Board makes a $51,000 supplemental appropriation to pay for a sick payout

Jan. 31—WILLIMANTIC — As the Willimantic Taxing District Board of Directors closes out its 2021- 2022 budget, the board made a $ 51,000 supplemental appropriation to pay for a sick payout for retired Willimantic Deputy Police Chief Robert Buckner. The appropriation, which came from the district's revenues, was approved by a vote of 5 to 0 during the Willimantic Taxing District Board of Directors meeting on Jan. 24.

" We're tying things up for the auditors," Windham Town Manager Jim Rivers said during the meeting. He said the town filed for an extension for the audit, which he expects to be finished within the next couple of months. Buckner, who retired in 2022, had a sick pay-out of $73,000.

He worked for the police department for 33 years and was earning $111,133 when he retired. After Buckner's retirement, Douglas Glode became deputy chief.

Rivers said payouts are usually covered by areas in which the budget was underspent.

" We had come in under budget in other places," he said.

However, Rivers said the taxing district could only find $22,000 from the operating budget to put towards the sick time payout, leaving an additional $51,000 that had to be covered.

" Last year was a tough one because of the inflation," he said. " We came really close on the town budget too. It was a tough year."

The supplemental, $ 51,000 appropriation came from the revenues.

Rivers said the district received $ 1.6 million more in revenues than it had budgeted for. " We're going to be in really good shape," he said "$51,000 is not going to break us in any which way or form." Rivers said one reason the reserves, which includes general government and Willimantic Taxing District reserves, are near 20 percent is because the budgets normally have a surplus, sometimes a significant surplus. He said about four years ago, the reserves were only about seven percent of the operating budget, which is on the " low end."

" It's not critical," Rivers said.

He said the Willimantic Taxing District revenues were significantly higher than budgeted during the last fiscal year because the

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payment from Payment in Lieu of Taxes property was much higher than the budgeted amount. PILOT money is issued by the state to municipalities for certain categories of properties that can't be taxed, including state-owned real property, certain real property that is the subject of a state lease or long-term financing contract, municipally- owned airports and certain land held in trust by the federal government.

Rivers said currently, the Willimantic Taxing District doesn't have a fund to pay for pay-outs when veteran staff members leave.

"We eat it within the budget that we have," he said.

Rivers said the town had several people retire due to the pandemic last year, a situation that was managed by holding off on new hires.

"There's more discretionary spending there," he said, referring to the general government budget. Rivers said the Willimantic Taxing District doesn't have the same "tools" that the general government budget has "because we have to backfill with overtime if somebody's not there" Follow Michelle Warren on Twitter — @mwarrentc.