Election season comes early in New Canaan. The party with the largest number of registered voters in town, the Republicans, holds the majority on Town boards, council and commissions. They will hold their caucus on July 18 to endorse candidates to represent the party on the ballot for the municipal election in November, and all registered Republicans are urged to attend.
This pre-caucus season there are more candidates vying for the Republican Party’s endorsement than there are endorsements to be gained, and with those contests comes good old-fashioned, grassroots campaigning. The Advertiser continues its long tradition of helping the community get to know the candidates of any election by asking questions, collecting responses and publishing the information in print, on NCAdvertiser.com and via social media.
This installment of election coverage is provided five days before the Republicans in the contested races — First Selectman, Selectman and Town Council — will face off in a debate to be held next Tuesday, June 27, at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. The public is urged to attend or watch via NCTV-79.
New Canaan Democrats will hold their caucus on July 18 as well. As of June 21 there are no known contests for endorsements.
The Advertiser welcomes input from readers to advise the editors about what are the most important issues facing the community today. Please send emails to: GReilly@NCAdvertiser.com with the subject line: Election Issue.
New Canaan’s Town Hall
In New Canaan Town government, the Town Council is called to act on matters that have been passed first by the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance. What specific procedure would you recommend to ensure the Town Council is involved in setting policy and direction for the Town?
Roy A. Abramowitz
Roy A. Abramowitz
Biography
- CPA
- MBA — NYU Stern 1974
- 1996 resident
- Daughter — 2017 graduate NCHS
- Pioneer in establishing audit committee, authored procedural, operative guidelines.
- Public Tree Board — Chairman Emeritus.
- CERT (2002-present),
- Volunteer Firefighter (1999-2001).
- Office of Emergency Management active volunteer (inception-present).
- Red Cross Disaster Team, Disaster Assessment Team Leader.
- Boy Scouts of America (2008-present) — Treasurer, Chairman Audit Committee, Finance & Investment Committee, Nominating Committee, Executive Committee, Board of Directors.
- Treasurer Republican Town Committee 2010-2012
- Starlight Children’s Foundation — 25 years, Audit Committee, Executive Committee, Director, Chairman — Budget, Investment Committees.
- Sponsored/coached youth sport programs.
Response
The operational framework in the annual budget process, special appropriations and monitoring of spending in relation to the approved annual budget encompasses a lack of segregation of duties.
The Board of Finance is appointed by the Board of Selectmen (executive branch) and receives the Town’s recommended annual budget from the Board of Selectmen. This methodology is an inherent weakness lacking segregation of duties.
The Town Council (legislative branch) is elected but pursuant to Town Charter, Chapter 1, Article 5, §C5-9 has no input into the recommended annual budget that the Board of Finance presents to the Board of Selectmen. Pursuant to Town Charter, Chapter 1, Article 5, §C5-11: “The Town Council may approve, disapprove or reduce but may not increase the amount of appropriations … .” This methodology has not functioned efficiently and resulted in an aggregate double digit tax increase over the last four years. The elected legislative branch is not in the forefront of determining the Town budget and tax rate.
I recommend that, in addition to the Finance and Government Subcommittee, the Town Council establishes a Budget Subcommittee that would be proactive in the development of the annual budget and monitor on a monthly basis actual revenue and expenditures to budget. The subcommittee should establish its own recommendation(s) on a top/down basis and be proactive with the Board of Finance in budgetary development before receiving the annual budget from the Board of Selectmen. Monthly monitoring will assure compliance with the adopted annual budget and proactively identify variances.
Tom Butterwort
Tom Butterworth
Biography
- Resident for 26 years with wife Libby. Five children attended New Canaan schools.
- Practiced law with major corporate firms, then served as a partner and consultant with Hewitt Associates, and finally was a financial planner and principal with HTG Investment Advisors.
- Served on several nonprofit boards, twice as chairman.
- Active in historic preservation groups; award-winning restoration of oldest house in New Canaan. Hosted the Beautification League’s hanging basket assembly for three years.
- Served on Board of the Town Players of New Canaan, and acted in or directed a dozen of its theatrical productions. Director of 2017 Gridiron Show.
Response
New Canaan’s town government is admirably effective. Our system isn’t perfect but overall, New Canaan works. Our schools are excellent, our town is beautiful, and our town employees are responsive, friendly and motivated.
The Advertiser’s question implies that the Town Council isn’t sufficiently involved in setting Town policy. The context: The Council is empowered to approve, reject or decrease appropriations recommended by the Board of Finance, but cannot increase spending or add new outlays. This limits the Council’s power (rightly or wrongly), but it needn’t limit the Council’s influence. Council members can be thought leaders, advocating policies desired by the citizenry.
The Town Council has regular interactions with the other branches. It has seven active committees through which members collaborate with department heads and other stakeholders in the budget process. This gives members a credible voice, and should be continued. And of course, the Council exercises legislative authority regarding ordinances, and has a central role regarding projects on Town property.
Sometimes, the Council will need to assert more leadership. For example, say that we embrace the development of the lumberyard property as a high priority to achieve three strategic imperatives: expand commuter parking, build senior housing, and generate revenue. The Council could declare that it will reject appropriations for lower-priority projects (e.g. construction of the Locust lot) that would compete with and distract from the lumberyard initiative. Together with other activities, this hypothetical illustrates that there are ample ways to ensure involvement by the Town Council in setting the direction of the town.
John Engel
John Engel, incumbent
Biography
- Married 26 years to Melissa
- 4 children in NC schools, 2 current, 2 graduates
- 3rd generation New Canaan
- Town Council 2013-present
- NC Land Trust board 2012-present
- Zoning Board of Appeals 2007-2012
- NC Rotary Club 2003-present & President 2016-2017
- Captain, US Army and War Veteran, Desert Storm
- Saxe & NCHS graduate
- E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award, 2000
- NC Realtor and landlord
- Davidson College, BA English Literature, 1989
- Staying Put in NC board 2007-2013
- Veterans of Foreign War post 653
- CCD teacher, basketball & baseball coach
- St. Aloysius School President 2007-2008
- Outback Teen Center board 2001-2003
- CCNC member
Response
There are three parts to the Town Council process. Gather public opinion, meet in subcommittee, and meet as a full Town Council to (vote and) take action.
The formation of the Audit and Ethics boards, the Charter Revision Commission, the Fowler Property Acquisition and the creation of the Land Acquisition Fund are four recent examples of where we were successful.
In the areas requiring coordination with other Town boards the process has been more challenging. Examples include late challenges to the Outback condemnation, Waveny re-roofing, Locust decking, funding the Land Acquisition Fund, and setting a Treasurer salary and tax collection rate.
The Town Council could probably do a better job of communicating and coordinating with the Boards of Selectmen and Finance in particular. We rely too heavily on the agenda-setting meeting between board leadership and the dissemination of that information to all members. It can be uncomfortable when one board’s decisions and desire to get things done is held in check by another town body. These differences in opinion make for healthy debate, but we should plan for more joint meetings throughout the year, and a closer relationship between respective subcommittees if we are to make real progress on key initiatives in the next few years such as proposed decked parking, gas lines, cell towers, and an open space plan, to name a few.
Mike Maur
Mike Mauro
Biography
My family and I are recent additions to the New Canaan community. We are proud to live here and consider it a privilege. I have been an attorney for 17 years focusing on the nation’s labor and employment civil rights laws. My wife works in the commodities industry. We have two children who will enter kindergarten at Saxe this fall. New Canaan’s environment is an ecosystem that requires diligent work to ensure balance. If elected to town council, I will work tirelessly with my colleagues to enhance the town’s extraordinary quality of life, education, and civility.
Response
Government for the people works best as a collaborative, transparent and respectful process. As such, communication between the Board of Finance, the Board of Selectmen and the Council is key to forging a policy framework that addresses the pressing issues facing the town.
To be a valuable Council member, it’s incumbent upon the member to be as informed as possible about the context and reasons for the decisions the BOS and BOF render. To that end, Council members should maximize the tools that are available including attending their meetings and/or watching their televised broadcasts and diligently utilizing the subcommittee liaison mechanism to get involved with their deliberative process as soon as possible, especially regarding the budget.
Also to consider is modifying (statutorily if necessary) the monthly meeting between the Council and First Selectman whereby a working committee comprised of three Council members serving on a three-month rotating basis meet with a representative from BOS and BOF. They meet once at the beginning of every month for the Council to discuss agendas and timely topics before BOS and BOF. The informational discussion will enable more members of the Council to have a voice in setting the Council’s agenda. It will also provide an opportunity for more Council members to provide constructive input to BOS and BOF that could be considered in their deliberations. The working committee respects the balance of power but facilitates more informed decisions that will serve to benefit the town’s residents, which is the whole point of government.
Rich Townsen
Rich Townsend
Biography
This has been our home since 1986. My wife, a children’s librarian in town, and I raised three daughters here. Our church is here, and our West School grandkids. We moved our company, a hedge fund, here. I served on the boards of Waveny, NC Community Foundation and the Charter Review Commission.
Good public service prioritizes and carefully allocates resources. From Stanford Business School to serving as a Fortune 500 CFO, that is what I learned to do. I listen, learn, and hold organizations accountable. I hope to do the same to protect the town I love.
Response
What makes New Canaan the “next station to Heaven?” Is it our excellent schools, an easy commute to NYC and/or our downtown’s unmatched charm? Understanding how each constituent answers this question lies at the heart of the Town Council’s mission. As the legislative body, it is Town Council’s role to listen to the voters and understand the characteristics that make New Canaan truly unique. Through retention, modification and enactment of ordinances, the Town Council’s work with the Selectmen and the Board of Finance must roll forward from this understanding of what about New Canaan must be nurtured, protected or improved.
Any successful collaboration between the government branches must involve these basic steps:
- Establish the Keys to New Canaan’s Success: Let’s first make sure we all understand the five or six key characteristics to New Canaan’s identity, establishing these through far-reaching conversations with voters, businesses, and anyone with a passion for New Canaan.
- Listen — Town Council members must spend enough time listening to voters and experts to form a realistic assessment of a given policy’s impact on our town’s future.
- Prioritize — We should lay any policy or action taken by the Board of Finance and the Selectmen against these key characteristics, ensuring that they prioritize and protect what makes New Canaan special.
- Assess Results — How does a given policy or statute function in the real world? Town Council should continuously track actual results, invite public feedback and initiate studies (when appropriate) to measure concrete impact on New Canaan.
Penny Young
Penny Young, incumbent
Biography
Recognized Dedicated Community Service Leader:
- Town Council five terms (Secretary)
- Charter Revision Commission
- Building Evaluation and Use Committee (proposer & members)
- Getabout & Staying Put (Advisory Councils)
- Lapham Community Center (instrumental in developing)
- League of Women Voters (Secretary)
- Facing Addiction task force
- New Canaan Beautification League (Past President)
- Stamford Symphony (Director)
- CT Commission on Women, Children and Seniors (gubernatorial appointments)
- CT Association of Area Agencies on Aging (President)
- Yankee Institute (Board)
Long term resident. Married to Bob Young; Two children educated in our public schools; three grandchildren
Education
- Univ. of Delaware – BA Modern Languages
- College of New Rochelle – MS Gerontology
Response
The Charter Revision Commission wrestled with this very question recognizing that there are some limitations on the authority of the Town Council, the elected representative body of the government. By Charter the TC can approve, cut, reject but not increase an appropriation request as well as no line item control in the Board of Education budget which is ~60% of the overall budget. As such, it is vitally important to promote ongoing substantive dialogue, goals and partnerships to frame financial decisions.
There are many opportunities for TC involvement in setting policy and direction. Some of these have been recently started, are effective, and can be further enhanced. The TC participates in the development of the Plan of Conservation and Development and serves on task forces studying community issues.
Both the TC and Board of Finance have formed subcommittees which focus on department functions and both annual and five-year capital budget development. This partnership is strengthening and becoming more interactive; e.g., for years I’ve advocated an in-depth study of the Town’s assets in order to fully understand the financial liabilities and budget considerations of upgrading and maintaining these buildings. Coupled with similar concerns from the BOF, the Building Evaluation and Use Committee has been formed with myself and co-chair BOF member Amy Carroll. This committee exemplifies a valuable collaborative effort.
The relationship would be further strengthened by re-instating an annual gathering of BOS/BOF/BOE/TC, ideally with opportunity for public input, to review strategic plans and affect budget efficiencies.
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