Board of Finance's Cleanup Spending Plan Remains Unchanged from Nov. 7 Emergency Meeting

The Suffield Board of Finance began their meeting Monday night with a briefing by First Selectman Tom Frenaye about the cost paid by town during the 10 days that followed the Oct. 28 storm – an analysis of the total cost, which Frenaye said he would have finished before the meeting, was delayed because some departments are still tallying the costs, he said.

In his briefing, Frenaye said costs associated with the storm fall into two categories, repairing physical infrastructure damage along with removing trees and debris and running an emergency shelter, and estimated that the town had spent somewhere around $100,000.

Frenaye stressed the need to finish clearing the roads as quickly as possible. Frenaye said that contractors hired by the state have been given until mid-December to finish the cleanup.

Concerns about overspending led to a debate about how much the board should authorize, which ended in a failed 3-3 motion made by board member Brian Kost. The motion would have amended the board's emergency budget allotment plan that was recommended by the board of selectmen and then adopted during the board's Nov. 7 emergency meeting. 

Kost's plan would have added a condition to the $1.06 million the board transferred into an emergency cleanup account from the town's undesignated fund balance: the town would only be authorized to spend the full $1.6 million if FEMA guarantees additional support. 

If not, the amount allotted would be reduced to $500,000, a sum Chairman Justin Donnelly and other board members worried would leave residents with an unfair portion of the financial burden. 

Kost said the board had a responsibility to be thrifty because the undesignated fund balance has been relied on as a revenue source during the past several fiscal years, and that the town should focus on clearing high-traffic streets and let residents handle lesser-used streets. 

"It's a matter of what you want taxpayers to pay for us," Kost said. 

Several board members were emphatically against the idea of dividing the cost of the cleanup effort.

"We have an obligation to these homeowners to do these things that are in their best interest," Donnelly said. "This is no different than [how the] fire or the police [departments should act]."