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Board of Finance presses for detail after board of education spends down surplus, BOE votes to seek RFP for internal-service review
Summary
Board of Finance members approved city performance reports but raised questions about early-year overtime spikes and a large June Board of Education expenditure; BOE had voted to proceed with an RFP described as a forensic audit of the internal-service (health insurance) fund.
The Torrington Board of Finance accepted city performance reports for fiscal-year closeout and early July figures on Aug. 19 but asked staff for follow-up on several anomalies, including higher-than-expected police overtime and a large month-end instructional-supplies transaction by the Board of Education.
Board members flagged police overtime for the first month of the fiscal year and noted other departments with early-year overtime and encumbrances that merit monitoring. Olivia, the comptroller, and Erica, the budget manager, said some line-item variances can be seasonal or result from encumbrances (approved purchase orders placed against prior-year reserves) and promised to provide more detail in subsequent reports.
A central concern was a $1,000,000 transaction posted to the Board of Education’s instructional supplies line in June. Board members said the amount appeared large for a single month and asked the BOE to explain what major components made up that spending. The BOE’s minutes and a subsequent report reviewed during the meeting indicate the BOE planned transfers totaling $3,200,000: $900,000 to instructional supplies, $125,000 to license renewals, $600,000 to district maintenance and $1,500,000 to a non‑lapsing reserve. Board of Finance members noted the ledger excerpts they examined did not clearly show the full $600,000 moving to district maintenance and asked the BOE business director for clarification.
The board also discussed a separate BOE vote to proceed with an RFP for a review of the internal-service (health insurance) fund. Board members at the BOE meeting approved issuing the RFP and described it as a forensic audit; the board of finance participants and auditors cautioned that the term “forensic” can imply allegations of fraud and that a narrow audit scope could affect responses. Board of Education staff later reversed a transfer to the non‑lapsing account pending the outcome of the audit process and the municipal audit.
Board of Finance members requested the BOE business director (Donna Labbe) or her staff be invited to present an explanation of major June transactions and the proposed RFP scope to the Board of Finance so the board can understand large end-of-year movements and the planned use of any non‑lapsing reserve funds.
The Board of Finance unanimously approved the city performance reports (motion by Wendy Trapp; seconded by Deb Inocido) and separately approved the Board of Education budget performance report through June and July; members said they expected more detailed reconciliations when the city’s fiscal-year soft close is finished and the external audit work advances.
