WILTON — Voters at Monday night’s annual town meeting approved a second phase of upgrading the wastewater treatment plant.
They also accepted the $440,550 police department budget and agreed to look at developing property maintenance standards to preserve the appearance and conformity of the downtown village and residential areas, but not without reservations.
After police Chief Heidi Wilcox explained the reasoning behind the amount budgeted for the department, including fuel and vehicle expenses, a move to amend the article to last year’s amount of $404,750 brought questions about the need for the department and coverage of the town. Some selectmen supported Wilcox’s attempt to figure a realistic budget and urged voters to give the new chief a chance.
“The previous chiefs did not budget properly,” Selectman Tom Saviello said.
There was a lot of grant money previously used within the budget and that has gone away, Town Manager Rhonda Irish explained. With the changes in the chief position last year, more grants were not written.
When the question of numbers on the police force arose, Selectman Scott Taylor reminded voters that the budget cannot be reduced by reducing manpower unless services are cut.
Wilcox, who was hired last fall, agreed, saying there’s still the same amount of crime.
“I can’t do anything if you cut my legs out beneath me,” she said, asking the voters to approve the budget.
In a secret vote, the amended motion was defeated, 23-89.
Some residents raised concerns about creating an ordinance with rules for property appearance and conformity.
“Conformity with what?” asked Conrad Heeschen. “It’s so vague right now. I’m concerned about implications of it. How far are we willing to take it? I have a whole lot of questions.”
Others support exploring the possibility.
It’s only to develop a committee to explore the possibilities; that’s all, Susan Atwood said.
Any developed ordinance would come back to the town voters. The article was included to ask whether residents were interested in the town exploring the issues, Irish said.
By a show of hands, the measure was approved 60-20.
With little discussion, voters approved continuing the upgrade to the aging sewer plant at a cost of $4.96 million. Although the 944 sewer customers will see higher rates for the two phases, it was the first rate increase since 1987.
abryant@sunjournal.com
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