Budget, infrastructure issues still unresolved in Winsted

WINSTED — Members of the Winchester Board of Selectmen and Town Manager Wayne Dove Monday night discussed numerous issues that have yet to be resolved, not the least of which is a $400,000 school-budget imbalance left over from the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Dove told selectmen that the latest numbers from Superintendent of Schools Blaise Salerno indicate a $325,000 overspend for the 2009-10 fiscal year, which ended June 30. That indicates a decrease of approximately $20,000 from the previous estimate. The town must also pay approximately $73,000 in transportation costs, as mandated by the state, bringing the total imbalance to nearly $400,000.

Dove noted that, as of Monday, the business office for the school system had yet to provide journal entries promised to Finance Director Henry Centrella for the purpose of reconciling accounts. “I’m not going to comment on it until Henry does all of the adjustments, so we will have to table it until the next meeting,� he said.

Selectman Ken Fracasso said he was still not satisfied with the numbers the Board of Education has provided regarding the 2009-10 budget, noting that Salerno said the source of the overspend was for special education and transportation — accounts that appear to have not been overspent. “This thing gets more convoluted every day,� he said.

Fracasso also displayed a copy of the current budget, provided by the school business office, and noted that it is in a different format than the one produced by the school system’s computer network. Other selectmen agreed that different formats are not helpful in understanding the numbers.

The general lack of communication has not been helped by the fact that the school system’s main office has been closed for the past two weeks, Dove noted.

The town manager also said that Winsted is facing major infrastructure needs that have not been met in recent years, including approximately $40 million in capital improvements. Dove said about $33 million of that total has been identified as necessary repairs to school system buildings over the course of the next three years.

Using a traffic-light-style color-code system, Dove said many projects are in the “red� right now, including fixes to oil tanks at the town’s elementary schools and upgrades at Pearson Middle School, which he said will not be completed by the time the next school year begins. Pearson repairs include new door handles and doorways for handicapped accessibility, mandated by the federal Office of Civil Rights.

Also in the “red� zone are the town’s roads, Dove added. He has asked Public Works Director James Rotondo to develop a list of the work needed in town, which will be available Monday, Aug. 23, but a preliminary list indicates the town needs tens of millions of dollars in repairs. “Jim gave me some examples and said the highways in this town are as bad as they can get,� Dove said.

Meanwhile, the town’s Planning and Economic Development department remains in the red, without a town planner, Dove acknowledged. He added that he has placed the Recreation Department in the red as well, as this year’s Highland Lake Relay has been canceled due to lack of coordination.

Dove asked members of the Board of Selectmen to schedule a strategic session to go over key performance indicators he has identified and determine what the top 10 priorities are for the immediate future. The board has yet to schedule a date for that meeting.

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