrote that something needs to be deemed criminal before an investigation can be launched.
Following the discussion of the blog, Klein again asked the Board of Selectmen what they would like to do with the surplus.
Thorne listed projects such as Weed Beach, or the work at the senior center.
Klein said she would move forward with discussion with the Board of Finance regarding use of the surplus if the board agreed.
“We should be looking into the how this money can best be used, how can we spend it,” Young said.
In a Tuesday interview with The Darien Times, Board of Finance Chairman Peter Hovell said discussion of spending the surplus could be hasty.
“The general fund is like a checking account, a rainy day fund, you have to budget revenue conservatively, if you’re falling short on revenue, you wouldn’t have money at the end of the year to pay bills,” he said.
Hovell said the board set a general fund policy two years ago, to make sure there will always be a minimum and a maximum amount of money in the fund. The maximum is set at 8 to 12 percent of the budget.
“Right now, I believe we are at about 14 percent,” he said.
While Hovell was not at the Board of Selectmen meeting, he said he understood Klein was suggesting ways the money could be spent.
“It is not there to be spent, when you get your paycheck it is money in the bank, you don’t run out and spend it, so we will take it up at our meeting on the 21st, there is really nothing to be done with that money,” he said.
Hovell said the Board of Finance will discuss what, if anything, will be done with the surplus.
“We could spend it on projects, we could pay for some projects we plan to bond, like the $1 million for Heights Road, or the Weed Beach renovation, but we’ll probably place some of it back into the fund for the mill rate next year so we don’t have to increase taxes as much,” he said.
Legally, Hovell said there is nothing wrong with holding onto the surplus.
“There is no law that says we can’t keep the money, we just have a policy, and we’re not trying to generate a general fund greater than that, it would be unfair to tax too much,” he said.
He also added that the town will have very high legal expenses this year that will need to be paid for.
In the end, Hovell pointed out that the bottom line is no town board owns the surplus.
“It is important to note that money does not belong to the selectmen or the Board of Finance — it is the taxpayers’ money,” he said.