Board of Finance receives positive audit report

SHARON — A drafted FY23 audit report was reviewed in detail at the regular meeting of the Board of Finance on Tuesday, Dec. 19, with the town’s auditor having determined that everything is in good order.

“The town is very well run,” reported George Sinnamon, CPA, of Sinnamon and Associates of Canaan, adding that no compliance issues were found for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023.

The $117,629 that was moved from the General Fund to the Board of Education budget, by town meeting vote in late 2022, to meet the state’s minimum budget requirement (MBR) for school spending, was returned in full to the town’s Capital Reserve Fund in October 2023, Sinnamon said. The additional funding had not been spent, as the school budget showed a surplus at the end of the fiscal year.

“It’s a handshake agreement,” Sinnamon said of the MBR arrangement, indicating that the Board of Education would have complete authority to spend the additional funding on education-related expenses if it chose.

“It’s been a strong start,” said First Selectman Casey Flanagan as he reviewed the Board of Selectmen’s financial report, referencing the first month of service for the newly elected selectmen.

Anticipating two major road repair projects, Flanagan described conditions on River Road, reduced to one-lane for a 400-foot stretch, and drainage problems on Rolling Hills Road and Dug Road. Both roads are seeing major erosion.

Flanagan reported that officials are seeking owners’ permission to enter their River Road property to conduct essential borings to determine the presence of ledge that could aid in the road design phase. Cardinal Engineering is creating design options.

The two River Road options being considered by Cardinal are either to build a retaining wall to halt the continuing erosion along 400 feet of Housatonic riverbank, or if ledge is found, to move the road westward toward the hill.

Rolling Hills Road and Dug Road are suffering from serious shoulder erosion, also being studied by Cardinal, with preliminary cost estimates put at $1.6 million to correct the drainage problems.

“We’re in very early stages, but we have to act,” Flanagan said.

In the first of what may be a series of get-acquainted meetings with new community organization personnel, Executive Director Karen DePauw of the Sharon Historical Society was invited to introduce herself at the finance board meeting.

DePauw offered a brief presentation of her 15 years of experience and her enthusiasm for the present and future of the society. She began her service to the local historical society in September 2023.

“We are a public trust as stewards of the collections for the good of the residents of Sharon,” DePauw told the finance board. Currently, the society is working on creating a sustainable fundraising plan to be followed within two years by a strategic plan.

Finance board member Jessica Fowler said that the idea for these get-acquainted meetings was hers, seen as an opportunity for new organizational personnel to present themselves to the finance board separate from the budget request process.

Planning to invite others for similar meetings, the finance board agreed to schedule new personnel from The Sharon Playhouse next.