FY 2025 budget

Chief: Police Department Taking ‘Hard Look’ at OT with Numbers Trending High

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New Canaan’s police chief said last month that the department is looking hard at its overtime use after trending high in some areas fiscal-year-to-date. Chief John DiFederico reported during the most recent Police Commission meeting that “we’re trending a little high” with respect to overtime lines. According to data obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request, the Police Department had spent about $185,000 of the $265,000 total (about 70%) allocated for regular overtime through this fiscal year, which ends June 30. It wasn’t clear from the data whether it represented totals through November or through the date of the meeting (Dec. 20).

Government

After Complaints, Police To Look Again at Parking for Officers Downtown

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Following complaints from residents, New Canaan Police officers will try to avoid parking on Locust Avenue while working out of temporary headquarters downtown, officials say. The New Canaan Police Department in November moved into 39 Locust Ave.—the former Board of Education offices at the corner of Forest Street—while the station on South Avenue undergoes an extensive renovation, a project that’s expected to take about two years. During a Board of Selectmen meeting last week, officials flagged an emerging issue where residents are complaining about Locust parking taken up by police officers. “I know it’s a learning curve over there,” Selectman Steve Karl said to Police Chief John DiFederico during the Jan. 4 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Government

Police Commission Takes No Action Following Sight Line Concern at Farm and Main

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Saying the intersection works as-is, members of New Canaan’s local traffic authority will take no action in response to residents’ call for changes at the Main-Old Norwalk-White Oak Shade-Farm Road four-way. The Police Commission in December received at least two letters from residents voicing concerns about a picket fence recently installed atop a stone wall on the south side of Old Norwalk Road, at the intersection. Obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request, the letters note that the fence appears to violate two sections of the New Canaan Zoning Regulations (see pages 154 and 161 here). In a Dec. 6 letter to the Commission, Peter Cooley notes that the fence atop the rock wall is taller than allowed and also in a public right-of-way.

Around Town

Diverting Cut-Through Traffic, Town Installs Barricade on Conrad Road

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The town on Wednesday temporarily closed a heavily trafficked cut-through road near Exit 37 of the Merritt Parkway, as officials try to figure out how to control motor vehicle volume and speeds there. The Police Commission discussed the possibility during its Oct. 18 meeting of closing Conrad Road so that motorists cannot use it to quickly access South Avenue and the Merritt. The appointed body did not vote on the measure. Nevertheless, the town has put up barricades on Conrad where it juts west toward South Avenue (before Whiffle Tree Lane), and they will remain in place for five weeks, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann.