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.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Two shop front units in the new “Heritage Square” condominium complex on Forest Street sold for a combined $2.9 million this week. The street-level commercial spaces are occupied by Embody Fitness Gourmet and Pet Valu. According to a property transfer recorded Tuesday in the Town Clerk’s office, a newly formed company called ‘Connor Rose Realty Inc.’ purchased the units from Forest Street Properties, builder Chris Gatto’s company. An Upper East Side man, Patrick Mitchell, is listed in Connecticut Secretary of the State records as principal of the new property owner. ***

New Canaan High School officials said in a bulletin for parents this week that they’re seeing a rise in the number of student smoking e-cigarettes—or “vaping”—in school.

Government

Six Candidates To Undergo First-Round Interviews for New Canaan Town Planner Job This Week

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Officials say they received a strong response to the open town planner job in New Canaan, and will commence interviews with six final candidates on Thursday and Friday this week. Active town planners in nearby communities are among those conducting the first-round interviews, according to Cheryl Pickering-Jones, director of human resources for the town of New Canaan. “We are trying to move quickly,” Pickering-Jones told NewCanaanite.com. Town Planner Steve Kleppin, whose last day is Thursday as he takes the same job in neighboring Norwalk, will continue to advise New Canaan in a consulting position, she said. Given that New Canaan has received major applications in recent weeks and months—for example, the Merritt Village proposal, (recently modified) Roger Sherman Inn redevelopment plans and effort from Grace Farms to amend its operating permit—Kleppin’s institutional and historical knowledge, and ready familiarity with New Canaan Zoning Regulations, are important assets, officials say.

Government

‘It Is Sad, Really’: After Multiple Incidents with Angry Ticketed Motorists, Town To Purchase Five Body Cameras for Parking Enforcement Officers

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In what New Canaan’s highest elected official is calling a sad statement on the way some motorists treat the town’s parking enforcement officers, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved funds to purchase five body cameras that the workers soon will wear on the job. Approved 2-0 by the selectmen, the acquisition follows the arrests of a New Canaan man last month after a threatening incident at the Parking Bureau, a Norwalk woman this month who made a scene downtown after being ticketed, and a still-active case now two years old that saw a Greenwich man use racial slurs in arguing with a parking enforcement officer at Morse Court. “It is sad, really, that you have to do this,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said at the selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. “And these are folks trying to do their jobs.”

Mallozzi and Selectman Beth Jones voted in favor of a $3,643 contract with Kansas-based Digital Ally to purchase the devices. Selectman Nick Williams was not in attendance.

Government

‘Deeply Disappointed’: CPA Hired as Town Comptroller Backs Out Before Job Starts [UPDATE]

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Update 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16

Though they had an accepted offer letter and agreement in place, town officials said Wednesday afternoon that the CPA hired to work as the new comptroller for New Canaan backed out of the job. Just one day after announcing that they had hired the Norwalk resident, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said that on Wednesday afternoon the town heard from the woman that her current company counter-offered and she accepted. “I am deeply disappointed that the new addition to our finance staff received a counter offer but I understand the realities of the workplace and we will endeavor to put this behind us and to do our best to find an equally qualified candidate for the position of comptroller,” he said. ***

Original Article: ‘Huge Nod To Good Finance’: New Canaan Hires Experienced CPA As Town Comptroller

Town officials announced Tuesday that they’ve hired a CPA and longtime audit manager as comptroller for the town, a move that New Canaan’s highest elected official said will bolster internal financial controls.