Goshen Board of Finance
08/26/26 7:30 pm
Present: Chairman Ned Bixler, Vice Chairman Scott Tillmann, James Korner, Paul Collins, Lorraine Lucas, Patrick Reilly, Ashley Hall Daddona. Excused: Robert Layer.
First Selectman Seth Breakell told the Board there is a shortfall in the budget for the Town’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). As part of his report to the Board, Breakell spoke about the Professional Services Planning Consultant line item in the budget.
“They’re not yet completed with the POCD. They filed an extension,” he said. “They’re going to need more money.”
Breakell said the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) had a meeting scheduled but it was canceled, and he anticipates a need for more funding but does not yet have a more solid figure due to the meeting cancellation. Other area communities allotted larger amounts for similar development plans, he noted.
“Every other town around us had like $35-, $40-, $45,000 in their POCD Line,” Breakell said. “We had $12,000,” he said. That’s been nearly depleted by work on the plan already. “So, we’re down to like $2,000,” Breakell said.
Breakell put some of the bill from the POCD under the Operations line to keep the fund from dropping below zero, and anticipates that PZC will need more funds to cover the cost of a public hearing and printing costs, among other things.
“That’s a necessary cost, just a poor budget,” Reilly said, and the First Selectman agreed.
Another line item in the budget was also clarified by Breakell. “What happened was, we looked at the Town budget, it went through a thousand sets of eyes, but there was a typo.”
In the budget for Public Works, Salaries and Wages, the line for Administrative Wages shows that it is 319.89%, but that was incorrect. Instead of $9,160, there was $160.
Collins asked Breakell if there was a way to shuffle the numbers within that budget for the public’s perspective, “rather than have that go to a minus 4,000%.”
Bixler suggested that if it’s within the same department, the funds can be moved from another item so it doesn’t look like they’re over budget. They will come back to the issue at the next meeting to decide how to resolve it, he said.
Breakell also explained an overage in the last year’s budget listed under Miscellaneous. The line item totaled $38,000 when they had budgeted for $5,000. “We received a bunch of checks from the close out of Region 6,” he said. In closing bank accounts after the consolidation of Region 6 School District with Region 20, the Town benefitted.
Despite closing Region 6, the Board will continue to support the pension plan for the District. Breakell said they hope to buy out the plan in the next five or six years, but they will continue to fund it, along with the Region 20 payments.
Before moving away from the Selectman’s report, the Board agreed to move funds in the Town Clerk’s office to cover the cost of a copy machine. Breakell said during last month’s meeting they talked about it but never made a motion.
Collins moved to reallocate $1,032 from Roller Shelves to Copier, and the Board unanimously agreed after a second by Tillmann.
The meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m. after a motion by Korner.
