HVAC question on the May 20, 2025 Referendum was extremely detrimental for our
town. She stated the Finance Committee and the Town Council held meetings on
April 16, 2025 and talked about how important it was for the request for the
additional funding to pass. She stated that they also talked about the opportunity to
lose the State’s $5,282,190 Grant Reimbursement funding if the HVAC Project was
not completed on time (December, 2026). She stated by “Voting No” for the request
for the additional funding to move forward with the Juliet W. Long School HVAC
Project that they just potentially cost their Town $5 million; because some people
said “Vote No” and did not explain. She stated that those who were advising that
residents “Vote No” needed to provide an explanation but no one did. She stated that
this was an extreme disservice to our taxpayers, and it was an extreme disservice to
our residents. Thank you.
Councilor Ryan stated that he wanted to clarify some comments regarding the Fiscal
Year 2025/2026 Budget being unanimously approved by the Finance Committee. He
stated during the April 23, 2025 Special Finance Committee Meeting and the April
23, 2025Town Council Meeting he “Voted No” stating that he was not in-favor to
forward the proposed Fiscal Year 2025/2026 Budget in the amount of $71,062,240
comprised of a General Government Budget of $30,394,998 and a Board of Education
Budget of $40,667,242; which was a 5.23% increase over the current year’s budget and
was calling for an estimated 2.76 mil increase for a projected mil rate of 37.97 in the
coming year. He stated that he also “Voted No” at the May 20, 2025 Referendum, stating
that this should not be a surprise, noting that he has made his position clear
throughout this year’s budget preparation process.
Councilor Ryan continued by stating that the Finance Committee talked about the
General Government’s proposed Budget, and they all agreed that it was very lean. He
noted that there were some observations which he made as well, that the Budget
Advisory Questions and the results were thoroughly confusing. He stated that the
Voters responded that they thought the General Government budget was too high. He
stated in thinking about the responses received that he then realized the one glaring
fact was that the General Government Budget was carrying the Board of Education
Employees $6,069,790 Healthcare Expenses on the town side of the budget ledger
and not on the Board of Education side of the budget ledger. He stated although the
Finance Committee and the Town Council talked about the proper recording of the
Board of Education Employee’s Healthcare expenses at length, and they made it
known to the residents, that people were saying on social media and what he has
heard in-person was that residents did not know this fact; and they were saying that
there was misleading information, misguided information, and scare tactics were used
by everybody for this vote.
Councilor Ryan stated that he was disappointed with the results of the May 20, 2025
Referendum for the Juliet W. Long School Heating Ventilation and Air Condition
System (HVAC) Project. He stated that he “Voted Yes” to authorize the additional
$1,250,000 to continue to move the HVAC Project forward; explaining that the
bonding was needed. Therefore, he stated that they need to find a path forward to
facilitate this Project, noting that he was on-board with taking the necessary steps to
make the Juliet W. Long HVAC Project happen.