Albe Bassett

‘This Is Not a Best Practice’: Fire Commission Pushes Back on Removal of Funding for Assistant Chief

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Saying it’s a matter of public safety, members of the municipal body that oversees the New Canaan Fire Department are calling for the town to re-add funding for an assistant chief position in the agency. The Board of Selectmen following a back-and-forth with Fire Chief Albe Bassett removed a request for $121,000 in salary for the full-time assistant chief position in January, during the first major phase of the fiscal year 2025 budget process. (The job would also come with a benefits package that town Human Resources officials put at about 40% of the salary.)

After Bassett submitted a memo to the Board of Selectmen saying he could try to make do with $71,000 in overtime that would go to line officers in lieu of the full-time assistant chief, the selectmen did add a $50,000 overtime line item to the Fire Department’s budget (which still must be approved by the Board of Finance and Town Council). In the memo, obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request, Bassett listed five duties that cannot be filled by line officers “on a 24/7 basis.” They include representing the chief as needed, supervising the other line officers, HR functions such as negotiations, budget-related work and fire marshal duties. Members of the Fire Commission during a special meeting held Feb.

Government

‘Counselor, Partner, Sounding Board and Thinker’: Board of Finance Thanks Neil Budnick, Stepping Down After 15 Years

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Members of the Board of Finance last week offered high praise for a fellow member of the appointed body who is stepping down after 15 years. Neil Budnick has been “a phenomenal counselor, partner, sounding board and thinker,” Board Chair Lavieri said during the group’s regular meeting held June 7 at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

“You have added so much value to this board on all of the things you’ve done,” he said. “On anything you’ve done. And you always raise your hand, and you’re always willing to help and you always go the extra mile. Town pensions are overfunded, and there’s a lot of guidance there from the committee, yourself included, of course.

Around Town

‘A Great Feeling’: Paladino Construction Wins New Canaan Rec Softball Title 

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Joe Paladino hadn’t played softball in 10 years when he attended a friend’s party in 1999 and heard about New Canaan’s Rec Department summer league. He signed up, and five years later launched his own Paladino Construction team, working through some difficult and even winless early seasons before finally getting to .500 mark and consistently making the finals. “We considered ourselves the Buffalo Bills of New Canaan softball,” Paladino recalled. “We always got to dance but could never make the magic happen.”

Until recently. Last week, Paladino Construction bested a team called “The Firm” by a combined three-game score of 34-11 to capture its second straight league championship.

Government

Popularity of Platform Tennis Soars Amid COVID-19

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Municipal officials say they’ve seen a steep increase this fall and winter in the number of people playing platform or “paddle” tennis on New Canaan’s town-owned courts at Waveny Park. Revenues generated through selling permits and guest passes for the outdoor sport already have surpassed $70,000 for the paddle tennis season that started in early-October, compared to anticipated revenues of about $46,000, according to Recreation Director Steve Benko. In the past two paddle seasons, which run through mid-April, the town has taken in a total of about $56,000 (fiscal year 2020) and $46,000 (fiscal year 2019) in revenues, Benko told members of the Board of Finance Park & Recreation Budget Subcommittee during a regular meeting Monday. “Paddle is going crazy,” he said during the meeting, held via videoconference. 

“We’ve had an outstanding year so far in paddle tennis. Our revenues are way up in paddle.