The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted unanimously in favor of recommending $177,750 in pandemic-related “premium pay” to be distributed among 240 municipal workers.
The payments will be distributed evenly—nearly $750 each—for town workers as well as fire and EMS volunteers, officials say.
Two months ago, the selectmen had discussed a $500,000 allocation for town employees.
The selectmen met in executive session to talk about how to spend the “premium pay” piece of American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Referring to the town’s allocations, Williams said it “really is a good idea to do this in phases and not just try and spend $6 million at once.”
“There’s no rush,” Williams said. “And I think due consideration and being careful is smart.”
The updated recommendation came as part of a larger combined allocation of $725,050 for people who work for the town and for those who work for the Board of Education—$177,750 for the 240 people on the town side and $547,300 for 697 people on the school district side, officials said. (The $547,300 figure includes $413,000 that the Board of Finance voted in favor of appropriating for 427 New Canaan Public Schools staff members at its Oct. 12 meeting, following a Board of Ed recommendation.)
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the allocation as part of a larger overall package that now moves to the Board of Finance for approval.
Here’s what the selectmen voted to recommend, including the premium pay:
Selectmen ARPA Funding Recommendations
| Project | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Premium pay | Town and Board of Ed workers | $725,050 |
| NCTV79 | Modernization of equipment | $70,000 |
| Waveny Park Conservancy | Matching funds for projects | $250,000 |
| Parking fund | Replenish lost revenue | $150,000 |
| Emergency generator | Backup generator for critical facilities | $250,000 |
| Live New Canaan | Marketing project support | $60,000 |
| Outdoor bathrooms at Waveny | Renovate for all-season use | $250,000 |
| Greenlink sidewalks | Completion of greenlinks | $300,000 |
| Sub Total | $2,055,050 | |
| Total ARPA Allocation | $6 million | |
| Remaining ARPA Funds | $3,944,950 |
The town has about two more years to decide how to spend approximately $6 million in total ARPA funds.
I am hopeful that School Nurses are included in the funding for school staff. They worked diligently in many school and community areas to support ongoing pandemic management.
How about putting the rest towards lowering the tax rate a bit or saving the 1913 library – Since most of the tax payers were not allowed to use the government parks or library in person for part of this nightmare.
Todd, ARPA funds cannot be used to offset tax reductions or delay a tax or tax increase.
As you may already know and has been discussed in past comment threads, this was one condition of P&Z’s approval of the library’s project in July: “Within a hundred and twenty days (120) after the effective date of approval the New Canaan Library shall work with the Town Planner and if desired by the Commission or Town Planner, an external adviser, hired by the Town and paid for by the Library to present options to preserve appropriate portions of the existing library building older than 1937. Appropriate items recommended, by the Commission, for preservation could include, the façade, pillars and roof line of the pre-1937 buildings.” You may read the full conditions of approval here.
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