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Business official outlines plan to shift reserve funds to cover retirement costs
Summary
Jeremy Nardone, the district presenter, reviewed reserve fund balances and recommended transferring funds from an overfunded unemployment reserve into an employees' retirement (ERS) reserve to smooth future retirement cost spikes and comply with comptroller guidance.
Jeremy Nardone, the district's presenter on finance matters, gave the Board a detailed review of Caledonia-Mumford Central School District's reserve funds and proposed moving a portion of the unemployment reserve into an ERS (employees' retirement) reserve.
Nardone told trustees the district's assigned appropriated fund balance stands at $365,000 and the retirement contribution reserve (for TRS-covered staff) is fully funded at the statutory 10% maximum. He said the district can use the retirement reserve to offset spikes in pension rates and recommended reallocating funds while remaining within comptroller rules. "So that's gonna be, the recommendation that we put forth probably in May or June is to liquidate some of that unemployment and move it into the ERS reserve," Nardone said.
Nardone explained the rationale: the unemployment reserve has been lightly used in recent years and the comptroller flagged it as overfunded; moving money to an ERS reserve would better match predictable retirement liabilities. He outlined other reserves, including the EBLR (employee benefit accrued liability) calculated at just over $675,000 as of June 30, 2024, and the vehicle and equipment reserve, which is capped by voter authorization at $1,000,000 and will be needed for larger capital needs such as electric-bus purchases.
Board members asked operational and timeline questions. A trustee noted that the district had moved cash into capital projects in June 2024 to begin work on the 2025–26 capital project; Nardone confirmed $2.75 million was appropriated and moved into the capital fund in June 2024 to begin paying project expenses. He advised trustees to expect a formal resolution in May or June to deem the unemployment reserve overfunded and to transfer money to the ERS reserve, with auditors to confirm the action.
The discussion emphasized compliance with comptroller guidance and preserving funds for foreseeable liabilities rather than keeping them idle. The Board did not take final action on the reserve transfers at the meeting; Nardone said he would return with confirmations from the auditor and timing for any formal resolutions.
Ending: Trustees asked staff to bring the recommended resolution and supporting documentation back to the Board in spring for formal action.
