Town meeting is quick and easy

NORTH CANAAN — Quick and unanimous approvals were made by voters,  to a list of agenda items at the May 18 town budget meeting.

The main event was the combined local town and school spending plans, which were approved even without a specific bottom-line number. Negotiations are still underway on a regionwide health insurance plan, expected to be finalized by the end of the week.

The region has played hardball with insurance companies this year, and  the final insurance cost increase is expected to be substantially lower than the increase discussed at the beginning of the budget season.

Finance board Chairman Louis Allyn offered a neat summary of the overall picture, including what happened with this year’s budget (the fiscal year ends on the last day of June).

He noted that last year the selectmen’s budget was down by more than $200,000, and the North Canaan Elementary School budget by more than $17,000. The savings were offset by a Region One assessment increase of almost the same amount. The six regional towns share certain education costs, including the cost of the shared high school in Falls Village. Costs are assessed each year based on the number of students in each town.

“The town did a good job of cutting expenses, including no employee pay raises,� Allyn said.

This year, the selectmen managed a further decrease of $21,874, and the school, $42,558. The regional assessment is up $307,107, for a net increase of $242,675.

That is weighed against a surplus in the North Canaan school budget of nearly $100,000, which, as tax dollars, is turned back to the town.

A mild winter kept the snow removal budget underspent and word from the state is that revenues will decrease only slightly.  

“We will take a little out of reserves and try to maintain a mill rate of 21 mills,� Allyn said (essentially saying: no tax increase).

Other business at the meeting included a new ordinance that allows the town to fine owners of private fire alarm systems that are not properly maintained and become a nuisance.

“We have spells when we get a lot of false alarms,� explained Selectman Charlie Perotti, who is also a former Canaan Fire Company chief. “Every time, we have to roll like it’s a real fire alarm. We had one incident in Canaan Valley where we responded to alarms three times in 48 hours. That qualifies as a nuisance.�

As with all the Northwest Corner towns, North Canaan’s fire company is made up of volunteers, who leave home or jobs to respond to fire calls.

The fine for the alarms is $100 for the third false alarm and for each one after, counted from the date a system was serviced by an alarm company.

Half goes to the town and half to the fire company.

The fire company is in the process of purchasing a new fire truck. The Spartan, with a six-man cabin and water and foam delivery systems, will replace a 1981 truck that acting Chief Steve Kroehle said is worn and rotted and simply not worth repairing anymore.

The $488,000 price tag will be covered in part with an approved transfer of $200,000 from the town’s capital and nonrecurring account.