Tolland posts small projected first-quarter surplus; council questions SRO funding and legal authority

Finance staff told the council that the town is projecting a budgetary fund balance increase of roughly $182,000 for the fiscal year, driven largely by tax-sale receipts recorded in August and some departmental underspending tied to vacancies. The general fund and pooled investments totaled roughly $33.3 million as of Sept. 30; pooled balances across all funds were about $42.8 million. First-quarter interest earned on the general fund was reported at about $282,658.

Staff described projected fiscal-year net income for the enterprise fund and flagged a projected net income figure contingent on nine months of activity. Investment yields cited included high-performing state short-term funds and federally insured cash accounts, with average high-yield accounts returning about 4.24% at the time of the report.

Councilors used the finance presentation to raise operational questions about funding a school resource officer (SRO). Legal staff read an opinion noting town authority under state statutes and charter provisions to provide police protection and clarified that, under state law, the SRO must be employed by the town (not the Board of Education). Historically the town hired the SRO as a town employee and the Board of Education reimbursed the town; staff said the likely approach moving forward would be that the town hire the SRO (town payroll) with an intergovernmental reimbursement or payment arrangement to cover costs. Councilors asked for further coordination between town finance and the Board of Education to clarify payroll, supervision and reporting responsibilities.

No formal budget amendments were proposed at the meeting; staff said they will continue to monitor reserves and return to council with periodic updates.