A lengthy Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting Monday night (Jan. 21) broached a number of important topics and addressed several budget matters.
Funding for Cider Mill Elevator
The Cider Mill elevator replacement, which was planned for this summer, is now expected to cost more than the $275,000 voters approved for bonding in 2023. The project is now expected to cost $300,700.
As GMW reported, on Nov. 4 the selectmen approved a move to pay for the elevator cost increase using funds from a Middlebrook roofing project nearing completion. As outlined in two memos from Department of Public Works officials, the actual costs for the roofing project are expected to be less than the amount that was bonded. DPW officials, and apparently the selectmen, believed the extra funds could simply be re-appropriated to pay for the Cider Mill elevator increase.
However, the action taken by the selectmen is not allowed under the bonding procedures in the Town Charter. Unused bond funds may only be used to pay down debt service or put toward an approved project that has not been bonded yet — and the funds cannot be shifted to pay costs that are higher than what voters approved. As the Charter dictates:
“… any surplus bond proceeds shall be transferred by the Treasurer to the general fund to pay debt service on outstanding bonds, unless the Board of Selectmen requests the Board of Finance to redesignate all or part of such surplus to a project or projects for which there is authorized but unissued debt and the Board of Finance acts favorably upon such request. The amount of any such redesignation may not exceed the amount of such authorized but unissued debt.” (Town Charter, Section C-33) [Note: bold font added by GMW]
First Selectman Toni Boucher said she took “full responsibility” for the error.
“[Town Administrator] Matt [Knickerbocker] and I gave you incorrect information on the process to do this,” Boucher told the selectmen. “Both our CFO Dawn [Norton] and our town attorney Ira [Bloom] corrected us.”
The selectmen voted to rescind their previous votes on the matter, and to issue an addendum to the relevant BOS meeting minutes to explain the corrective action. (Boucher initially asked the board to consider “revising” the previous meeting minutes, but retracted that suggestion when Selectman Bas Nabulsi raised a question about doing so.)
In the interest of keeping the elevator replacement on schedule, the selectmen also voted unanimously to use the BOS’ Charter Authority to pay for the cost increase above the $275,000 bonding (not to exceed a total project cost of $300,700).
Wilton Library Budget Presentation
As the FY 2026 budget planning process unfolds, the line item for the Town’s annual grant for the Wilton Library is a significant consideration for the selectmen’s budget.
Wilton Library Executive Director Caroline Mandler gave a presentation to the BOS highlighting the Library’s many collections, programs and services, as well as the tremendous growth in visits, circulations and other metrics.
Despite the explosive growth, Mandler noted the library is currently operating with staffing that never returned to pre-pandemic levels. The WLA is proposing to add 1.5 full-time-equivalent positions to the FY’26 budget, along with a 3% salary increase for library employees.
WLA Treasurer Penny Maxwell provided additional insights on the library’s budget proposal, which calls for an increase of $201,718, or 6.6%, in the Town’s annual grant to the library. The increase is due primarily to the anticipated increase in wages and benefits.
Multiple members of the Board of Finance — including BOF Chair Matt Raimondi, Vice Chair Stewart Koenigsberg, and Rudy Escalante (and possibly other members not visible on the Zoom recording) — attended the BOS meeting and actively participated in the discussion about the library budget.
Raimondi noted the increase is significantly higher than the budget guidance the BOF provided the BOS, in hopes of limiting the town’s side of budget increases to 3%.
Selectwoman Kim Healy noted that any funding from the town is not intended for use by the library for costs associated with programming, but that WLA fundraising is meant to cover those expenses. She also stated that any legal fees the Library might incur from litigation stemming from the controversy over its writer-in-residence program should not be paid from the Town grant. When Healy asked about it, Mandler said she could not comment on the matter.
Other questions posed by BOF members to library officials touched on whether or not the library charges any fees related to programs or to non-Wilton residents who utilize Wilton library’s offerings, or whether the library charges for the use of room rentals or study rooms, including by tutors. Healy also asked about the library’s discontinuation of late fees.
Marty Avallone —a library trustee, Economic Development Commission member and longtime resident — attended the BOS meeting and spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting to advocate for the Town’s continued investment in the library.
“Next to the school system, the library is perhaps the greatest asset that the town has to both attract and retain residents of all ages and businesses,” Avallone told the selectmen.
More BOS News
The selectmen held a confidential executive session to interview Prachi Sudhakar, a candidate for appointment to the Conservation Commission.
Wilton Fire Department Chief Jim Blanchfield attended the BOS meeting to discuss the department’s Office Inspection and Permit Fee Schedule that will be effective July 1. The selectmen voted unanimously to approve it.
Assistant Town Planner Daphne White attended the BOS meeting to discuss the foreclosure of an Autumn Ridge Rd. property that is one of a small number of deeded affordable housing homes in Wilton. With a release from the Town, the Town will receive a portion of the sale proceeds (roughly $12,000) based on a calculation set forth in a covenant of the deed.
The board approved an amended agreement with Cardinal Engineering for the Scribner Hill Rd. repair project to include administrative costs. All of the costs were previously budgeted and approved.
The board approved an amended agreement for the Middlebrook School chiller improvement project to include engineering work related to the dehumidifying function. The project was previously approved and costs are expected to be within budget.
The board approved an agreement with lowest-bidder Dayton Construction for the long-awaited drainage improvements at the Wilton High School sports complex intended to mitigate flood damage in future storms. The work involves constructing a concrete retaining wall along the stream behind the stadium to divert water, followed by the installation of a drainage pipe and additional culverts to carry the water from around the stadium to the Cider Mill pond. In late 2022, Congress passed the $1.7 trillion Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus appropriations bill, signed into law by President Joe Biden, which included $1,425,000 secured by Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04) to pay for the project.
The board also approved a contract with Security Specialists for the addition of six security cameras on Town Hall campus, which were recommended following a recent security assessment, at a cost of $21,432. The unanticipated expense will be paid from an IT capital fund.
Boucher informed the selectmen that new changes to Wilton’s animal control facility on Town Hall campus will be required by the state by 2029. GOOD Morning Wilton will be reporting on this in more detail in the coming days.
The board agreed to schedule the Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday, May 6, followed by the adjourned vote on Saturday, May 10.
Sarah Goldstein, who identified herself as a longtime resident of the Avalon apartments on River Rd., spoke to the selectmen about a number of concerns including fire safety and handicapped access at Avalon, among other issues at various apartment complexes in Wilton, including alleged “collusion” on rental prices. “Residents deserve to be protected,” Goldstein told the selectmen, as she called for a Wilton “rental board” as well as a “commission for the disabled” which could advocate for greater protections.
As an ex-member of the Wilton Library’s Board of Trustees and its Treasurer from 2021 – 2024 I have two comments about your coverage of the Library’s budget proposal and the ensuing discussion at the recent BoS meeting.
Firstly, last year the library proposed a 2.7% increase in the Town grant, carefully explaining the need for the increase. Even though the request was below the guidance provided, the BoS reduced it to 1.7% without discussion. It follows therefore that a portion of the increase for FY 2025 is a function of the decision to cut the modest increase proposed for FY 2024.
Secondly, the Town’s grant to the library is a relatively small part of the town’s overall annual budget. Funding the requested increase should not present insurmountable problems, especially in view of the ‘deficit’ carried over from the previous year.
The Wilton Library is run very efficiently and there is very little if any fat in its operating expenses. The BoS will hopefully recognize that it represents excellent value for money and find a way to back up its professed support with a positive approach to meeting its current financial needs.
For the avoidance of doubt, I no longer have any connection with the library except as a donor and a concerned member of the Wilton community.
Mike Boswood