Board of Selectmen
Selectman Williams Calls for Closer Look at Certain ‘Special Projects Funds’
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Selectman Nick Williams last week called for the town to pay closer attention to privately donated money that’s earmarked for specific local projects and causes and is controlled by municipal department heads and the volunteer bodies that oversee them. The money in various “Special Projects Funds” is “floating around” and the town “ought to get a handle” on them, Williams said during the Jan. 23 regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen.
“Somebody has got to bring together all of these funds and [say], ‘Here is the purpose, here is what the money was supposed to be used for, there is still some money left over, the purpose has gone away, what do we do with the money?’ Something like that,” Williams said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. The town’s annual audit defines “Special Projects Funds” as those “used to account for donations from individuals and private organizations to be used for the stated purpose.” They cover funds for a wide range of causes, including the New Canaan Police Department K9 program, Waveny House and garden, platform tennis, land acquisition, New Canaan Food Pantry and Family Fourth. Some of the project names listed in the audit are more generic, such as “Human Services” (fund balance of about $133,000, as of June 30) and “Parks & Recreation” ($41,182).