Financial Oversight Committee elects Jim Broderick and reviews FY27 budget, flags $400,000 ambulance subsidy

The Financial Oversight Committee elected Jim Broderick chair and spent the meeting reviewing the town manager's proposed FY27 budget, which projects roughly $99.5 million in combined revenues and a combined budget increase of about 2.32 percent.

Tom Andrew, the town manager, presented the budget overview and said the working tax‑rate estimate is about $19.20. He told the committee the town is maintaining an excess levy capacity to preserve flexibility for emergencies and future planning, and thanked department heads and finance staff for limiting growth. The general fund is projected to increase roughly $1.8 million to nearly $81 million.

A new line item labeled an ambulance subsidy — currently estimated at about $400,000 and described as a worst‑case placeholder — would move ambulance expenses out of the fire department budget and into a separate ambulance fund to better match operations and costs. Andrew said the subsidy figure should decline as revenue is finalized before the budget vote. He also told the committee that over six years the town billed about $33 million for ambulance transports and collected roughly $12 million, largely reflecting Medicare collection rates, which has contributed to the shortfall while the ambulance enterprise matures.

Committee members pressed staff for operational details, including how calls are logged when police, fire and ambulance units respond. Staff said dispatch protocols determine responses and that an ambulance made about 3,400 calls last year; they agreed to provide a more detailed breakdown at a follow‑up meeting.

The presentation also covered the capital plan (about $2 million in the proposed year) and identified specific roadway work proposed with free‑cash allocations: continuation of Parker Street to Meadowbrook Road, reconstruction of Meadowbrook Road and Hamden Road from Parker to the town line. Enterprise funds were highlighted as an area of pressure: Springfield Water & Sewer increased wholesale charges, prompting noticeable water‑rate changes for customers, and staff said a recently received sewer cost revision could reduce the impact.

Andrew said Chapter 90 funding is expected to remain about $900,000 and that the town's excess levy capacity stands around $1.6 million, both figures subject to change with state budget actions. Insurance and benefit costs drew questions: staff said property/liability premiums rose in part because the town recently placed a $177 million building on the insurance schedule, increasing premiums by roughly $120,000, while health insurance increases were moderated this year through trust reserves and plan changes at the Scantic Valley cooperative.

On schools, the committee discussed a school department request that began at about 6.24 percent and was reduced to about 3 percent at the manager's level two. Staff said net school spending calculations will be finalized in September and offered to supply historical comparisons and an interim estimate for committee review.

The committee also asked the manager to list the three and a half positions currently proposed for later recruitment (including a part‑time zoning enforcement officer among candidates) so members could review the personnel requests at the next meeting.

Members agreed on several upcoming meeting dates to finish budget review and produce recommendations for the town council public hearing scheduled for May 12; the committee tentatively set dates including April 13 (3:30 p.m.), April 23 (3:00 p.m.), April 27 (3:00 p.m.), May 4 (3:00 p.m.) and a tentative May 7 meeting if needed.

Votes at a glance: the committee elected Jim Broderick chair by roll call early in the meeting; later the committee and the special town council session voted to adjourn, with a roll call recorded aloud.

The committee asked staff for follow‑up materials — a detailed ambulance call breakdown, net school‑spending comparisons for prior years, the list of personnel positions requested, and further detail on insurance reserve use — before the next scheduled meeting. The Financial Oversight Committee adjourned after completing the agenda.