Town council delays budget action

Apr. 14—MANSFIELD — In light of a new executive order issued by Gov. Ned Lamont, the Mansfield Town Council decided to have the annual budget meeting later than originally planned.

The town meeting was tentatively scheduled to be held at 7 p.m. May 11.

Per an 8- 0 vote by the council Monday, however, the council decided to delay its vote on the budget by about a month and reschedule the town meeting.

The council was originally planning to vote April 26 or April 28, but now it plans to vote on May 24, with May 26 held as a reserve date.

That budget would be the one that goes to the taxpayers for them to decide.

" Given that we're still waiting on much- needed information from the treasury department and the Office of Policy and Management, there seems to be a pretty compelling rationale here for the council to consider moving out the town meeting," Mansfield Town Manager Ryan Aylesworth said during the council meeting.

He said staff were supportive of having the town meeting on a later date. Per town charter, the town meeting is traditionally held on the second Tuesday in May. H o w e v e r, per Lamont's e x e c u t i v e order 10E, which was issued on April 6, the legislative bodies of municipalities are allowed to push the town meeting date out as long as the budget is approved by June 30.

Under that order, the town council has until May 20 to alter budget process dates.

The action differs from what happened a year ago, when the COVID- 19 pandemic was impacting all municipal operations.

A year ago, Lamont restricted municipalities from holding a town meeting under a previous executive order, instead allowing the legislative body to set the final budget.

This year, that is no longer the case.

Mansfield Deputy Mayor Ben Shaiken said he was in

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The next chance for residents to weigh-in will be during a public information session at 1 p.m. Monday.

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Mansfield council delays budget action

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favor of holding the town meeting at a later date.

"It gives us some leeway to try to do something virtually, but I think the logistics of that in terms of voting on something town-wide are too challenging," he said. "It would need to happen in person."

Shaiken said he felt it made sense to hold the meeting in June, " principally because it allows us to do it outside."

Input is being sought from staff regarding possible dates, times and locations for the town meeting.

Council members agreed the town meeting should be held after the state budget is approved and after more information comes out about American Rescue Plan funding, which is federal funding, so residents have as much information as possible.

The Connecticut legislature is scheduled to adjourn its current session June 9.

The town is expecting to receive about $ 7.5 million from the American Rescue Plan, with more information expected in May.

" In this case, federal funds are going to probably have a much more significant role in our budget- making than ever before, but we're still going to need to figure out how to incorporate or not incorporate what comes from the state," Mansfield Mayor Antonia Moran said.

Aylesworth suggested holding the meeting on a Saturday morning, noting heat could be a factor later in the day.

Mansfield Finance Director Charmaine Bradshaw- Hill said the budget would need to be approved by taxpayers by June 15 for tax bills to go out with a due date of July 1, as they always do.

The 2021-22 town/school spending package is proposed at $56,784,177, an increase of $1,758,636, or 3.2 percent, from the current budget.

No one spoke about the budget during a virtual public hearing Monday.

There is another opportunity for residents to weigh-in during a public information session at 1 p.m. Monday.

The information session will be live streamed, but residents can view the meeting after as well.

Town council members are not authorized to change the Region 19 budget at all.

Council members can only change the bottom line of the Mansfield Board of Education budget and cannot change individual line items.

The April 19 public information session will be live streamed at https://bit.ly/3sfou9I. Public comment can be emailed to Budget2021@ mansfieldct. org or mailed to 4 S. Eagleville Road, Mansfield, CT, 06268. All comments must be received before the hearing.

The proposed town/school spending plan is available on the town website, www. mansfieldct.org.

Follow Michelle Warren on Twitter-@ mwarrentc.