By Sarah Opdahl

New Fairfield’s Board of Finance (BOF or Board) in-person meeting on Wednesday, May 31, became a spectacle as communication further degraded among Board members and angry residents rose, cried shame, and shouted as the Board majority agreed on what the next budget vote will entail. The new proposed budget will remove $100,000 from the Town budget’s police overtime line item and transfer the funds to the Education budget. A last minute compromise was wrangled by Board Chair Mr. Wes Marsh to lower the debt premium usage by $300,000. The decision will nominally increase taxes, but it will also aid in flexibility with next year’s budget. Advisory questions, which in all likelihood contributed to the budget failing, were rejected for the next Town vote.

The proposal to lower the Town budget by $100,000 and increase the education budget by the same amount was a controversial one among Board members. While it was logical to some that a higher number of voters signified that the Town budget was too high, others disagreed. BOF member Ms. Cheryl Reedy proposed not taking away any funds from the Town budget, as it passed, despite the advisory question’s results. She would have added $200,000 back to the education budget, in deference to the voters rejecting that budget and the higher number of responses to the “Too low” advisory question. She also would have decreased the amount of debt premium and medical that the Town would use. However, all Board members, save Marsh, disagreed with that plan.

As the discussions continued, communication began to break down. Marsh lamented that “he had hoped for more,” while Reedy was distraught and lashed out several times, saying at one point following the proposal that ultimately carried for the revised budget, “I’ve worked very hard to try and build trust on this Board, only to have it smacked in my face time after time after time and I’m here to tell you right now, I’m done with it.” She later apologized, saying, “I didn’t behave tonight the way I like to behave at meetings.” Throughout the meeting Reedy repeatedly asked to adjourn but her requests were denied. There were also multiple requests to call the question by alternate Mr. Dave Coleman, which effectively ends discussion, many of which were not heeded. Mr. Kim Hanson did not attend the meeting. Reedy and fellow member Mr. Mark Beninson had a strained back-and-forth about the advisory questions and how to interpret the vote results. There were also tensions surrounding the reasoning for an extra meeting that was proposed by the BOF majority.

Town Treasurer Ms. Olga Melnikov cautioned the BOF about the fallout if a second budget fails. The consequences include the inability to send tax bills and collect fees resulting in a massive loss in interest and will possibly require dipping into the Town’s emergency funds, which also impacts interest and possibly affects the Town’s ratings. She said, the bills will certainly not go out before July 1 and typically, “we have a fair share of residents who pay the tax bills when they receive the bills we have collected over a million dollars before July 1… all that money goes to the bank account that collects interest.” Adding further to the issues, the thirty-day grace period will also be extended for people who tend to pay their taxes late.

In public comment there were several calls to significantly increase the education budgets and support for voting yes to the budget, despite it being lower than they may have hoped. Some speakers confirmed that they believed the budgets were too high or pointed to the school projects as too expensive and the cause for the strife. There was also disagreement among members about how best to handle medical, as there is always risk in how much to handle funding. It all depends on an employee’s use of medical benefits, which has significantly increased this year.

Registrar of Voters Ms. Elisa Beckett-Flores reminded the BOF that they must follow the rules for legal notices and state statutes, especially “if we want to take a second run at this election before the fiscal year [ends].” The polling will become more difficult the later it is set, as the high and middle schools will be fenced off for construction.

The next Board of Finance meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 21, 7:30 p.m.