CT Paid Leave Authority reviews November finances; officials note software timing, benefits spending and a $100,000 chatbot write-off

The CT Paid Leave Authority reviewed its November financial results and projections and discussed several operational items, including a $246,000 software license payment that affected monthly timing, rising benefits payments and a $100,000 chatbot consultant write-off.

Dave (surname not provided) presented the authority’s November operating results, saying, “For the month of November, our operating results were negative $1,100,000 that led to a positive variance of just under $43,000 for the month.” He attributed the variance primarily to timing of a Salesforce invoice, explaining the authority recorded a larger-than-usual software-license expense of $246,000 that produced a $226,000 negative variance.

The presentation listed major monthly expense lines: payroll and related expenses of $660,000, contact-center costs of about $133,000 and outreach of roughly $117,000. Dave said year-to-date operating activity showed a positive activity balance of just over $2,400,000 and a year-to-date positive variance of about $1,300,000.

On benefits and contributions, Dave reported benefits paid in the month were “just under $3,400,000” and described a monthly average run rate near $9,900,000. He also said contribution activity produced a movement close to $39,000,000 that resulted in about a $3,000,000 negative variance year to date. The authority’s available fund balance for benefit payments was described as nearly $611,300,000, with total assets near $617,800,000.

Dave said investment income for the period was “just over $2,000,000,” with an average investment yield near 4.2% and an expectation that yields could fall with additional federal rate changes. He projected operating activity to finish the fiscal year about $1,400,000 positive (or, including a redesignation transfer, a negative $12,800,000), placing the expected fiscal-year variance in the range of about $1.5–$1.6 million. The staff noted that delayed hiring, lower pension overhead and reduced outside consulting were driving favorable variances.

During questions, Melissa Gibran asked about a $100,000 line for a chatbot. Speaker 6 (name not provided) said the $100,000 was spent around 2021–22 on consultant work for an enterprise chatbot project that stalled, and that the authority wrote that cost off. “We do not have a chatbot,” Speaker 6 said, adding staff had instead focused on replatforming the website with Tyler Tech and that Miranda Creative provides design and social-media creative (billboards and testimonial videos) but was not the website vendor.

Melissa also asked about interest on the STIFF account and an impressed account at Aflac. Dave confirmed interest earned in the STIFF account is retained by the authority and credited to the contribution fund. He described the impressed account as a deposit Aflac draws from for weekly benefit payments; the authority reimburses those draws and earns interest on funds held there.

On policy impacts, Melissa asked how an upcoming minimum-wage increase would affect projections. Dave said actuaries build minimum-wage changes into contribution and benefit calculations, including maximum benefit adjustments, and staff will monitor and adjust forecasts if trends change.

Before adjourning, the authority approved the minutes of the Nov. 21 meeting (motion by Mike Soltis; seconded by Speaker 2; vote: two Ayes, one abstention). The meeting was adjourned at 9:24 a.m.

The authority did not take any formal votes on new policy, contracts, or program changes during the session; the meeting focused on the monthly financial review and clarifications about vendor and operational arrangements.