The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Selectmen request public comment on budget
Residents can submit their comments by writing, calling or emailing through May 20
WINSTED — Selectmen finalized a plan this week to get a budget passed, following the governor’s executive order to avoid large gatherings while keeping the public involved.
Winsted traditionally holds public meetings to get taxpayer input, followed by a referendum. This year, the board is asking for written and verbal comments on the proposed 2020-21 budgets — municipal and education — and will present both at a May 14 public hearing on Zoom.
Representatives from the Board of Education, the Gilbert School and the Board of Selectmen will present their budgets on the online platform. Residents will be invited to attend that hearing, which begins at 7 p.m.
Another public meeting on Zoom will be held May 18. Then, on May 21, the Board of Selectmen will meet to finalize and adopt the budgets and set the tax rate for the new fiscal year.
“The Board of Selectmen have always taken public comments during the budget process, and we would like to continue to hear from the public,” said Mayor Candy Perez during the board’s meeting Monday. To that end, a public comment period was proposed that will include call-ins during the May 14 and May 18 meetings, and with participation on Zoom. Residents can also submit comments in writing or by phone anytime between now and May 20.
All comments will be compiled and reviewed by selectmen throughout the process, Perez said, prior to the May 21 meeting.
To make comments by phone, residents can call 860-738-6958. To participate on Zoom, residents can get a passcode from the town website 24 hours before each meeting, at www.townofwinchester.org.
Public comment can also be submitted in writing or by phone anytime between now and May 20; email townmanager@townofwinchester.org; LBessette@townofwinchester.org; or Winstedpubliccomment@gmail.com.
Comments can also be mailed to the Town of Winchester, Attn: Board Of Selectmen, 338 Main St. Winsted, CT 06098. Mailed comments must be received by May 20 to be considered.
The budgets are posted on the website and may be reviewed in advance. Anyone in need of a printed copy can call 860-7386962.
The town budget link is https://www.townofwinchester.org/sites/winchesterct/files/uploads/town_mgr_budget_3.13.20. pdf.
The Gilbert School’s budget is available at https://www. gilbertschool.org/about-us/test-1/ 2020-2021-gilbert-school-budgetinformation.
A link to the Board of Education’s budget will be available soon; check the website.
Town Manager Robert Geiger’s budget proposal keeps the tax rate the same as the previous year at 33.54 mills.
Selectmen hoped they could hold a regular referendum this year. “The process from Gov. Lamont makes it so we as a Board of Selectmen decide,” Perez said.
“I support the recommendations,” said school board Chairman Steve Sedlak. “I think we’ll get more comments and feedback than we get during the hearings we’ve had in the past.”
Perez, who oversees the Zoom meetings, said allowing people to sign in with a passcode will be a bit of a challenge. “When you come into the meeting, you have to be let in,” she said. “Otherwise, (people from outside of town can) crash the meeting. A meeting in Watertown was crashed a week ago.”
Even if the public doesn’t attend the May 14 and May 18 meetings, there could be up to 30 people attending on Zoom, she said, with three boards making presentations. “What if there were 50 or 70 more people?” Perez said. “They’ll just have to be really patient. But it will give everyone a chance to come in. The Zoom part is the only part that makes me nervous. But I want people to ... think it’s fair.”
Selectman Candace Bouchard asked how the public’s comments will be managed. “Would we read them and respond to them at the meetings?” she asked.
“If it’s a question, yes,” Perez said. “If it’s a statement, we don’t have to respond.”
Residents can keep track of the budget process by visiting the town’s website.