A referendum has been scheduled for August 13 after a petition called for some items slated for a July 30 Town Meeting to adjourn to a referendum vote so that senior citizens, who represent 45% of the town’s electorate, can participate with absentee ballots. The petition, submitted to the Town Clerk on July 28, contained 177 signatures, well over the amount required to force a referendum which, by law, must be scheduled seven to fourteen days after the Town Meeting.

The referendum will ask voters to authorize $150,000 for the purchase of a backhoe, and to approve the 5 Year Capital Plan, the transfer of $97,000 from Capital Non-Recurring accounts to the General Fund, and to municipally match Small Town Economic Assistance Program funds. The Board of Selectmen decided against scheduling a vote on abolishing the Board of Finance and withdrawing from Regional District #11. At a July 9 meeting, First Selectman Allan Cahill proposed that the July 30 Town Meeting include the future of both the finance board and the education of the town’s middle and high school students. But Selectman Bob Grindle spoke against voting on these items at this time, convincing Selectmen Cahill and Dan Meade that “the gravity of these questions” warrants the full attention of citizens who are now focused on their health.

Residents in attendance also spoke in opposition to scheduling votes at this time, citing issues of safety and accessibility. Penny Newbury urged the Selectmen to delay the Town Meeting until it can accommodate “as many people as have the right to be there.” Board of Finance Vice-Chairman Kathy Donahue noted the precautions residents have taken to prevent the spread of the virus here. “People shouldn’t have to make a choice between voting and their health,” she said. Registrar of Voters Dayna McDermott reported that over 400 people participated in the Board of Finance vote in January and in the last vote on studying RD#11, far more than the Governor’s current restrictions on gatherings permit.

The need to vote on abolishing the finance board was also questioned.  Selectmen asked voters to rescind the ordinance that established the Board of Finance after the finance board sought legal advice regarding the Selectmen’s purchase of a bucket truck without the statutorily required approval of the board of finance and the legislative body. Residents rejected the Selectmen’s proposal in a 172-254 vote at a January 6, 2020 referendum; but in an April 10 announcement, Cahill stated that it was “time to vote to dismantle the board of finance” due to “debilitating dysfunction, political biases and ignorance”. At the July 9 meeting, Cahill pointed to the board’s alleged failure to discuss the most recent audit as a “dereliction of duties of past and present officers” as the reason to proceed with another vote. Donahue refuted that accusation, reminding Cahill that the finance board reviews the Town’s fiscal documents monthly.

Both Donahue and McDermott objected to conducting a study of withdrawal from RD#11 at this time of “uncertainty for students and parents, teachers and officials.” Donahue called it “inappropriate”; McDermott called it “cruel”. The last two decades have seen four studies on withdrawal from, and dissolution of, the school district, all generating much debate in many forums.

Juan Arriola

The polls will be open in the lower level of Town Hall on August 13 from noon to 8PM. All registered voters, and citizens named on the October, 2019 Grand List as owning at least $1000 of property, are eligible to participate in the referendum. Voters should contact the Town Clerk (860-455-9132) or the Registrars of Voters (860-455-0160 or 860-933-0186) for information on obtaining absentee ballots.