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Date: 5/18/2022
TOLLAND — In the only contested votes of the night, Town Meeting participants agreed on May 9 to combine the town treasurer and tax collector into one office, and make the town clerk and treasurer-collector appointed by selectmen instead of elected.
The appointed town clerk proposal passed 17-1, with two abstentions. The merged and appointed treasurer-collector passed 16-2, with two abstentions. Both will have to pass a townwide ballot vote before they can take effect. All three current positions are on the ballot for May 24; whoever is elected will be allowed to serve their three-year terms before the first appointment is made.
Bob Bitso spoke against the changes, saying that Tolland has done well up to now with local people in those positions. He said if they become appointed hires, the selectmen will not be able to discriminate in favor of Tolland residents, and may be forced to hire an outsider.
Fire Chief Eric Munson III responded that if an out-of-towner has the technical skills and knowledge for the jobs, then that is who should be hired.
“Years and years ago, these positions were really part-time positions, and they really have become professional positions,” he said. “You really have to know what you’re doing in these positions.”
Voters also approved a $1,320,656.75 budget for fiscal year 2023, which begins July 1.
As part of the budget, voters also agreed to resume spending $100,000 a year on dirt road repairs. That money had been redirected to broadband internet costs in fiscal year 2022.
DellaGiustina said “it ought to be six months” before homeowners can sign up for broadband service, with construction on the wired network underway. The final cost to taxpayers will likely be about $800,000, DellaGiustina said, well within the $1.6 million that voters had authorized to borrow before the project started.
Town Moderator Patrick Storey said “there’s also the exciting possibility” that federal COVID-19 relief funds could pay for work.
The town election is May 24 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Public Safety Complex, 206 W. Granville Rd., Tolland. There are no contested races.