Selectmen Schedule

Budget Deliberations

By John Voket

The first selectman’s office released its schedule of upcoming budget deliberations, and will hear public comment from voters on each of the three nights preceding deliberations. The Board of Selectmen have scheduled their budget meetings for January 22, 23, and 24 at 7:30 pm in the Riverside Road Senior Center.

The first selectman’s report detailing overall issues of concern is scheduled the first evening, followed by reviews of department budgets including the police department, canine control, many of the town’s municipal offices, including the tax collector, assessor, and registrar, as well as reviews of the pension fund and health insurance accounts.

On January 23, the selectmen are scheduled to review fire department and ambulance service accounts, the Health District, along with disbursements to various local and regional social and human services organizations that serve Newtown residents. Those diverse recipients range from the Newtown Youth & Family Services agency, the Parent Connection, and the Labor Day Parade Committee to Literacy Volunteers, the regional hospice service and the Woman’s Center of Danbury, which accepts Newtown’s domestic violence referrals.

The January 24 session will examine town departments including highway, parks and recreation, the Fairfield Hills Authority, and the Booth Library, as well as debt service and contingency funds. The full list of scheduled departments appears on the newtown-ct.gov website.

First Selectman Joseph Borst said this week he did not issue any directives or advice to town department heads because the budget formulation processes had already begun prior to his taking office on December 1. Mr Borst said he assumed any directives that were required were made earlier in the year by former first selectman Herb Rosenthal.

Mr Rosenthal said that in the first few years of his first selectman’s service he used to issue directives but virtually all town departments became aware that they were not to request anything more than was needed.

“In my first couple of terms I remember issuing directives or percentage increases, but everyone knew they couldn’t come to the deliberations asking for anything extravagant,” Mr Rosenthal said. Mr Rosenthal said since budgets were due to the first selectman on December 1, the first day of the new elected terms of office, he assumed Mr Borst would have had a few conversations with department heads if he had any budget-related concerns.

Mr Borst said since taking office, much of his time has been spent reviewing issues pertaining to Fairfield Hills projects, including the construction project for new municipal offices, and that he has had little time for other business including budget preparations. Nonetheless, Mr Borst said he is moving forward under the assumption that departments will come forward with conservative proposals.

“I don’t have any preconceived notions given the current economic situation,” Mr Borst said. “I hope we can hold the line.”