Sparse Turnout at East Haddam Special Town Meeting

Rows of empty seats echoed the low citizen turnout for the special town meeting in East Haddam on Wednesday. Only a handful of residents weighed in on the four items on the agenda.

Townspeople slowly trickled in as meeting agendas and copies of the 2011-2012 Board of Finance proposed budget were handed out, along with bar cookies, courtesy of Debra Denette, East Haddam's town clerk.

The meeting was called to order by Denette shortly after 8 p.m. The first item on the agenda was to "consider and discuss, but not vote on, the town budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year in the amount of $28,936,922" as recommended by the finance board.

Residents at the meeting agreed to send the budget to a referendum vote on May 24th.

No concerns on the proposed budget were raised by the audience.

The second item on the agenda was a recommendation by the Board of Selectmen to open the polls at 6 a.m. for the referendum. A short discussion on the average voter turnout ensued, weighing the voter turnout early in the morning versus the additional estimated cost of approximately $2,000 to open the polls early.

"I think public access to the polls outweighs the cost," argued Selectman Pete Govert.

Residents at the meeting voted to open the polls at noon.

Additionally, a grant in the amount of $12,000 under the "Municipal Plan of Conservation and Development Grant Program from the State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management" was approved for the purpose "of preparation of the Town of East Haddam Plan of Conservation and Development".

First Selectman Mark Walter would administer the grant.

The final agenda item was to accept a grant "in the amount of $50,000 from the State of Connecticut, Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security" for the "purpose of installing a generator at the Senior Center facility" in order to be able to utilize the Senior Center as an emergency shelter. (see video)

The grant requires a grantee match of $9,400. The acceptance of the generator grant passed unanimously.

The proposed 2011-2012 Board of Finance budget can be found here.