During a brief regular meeting April 5, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal briefed Selectmen Maureen Crick Owen and Jeff Capeci on additional funds he expected to be considered two days later by the Legislative Council to further reduce the proposed 2021-22 budget proposal.

The Board of Selectmen additionally approved a special appropriation from the capital non-recurring account to participate in a UConn Internship and Professional Practice (IPP) Program.

The council was expected to complete its budget deliberations on April 7 [see separate coverage].

Rosenthal explained that if adopted as described, savings that developed in the capital non-recurring account but were not yet applied to reduce the taxpayer burden could potentially be used to reduce or wipe out any tax increase for the coming fiscal year.

“We did offer up the savings we had in capital non-recurring,” he said. “We’re raising spending to basically save money in capital non-recurring, but we can just use the excess revenue in fund balance to do that this year and further reduce the budget.”

The first selectman said the Board of Education recently learned of additional grant awards it was anticipating, but were not yet confirmed, as the council took up consideration of the budget proposal.

“I think where we have the opportunity in years there is a budget surplus, I think the right thing to do is to try and use that to mitigate a tax increase,” Rosenthal said. “Last year we were able to have a zero percent tax increase... and this year with the council... I think he interest is there to do the same thing again.”

Crick Owen said when the finance board was deliberating the budget, there was concern mentioned that taxpayers were struggling with added burdens brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We may not be able to do this every year, but obviously when funds are available we can do it,” she said.

HR Intern Stipend

After attempting to deal with a connection problem involving Finance Director Bob Tait’s remote access to the meeting, the board moved on to the intern appropriation.

Rosenthal said a graduate intern was made available, and the experienced individual will be used to reduce the town’s Human Resources office’s dependence on paper filing by making certain functions more automated and modernized.

“We thought it was a good program to take advantage of,” the first selectman said. He confirmed that funding for the town’s part of the intern stipend is coming from undesignated funds in the capital non-recurring account.

Selectmen also approved an amendment and restated access agreement for the Hubbard Foundation related to its animal sanctuary. The new access would come from Commerce Road.

The foundation has already launched construction of an appropriate driveway to provide access to its animal sanctuary, and is shouldering the cost with an eye on expediting the project.

As previously reported in The Newtown Bee (“Construction Underway On Access Drive To Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary,” February 25, 2021), preconstruction work for a new drive to the 34-acre Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary began the week of February 22.

Linking Commerce Road via a currently town-owned lot at 6 Commerce Road to 3 Old Farm Road, the access drive will provide the town-required route necessary to accommodate future transportation needs, including construction trucks, visitor vehicles, buses for field trips, and emergency vehicles.

The access drive is the next important step before construction can begin on the sanctuary buildings.

Rosenthal said the town is poised to sell a parcel at 6 Commerce Road, and if it does, the Hubbard Foundation could recoup about half the anticipated development cost to change the granted temporary access to its animal preserve.

When completed, the drive would serve the buyer of the 6 Commerce Road parcel along with the Hubbard Foundation. That right of access for the Hubbard Foundation was always intended to be from Commerce Road, but was delayed until the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection approved the driveway.

That approval has since been granted.

“They really want to get moving on their project, and this agreement will allow them to move the access and eventually recoup some of the cost,” he said. Rosenthal added that an appraisal showed the value of the Commerce Road parcel through which the driveway would pass exceeded the estimated cost to complete the access road.

“I have no doubt there will be a net benefit,” the first selectman said.