Government

Selectmen Hear Recommendation for $20,000 Salary for Town Treasurer

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Members of a municipal government subcommittee advocating for a $20,000 salary for the salary of the town treasurer said this week that the substantial pay increase could, in fact, save New Canaan money. According to Town Council member Kathleen Corbet, who serves on the legislative body’s Subcommittee for General Government and Finance, “with responsible, fair compensation for the town treasurer,” New canaan could “rely on them to do some of the functions that are being paid for on an internal audit function, which is an outsource function.”

“This committee is really all about savings for the town,” Corbet told members of the Board of Selectmen during their July 11 regular meeting, held at Town Hall. “We had the benefit of working with the Board of Education to find cost savings in health insurance, and we did that. We saved over $200,000. We’re not doing this for political attribution, but for saving money for the town.”

This recommendation comes after an extensive study of the salaries of town treasurers in 22 neighboring towns and cities, with respect to their respective budgets and duties, according to Corbet.

Government

Town Hall To Get Plaques Listing New Canaanites Who Served in Korea, Vietnam and during Gulf War, War on Terrorism

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Town officials recently approved the payment of about $7,000 in privately raised funds to a Trumbull-based company that will install plaques at Town Hall honoring New Canaanites who have served in wartime. The additional plaques for the new major entrance of Town Hall will list the names of residents who served during the Korean War, Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm of the Gulf War, according to Bill Oestmann, buildings superintendent of the New Canaan Department of Public Works. The Board of Selectmen at its June 27 meeting voted 3-0 to approve $6,962.76 for A.W. Construction LLC—funds raised by VFW Post 653 and the Exchange Club of New Canaan. VFW Post 653 Commander Peter Langenus said later that New Canaan’s American Legion Post 30 has given an “incredible commitment of time and money” to the project. During the meeting, held at Town Hall,First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said: “I applaud the effort.”

News

Newest New Canaan Police Officer Sworn In; Tam Receives ‘Officer of the Year Award’; 8 Officers, 3 Civilians Honored

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The New Canaan Police Department on Tuesday recognized eight officers and three civilians for outstanding service to the community during a ceremony that also saw the agency’s newest member sworn in by the town clerk. In addressing Nicole Vartuli, a Stamford native and Westhill High School graduate who is poised for training at the Connecticut Police Academy this year with an expectation that she will undergo field training with NCPD through the early part of 2018, Chief Leon Krolikowski said that “badge you were just issued represents public trust.”

“The public willingly puts this work in your hands and trusts that you will take care of them in the proper manner,” Krolikowski said moments after Vartuli had been sworn in by Town Clerk Claudia Weber. “They do not want this responsibility for themselves. My charge to you today is to do just that: Get it right. We have all heard about the stories of officers who have gotten it wrong.

News

‘We Strive To Hire the Absolute Best’: New Canaan Police Department Poised To Add Fourth Female Officer to Its Ranks

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Town officials on Tuesday started the hiring process for the New Canaan Police Department to take on a 28-year-old Stamford woman as its newest officer. The Board of Selectmen’s 3-0 vote in favor of the classification and compensation for Nicole Vartuli clears the way for the department to hire its fourth female uniformed officer, officials said. Vartuli, who underwent intense testing, was selected from a pool of 114 candidates, and the department is thrilled that such a decision improves the diversity of their officers, according to Police Chief Leon Krolikowski. “We strive to hire the absolute best person, and when it turns out to help diversity it is a great victory,” Krolikowski said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. He added: “It’s a very competitive market, and Stamford was actually on the cusp of hiring her, so we’re lucky that we got her.”

Vartuli has a degree in accounting, and was previously employed by the Stamford Police Department as a financial clerk, the chief said.

Government

Selectmen Unanimously Approve Higher ‘Extra Duty’ Rates for New Canaan Police

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Town officials on Tuesday approved a higher hourly wage for members of the New Canaan Police Department when they’re helping with traffic control for utility companies or at private functions—a fee typically paid by contractors rather than local taxpayers. The “extra duty” rate—as opposed to overtime, when the town pays an officer a higher rate for shift work—has not increased in eight years, police told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting. And at $60.32 per hour for an extra duty job that goes beyond eight straight hours or $67 per hour for work between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., the New Canaan Police rate has fallen behind nearby municipalities such as Darien, Wilton, Westport, Stamford and Greenwich, officials said. Those rates will increase to $70 and $77, following a unanimous vote by the Board of Selectmen at the meeting, held in Town Hall. First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said “it’s important that we get these [police officers] to want to take these side jobs, because I think having a police presence in town is a good thing.”

“I know they have been involved when they are on extra-duty work, that they are in town to augment the police force and stop some very serious crimes and I think it really spreads out and becomes more attractive when you get more folks taking on these jobs.”

Police Lt. Jason Ferraro, presenting the proposed new rates to the selectmen, cited instances such as when an officer saved a choking person’s life on Elm Street while working an extra-duty job nearby, or when officers working extra-duty responded to motor vehicle accidents and even serious domestic incidents involving weapons as examples of how the work has helped New Canaan.