By Sarah Opdahl

At their Thursday, May 22 meeting, New Fairfield’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) all shared support for a 90th birthday proclamation for Mr. Ernest Alfred Lehman. A resident of New Fairfield since childhood, Lehman’s extensive background and service to the local area was shared. Among the many standout points that were mentioned was the fact that he taught math in New Fairfield for 42 years, serving as department chair later in his career. Following retirement, Lehman  was an adjunct professor at Western Connecticut State University for another 24 years, only fully retiring two years ago.

Ernie and his late wife, Gail, are credited with founding the New Fairfield Continuing Education Program and ran it from 1994 to 2005. He has served on a multitude of committees and boards, many in New Fairfield, and has and continues to volunteer a large amount of his time. First Selectman Ms. Melissa Lindsay said, “We extend our best wishes to Ernie upon his birthday and wish him continued success in his life’s pursuits…Mr. Lehman was one of the most favored math teachers in our high school for many years, and he continues to just embody what this town stands for with his many accomplishments and volunteer hours.” Selectman Ms. Pat Del Monano shared how welcoming Ernie and Gail were when she first moved to the Town and Selectman Mr. Tom Perkins remembers being taught by Lehman as a boy and heaped praise on Lehman for his teaching style.

There was a discussion regarding transfer requests to cover the registrars’ salaries. The new Finance Director Mr. Adam Lawrence explained that the, “elected salaries line has been running in the negative for a couple of months now, I can’t speak to how it got into that situation, but through discussion…we found that there was some wiggle room in the salaries and materials and supplies line to not only bring it out of that deficit, but to cover the majority of what’s going to be needed to carry that through to the end of the fiscal year.”

Following several meetings in which budget transfers were completed to cover legal expenses, a  conversation on the topic was had at this meeting. Del Monaco asked how much is being covered by the Town’s legal retainer, as opposed to ala carte services. Lindsey responded by saying that there were lengthy labor negotiations, personnel issues, and a multitude of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Del Monaco asked Lindsey for a more specific accounting at the next meeting.

The next regular New Fairfield Board of Selectmen meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 8, 7:30 p.m.