What Cost Containment Measures Mean

With the town’s contingency budget dwindling to $144,000 this month and over four months remaining in the current fiscal year, the Town Council has accepted a recommendation by the Board of Finance to enact the town’s cost containment policy at Tier 3.

Below is a list of cost containment measures at each level and if the recent move to Tier 3 is unsuccessful, Board of Finance members including Edward Pocock Jr., John Moise and Kevin Beaudoin said the board and Town Council could move to Tier 2.

The effects of the tiers are detailed in below:

Cost Containment, Tier 4 (enacted in late 2010)

I. Freeze all vehicle purchases. Exceptions: Public Safety. Override method: Departments submit list of budget items and reasoning to town manager, who must explain rationale if approved.

II. Freeze all equipment, computer, furniture and fixture purchases. Exceptions: Public Safety. Override Method: Departments submit list of budget items and reasoning to town manager, who must explain rationale if approved.

III. Impose a cap on all office supplies spending. No department shall spend more than 85 percent of their approved annual budget on office supplies. Exceptions: not applicable. Override method: Verbal approval from the town manager.

IV. Impose a cap on all non-public safety overtime. No department shall spend more than 85 percent of their approved annual budget on overtime. Exceptions: Public Safety, Public Health and Public Emergencies. Override Method: Departments must submit requests to town manager in written form for pre-approval.

Cost Containment, Tier 3 (enacted Monday night)
Tier 4 containment measures plus the following:

I. Freeze all capital expenditures. Can only apply to projects that are not already committed through contractual obligations. Exceptions: Not applicable. Override Method: The town manager must submit a list of requests with rationale to the Southington Town Council for approval.

II. Freeze all office supply purchases. Exceptions: Not applicable. Override Method: Departments must receive approval, in advance, from the town manager for any new purchases.

Cost Containment, Tier 2
Tier 4 and 3 containment measures plus the following:

I. Freeze all overtime costs and require approval. Exceptions: Public Safety, Public Health and Public Emergencies. Override Method: Overtime must be approved in advance for each hour by the town manager and a log kept detailing specific overtime costs and reasoning for each department.

II. Freeze on new hires. No job offers will be extended, open jobs remain unfilled and all searches stop immediately. Exceptions: Fire and Police Departments. Override Method: Any new requests and reasoning must be submitted in writing to the town manager.

III. Freeze any job promotions. Exceptions: Not applicable. Override Method: Any requests for job promotions must submit requests, with rationale, in writing to the town manager for approval.

IV. Freeze any equipment, computer, furniture and fixture purchases. This is an extension of the tier 4 freeze, except that public safety departments are also included in this freeze. Override Method: Any needs must be submitted, in writing, to the town manager.

V. Freeze on any travel expenses and reimbursements. Exceptions: Economic Development, Required Public Safety Training, Official Government Meetings, Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) sponsored events. Override Method: Written approval must be sought in advance and detailed records and costs provided to the town manager.

Cost Containment, Tier 1
All components of previous tiers plus the following:

I. Freeze on any new job hires. This is an extension of the tier 2 freeze, except that police and fire departments are also included in this freeze. Override Method: Any requests for new positions must be submitted, in writing, with rationale to the town manager for approval.

II. Freeze on all overtime costs. This is an extension of the tier 2 freeze, except the restriction will also apply to all public safety officials. Override Method: Departments must place requests and rationale in writing and such requests must be approved in advance by the town manager.