Chair Report: March 28th Review and April 4th Preview

Good Afternoon, and happy final Friday of March neighbors! From the council chair, a review of our March 28th regular meeting and preview of our April 4th Budget Public Hearing.

On Tuesday, March 28th, the Town Council had five new items of business for discussion and potential action. The Town Council will first meet with Capital Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) president Matt Hart for a presentation on the role CRCOG plays in the region, Tolland’s involvement/benefits and other topics. Topics of discussion from council members included public transportation, consolidation of back-end services, crumbling foundations, well water concerns, waste management plans and other topics.

The second item of business was a state-level ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) application for an Online Abuse Prevention Grant Program provided by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP). This application was unanimously approved by Town Council. If awarded, the town would offer a community program by Internet Safety Concepts through the Tolland Public Library to train attendees on addressing online abuse and cyber bullying-related issues. Funding would also provide educational materials and books on these topics for the library to provide to residents.

The third item of business before Town Council was a consideration of a resolution ratifying the Teamsters Local 1035 Collective Bargaining Agreement for a three-year contract. This was unanimously approved by Town Council. Negotiations have been ongoing since April of 2022 and a tentative agreement has been reached by both sides. If approved, the union would receive wages increases of 3% in year one, 2% in year two as well as in year three. Changes to the health insurance plan and language changes have also been made regarding testing, vacation, personal days and sick time and other areas.

A fourth item of business was a consideration to use ARPA funds up to $200,000 to offset additional costs to renovate the Crandall Park Tennis Court area. This funding was unanimously approved and any remaining funds will go back to the ARPA subcommittee to use on other projects.

The fifth new item of business was a resolution approving ARPA funds in the amount of $200,000 towards excessive ECHIP claims. After some discussion regarding the purpose and intent of the funds, the resolution was amended on a 5-2 vote for the funds to be used towards the Board of Education’s portion of the ECHIP claims, which are currently $1.2 million higher than normal. The final resolution as amended was adopted on a vote of 6-1.

On Tuesday, April 4th, the Town Council will reconvene the budget hearing after it was initially postponed due to a ‘zoombombing’ incident on March 23rd.

To find meeting information, please visit:

March 28th Packet, Amended - https://www.tollandct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3921/f/uploads/2023-03-28_regular_meeting_packet_amended.pdf

March 28th Minutes - https://ecode360.com/TO1208/document/718114662.pdf

April 4th Public Hearing Agenda: https://ecode360.com/TO1208/document/717919913.pdf

April 4th Budget Hearing Packet: https://www.tollandct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3921/f/uploads/2023-04-04_public_hearing_presentation.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.