North Stonington — Despite raising questions about the timing, the Board of Finance ultimately voted at its Wednesday night meeting to approve several budget transfers requested by First Selectman Shawn Murphy.

In question were two budget transfers covering contractual raises for the town's bookkeeper and tax collector.

Murphy said the raises were in addition to 2 percent raises negotiated with the union for most Town Hall employees. Additional raises for those two positions were agreed upon because the union argued that both were significantly underpaid in comparison with other similar positions in towns in the region.

The raises amount to $2,075 and $4,161 annually for the bookkeeper and tax collector, respectively. The cost to go to arbitration would have been $15,000, Murphy said.

However, those raises were not included in the budget referendum approved in December, after two earlier budget referendums failed, which prompted questions from the finance board.

"He withheld that information from the Board of Finance," board Alternate Robert Testa said. 

Murphy said he didn't inform the Board of Finance because he thought the board would make reductions elsewhere in his budget to compensate for the raises.

To cover the raises, Murphy requested the transfer of funds from $34,720 budgeted for the economic development coordinator position, which currently is vacant. Even if the town were to find a candidate that could start immediately, it would not be at risk of overspending the line, he said.

The finance board eventually voted to approve the transfer, with Testa dissenting. He noted the town could pay an EDC coordinator more money with the remaining budget. 

"(It) would have been nice to know ahead of time ... hopefully it's a budget we can put behind us," Board of Finance Vice Chairman Charles Steinhart IV said.

The Board of Finance also approved other transfers from the economic development coordinator budget line to fund a $6,000 redesign of the town's website and $5,590 in additional email addresses for board and committee members, which Murphy said would make it easier to comply with Freedom of Information requests.

Last month, the Board of Finance issued a letter of guidance to the first selectman and the Board of Education Chairman Robert Carlson as they prepare their budget presentations for the upcoming fiscal year.

Citing the stagnant grand list and state budget deficit, the letter requests both Carlson and Murphy to "strive for a zero percent increase over current spending levels."

n.lynch@theday.com