NEW FAIRFIELD– The Town ends fiscal year ‘22 with a near million dollar surplus, thanks to a fortuitous series of events.

The Board of Selectmen (BOS) learned at their final August meeting that the Town’s fiscal health was in great shape according to Finance Director Olga Melnikov. Melnikov went on to say during the meeting that the Town currently has a $982,000 surplus over the previous fiscal year. “Expenditures were under budget by $414,000. Revenue was over budget by $552,000. We also had $16,000 left from the prior year,” she said.

Melnikov discussed the two main driving factors of the surplus at the meeting: Governor Lamont’s prior extension of deadlines for registering vehicles during the height of the COVID pandemic, as well as Town’s tax sale from last year, which generated $300,000 in revenue for the Town. However, she warned that the Town should not rely on exceptions like Lamont’s orders happening again for a long time, and should plan accordingly.

“Overall though, the Town is in a very strong position, “she said.

First Selectman Pat Del Monaco also discussed an expenditure of $17,034 from the Building Repair Reserve fund for renovations to the Ball Pond Firehouse and continued repairs to the Town Library. “$9,300 would need to go to the Library HVAC condensate line…which unfortunately was not anticipated…we continue to have problems with the way the condensate line was piped through the library during renovation,” she said.

The remaining $7,734 would go to replace the ductless split air conditioning unit at the Ball Pond firehouse.

These expenditures follow the $195,000 the BOS approved only thirty minutes earlier at the special town meeting.  $22,500 was set aside for EMT’s, $5,000 for police vehicles, $69,000 for a school resource officer vehicle, $40,500 for salaries at Meeting House Hill Consolidated Early Learning Academy school resource officer, and $58,000 for communication center hours. The vote for the expenditure passed nearly unanimously, with only one opposed.

The BOS also laid out a busy, but fun month for New Fairfield. According to Selectman Khris Hall, events this month include New Fairfield Day, September 17, coordinated through Parks and Recreation Dept. “The vaccination van will also be there, and I’m highly hopeful that the Bivalent vaccine that specifically targets the Omicron {COVID} variant will be available.”

On September 16, Friends in Service to Humanity, (FISH), will host a 50’s event at the Senior Center. FISH, a 501c3 non-profit, currently offers free rides to residents seeking transportation for medical appointments and treatments.

The Town will also hold a ribbon cutting ceremony on September 10th to mark the grand opening of the Consolidated Ea rly Learning Academy, with tours available after the ceremony. The next day, the Town will also hold its annual remembrance to mark the 21st annivers ary of the September 11th attacks.

By Timothy Koppe