SEYMOUR – The Board of Selectpersons met for their bi-monthly meeting Tuesday (March 5). Here are a few highlights:
Budget Season In Full Swing
The board set the annual town budget meeting and referendum date (and two subsequent dates if needed) for the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2024 – 2025.
The annual town budget meeting will be held at 7 p.m. April 17 at the Seymour Community Center, located at 20 Pine St., in the bingo room.
A referendum on the school budget and the town budget has been scheduled for 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. May 2 at the community center.
If either the town or school budgets fail to pass muster with voters, a second referendum has been set for May 16, and if need be, a third referendum has been set for May 30.
The Seymour Board of Finance last week wrapped up a series of meetings with all town departments on their individual budget requests. They’ll spend this month reviewing those requests and will ultimately approve a budget to send to voters in May.
A public hearing will be held April 3 for voters to weigh in.
Drugonis said she’ll send out CODE-RED announcements to residents to ensure they’re fully aware of all the upcoming budget dates.
ARPA-Funded Projects
Kurt Miller, Drugonis’ chief administrative officer and town treasurer, (Miller is also Ansonia’s chief financial officer) gave a rundown of what the town has spent so far in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The town received a total of $4.8 million in ARPA funds, Miller said. The federal stimulus funds, given to municipalities during the COVID-19 pandemic, were able to be used for public and health safety purposes, as well as investments in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.
So far, Miller said $1.9 million in completed projects has been spent. Some of the upgrades, purchases and projects included a new generator for town hall, a storage building, payloader, and backhoe for public works, air packs for the fire department, HVAC upgrades at Seymour High School, relocation of the Seymour Board of Education central office, a retaining wall at French Park, Patton Avenue drainage improvements, school security cameras and technology upgrades/firewall software, among other items.
Miller said another $1.4 million in projects are in the works and include generators for the high school and Citizens Engine Co., underground storage tank remediation, HVAC upgrades to town hall and the police station, refurbishments to fire tanker truck 19 and purchase of a commercial washer and dryer for fire gear decontamination.
Some projects and purchases further out include replacement of a public works gas tank and pump, football field lights, and community center upgrades, according to Miller.
Proposed Ordinances To Get Public Airing
A public hearing will be held at 6:45 p.m. April 2 at Town Hall for residents to weigh in on two new ordinances under consideration. One would allow residents to pay their annual motor vehicle taxes in two equal installments, one due July 1, the other due Jan 1.
The second proposed ordinance up for discussion deals with the naming of town-owned property, which includes buildings, parks, streets, gazebos and a host of other facilities the town owns. A resident would need to put their rationale for wanting something named after someone in writing to the Board of Selectpersons, who in turn would hold a public hearing to get input before ultimately voting on the request.
New Emergency Management Director Onboard
The town’s longtime emergency management director Tom Eighmie has resigned from the volunteer position and the reins have been taken up by Fire Chief Chris Edwards for a two-year term. Edwards had previously been serving as deputy director of the department, which is responsible for developing, organizing and coordinating the town’s Emergency Management Program to protect against emergencies and disasters.
