Council Hikes Tax Benefit Cap

By Dottie Evans

During a regular meeting of the Legislative Council held Wednesday evening, June 16, action was taken on a number of different agenda items.

These included raising the senior benefit tax cap, approving the discontinuance of a portion of Covered Bridge Road, transferring $25,000 from contingency to the Tercentennial Fund, and recommending that a proposal by council member David Brown in favor of a town-initiated real estate conveyance tax to fund open space acquisition be handed over to the council’s finance committee for further consideration.

In addition to the above, an announcement was made concerning the addition of three more names to the roster of Newtown residents who have been appointed to the ad hoc committee to oversee Fairfield Hills. The committee of eight consists of the following people: Amy Dent, Bob Geckle, Bill Lavery, John Reed, Moira Rodgers, Don Studley, Richard Sturdevant, and Andrew Willie.

Regarding the senior benefit tax cap, the council made an administrative change to the bottom line in order to raise the benefit cap package from $600,000 to $650,000. This was done to accommodate the 545 Newtown residents who have applied for assistance under the new tax benefit program. When the program was first initiated, an amount of $600,000 was budgeted, but when Tax Collector Carol Mahoney submitted the numbers, it became clear the budgeted amount would not be sufficient.

The decision to discontinue a portion of Covered Bridge Road came in response to a request by Brookfield Attorney Peter Scalzo on behalf of his client, Grace Christian Church. The church now owns approximately 40 acres on that road including an existing home and barn. The previous owner of the home has been offered lifetime use of his home, after which time it will become the property of the church.

“It’s a lollipop road with a cul-de-sac at the end. When I-84 came in, it was blocked. With the discontinuance, the town will no longer need to maintain it or provide police protection,” Mr Scalzo said. After discontinuance, the church plans to take on maintenance of Covered Bridge Road off Route 25 at Exit 9 and will erect barriers where needed.

Concerning the Conveyance Tax Proposal, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said that Town Attorney David Grogins is “looking into it” to see whether a charter change would be needed. The matter was referred to the finance committee’s next meeting to be scheduled sometime in July.