Incoming First Selectman Faces Ethics Hearing December 6

By John Voket

One of incoming First Selectman Joseph Borst’s first duties during his first few days in office will be to appear at an ethics hearing regarding a charge made against him while serving as a Legislative Council representative.

Newtown Ethics Commission chair Peter VanBuskirk confirmed this week that his panel will conduct an ethics hearing regarding a complaint against Mr Borst Thursday, December 6, at 7:30 pm, in the downstairs meeting room of Town Hall South. The ethics commission voted unanimously at a special meeting in October to hold the hearing after agreeing that a complaint filed by Newtown resident and Democratic Town Committee chairman Earl Smith merited a formal hearing.

Mr Smith’s complaint was filed against Mr Borst prior to his election as first selectman. The ethics review was prompted by Mr Borst before he was an announced candidate for first selectman.

A July 28 letter to ethics board member Mitchell Bolinsky requested a response on official letterhead about whether or not the commission felt Mr Borst was in violation of the ethics code for voting on school budgets while he was an employee of the school district. Some ethics board members early-on interpreted Mr Borst’s request for a response on ethics commission letterhead as a request for past and future absolution based on a perceived conflict of interest, which the board declined to do repeatedly.

More recently, it has come into focus that during a contentious council budget session earlier this year, Mr Borst proposed a $250,000 increase to the Board of Education’s budget to specifically fund additional bus routes and transportation department fuel purchases. Mr Borst maintains the tie between his employment as a school bus driver was not directly related to any advocacy for the school’s transportation department or the $250,000 budget increase that he proposed specifically to help underwrite additional bus routes.

Mr Smith based his complaint on subsequent information he said he read a newspaper interview, during which Mr Borst was quoted as saying the idea to request more money for the transportation department, where he worked, was motivated by conversations Mr Borst had with his immediate supervisor.

During that interview with The Newtown Bee, when asked directly if he was the one who came up with the idea to request an additional quarter-million dollars for the transportation department, Mr Borst said the suggestion to add money to the budget was tendered by his immediate supervisor, Transportation Director Anthony DiLonardo.

Mr Borst said in the interview that over the course of numerous discussions with his “boss,” he determined there was a “real need” for the extra funding. “I have discussions with Tony [DiLonardo],” Mr Borst told The Bee, “He indicated he needed these buses to keep parents happy.”

The commission will review information and testimony gathered prior to and during next Thursday’s hearing, while specifically considering the complaint in relation to the specific mandates of the ethics code.

The complainant, Mr Smith. has served as the longtime chair of the Democratic Town Committee, and has been a fixture with the party for more than 40 years. Prior to being elected to the first selectman’s office, Mr Borst was involved in elected and appointed positions in town government for more than 30 years.