The town should allow grant-making agencies that raise private dollars to fund nonprofit organizations that serve residents, rather than putting that cost on local taxpayers, New Canaan’s highest elected official said last week.
Other Fairfield County towns do not make the smaller grants that New Canaan has given to agencies such as the Child Guidance Center and, more recently, Family Centers, according to First Selectman Dionna Carlson.
New Canaan needs to “look at where are we getting our bang for buck as a municipality, and what are we using that we need to fund,” Carlson said during a Jan. 23 Board of Selectmen meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.
Though the community decided to enter into a partnership with the New Canaan Community Foundation and Silver Hill Hospital to fund the successful Urgent Assessment Program, “I’m not quite sure what we are doing with all of these small donations to these other agencies,” she added.
“My only argument is that if it truly is a really beneficial nonprofit that many people value, they will write checks for it,” Carlson said.
She added, “I’ve talked to other first selectmen and we are one of the only towns that does this. And their attitude is: The state pays these agencies for our referrals, so they are incented to take our clients. So we don’t need to incent them as a town to take our clients.”
The comments came during a fiscal year 2025 budget presentation from Bethany Zaro, director of the town’s Department of Human Services. Zaro is proposing an overall spend of $718,743 for the department—an increase of about .1% over current spending. Within that overall figure are recommendations for stipends for a number of nonprofit organizations, including Getabout ($35,000), Kids In Crisis ($144,000), New Canaan CARES ($8,000), Child Guidance Center ($2,500), Domestic Violence Crisis Center ($2,500), Meals On Wheels ($2,500), Community Programs ($2,500) and Family Centers ($2,500).
Zaro said the request for Kids In Crisis is up from the $96,000 in the adopted budget for FY24 because it includes paying for half of a Teen Talk counselor at Saxe Middle School for next academic year. The Board of Education decided to allocate ARPA funds to that position for two years (there’s already one at New Canaan High School), though that funding will run out, Zaro said. Asked where she’d get the money for the other half of the position, Zaro said grants and other sources.
The selectmen called for details and metrics on the middle school Teen Talk counselor, such as the number of kids served.
Selectman Amy Murphy Carroll said, “We have no idea how many people are tapping it. We still need details.”
With respect to the grants that New Canaan has made in the past to the agencies, Zaro described the practice as “the cost of doing business.”
Carlson disagreed.
“It’s not the cost of doing business,” she said. “I know that’s what’s being said and communicated. But in talking to every other town first selectman in Fairfield County, this is not a cost of doing business—it’s a generosity of the community.”
Zaro said she was presenting to the Board on behalf of the Health & Human Services Commission that oversees her department and “how they feel the community will benefit.”
“However, I will take the lead,” Zaro said. “I just want to say, being director of Human Services, I want to maintain the generosity that the town wants to give. But I also understand the fiscal responsibility.”
Carlson said in response, “We are an unbelievably generous town.”
Selectman Steve Karl told Zaro that if there was ever a time she needed to come in for a special appropriation for anything, “we are here.”
The Board of Finance is scheduled to take up the budget from the selectmen next week.
Let’s hope we continue to be an “unbelievably generous town” to help our community continue to thrive, particularly for those in need.
To say “other towns don’t do it, so why should we?” seems like the wrong and in many cases, a faulty comparison. One needs to dig under the hood to understand other town’s budgets and services relative to their grant contributions. E.g, Since we like to compare to Darien, consider this…Darien has a Senior Transportation service where the non-profit organization At Home In Darien provides transportation throughout their town, much like New Canaan’s Getabout. The difference between the two is that the Town of Darien “processes payroll for the drivers and provides gasoline throughout the year. At Home In Darien reimburses the Town for the driver’s pay and the gasoline” according Darien financial reports. https://www.darienct.gov/DocumentCenter/View/234/Senior-Transportation-PDF Yet, even with the reimbursement for pay and gas, senior transportation costs Darien $42.3k in town personnel and supplies. No grants involved. By comparison, New Canaan seems to get off easy with their Getabout grant of $35k and without the headache of managing/staffing for the initiative. Darien also supports, via a grant, Kids in Crisis.
To our newly elected officials, it’s totally reasonable to do your due diligence to understand where non-profit grant tax dollars are going and who the funds benefit, but please don’t cut these funds in haste. These well-vetted organizations on the current proposed budget provide valuable services that are worthy of the Town of New Canaan’s official support.
Susan, thank you for this comment. Your words went straight to my heart. I think we are forgetting that NC residents also use the services provided by some, if not all, of these grant organizations. As a licensed foster parent, Child Guidance Services was an essential component of my bonus child’s placement. Our family is forever grateful for their support. Our local Food Pantry at St Mark’s is serving DOUBLE the amount of families this year vs last. I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume these same families are also availing themselves of services provided by outside organizations such as the grant recipients mentioned in the article. While it may seem like we are saving taxpayer money, in the end we could actually be harming our community’s most vulnerable population during a time when support is needed most. This is not about generosity, it is about making sure we take care of our community as a whole. People who, by the way, are also taxpayers. I truly hope our leadership takes the time to study this topic more closely. One of the reasons I love New Canaan so much is because we are a community of caring individuals who takes care of one another.
One more comment to chime in about the Teen Talk counselor at Saxe. Middle School is such a tricky time for youth. Mental health is a national conversation. Every middle school, but especially top-ranked New Canaan, should have such a counselor on staff. I am not sure how we can expect students to perform at our expected levels of academics while struggling in silence. Rather than gauging how many students use such a counselor, I think saving one life or troubleshooting one abusive relationship or identifying and supporting just one student in crisis should be enough for us as a community. How much is the life of just one student in need worth? More than the counselor’s salary, for sure.
I totally agree with Monica’s sentiments. Saving one life is worth it and this is a town that should support that effort. As the mom of a son who has been bullied mercilessly, I am so grateful for the efforts and support of all the counselors and staff at Saxe who have supported my son and myself through those moments and who continue to support the students doing the bullying in order to help them make better choices in the future. That benefits both parties involved!
Thanks, Dionna, for looking out for New Canaan taxpayers.
i understand that the new administration is trying to save the taxpayers money which is much appreciated. The question is , should it be at the expense of the people that need it the most ? We have always been a generous town with many volunteers giving of their time, talent and financial resources to make a difference in people’s lives. It has been in partnership with the town, Once the Heath and Human Services Dept. provides the data requested, I hope their budget request will be approved. What message does it send if the town administration is not willing to invest in their residents ?
At a time when most nonprofits are struggling with reduced donations, Ms Carlson’s blithe comment that “My only argument is that if it truly is a really beneficial nonprofit that many people value, they will write checks for it,” really shows a lack of understanding. If New Canaan town and schools cannot adequately provide services for mental health, then we should pay outside agencies which can! It boils down to the age-old discussion of what a government should provide its citizens. Where will we draw the line?