Monthly Archives: May 2020

Lyme-Old Lyme Board of Education Passes $34.7 Million Budget Unanimously, Total Represents Largest “Negative Increase” Since 1973

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Screen shot of Wednesday evening’s virtual Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Board of Education meeting at which the 2020-21 budget was passed.

LYME/OLD LYME — The Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Board of Education (BOE) unanimously passed the proposed 2020-21 Regional District #18 budget of $34,711,631 during a virtual meeting Wednesday night.

After a reevaluation of savings from the current year, the 2020-21 budget now shows a decrease of $373,127 (1.06 percent) over the current (2019-2o) budget according to Ian Neviaser, Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent. There was a lively discussion among board members and the superintendent as to how to describe this decrease correctly, which BOE Chair Diane Linderman ended up declaring was, the biggest “negative increase” in the budget since 1973, when the regional district was formed.

Neviaser noted that a significant savings in the budget (5.5 percent) are due to a decrease in the need for special education programs for students as a handful of special needs students recently left the district. 

“Our special education providers are currently doing an excellent job. The unknown factor in special education is always needs and new students,” said Neviaser. “This could wildly swing the other way tomorrow depending on enrollment.”

Neviaser also addressed some recent news articles, which discussed the school district’s recent savings, saying that, although some expenses have been saved due to COVID-19, that does not explain the whole picture. “Some of the savings that we’ve incurred have to do with the closure; for example we are not hiring substitutes right now,” said Neviaser. “As we’ve been saying throughout the entire year, the majority of our savings have come from special education.” 

Due to the size of this year’s surplus, the project to resurface the six tennis courts on the main campus, which had been spaced over two years, will now be completed in the current financial year. Similarly, an additional project was also approved for waterproofing ($16,750.00) the exterior of the middle school’s split face cement blocks, which again had been included in the 2020-21 budget, but will now be moved into the current year.

Board member Rick Goulding, who chairs the Facilities Committee, mentioned there is a possibility that refinishing the high school gym floor might also be transferred into the current year’s budget. If it is decided to pursue that plan, he said that request will be made at the June BOE meeting.

Neviaser referenced the fact that the Gov. Lamont had recently declared that schools would remain closed for the remainder of the year.  He stressed that he has been working closely with the Connecticut COVID-19 Reopening Task Force to maneuver the next steps in opening up school districts in a safe manner, however a timeline is still very broad at this point.

“We will look to them for some input. Knowing the way the state functions, they will provide general guidance and because every district is different, we will make our own internal adaptations based on that guidance,” said Neviaser. 

Although a referendum in Lyme and Old Lyme is normally required in order to pass the school’s budget, this was not needed this year due to the Governor’s Executive Order 7I, which states that town and school districts were not required to vote on budgets by “any in-person budget adoption requirements.” 

Neviaser noted that both towns would benefit significantly from the decreased LOL Schools’ budget when they finalized their town budgets in the upcoming weeks. He said Old Lyme will pay the school district exactly the same amount as in the 2019-20 budget and Lyme will pay 3 percent less than this year. The amounts the towns pay respectively of the total budget are determined by the relative percentages of students from each town, which are usually in a roughly 80:20 ratio with Old Lyme paying 80 percent of the budget. The numbers for the 2020-21 year saw Old Lyme increase its percentage of students while Lyme’s fell correspondingly.

Neviaser took a moment during the meeting to recognize Educator Appreciation Week, and share his appreciation for the efforts of all of the LOL faculty and staff during this unprecedented time.

“There is no single road map to make this work, it’s a constant adjustment and adaptation to whatever students need,” said Neviaser. “I think I speak for the full board that we greatly appreciate what they’re doing and how hard they’re working.”

Griswold Tells BOS “Beach Closures Accomplished What We Wanted,” Hopes Beaches May Reopen May 20

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Old Lyme First Selectman Timothy Griswold. File photo.

OLD LYME — At last Monday evening’s Old Lyme Board of Selectmen’s meeting, First Selectman Timothy Griswold discussed the subject of the Old Lyme beach closures, which had been enforced the immediately preceding weekend and met with mixed reactions. He said, “I made a decision to close the [Old Lyme] beaches to the public. In talking with the president of Miami Beach [Association], he agreed Miami Beach should be closed too.”

The meeting was broadcast live as a telephone conference.

Griswold referenced the landmark Greenwich lawsuit regarding town beaches, which he said those involved in the decision had “looked at” and concluded it meant in the case of Old Lyme that they “had to close all town beaches.”  He noted the president of White Sand Beach Association had agreed with the decision.

Recognizing it was a “controversial decision,” he said that at the meeting he called Wednesday of representatives from the beaches and emergency services, the consensus was that primarily due to the sunny weather expected, “it would be pretty unwise to have business as usual at Sound View Beach” during the coming weekend.

He reported that “things went relatively well,” with only some “very minor violations,” and a Beach Ranger worked at White Sand Beach “instructing visitors that the beach was closed.” Noting he had met with the owners of the Sound View restaurants Kokomo’s and The Pavilion, Griswold said both had agreed to serve take-out only.

He emphasized his hope that these would be short-term closures and that the beaches might re-open soon.

He summarized the results of the closures saying they, “accomplished what we wanted … it would have been a real problem if we had done nothing.”

During public comment, Susan Kneen Way of Old Lyme asked if Griswold, “Would be willing to reconsider the closure of White Sand Beach and Hains Park” since beach-goers there and at Hains Park are required to have car hang tags in order to park. She noted “Since the private beaches have been advised to govern themselves, the rest of Old Lyme should be afforded the same opportunity.”

Griswold responded, “There are certain legal issues that govern these public beaches. It would be unusual to restrict them to town residents when the public itself can’t come to the beach.” He again referenced the Greenwich lawsuit, which he explained requires a town to consider “access to public beaches as access to a park.”

Kneen Way countered, “My understanding is that White Sand Beach is for town residents only, hence the requirement for hang tags.” Griswold responded, “Non-residents can acquire a beach pass — though not at the same rate,” adding, “It’s [White Sand Beach] not the exclusive domain of town residents.”

Saying that she has seen clear evidence on the beach at the weekend of  Old Lyme residents observing social distancing, Kneen Way did however stress to Griswold, “I understand your reasons for closing Sound View.”

Griswold concurred that, “We would very much like to have these beaches open, but I think with Sound View, there’s no good way of regulating that.”

He concluded, “Maybe on the 20th of May we’ll have some good news from the Governor, but meanwhile, we have to be really careful.”

Exencial Wealth Advisors To Acquire $800M Willingdon Wealth Management; No Plans to Close Old Lyme Office

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Tom McGuigan is Principal/Wealth Adviser at the Exencial Old Lyme office.

OKLAHOMA CITY/OLD LYME — Leading independent wealth management firm Exencial Wealth Advisors (Exencial) has announced its agreement to acquire Willingdon Wealth Management (Willingdon), a North Carolina-based registered investment advisor (RIA), according to a press release issued April 30.

Exencial is based in Oklahoma City, Okla. and has offices in Old Lyme, Conn., along with Frisco and San Antonio in Texas.

Expected to close on June 1, 2020, the deal would add $800 million in assets to Exencial’s book of business and deepen its talent pool with 16 new employees, including five CFA charterholders.

Asked his reaction to the acquisition, Thomas P. McGuigan, CFP®, who serves as Principal/Wealth Adviser at the Old Lyme office, told LymeLine in an email, “We are excited by the acquisition of Willingdon Wealth Management,” noting, “The Old Lyme office of Exencial Wealth Advisors was the first office outside of the Oklahoma City main office to join Exencial Wealth Advisors. That was accomplished in 2006.”

He explained, “We were the experiment to see if offices separated by distance, but unified in mission and values, could operate efficiently on behalf of clients. That experiment was a success, and we have since added offices in Frisco and San Antonio, Texas. Willingdon will further expand our reach to the southeastern states.”

On inquiring whether  the acquisition would affect the day-to-day operation of the office in Old Lyme, McGuigan responded, “There won’t be significant changes in the operations of the Old Lyme office. I do anticipate synergy between the Willingdon team and the rest of Exencial,” adding, “This has occurred each time a new office has been added.

He concluded, “That will work both ways. The Exencial team in Old Lyme has expertise that our other offices have tapped into, and we have benefited by the expertise of other offices.I expect that to continue with the Willingdon team.”

There is always a risk of consolidation when a merger of any sort occurs. We asked McGuigan whether there is any likelihood the office In Old Lyme will either be closed or moved to a new location. He replied, “No, that is not in the plans. We intend to grow the Old Lyme office. Just last year Exencial Wealth Advisors purchased the Old Lyme practice of Deborah A. Welles, CPA, and we have integrated their team into our operations.”

Willingdon specializes in investment management and develops personalized investment portfolios for each of their clients. They also provide a wide range of other services, including holistic financial planning, estate planning, trustee services and guidance on charitable giving.

Mike Kayes, Founder and President of Willingdon, commented in the press release, “Exencial’s tax planning capabilities in particular will greatly benefit our clients.”

In addition to its headquarters in North Carolina, Willingdon has satellite offices in Connecticut, Ohio and California.

Editor’s Note: Exencial Wealth Advisors is an independent registered investment advisory firm offering fee-only, objective financial planning, investment management and tax planning counsel to senior corporate executives, institutions, entrepreneurs and their families. The Old Lyme office is located at 83 Halls Rd., Ste. 205, Old Lyme CT 06371. For further information, call 860.434.5999 or visit their website.

Lyme-Old Lyme BOE to Vote on $34.7 Million 2020-21 School Budget This Evening, Public Can Attend Meeting Virtually

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LYME/OLD LYME — The Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools Board of Education (BOE) meets this evening at 6:30 p.m. for a regular board meeting.  The agenda includes “Approval of the 2020-2021 School Budget” under New Business.

This year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont in Executive Order 7I waived the requirement for towns and school districts to vote on budgets by “any in-person budget adoption requirements,” including town meetings or referenda.

The board of education can therefore vote on — and potentially pass — the proposed 2020-21 District budget at tonight’s meeting, which will be held virtually. Access information for the meeting can be found on the agenda.

The previously planned May 5 referendum on the proposed school budget was cancelled.

The budget on which the LOL Board of Education will vote this evening totals $$34,711,631, which now represents a 1.06 percent reduction over the 2019-20 budget. The budget number presented at the April 6 District Hearing was $34,909,697.

Asked this morning why the final number now showed a $198,066 reduction over the number presented at the District Hearing, Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser responded, “We used some of our surplus from this year to move a majority of the tennis court project into this year’s budget.  We have a large surplus this year due to savings incurred throughout the year mainly in special education costs.”

At the District Hearing, Neviaser stated the goals of the budget were to support the objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan by:

    • Preserving and building upon the high standards of education in LOL while remaining fiscally responsible to our communities.
    • Supporting the ongoing renewal of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and staff development activities in response to the expectations of state and national standards.
    • Continuing to plan and provide technology infrastructure and applications that are consistent with highly effective and efficient programming and operational standards.
    • Maintaining high facility standards for all district buildings and grounds.
    • Maintaining a dynamic and responsive approach to programming needs and mandates in special education.
    • Maintaining both compliance and reasonability in response to state and federal mandates.

At that meeting, he ran through an Overall Budget Summary noting that the major significant decrease was in debt service, which is down 18.57 percent, while other decreases were present in employee benefits (5.36 percent), special education (5.5 percent) and administrative services (6.36 percent.) He said, “the budget pie looks like that of previous years,” with 40.8 percent of the budget allocated to Certified Staff, adding, “the breakdown has not changed drastically.”

Commenting, “We’ve been back to 1998,” Neviaser then stated, “This is the lowest budget increase on record.”

 

Welcome, Caroline! Our Summer Intern for 2020

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Introducing our 2020 Summer Intern Caroline LeCour.

OLD LYME — We are delighted to announce that Caroline LeCour has joined the LymeLine team and will serve as our 2020 summer intern. She has been a resident of Old Lyme all of her life, is a graduate of the Lyme-Old Lyme High School Class of 2018, and is currently double-majoring in Communications and Journalism at The University of Connecticut.

As a journalist in the making, Caroline has worked as both a campus correspondent and the Social Media and Outreach Coordinator for The Daily Campus, UConn’s daily newspaper, as well as hosted her own radio show on WHUS Radio.

In her free time, Caroline is an avid rower and coxswain for the Blood Street Sculls of Old Lyme.

She tells us, “I am excited to be interning at LymeLine this summer and looking forward to all the experience I will gain during my time here.”

Caroline will be covering events for us in Lyme and Old Lyme as and when they start taking place again, but in the meantime, she will be “attending” some town and school meetings virtually and then reporting on them. She will also be writing articles and feature stories on a variety of topics focused on Lyme and/or Old Lyme and taking photographs for us.

Additionally, Caroline has a great deal of experience with social media and will be using it to improve our social media presence across multiple platforms.

Say hello to Caroline if you see her around town and let her know how pleased we are that she’s joined us.  She’s a terrific addition to our team.

If you want to suggest a story to Caroline or contact her for any other reason, she can be reached at caroline.lecour@uconn.edu.