Chair Report: April 19th Review & April 25th Meeting Previews

Good Morning, and a happy Friday to you neighbors! From the Council Chair, please see below a review of our budget presentation on April 19th and a preview of our special and regular town council meetings to be held on April 25th.

On Wednesday, April 19th the Town Council convened for the charter required presentation of the proposed budget. A high-level review of expenditures, revenues and referendum information was presented.

On Tuesday, April 25th the Town Council will first be convening for a special meeting site walk at the ‘Tolland Marsh’ property off Cider Mill Road, commonly known as the Hatch Property or Lyle Thorpe property. This land was previously purchased by a resident who has interest in providing it to the town for recreation purposes. Both the town as well as the conservation commission have engaged in activities to seek out grants from the state to help with the cost of taking ownership of this property and have proposed plans for various recreational trails, ADA accessible parking and kayak/canoe pathways for fishing.

Following that meeting, the council will reconvene for our second regular meeting of the month. The first item of business will be presenting a proclamation to Mr. Leon H. Parker for his 50 years of service to the Town of Tolland in the Public Works Department.

The Town Council will then convene for a public hearing to amend a revise chapter 20, subsection 20-3 of the Town code (Ordinance 91) regarding fire mitigation rates for fire and rescue. Rates are being adjusted and increased to align with current industry standards based on the consultation of Fire Recovery USA, which provides consultation to 10 departments in CT including Tolland as well as clients in 43 other states.

After the public hearing, the Town Council will meet with resident Bob Rubino, Tax Assessor Jason Lawrence and Human Services Director Beverly Bellody to discuss improvements and changes to Tolland’s Ordinance 60 tax relief program. This program is designed specifically for permanently disabled residents and senior residents of Tolland. They will provide a review of the current program and costs and scenarios that would increase use of the program if revised to a stepped-benefit program.

April 19th Meeting Minutes - https://ecode360.com/TO1208/document/722058314.pdf

April 25th Special Meeting Agenda – https://ecode360.com/TO1208/document/722047182.pdf

April 25th Regular Meeting Agenda – https://ecode360.com/TO1208/document/722047210.pdf

April 25th Regular Meeting Packet – https://www.tollandct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3921/f/uploads/2023-04-25_regular_meeting_packet.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. 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.