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New Fairfield News, New Fairfield, CT (2025)

07/09/2025

July 9, 2025 – Issue 25.104

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN …

Dear Readers - Even though I have spent a good part of my professional life working in the political arena, my tenure as Selectman from 2017-2023 was my first time holding office. This long-standing participation in the political process at all levels taught me to believe in the value of sunshine in government – lots of it.

When voters elected my opponent in 2023, I looked for a way I could continue to be of use to the community. I restarted New Fairfield News in Facebook format as a way of opening the curtains and letting the sunshine in on what was happening in New Fairfield’s local government with its new leaders. I had a hunch that the inexperience of the new office holders would lead to interesting actions. I combined my knowledge of town government with my background in writing to produce summaries of relevant actions by Town Boards and Commissions. While I wasn’t the only writer, I was the primary one.

We produced over 100 columns in a year and a half, covering the BoS, BoF, BoE, Zoning, Planning, and elections and referenda. It’s now time to suspend this effort. 2025 is a local election year. As you may already have heard, Pat Del Monaco and I have thrown our hats into the ring again, running for First Selectman and Selectman in November. This is not a decision either one of us made lightly. We both feel strongly that the path taken these past eighteen months has not been good for New Fairfield – and that we have the experience and know-how to help fix it.

My attention will necessarily be focused on the upcoming election. I am still as involved and concerned about ongoing events as I have ever been – and may weigh in occasionally, writing for myself, as I did concerning the controversy over Tim Simpkin’s disciplinary action. But my role as a candidate will necessarily color anything I write for this page, so it is best to discontinue this effort.

Until We Meet Again…

Khris Hall

© Copyright 2025, New Fairfield News
All rights reserved.

Each article is available on the New Fairfield News page (https://www.facebook.com/new.fairfield.news)

If you would like to receive a PDF version of the New Fairfield News articles as they come out, email us at [email protected] and let us know you want the PDF version.

05/16/2025

May 16, 2025 – Issue 25.103

BOE, PBC APPROVE CONSOLIDATED FOR BUS LOT LOCATION

After five years of arguments and delay, the site of the former Consolidated School is again moving forward as the location for New Fairfield’s school buses. A joint meeting of the Boards of Finance, Selectmen, and Education and the Permanent Building Committee called to take this next step featured sharp exchanges, expressions of frustration, and emotional appeals on both sides of the issue.

The purpose of the meeting was to review the final report of the study done by Ben Doto of four possible sites for the bus lot and decide which option to pursue. The study recommended the Consolidated site, noting that over 900 residents responded to an online survey and 66% of them favored that site. (For further background and a link to the study, see New Fairfield News, May 11, 2025.)

While four town boards were seated at the front of the room and members of all boards were allowed to speak, only the two entities with direct jurisdiction over the location issue voted – the Board of Education and the Permanent Building Committee. Seven of the BoE’s nine members were present, with Tim Blair and Amy Johnson absent. All members of the Board of Finance except Claudia Willard were present and five members of the PBC were present with Nick Ciminello, Rorry Langguth, and Mark Havira absent.

The first to speak was Selectman Tom Perkins who said that Consolidated was too nice a place for yellow school buses and noted that he had recently become aware that there was another option for access to the site behind the Fire Department. He recommended that that site be reconsidered. The next person to comment was Board of Finance Chair Thora Perkins, (Editor’s note: yes, they are related.) who said that several members of her Board had talked, and they were all in favor of leaving the bus lot where it is currently, but with “all updates necessary to make it a wonderful bus lot.” These discussions took place outside of any BoF meeting and did not include the Democrats on the Board of Finance. BoF member Peggy Katkocin pointed out that they had received many emails, most of which were in favor of the Consolidated lot.

Board of Education member Susan Huwer, who has long opposed locating the bus lot at Consolidated, challenged the agenda for the meeting and asked why only two Boards were voting. First Selectman Melissa Lindsey replied that only those Boards with direct jurisdiction over the location of the bus lot could vote. Huwer commented that leaving the bus lot where it is did not get enough consideration and that “we don’t have a true measure of public opinion…people were misled.” School Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Craw replied that leaving the bus lot in its current location was one of nine early options that had been ruled out because of insurmountable problems with the site. He also said the BoE understands the issue better than any board and “it is time for the Board of Ed “to put a stake in the ground.”

Responding to comments opposed to the site recommended by the study, BoE Board member Kim LaTourette remarked that “the people sitting at this table aren’t listening to the public…we need to move on, get it done… listen to the bus drivers.”

First Selectman Lindsey asked Scott Pellman, the project manager for the schools project whether building the bus lot at the old Consolidated site would be reimbursable by the state. He assured her that it would be – that it was always part of the original plans that were then affirmed in special legislation. BoF member John Arizzi asked questions about the financial status of the project. If the town had proceeded to build the bus lot at Consolidated as originally planned, the cost would have been included in the overall costs and grant. Because of delays, costs have escalated, leaving questions as to where the estimated $1.8 million will come from. According to Pellman, approximately $336,000 remains in the CELA project fund and a little over $1 million left in the High School project contingency for a total of $1,372,000 that could be used for the bus lot. Where the estimated $500,000 shortfall needed to complete the bus lot because of the delays will be an issue in the ongoing debate.

Former Board member Cheryl Reedy addressed the members from the assembled Boards who continue to argue against accepting the Consolidated site and advocate for further study, saying “every time we spend more money, we come up with the same option.” She urged the Board members to “put on their big boy and big girl pants” and “do the right thing.” Reedy pointed out that the required additional funding could come from this year’s surplus, next year’s surplus, or the General Fund, which has a balance of over $12 million.

The multi-board approach to address this issue was meant to bring members of the various Boards together for a discussion that would lead to a consensus. While most members of the Boards made positive statements about the experience, it clearly did not result in a consensus among Board members. The Boards of Education, Selectmen, and Finance are overwhelmingly dominated by Republicans. While the Board of Education, the one Board of those three that had a vote in this matter, voted to proceed with the Consolidated site, majority members of the BoF and BoS are clearly not on board with that direction, leaving a divide in town government (and among town Republicans) that could be meaningful in future funding decisions.

The next step is to go back to the PBC for updated drawings and plans for the Consolidated site. Original plans for the site were about 90% complete but will have to be updated. After plans are completed, they will go back to the Zoning Commission for Site Plan approval.

2025 is a local election year. Be prepared to hear much more about the bus lot as the year proceeds.

The joint meeting may be viewed here: https://vimeopro.com/user53774442/town-of-new-fairfield-board-of-selectmen/video/1084000858

© Copyright 2025, New Fairfield News
All rights reserved.

Each article is available on the New Fairfield News page (https://www.facebook.com/new.fairfield.news)

If you would like to receive a PDF version of the New Fairfield News articles as they come out, email us at [email protected] and let us know you want the PDF version.

05/11/2025

May 11, 2025 – Issue 25.102

VOTE ON BUS LOT SET FOR MONDAY, MAY 12, 2025

The Board of Education and Permanent Building Committee are set to vote on the location of the school bus parking lot at a special multi-board meeting at 7:00 pm on Monday, May 12, 2025, at the New Fairfield Elementary School. This meeting will include discussion by the Boards of Education, Finance, and Selectmen and the PBC of the final bus lot report (dated April 7, 2025 – seehttps://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/2467/NFPS/5532207/FINAL-BUS-LOT-LOC-STUDY-4-7-25.pdf ) commissioned by those Boards almost a year ago. That report recommends putting the bus lot at the Consolidated site, as had been planned in 2022. Only the BoE and PBC will actually cast votes on the location.

The vote caps several years of controversy but may not be the end of this contentious process. In 2019, when voters approved the proposal to bond and build two new schools, the language included reference to bus lots and the cost estimates were based on moving the buses from behind Meeting House Hill School to the site of Consolidated School, which was demolished last year as part of the project. The PBC plan moved forward to obtain site plan approval from the Zoning Commission but was put on hold in June 2022 after the Zoning commission voted not to approve the PBC’s application for the location for the bus lot. At the time, members of the Zoning Commission cited the need to conserve and stabilize property values and to prevent creation of a nuisance from gas fumes and increased traffic. The Commission’s record on the matter included studies refuting the increase in traffic and gas fumes. Opponents of the Consolidated site included neighbors and those who argued against the bus on aesthetic grounds or wanted to save the property for another use.

The PBC had thoroughly vetted a number of other sites (the Drop Off Center, property behind Company A Firehouse, athletic field at the High School, dog park and surrounding locations at the High School, private property on Dunham Drive, out of town locations) and had concluded the only feasible location was the Consolidated site.

After the Zoning Commission denial, which created a division among town government bodies, the Board of Selectmen, relying on advice from town attorneys, filed a lawsuit to overturn the Zoning Commission decision, alleging that it did not follow governing state and local regulations in its denial and did not have the authority to deny the site plan. The issue became politicized in the runup to the 2023 local elections, with members of the Republican slate, led by Melissa Lindsey in her bid to become First Selectman, opposing location of the bus lot at the Consolidated site. When Lindsey became First Selectman at the end of 2023, one of the first actions of the new Board of Selectmen was to withdraw the Board of Selectmen from the lawsuit that had been filed by PBC and to deny funding for an attorney for the PBC to continue its appeal. The judge was reportedly days away from announcing the decision on the matter but could no longer do so.

In March 2024, Superintendent Kenneth Craw announced that he and Lindsey were forming a bus lot working group (See New Fairfield News, March12, 2024). In June 2024, the Boards of Finance, Selectmen, and Education, together with the PBC met together and allocated $42,000 to do another study of where to locate the bus lot. The delay in decision on the bus lot also delayed the demolition of Consolidated School and raised the costs for doing so. Delays on building the bus lot have also added significant costs to that project and may require additional taxpayer funding regardless of location. The schools have also had to expend unanticipated funding on the trailer to house bus drivers. If the original plan had been followed, a new school bus lot would be in place and paid for by the money allocated for building the two new schools.

The bus lot study was delayed for several months; a draft finally emerged at the end of 2024. A joint Board/PBC public meeting was held on January 23, 2025, and considered the four options outlined in the draft report – the Consolidated site, the site behind Company A Firehouse, the Drop Off Center, and an enlarged site at the High School that would displace the dog park, playground, and other amenities – all of which had been considered in the first review of sites in 2020. The report showed that the least expensive option remained the Consolidated site. (See New Fairfield News, January 29, 2025.) The First Selectman also announced that a survey would be available to gather input from the public on their preferences for location. The survey closed at the end of March, with 66% of respondents saying they preferred the Consolidated site.

The BoE/PBC vote on May 12 will be the next step in this long, divisive, and expensive process. If the Board of Education and PBC vote to move forward with locating bus lot at Consolidated, the proposal would then move forward again to the Zoning Commission. While the composition of the Zoning Commission has changed a bit since their initial decision to deny Site Plan approval in 2022, there are still several remaining members who voted not to approve location of the bus lot at Consolidated at that time. It remains to be seen what credence Commission members will give to escalating costs, vocal pleas from parents and drivers to address safety concerns about the current temporary bus lot location, and community support to locate the bus lot at Consolidated site.

© Copyright 2025, New Fairfield News
All rights reserved.

Each article is available on the New Fairfield News page (https://www.facebook.com/new.fairfield.news)

If you would like to receive a PDF version of the New Fairfield News articles as they come out, email us at [email protected] and let us know you want the PDF version.

04/27/2025

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

04/24/2025

April 24, 2025 – Issue 25.101

BOARD OF SELECTMEN ACT ON BUDGET AND PERSONNEL MATTERS, RAISE FEES

The Board of Selectmen has met several times in the past 30 days to consider a number of issues, including scheduling of the budget referendum, the grievance by Zach Drzal challenging his termination in January, an inquiry about the status of a federal grant for radios, the resignation of the Finance Director, the appointment of two Fire Investigators, a request for more legal funding, and decrease to next year’s budget request.

BUDGET REFERENDUM SCHEDULED. At a Town Meeting on April 16, the referendum on the FY 25-26 budget was scheduled for Saturday, April 26 from 10am-8pm in the Senior Center. The vote will address both the Education and Town budgets. If one fails, they both fail and have to be resubmitted to the voters. The budget proposal, with its 7.56% increase was approved on bipartisan votes by the Boards of Finance, Education, and Selectmen. Selectman Tom Perkins commented: “ I wish it wasn’t this high, but it kinda has to be.”

UNION GRIEVANCE. Following the termination of the Town Sanitarian, Zach Drzal in January (See New Fairfield News January 12, 2025), the union of which Drzal was a member filed a grievance complaining that the Town had not followed procedures for termination outline in the union contract before termination. On March 27, 2025, the BoS went into executive session to review and decide on the nine grievances filed by the union. When they re-entered the public session, the Board members voted 2 to 1, with Selectman Pat Del Monaco dissenting to deny all nine counts of the grievance. The union has since filed to request arbitration, and the First Selectman has notified them that she would like to pursue mediation. In the meantime, the Town continues shorthanded; no one with qualified Sanitarian credentials has applied for the position, in part because of a statewide shortage of Sanitarians.

FEDERAL GRANT FOR RADIOS. When she was First Selectman, Pat Del Monaco won a federal grant of $2.1 million to cover the purchase and installation of new radios for first responders that would replace outdated radios and a system that did not allow communication among the various users – fire department, police department, public works, ambulance. A working group was set up to make decisions and met a few times. At the March 27, 2025 meeting, Del Monaco noted that she had received an email from the federal government stating that the grants had been frozen because required reporting had not been submitted. This is reportedly the second time such action has been taken. Del Monaco asked for a status report on the grant and decisions on radios, but no information has yet been released.

FINANCE DIRECTOR RESIGNS. The resignation of Vladimir Kan as Finance Director was approved by the BoS at the March 27th meeting. Kan had been under fire for a number of months for failures to properly manage town finances (See New Fairfield News, February 28, 2025, and March 5, 2025). The Town has hired a new Finance Director who will start early next month.

REQUEST FOR MORE LEGAL FUNDING. The First Selectman requested a budget transfer of $20,900 into the legal line item. With three months remaining in the fiscal year, the First Selectman has expended all funding provided in this year’s budget. Because this is an interdepartmental transfer, it will need approval from the Board of Finance and may be on the agenda for a special Board of Finance meeting next week that will likely be called to follow up on the budget referendum scheduled for April 26.

INCREASE IN FEES FOR TOWN SERVICES. As part of its effort to raise revenue from sources other than property taxes, the Selectmen considered and approved new fee schedules at its April 10th meeting for the Drop Off Center (https://www.newfairfield.org/home/showpublisheddocument/22941/638808252867830000), building permits (https://www.newfairfield.org/municipal-departments/services/building/fee-schedule), and Fire Marshal services.

ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL CHANGES AND APPOINTMENTS. The BoS authorized paying a per diem to two Fire Investigators to assist the Fire Marshal at the April 7th meeting after a vote to do so failed at the March 27th meeting because of the absence of First Selectman Melissa Lindsey. Selectman Pat Del Monaco dissented. She had previously questioned the wisdom of hiring a part-time Fire Marshal and objected to adding these resources after being assured the Fire Marshal had sufficient time for the job. Keith Landa was reappointed to the Wetlands Commission, Joan Archer was reappointed to the Candlewood Lake Authority, Sean Hedtke was appointed to the Ball Pond Advisory Committee, James Kingry was appointed as Zoning Commission Alternate, and Tim Strid was reappointed to the Water Pollution Control Authority over the objections of Selectman Del Monaco, who said his position working for the Brookfield Sewer Authority was a conflict of interest since Brookfield and New Fairfield are both contending for sewage capacity in the Danbury system.

Videos of the meetings can be viewed here: https://vimeopro.com/user53774442/town-of-new-fairfield-board-of-selectmen.

© Copyright 2025, New Fairfield News
All rights reserved.

Each article is available on the New Fairfield News page (https://www.facebook.com/new.fairfield.news)

If you would like to receive a PDF version of the New Fairfield News articles as they come out, email us at [email protected] and let us know you want the PDF version.

04/13/2025

April 13, 2025 – Issue 25.100

UPDATES ON ISSUES AT BOE

The Board of Education met on April 3, 2025, with Chairman Dom Cipollone opening the meeting by acknowledging Paraprofessionals Week and Library Acknowledgement Week. Cipollone praised New Fairfield paras for “the hard work done each and every day and their devotion to our young people and our schools. He added that it is “important that we develop a pathway for paras to move up the ladder and ultimately become teachers if that’s a path they’d like to pursue…”. He also noted the important work of the Media Specialists and “the libraries in our schools and in town are an invaluable resource.”

CURRICULUM SUBCOMMITTEE. Tim Blair shared a report, noting that from the last meeting, in which objective criteria for what skills were learned and how to measure them were discussed. An Elementary Master Schedule enhancement that will “better fit the needs of our youngest learners” by maximizing instruction time by minimizing transition.

SPECIAL EDUCATION. Kim LaTourette reported on a number of issues, including professional IEP development, training for certification for next school year, modernizing assessment tools, adapting new tests, nursing structure is fully staffed, Wellness Committee update, and transition processes with the addition of PreK into Kindergarten, She noted new data on Special Education trends, stating that although enrollment in New Fairfield schools is steady, there has been a substantial increase in the 504 plans and PPTs. The number of complex cases has risen from 25 in 20-18 to 130 this year.

BUSDGET. Superintendent Kenneth. Craw presented the revised 25/26 FY Budget reflecting the reduction from the last Board of Finance meeting. The “needs based budget” still supports continued improvement, including maintaining class size, investment in the arts of 1 FTE in HS band and theater in grades 3-5 and the Middle School. It also supports the enrollment driven state and federal mandates of a Bilingual Teacher and part-time STRIDES Teacher. Planned improvements of Curriculum and Instruction are still included such as the addition of: Eduplanet (curriculum platform access for parents), assessment data for improvement of reading and math; implementation of newly designed K-12 science and curriculum data; and an updated version of K-12 social studies, world language, and digital literacy curriculum. The Capital Plan remains on target. The Middle School investment of reclaiming the lower level for academic classrooms, redesign of the MS Cafeteria for Fine Arts Classrooms and removal of the underground heating oil tank remains in the budget. The Capital Budget also still addresses the need of the annual contribution of the future turf replacement, NFPS service vehicle, and safety and security improvements. $225,000 for the HVAC system at the HS pool was removed from the budget.

POLICY COMMITTEE. Assistant Superintendent Kristine Wolleck reviewed a district policy change proposal required by Connecticut statute to adopt a school climate policy based on an approach put forward by the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE). School climate policy had previously been referred to as “bullying policy.” concerning school climate. Wolleck said the change “brings the school climate elements of that policy to the forefront” … with the intent there is to emphasize that schools should first be looking proactively at school climate, ensuring that those conditions for learning are set, and then having tiered structures for addressing a range of behaviors”. Each school has a school climate policy that is submitted to the Superintendent for approval each year based on school climate survey every other year. While most of the policy is already happening in our district there are some new definitions (for example, “challenging behavior” that interferes with learning), forms for reporting, investigating, and responding to challenging behavior, and steps that have changed. “We do want to ensure that this policy insures timely response,” said Wolleck. There were some questions from various BOE members for clarity. The policy change will be reviewed again two times before the Board formally adopts it.

PERSONNEL REPORT. The Board discussed and then approved the hiring of two temporary BCBAs (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) for the remainder of the school year to assist with working with students who have behavioral issues. The district currently has 3 fulltime BCBAs but needs more professional assistance to address behavioral issues in the Middle School and High School.

At the end of the meeting, several Board members encouraged the public to vote in the upcoming budget referendum and stated that they would be voting to support it. The Town Meeting that will set the date of the referendum will be Wednesday, April 16 at 7pm at the Community Room.

The BoE meeting may be viewed here: https://vimeopro.com/user53774442/new-fairfield-board-of-education/video/1072946550. The next BoE meeting is Thursday, May 1.

© Copyright 2024, New Fairfield News
All rights reserved.

Each article is available on the New Fairfield News page (https://www.facebook.com/new.fairfield.news)

If you would like to receive a PDF version of the New Fairfield News articles as they come out, email us at [email protected] and let us know you want the PDF version.

04/07/2025

April 6, 2025 – Issue 25.099

BOARD OF FINANCE RECOMMENDS TAX INCREASE OF 7.56%

At its April 2, 2025, meeting, the Board of Finance unanimously approved recommending a 7.56% tax increase for voter approval. The increase is the highest in the past decade, driven by a large increase in medical insurance costs and decreased availability of bond premium to offset debt service for school construction. Tactics used by the Board of Finance last year to keep the tax increase under 5% -- underfunding the medical reserve and using $1 million in bond premium – play a large role in this year’s increase.

Year % Increase
24/25 4.64%
23/24 6.78%
22/23 3.11%
21/22 2.98%
20/21* 0.99%
19/20 1.05%
18/19 2.55%
17/18 3.97%
16/17 0.53%
* - Revaluation Year

At the March meeting, a panel of Deputy Town Treasurer Ed Sbordone, BoE Business Director Carrie DePuy and First Selectman Melissa Lindsey assisted BoF members in crunching the numbers following last month’s resignation of Finance Director Vladimir Kan. Sbordone reviewed the current state of play on the budget. Sbordone played the same role in the April 2nd meeting, providing information on behalf of the Finance Department.

The April 2nd approval broke no new ground but ratified the discussion and direction from the BoF’s meeting on March 26. Much of the discussion at the March 26th meeting centered around suggestions by former BoF Chair Wes Marsh that brought the proposed budget down from a 10.38% increase (See New Fairfield News, March 24, 2025) to the 7.56% increase approved at the April 2nd meeting.

The recommendation by the Republican-controlled BoF for a 7.56% increase came after review of all elements of the Town budget: medical insurance, requests from the Board of Selectmen and Board of Education, debt service, and nontaxpayer revenue.

MEDICAL INSURANCE. Insurance Consultant Tom Kowalchik provided a new estimated cost of $8,364,552 for renewal based on February claim numbers, a decrease of $604,318 from last month’s estimate. This is an increase of approximately a 21% increase from this year’s cost and contributes slightly more than 2 points of the proposed 7.56% increase. It reflects large spikes in usage in a few months this year. Individual claims make up 90% of the costs for Anthem coverage, with fees for stop loss coverage and administrative fees taking up 10-12%. Kowalchik advised not going lower because the medical reserve is very low - “almost nonexistent.” Last year, against Kowalchik’s advice, the Board of Finance cut the medical reserve by $350,000 to take half a point off taxes, limiting options for this year.

BOARD OF SELECTMEN BUDGET. At their April 2nd, meeting the Board made no changes to their recommendations for the BoS budget from the March 26th meeting, where they discussed salary increases for elected officials, especially the Town officials most impacted by the increase in responsibilities due to early voting. At the March meeting, the BoF added $1038 to the First Selectman’s salary and $20,000 to the salary for the Finance Director to aid in the search for a new Finance Director. They also cut $25,000 from the Materials and Supplies budget. The proposed $14,814,751 for municipal expenses, which includes the medical increase, represents a 4.86% increase over this year. The Board left intact taxpayer funding of $74,813 for capital and nonrecurring projects.

BOARD OF EDUCATION BUDGET. The BoF moved forward with their recommendation from the March 26th meeting, where they cut $80,000 from general supplies from the operating budget and $225,000 from the capital budget, postponing replacement of the HVAC system for the pool area. This results in a budget of $59,153,707 for education expenditures, which includes medical expense increase of $1.25 million, representing a 7.02% increase. The capital budget sits at $510,000 to take out the underground tank and fund addition of classrooms in the Middle School. BoF Chair Thora Perkins expressed her opinion that the BoE budget was “a good budget,” in contrast to the past years where she pushed hard for cuts to the operating budget.

DEBT SERVICE. Although the total amount due to pay off debt service for school construction has started to come down, the amount of taxpayer funding will increase this year. Last year, the Board of Finance used $1 million of remaining bond premium to offset debt service in order to keep last year’s tax increase below 5%. This left only $190,000 for this year, requiring an increased payment of $423,681, a 6.13% increase over last year.

NONTAXPAYER REVENUE. The Town receives revenue from a number of sources, such as grants from the State, real estate conveyance fees, and permit fees. In the March 26th meeting the BoF added $462,500 to revenue estimates from these sources, helping to bring the proposed tax increase down about 2/3 of a point. The BoF agreed to add $143,000 in permit fee revenue, $4,000 from senior center programs, and $275,000 in state grants for education. The State has notified New Fairfield that they are planning to cut $450,000 in education funding because of the increased wealth index for the town. Several town officials are working with the state delegation to restore that funding and have moved ahead with an assumption that at least some of it will be restored.

While acknowledging that they can be confusing, the Board also agreed to include advisory questions about whether the proposals are too high or too low, consistent with the requirements of State law.

The tone and pace of this year’s budget deliberations were very different from last year. Meetings of the Board of Finance in 2024 were confrontational, with several Board of Finance members (who are still on the Board) insisting on large cuts to BoE funding. Some meetings stretched past midnight, and it took a historic five referendums before voters were satisfied that a proposed budget did not cut too much out of educational funding. Apparently recognizing the strength of support for the schools, the Board cut very little from the BoE proposed budget this year. If, however, this proposed budget fails, there will be no other options but to cut the education budget, as pointed out by Alternate Board member John Arizzi at the April meeting, since there is no room for cuts in the town-side budget.

The next step is for the Board of Selectmen to hold a Town Meeting to schedule a referendum. A Special BoS meeting, to be held remotely, is scheduled for Monday April 7 to approve a Warning to hold the Town Meeting on Wednesday, April 16 to approve the date of the referendum. With this timing, a referendum could be held as soon as Saturday, April 26.

The Board of Finance meetings can be viewed here: https://vimeopro.com/user53774442/town-of-new-fairfield-board-of-finance.

© Copyright 2025, New Fairfield News
All rights reserved.

Each article is available on the New Fairfield News page (https://www.facebook.com/new.fairfield.news)

If you would like to receive a PDF version of the New Fairfield News articles as they come out, email us at [email protected] and let us know you want the PDF version.

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