Chair Report: April 10th/11th Review & Budget Presentation Preview

Good Afternoon, and an unseasonably warm Friday neighbors! From the council chair is a review of our April 10th Budget Meeting and April 11th Regular Council meeting, as well as a preview of the budget presentation on April 19th.

On Monday, April 10th, the Town Council convened to discuss the Town Council’s 2023-2024 budget to go out to referendum on May 2nd. After lengthy discussion, debate and a brief caucus recess to gather numbers from staff, we ultimately voted 5-2 to a budget resolution that maintained the Town Manager’s proposed Board of Education budget, sought to find savings of $140,000 from the Town Budget and reduced Debt Service by $50,000. This vote was followed by a unanimous resolution authorizing the creation of the ballot to be sent to referendum with adjusted language to reflect the mill rate as an estimated number.

To view the proposed budget in brief, please view the following link, which will also be mailed out to residents prior to the referendum - https://www.tollandct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3921/f/uploads/budget_mailer_-_2023.pdf . If you would like to vote absentee, please reach out to the Town Clerk’s Office to request an absentee ballot.

On Tuesday, April 11th, the Town Council convened for our regular Town Council meeting for three proclamations and two new items of business. The three proclamations included recognition of Earth Day, recognition of Fair Housing Month and recognition of a 50-year employee for the Town of Tolland. The third proclamation needed council approval for final drafting and will be presented at our April 25th regular meeting.

Following these readings, the first item of business is a consideration of a resolution revising a portion of the town code and setting a public hearing for those proposed changes. These changes include new rates and fees for the fire department to meet current industry standards. The public hearing was unanimously approved be held on April 25th. Further information was requested by councilors regarding the changes in rates from the company Public Safety worked with to reach these new rates and fees.

The second item of business was a consideration of a resolution allowing further work to be done regarding well water contamination investigations with our current environmental engineering firm and law firm. This was unanimously approved by the Town Council and will be paid out the towns environmental and other testing account.

On Wednesday, April 19th the Town Council will convene for the charter required presentation of the proposed budget. The presentation is pending finalization for publication, but following the presentation is an opportunity for public participation.

April 10th Meeting Minutes - https://www.tollandct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3921/f/uploads/2023-04-10_budget_meeting_minutes_with_attachments.pdf

April 10th Budget Meeting Packet - https://www.tollandct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3921/f/uploads/april_10_2023_budget_meeting_packet.pdf

April 11th Meeting Packet - https://www.tollandct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3921/f/uploads/2023-04-11_regular_meeting_packet.pdf

April 11th Meeting Minutes - https://ecode360.com/TO1208/document/720541718.pdf

April 19th Meeting Agenda - https://ecode360.com/TO1208/document/720548095.pdf

Town Manager’s April Report - https://www.tollandct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3921/f/uploads/2023-04-11_town_managers_report_with_attachments.pdf

Thank you for taking the time to review this report and the attached links above. I hope you all get a moment to enjoy the sunshine and have a pleasant weekend. If you would like to submit any questions or comments to the Town Council regarding the budget and other town-related topics, please email us at towncouncil@tollandct.gov.