BET approves 11-year bond reconciliation, deauthorizes excess authorizations

The Board of Estimate and Taxation voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a resolution reconciling past bond issuances and deauthorizing excess authorized-but-unissued bonds for capital projects.

The resolution, introduced by member Fisher and recommended by the Budget Committee, reconciles project appropriations from fiscal 2008 through fiscal 2018, formally removes unissued bond authorizations and addresses excess proceeds. "We are reconciling 11 years of projects," said Miss Erickson, head of the Budget Committee, who reported the committee voted 4-0-0 to advance the item.

Comptroller Joan Lynch detailed modest corrections and clarifications made since the committee meeting, including breaking out sewer improvement amounts and fixing a transposition error for fiscal 2018. Lynch said one line required an additional appropriation of $2,006.29 before final deauthorization, and that administrative closeouts in some years required restorations of prior appropriations to enable proper deauthorization.

Bond counsel Keisha Palmer, appearing remotely from Robinson & Cole, said most entries merely restore previously appropriated amounts and that only a single project required an increase in appropriation (about $2,629, under the BETs $5,000 threshold for independent action). Palmer said the town holds about $6,624,554.87 in authorized-but-unissued bonds that will be removed when the appropriations are deauthorized.

The packet included tables showing excess proceeds and allocations: a line described as "Table 1" listed a total of excess proceeds (as presented in the packet), with $1,395,144.16 shown for the Coscov pump station and $7,623,052.18 shown for the Central Middle School project. Board members asked for fund-level breakouts and were told the tables now separate general fund and sewer improvement allocations.

After brief clarifying questions, Chair Weisbrod called for a voice vote. "All those in favor, signify by saying aye," he said; he later announced the motion carried unanimously, 12-0-0. The board directed staff to publish the reconciled schedules and to continue an annual practice of reconciling older bond authorizations ahead of future offerings.

The BETs vote clears administrative obstacles so finance staff can finalize deauthorizations and position the town for upcoming bond activity; next procedural steps include making the reconciled schedules part of the towns finance records and reflecting the changes in the next bond offering materials.