UPDATE (April 24, 2019): This story has been updated changing an incorrect reference to a Sandy Hook capital project and correcting the amount of a bonding authorization request for Hawley School.

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Inevitably, as the dust settles following every recent budget referendum, local elected officials have lamented the abysmal voter turnouts. This year, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal is reminding every qualified voter that their voice at the polls Tuesday, April 23, is critically important.

He told The Newtown Bee that by taking a few minutes to participate in the local referendum, qualified residents not only play a key role in the final step of the annual budget development process — more globally, the opportunity to cast a budget vote represents one of the only ways constituents can still influence how the government that affects them most immediately operates (and sets taxation).

“Newtown’s budget vote represents as close to direct democracy as anyone can get,” he said during a chat at his Municipal Center office April 15.

“You can’t vote on the state budget, and you certainly can’t have any impact on the federal budget, so Newtown’s budget referendum represents a rare opportunity in our greater democracy. When you get a 17 percent turnout like last year, it’s tough to read — it leaves you wondering what the other 83 percent are thinking.”

For any Newtown taxpayer who is motivated to add his/her voice and vote to the local budget process, referendum polls will be open Tuesday, April 23, at the Newtown Middle School gym, from 6 am to 8 pm.

Voters who cannot make it to the polling place can cast absentee budget ballots during a special Saturday voting session, Saturday, April 20, between 9 am and noon, in the Municipal Center’s Town Clerk’s Office, 3 Primrose Street; or on Friday, April 19 and Monday, April 22, between 8 am and 4:30 pm.

What Is On The Ballot?

Referendum participants are asked to cast Yes or No votes on separate requests for the Board of Education budget proposal and the municipal request.

On April 3, the council settled on referring a municipal budget request totaling $42,179,503 and a separate school district request for $78,104,410 to vote. It should be noted that the municipal budget carries all capital project debt service costs for both the town and school district.

If both budgets — with a combined total of $120,283,913 — are approved by voters, the 2019-20 tax increase will equal $2,662,714 or a 1.56 percent bump, (providing a 2.7 percent increase in spending). The projected mill rate would be 34.77 — a mill represents one dollar in taxation for every $1,000 in taxable property.

Each of those two budget lines is accompanied by questions asking voters to reply Yes or No on whether, if that line fails, they believe a revised budget request should be higher.

On side two of the ballot, voters are also asked to endorse or reject four capital bonding authorizations:

*$1 million for capital roads;

*$2.7 million for a high school boiler/lighting replacement;

*A Hawley School boiler replacement and lighting retrofit totaling $783,200; and

*$290,000 to cover most of the cost of creating four new regulation pickleball courts at Fairfield Hills.

Capital Project Details

According to explanatory information offered to voters, approval of the pickleball resolution will allow the appropriation and bonding of $290,000, which will be offset by a donation of $25,000 to plan, design, and construct four pickleball courts.

The project anticipates four new pickleball courts with lighting infrastructure for the future addition of lighting and surrounding landscaping. Courts will be fully fenced and offer residents the opportunity to participate in this activity.

The facility will be located on the Fairfield Hills Campus, adjacent to the community center, Glander fields, and the Emergency Operations Center. Site work will be completed by Parks and Recreation. Parking, which will be 20 lined spaces, currently exists behind Cochran House.

Support features such as a pavilion and bathrooms already exist or will be a component of the community center project. The new courts will be constructed of post tensioned concrete, slurried with two coats of acrylic court surfacing that will have a 20-year warrantee against cracking or structural issues and will have a service life of greater than 30 years with an acrylic recoating every eight to ten years.

Lighting infrastructure will include all buried conduit, pole bases, and transformer pads to allow for the future addition of light fixtures.

Approval of the Hawley resolution will allow the replacement of the original boiler to a higher efficiency gas-fired hot water system in the 1921 section of the building. The current boiler is a steam system that runs inefficiently. Replacement to a high efficiency boiler, along with re-piping part of the facility to forced hot water, will provide energy savings.

This will involve a conversion from oil to natural gas. Demolition, abatement, and tank removal is also planned. All existing lighting is to be replaced from fluorescent to LED, high efficiency Variable Frequency Drives, and automated controls. This is similar to what was done at the middle school.

Approval of the high school resolution will allow the replacement of the original boilers to a higher efficiency forced hot water system. The current boilers are more than 49 years old and replacement to a high efficiency boiler, along with re-piping to forced hot water, will provide energy savings and better environmental controls.

Demolition and abatement of the existing three boilers and abatement of the boiler room is also planned. All existing fluorescent lighting to be replaced with LED to ensure continued operation.

Anyone with general voting questions can contact the Registrars of Voters Office at 203-270-4250. Any questions about absentee balloting should be addressed to the Town Clerk’s Office at 201-270-4210.