Fire District budget meeting moves to June 7

NORTH CANAAN — A May 17 town meeting to consider the proposed 2011-12 budget of the Canaan Fire District (CFD) has been postponed until June 7.The adjournment was primarily due to a lack of a quorum, but CFD Warden Anthony Nania said there was also an issue of an incomplete budget.The quorum issue is a long-standing one, hailing back to when the state Legislature changed the minimum from seven to 15 people. Anyone can attend public district meetings, but a quorum of eligible voters (residents and property owners within the district) is required. The Canaan Fire District is a separate tax district defined by the areas where sewer service is provided.The district’s executive committee was expanded last year, according to Nania, to help with the problem.While Nania said he went to Town Hall for the 7 p.m. meeting and found a small crowd, he determined only three people were eligible to be part of a quorum. And because of the likelihood there would not be a complete budget upon which to vote anyway, the usual phone calls were not made to boost attendance. A significant number missing from the budget was the net amount of grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the recently completed sewer expansion project.