[0:10] All
[0:22] right. Good evening everyone.
Welcome to the July 27th, 2026 RTM
[0:30] meeting. I'll call this meeting to order
at Give me a time 8:04.
[0:39] Those who don't know me, I'm Chris
Carroll. I'm the deputy moderator and
[0:42] Margaret is on a muchdeserved vacation.
Um, note to those folks online, your
[0:48] camera will need to be on in order for
you to participate, particularly voting
[0:53] on the meeting. So, appreciate all of
that. Um, would the clerk please take
[0:58] the role? Peter Britain here.
>> Doug Niff here.
[1:02] » Melissa Longo here.
>> Brooks Barcino.
[1:05] » Scott Bissing.
>> Craig Diamond
[1:09] » Gil Larson
>> here.
[1:13] » Carol Lecter
>> here.
[1:15] » Ashby Dodge
>> here.
[1:17] » An Fifick.
>> Mike Hardigan
[1:21] » here.
>> Cindy Waldron.
[1:24] » Jen Hall here.
>> Laura Carson. Michelle McCabe here. Liz
[1:29] Esma
>> here.
[1:30] » Betsy Elrich
>> here.
[1:32] » Sharon Pastelli,
[1:35] » Jay Wal
>> here,
[1:37] » Emma Baron,
>> Eric Juniac,
[1:40] » Tracy Rodriguez, Allison Sale,
Steve Barretts
[1:45] » here,
>> Lorie Galdenzi,
[1:49] » Ronaldo Gonzalez, Scott Nickel,
>> Lenny Braymond,
[1:54] » here.
[1:58] It was very quiet. Chris Carol
>> here.
[2:00] » Rich Jacobs
>> here.
[2:02] » Eileen O'Reilly.
>> Drew Georgatis.
[2:05] » Lisa Hav,
>> Amanda Morgan,
[2:09] Eric Tik,
>> Matt Ambrose,
[2:13] Justin.
>> Sorry.
[2:15] » Thanks. Justin Contrad,
Margaret Horton, Pier Ratsky.
[2:22] » Okay. Will you all please rise for the
pledge of allegiance?
[2:27] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[2:32] republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[2:38] justice for all.
Okay, we'll start off with item number
[2:42] two from the agenda to consider and act
upon the minutes of theformational
[2:46] meeting held on uh June 15, 2026 and the
regular monthly meeting held on June
[2:54] 22nd, 2026. Representative Rodriguez
makes the motion. Seconded by
[3:00] Representative um Liz. [laughter]
No, I have
[3:07] uh is there any discussion? Any
public comment?
[3:13] Okay. Um, all those in favor signified
by saying I.
[3:20] All those opposed.
Any abstensions?
[3:24] Okay. Okay. Got it.
[3:33] Thank you. Okay. Moving on to item
number four. And this information is on
[3:40] page three of the backup to hear and
consider and act upon the following
[3:44] appointments to the Solid Waste and
Recycling Commission as recommended by
[3:48] the board of select persons. Um um Mr.
Hovy, who I believe is online, who we
[3:54] met last week. Um does anybody have any
questions for Mr. Hovi remaining? Okay.
[4:00] Do I have a motion?
[4:04] Yes, Michelle.
[4:09] second.
Okay. Um
[4:14] I told you it gets worse. Um
or Carson, thank you. Any discussion?
[4:22] Okay. Any public comment? Yes.
You need to come here. Please give us
[4:28] your name, your address. Um
make sure you push the button. The green
[4:35] light comes on.
Push the blue button.
[4:38] » Push the green button and speak into the
microphone.
[4:52] » It's not.
>> There you go.
[4:58] » Green light's on.
>> There you go. You're on.
[5:00] » Yeah. Okay. My name is Matthew Hick. I
am uh the owner of the Voice News, but I
[5:04] also am a resident of Fairfield,
Connecticut on Somerville Street. Uh
[5:08] just an objection to Mr. Hovi. He is the
director of admissions at Fairfield
[5:12] University. And um
they are actually putting through a very
[5:18] big project right now, a building that
they're actually cutting a lot of old
[5:22] growth trees and shoehorning it right in
the middle of all the other buildings.
[5:26] No parking either, uh and no
infrastructure improvements. they're
[5:31] using existing stuff and he doesn't have
any background in it. He just wrote a
[5:36] letter saying he's interested in sewer
and he gets appointed to the commission.
[5:41] It's a very bad look and
>> [clears throat]
[5:43] » uh it's not appropriate
uh for that.
[5:49] Uh thank you.
>> Thank you very much.
[5:53] Any other comment? Anyone online?
Okay. Um back to the body. No
[6:00] discussion. Um then I will call the
motion. All those in favor signify by
[6:05] saying I.
All of those opposed.
[6:10] All of those Any abstensions?
Okay, that will pass unanimous.
[6:16] Thank you. Um item number five, and
you'll find this on page six of your
[6:21] backup. Um is Mr. Catel with us tonight?
just in case there are any questions. I
[6:27] don't see him online, so bear with me
one second. Okay. Hope you got all your
[6:33] question answers questions answered last
week. Um, item number five is to hear
[6:38] and consider and act upon the following
resolution. Yes, Miss Representative
[6:42] Carson,
>> you sure may. Do we have a second? Mr.
[6:47] Barretts. Representative Barretts. Thank
you very much.
[6:51] Oh, wow. Yeah. No, thank you.
>> [laughter]
[6:53] » I forgot about this one. Okay. Um,
do I have a motion to approve?
[7:05] » Pardon me.
>> Oh, right.
[7:10] [laughter]
>> Don't tell Margaret I didn't get that
[7:13] right. All right. Um, all those in favor
to wave the reading say I. All those
[7:18] opposed kill you. [laughter]
Okay. Thank you. Do I have a motion to
[7:25] pass item number five?
Um, Representative Baron. Second.
[7:32] Representative Carson.
Any discussion?
[7:38] Yes.
Please state your name, your address,
[7:43] and as I forgot to tell you last time,
there is a twominut limit on any public
[7:48] comment. So, thank you.
>> My name is Matthew Hock. I live at 6
[7:52] Somerville Street in Fairfield,
Connecticut. This is dealing with the
[7:56] New Haven Water Authority. We should not
be entering into any engagement with any
[8:00] agreements with New Haven County or the
New Haven Water Authority. All right.
[8:04] This is all dealing with the very dirty
deals with Aquarian, which is owned by
[8:08] Eversource, which is mer being merged
into the New Haven County Regional Water
[8:12] Authority, and the total loss of control
of those water authorities of Fairfield
[8:18] and all 23 towns in Connecticut. this
entire operation with the sewer and with
[8:23] that. This is ridiculous. If you look at
it, it's absurd. It's like they're
[8:27] expecting people to drive up to New
Haven to to bring their garbage or
[8:31] something like that. Like I looked at
the list like New Haven lists all these
[8:34] towns in the area and expects each town
to have like a percentage brought to
[8:39] them for their recycling operation. We
have our own trash needs Fairfield and
[8:43] Bridgeport Trumbull big time that have
to address with with uh you know with
[8:48] waste. There's only two things you can
do with waste. You can either burn it or
[8:52] you got to put it somewhere. Means dump
it or a landfill. That's it. So we our
[8:58] our New Haven's problems are not our
problems and we should not be mixed up
[9:01] in their quotas and their numbers and
their projections or anything to do. We
[9:05] should be addressing our own problems.
All right? And out of town people came
[9:10] up with this deal and came up with this
arrangement. None of this arrangement
[9:13] came from anybody in Fairfield. It has
nothing to do with us. and has nothing
[9:17] to favor us and we should just tell them
to go take out their own garbage because
[9:21] we have our own problems with our own
garbage by the way if I still have time
[9:26] which is the landfill. I'm not talking
about the toxic dump. I'm talking about
[9:29] that two acres of garbage from 25 years
of dumping over in Pine Creek that is
[9:34] toxic
that nobody is addressing in our front
[9:38] yard of municipal and household waste
which to buy on top of which they put
[9:44] solar panels on top of which generate
heat and light and landfills generate
[9:48] methane which is highly combustible.
That is an extremely dangerous situation
[9:53] right now to put solar panels on top of
a landfill without a methane containment
[9:58] system or proper capping and ceiling
which it does not have. All right. On
[10:03] top of which there is the fluvium from
the sewage treatment plant. They're
[10:08] burning it off on methane flare like
this is Odessa Texas or something.
[10:12] » Matthew, that's the three minutes.
That's it. I made my point. Thank you.
[10:15] » Okay. Thank you very much for your
comment. Any other public comment? Back
[10:19] to the Yes. Representative Hardigan.
[10:29] Mike Hardigan, District 3. Um, so I
actually personally ran and managed the
[10:34] Fairfield household hazardous waste
collection uh days about 20 years ago.
[10:40] Uh it's a lot of work and this is
specifically about bringing hazardous
[10:45] waste from your home
to a point where professionals are going
[10:50] to take care of it. The line for this
day goes around the block. Us as
[10:57] Fairfield citizens having the
opportunity to go to the New Haven drop
[11:00] off is great. You can go on any other
weekend, bring your stuff, drop it
[11:06] [snorts] off. This is for hazardous
waste.
[11:09] much better for the town to not have to
worry about somebody skipping the
[11:12] hazardous waste day in town, throwing
something in the garbage, just being
[11:16] able to bring it up to New Haven.
Thanks.
[11:20] Thank you, Representative Georgianis.
[11:33] Drew Groatis, District 9. I have um also
participated in the by uh twice annually
[11:41] um hazardous waste and the line is out
of control. Um for that reason I have
[11:46] personally visited the location in New
Haven. Um and it was super convenient
[11:52] and I was so glad to get all that stuff
out of my house. Um because personally I
[11:58] would never throw it in my trash but
people do and I have seen people pour it
[12:03] down the storm drains and we want to
avoid that. So thank you.
[12:10] » Yes,
Representative Richard. [laughter]
[12:20] » But you're moving. That's the good
[12:29] Richard Jacobs, District, Am I on?
Richard Jacobs, uh, District 8. Uh, I
[12:35] was on solid waste and recycling, I
believe, 30 years ago when we first
[12:40] started this. This is about hazardous
waste. If we don't do a deal like this
[12:45] and have it taken care of by
professionals, I believe this is safe
[12:49] harbor who runs it. Um, this is the
water company's doing this. so it
[12:54] doesn't pollute the water because
otherwise people are going to be dumping
[12:57] this. It's going to pollute water, water
supply, so forth. Um, this has been
[13:03] going on for a long time. This is only
about hazardous waste. Two weeks ago, my
[13:07] wife went up to New Haven. Um, you know,
you have
[13:12] pesticides, you have
tarpentine, you have uh old paint um
[13:19] that's oil based.
you're going to want to get rid of it.
[13:23] These are also hazards to have in your
garage because they can cause fires.
[13:29] This is a great program. This has
nothing to do with your normal garbage.
[13:33] This has nothing to do with the water
company. It's just they sponsor it to
[13:37] get hazardous waste taken care of
properly.
[13:41] Thank you.
[13:47] Any other discussion from the body?
Anyone online?
[13:52] We will call the question. All those in
favor?
[13:57] » I I
>> Thank you, Gil. All those opposed.
[14:04] Any abstensions?
All right, that passes.
[14:10] All right. Item number six, and the
backup is on page nine. Um, this is to
[14:16] hear and consider and act upon the
following resolution as recommended by
[14:21] the board of select persons resolved
that in accordance with request from the
[14:24] parking department manager a lease
between the town of Fairfield and
[14:28] Trinity Episcopal Church for the term
commencing July 1st, 2026 and continuing
[14:34] for 5 years ending on June 30th, 2031
be and hereby is approved. Do I have a
[14:43] motion? Yes. Representative Michelle.
[14:50] Second. Representative Carson.
[14:55] Is there any discussion?
Any discussion from the public? Anyone
[15:02] online?
All right.
[15:05] Any additional comment? No. All those in
favor signify by saying I.
[15:11] All those all those opposed.
Any abstensions?
[15:16] All right, that passes.
[15:21] Item number seven.
Yes, Representative Rodriguez Gonzalez.
[15:27] Got it.
>> Thank you.
[15:39] All right.
Item number seven to cons to hear,
[15:43] consider, and act upon the following
resolution as recommended by the board
[15:47] of finance. Yes, Representative Carson.
Okay. Do I have a second?
[15:54] Yes,
[15:59] Betsy. Thank you, Betsy. Uh, all those
in favor of waving the reading?
[16:06] All those opposed? Okay. Um, do I have a
motion on item number seven?
[16:16] Yes, Representative Carson.
Representative Baron seconds that
[16:20] motion. Thank you.
Any discussion?
[16:26] Any discussion from members online?
Any comments from the public?
[16:32] Okay, back to the uh body. All those in
favor signify by saying I. All those
[16:39] opposed.
We do have one abstension.
[16:45] Emma, could you please let Ray know he
can come back in and join us?
[17:04] Let's see. You seconded that, right?
Thank you.
[17:18] Okay, moving on to item number eight.
And the backup for this is found on page
[17:22] 15. to hear consider and act upon the
following resolution as recommended by
[17:27] the board of finance resolved that the
American Rescue Plan Act ARPA funds be
[17:34] reallocated as described in the attached
exhibit A. Again, that was found on page
[17:39] 15 of your backup. Do I have a motion to
approve?
[17:47] Representative Zesma seconded by
Representative Barretts.
[17:52] Is there any discussion?
Yes, Representative Zesma,
[18:01] » Lizma, District 4. So, I think for the
benefit of our new members and also
[18:06] members of the public, I've seen some
questions and some discussions online
[18:10] where people I think are a little
confused about the um this expenditure.
[18:15] It is not taxpayer money. Um, ARPA, as
uh our backup does indicate, the
[18:21] American Rescue Plan Act was signed into
law in March of 2021.
[18:26] And uh as COVID relief funds, we
received $25 million. Um the town of
[18:31] Fairfield, the prior administration
made the determination how we would
[18:36] allocate those funds. They were
specifically
[18:41] targeting shovelready infrastructure and
strategic investments in long-ived
[18:47] assets. Definitely not to be used for
recurring expenses that would create
[18:51] clips in our budget. So that's just a
little background for people who think
[18:54] we're spending $800,000 of our taxpayer
money on u on bathrooms. These
[19:00] particular bathrooms are not only
extremely old and in, you know, critical
[19:06] need of upgrading, but we also now have
fire departments with, you know, both
[19:10] gender serving on the force. And so
these are really critical improvements
[19:16] um that needed to be made and it was a
good use of the funds. These funds had
[19:20] to be encumbered by a certain date and
used by a certain date which is now
[19:24] December of this year. um along this
entire process. It has been evaluated
[19:30] when monies uh could not be fully
expended on a project and then were
[19:34] reallocated to others. Um so I just want
to make sure the public is clear on
[19:39] where the money came from, how it's been
allocated, that we've had to vote every
[19:43] step of the way on any reallocation of
funds, and that this was a really um you
[19:49] know critical project for the town to
undertake.
[19:55] Thank you. Any other comments?
Any comments from the public?
[20:01] See nothing online. Therefore, I will um
call the question. All those in favor,
[20:07] please signify by saying I. All of those
opposed.
[20:11] Any abstensions? That passes.
Thank you. Moving on to item number
[20:17] nine.
It's found on page 20. to hear,
[20:22] consider, and act upon the following
resolution as recommended by the board
[20:26] of finance. Whereas the town of
Fairfield and the Connecticut
[20:29] Metropolitan Council of Governments have
been awarded a grant in the total amount
[20:33] of $5,000 from the Connecticut
Department of Transportation's active
[20:37] transportation
micro grant program for Fairfield's
[20:41] safer streets program. And whereas the
grant money will be used various
[20:45] reflective items distributed by the
Fairfield Health Department to make
[20:49] active transportation safer for all. Now
therefore, be it resolved that the first
[20:54] select person be and hereby is
authorized to accept the said grant
[20:59] expend the grant funds in accordance
with the terms of the grant and execute
[21:03] any and all required documents to
ephesicate what is that word? Yeah,
[21:10] effectuate. Sorry. uh said Grant. I did
read it ahead of time. Do I have a
[21:16] motion to pass this? Yes. Representative
Georgianis. Do I have a second? Richard.
[21:28] I know it's Jacobs. We ride back and
forth together. [laughter]
[21:32] Okay. Any discussion?
Any discussion online? Any comments from
[21:37] the public? Yes.
Please give us your name, your address,
[21:43] and make sure the green light is on.
>> Okay. Thank you. Um, yeah. Hi, my name
[21:47] is Chris Martin. I'm resident of
Fairfield in District 5. Um, my public
[21:51] comments today do concern the micro
grant money for the safer streets
[21:53] program, which I understand is used to
purchase and distribute reflective items
[21:57] such as wristbands uh for better roadway
visibility for pedestrians and
[22:01] bicyclists. Um, the Fairfields uh, Safe
Streets Alliance emphasizes vision zero,
[22:07] which includes surveillance technology,
and I therefore ask that the town
[22:10] consider using this grant money uh, for
a public awareness campaign regarding
[22:14] the different types of surveillance
technology and automatic license plate
[22:17] reader technology that is being used
across town. There's a need for
[22:20] education and communication because
there's a lot of confusion on the
[22:23] different types of this technology. With
respect to safety, many residents don't
[22:27] feel safe when they drive by one of
these ALPR cameras knowing that they
[22:31] become a data point within a database
and part of a massive warrantless drag
[22:35] net of surveillance. I also think the
people of Fairfield deserve to know that
[22:39] a massive defense contractor is
profiting from our tax dollars from the
[22:43] warrantless surveillance of our local
communities. The American Civil
[22:46] Liberties Union has expressed grave
concern
[22:49] massive surveillance.
>> I'm going to have to ask you to limit
[22:52] your comments to this specific motion.
Um this this grant is being used by the
[22:57] Fairfield Safe Streets Alliance. The
Fairfield Safe Streets Alliance. I'll
[23:01] I'll speak on it at the next point uh
item as well. Be a great idea because
[23:05] that's about safety starts with you and
the 250 road signs. So I'll continue my
[23:09] comments in the next one.
>> Thank you.
[23:10] » Okay. Thank you very much.
Back to the body. Any other comments?
[23:15] Yes,
[23:21] » Representative McCabe. Sorry.
Thank you, Michelle McCabe, District 4.
[23:26] Um, I first want to say that um,
obviously that the uh, issue of cameras
[23:32] and surveillance is one that is being
discussed at length in this community. I
[23:37] do want to remind the members of the
body that when the town applies for
[23:40] micro grants of this nature, what that
is going to be spent on is part of the
[23:46] grant application. And when we receive
the grant, we are unable to change what
[23:50] that money is spent on. So even though
there may be other opportunities to uh
[23:57] invest money in other things,
unfortunately
[24:00] this is not the item nor the next one on
our agenda because when we applied for
[24:06] the grant, we told them explicitly what
we were going to spend the money on and
[24:09] we are unable to change that at this
time. Thank you.
[24:13] » Thank you for that clarity,
Representative McCabe. Any other
[24:17] comments?
All right, with that I would like to
[24:20] call the question. All those in favor,
please signify by saying I. All of those
[24:26] opposed.
Any abstensions?
[24:30] Okay, that passes.
[24:34] Thank you.
[24:38] Moving on to item number 10. And your
backup for this can be found on page 32.
[24:45] Uh to hear and consider and act upon.
Yes, Representative McCabe.
[24:54] Oh,
Representative Hakus. Thank you.
[25:01] Any comment? All those in f you want to
comment on waving the reading.
[25:08] Got it. Thank you. All those in favor of
waving the reading signify by saying I.
[25:14] All those opposed. Okay. Um I will go
back to the motion. Do I have a motion
[25:19] to a motion to approve the item?
Representative McCabe.
[25:25] A second. Representative Carson.
[snorts]
[25:30] Is there any discussion by the body?
Any discussion by members online
[25:38] and any discussion from the public?
Yes. and remembering two minutes uh to
[25:46] comment and it needs to be on the
subject of the motion at hand.
[25:50] » Yes. Thank you. Chris Martin, resident
of Fairfield District 5. Um so the
[25:54] safety starts with you uh program from
last year which was part of the micro
[25:58] grant um paid for I think about 250 lawn
signs that were distributed throughout
[26:03] town. Um and that program I think um was
um about personal responsibility for
[26:10] safety, right? like we want to um
encourage people to take personal
[26:13] responsibility for safety and I I think
that's a good thing. I think we should
[26:16] encourage people to take personal
responsibility and quite frankly I think
[26:19] it's
very dangerous that we are outsourcing
[26:23] um safety to uh AI surveillance
technology cameras and I don't think
[26:27] that that is in in in the spirit of the
personal responsibility of safety that
[26:34] the um safety starts with you program um
is supposed to adhere to. Thank you.
[26:40] Thank you, Mr. Martin. Any other
comments?
[26:44] Any comments from the body? With that, I
will call the question. All those in
[26:48] favor signify by saying I. All those
opposed.
[26:54] Any abstensions? That motion passes.
Thank you very much. Moving on to item
[27:00] number 11.
[27:04] I'll go through the motion, Ross, then
you can come up. Thank you. um to hear
[27:08] and consider and act upon the following
resolution as recommended by Peter
[27:13] Britain District 1 and Michelle McCabe
District 4. Whereas Connecticut General
[27:18] Statute 12-8183
as amended by public act 25-168233
[27:25] provides a property tax exemption for
qualifying veterans with 100% service
[27:31] connected permanent and total disability
rating as determined by the United
[27:36] States Department of Veterans Affair and
Representative Town Meeting um July
[27:42] 27th, 2026
page five and Whereas for assessment
[27:47] years commencing on or after October
1st, 2025,
[27:52] Connecticut General Statute 12-8183
as amended by public act 25-68233
[28:00] authorizes a municipality by vote of its
legislative body to exempt up to two
[28:06] acres of a lot on which an elig eligible
dwelling sits and to limit the total
[28:12] exemption amount to the median assessed
value of residential real estate
[28:17] property in the municipality. Now,
therefore, be it resolved that Fairfield
[28:23] Representative Town Meeting hereby
approves and adapts for assessment years
[28:27] commencing on or after October 1st,
2026,
[28:31] the municipal options authorized by
Connecticut General Statute 128183
[28:37] as amended by public act 25168233
to exempt from property taxations up to
[28:44] two acres of the lot on which the
eligible dwelling sits and to limit the
[28:49] total exemption amount to the medium
assessed value of the residential
[28:54] realist real property in the town of
Fairfield to the extent permitted by
[29:00] law. Do I have a motion? Representative
McCabe, do I have a second?
[29:06] Representative Rodriguez. Thank you.
[29:13] Is there any discussion?
Yes.
[29:22] Oh, Representative Trash, sorry, I was
just reading what you're going to read.
[29:25] [laughter]
Eric Treshik, District 9. So, thank you,
[29:31] Deputy Moderator and I am a veteran and
my father is a disabled veteran who
[29:37] lives in Virginia. So, I'm very
supportive of this measure. I also want
[29:40] to make it clear I personally will not
benefit whatsoever from uh this measure.
[29:45] Um, but due to my interest, I will be
making a motion to ensure we get regular
[29:49] reporting from the tax assessor on the
implementation of this program. Uh, so I
[29:54] will be asking to amend such that we'll
request the tax assessor to report
[29:58] annually to the RTM concerning the
administration of this program and we'll
[30:02] be making that motion for all three of
the associated uh resolutions before us
[30:07] relating to tax relief for disabled
veterans. Um, in addition, we do have a
[30:12] situation we wanted to clarify in this
program uh that specifically ensures
[30:18] that the benefits earned by individual
veterans who qualify via their disabled
[30:23] status are entitled to the full extent
of the uh exemption granted by the
[30:31] Connecticut statutes. Um, even if they
in fact live in a household where there
[30:36] is more than one veteran who fully
qualifies. Um, and so this is based on
[30:41] some conversations we've had with the
the tax assessor. We want to make sure
[30:45] this is very clarifi clarified within
the the language. Um and it will read
[30:50] that in situations where two or more
eligible individuals own qualifying
[30:55] shares of the same real property, the
share for each elig eligible individual
[31:01] will be applied to the full assessed
value of the real property and then the
[31:05] full value of the qualified exemptions
for each eligible individual will be
[31:10] applied.
plain English, it means that the
[31:15] benefits earned by these disabled
veterans
[31:20] will be enjoyed by each individual
veteran regardless if there's more than
[31:24] one veteran who lives in that same
household.
[31:28] » So, you're wishing to make a motion to
amend that, but I will make a motion to
[31:33] amend the item that is before us.
>> Should I do that now?
[31:36] » Yes. May I read back for Do you want to
read? Yes. And this will come at the end
[31:40] of the town of Fairfield to the extent
permitted by law.
[31:45] » Yes. Uh so Eric Treer, District 9, I'm
making a motion to amend resolution
[31:50] number 11. Um, at the end, as the deputy
monitor just said that in situations
[31:56] where two or more eligible individuals
own qualifying shares of the same real
[32:02] property, the share for each el eligible
individual will be applied to the full
[32:08] assessed value of the real property and
then the full value of qualified
[32:13] exemptions for each eligible individual
will be applied
[32:18] further.
Oh, further. Yes, the RTM further
[32:23] requests that the tax assessor report
annually to the RTM concerning the
[32:29] administration of this program.
Do I have a second? Representative
[32:34] Carson.
[32:38] Any discussion?
Representative McCabe.
[32:48] » Representative McCabe. District 4. I
would like to ask uh our tax assessor,
[32:52] Mr. Ross Murray, to um if he wouldn't
mind coming to the podium and giving us
[32:58] some explanation from his perspective of
what this addition uh how it would work
[33:05] um so that we better understand it
before we vote. Thank you.
[33:09] » Thank you.
>> Good evening. Ross Murray, assessor for
[33:11] the town of Fairfield. Um I'm just going
to ask a question if see if I understand
[33:16] this. Are you saying that we don't apply
the percent ownership
[33:21] first to the assessed value?
>> Right.
[33:25] » So that's how we do that. Now for
instance, if we have elderly uh somebody
[33:30] on the elderly credit program, we will
prorrate their assessment based on their
[33:34] percent ownership and then the benefit
that they're entitled to gets applied
[33:38] after that. So there's no prorating of
exemptions, just of assessments.
[33:45] Do you see this amendment affecting in
an adverse way the intent?
[33:51] » I don't think the amendment really
changes anything.
[33:54] » Okay.
>> That's how we would administer uh
[33:57] anyway.
>> Okay. Thank you. Any more questions for
[34:02] Mr. Murray Rise here?
>> Okay. Good. Thank you very much.
[34:13] So, do I have a motion
for the revised item with the amendments
[34:21] contained within it? Representative
Carson,
[34:27] you made the motion for the amendment.
You're making the motion for the amended
[34:30] item. Representative Carson,
seconded by Representative Georgeis.
[34:39] What's that?
[34:42] » Pardon me. I don't
>> vote on the amendment.
[34:47] » Oh, right. Okay. Sorry about that. So,
um Right. And you seconded that. Um any
[34:53] other questions on the
amendment? Okay. All those in favor? I.
[34:59] All those opposed? Beautiful. Any
abstensions? Okay. Back to now the
[35:05] revised
item. Pardon me.
[35:09] Yes. Thank you. [clears throat]
Come on up. The the main motion as
[35:15] amended. Do I have any comments
from the public online?
[35:22] Great. All those in favor? Oh, is
somebody Okay. Jim, did you want to make
[35:27] a comment?
You're gonna have to make sure. Um,
[35:32] Fairfield TV, can you
unmute, Jim?
[35:38] No, he's still muted. I'm watching it
TV. There you go. Here we go.
[35:46] » Okay. Can you hear me?
>> Yes.
[35:48] » Hey, my name is Jimbo and I live at 44
Fox Street. I just want to say I served
[35:53] 28 years in the Air Force and there's a
lot for Fairfield to be proud of
[35:57] tonight. When we moved here in 2019,
Connecticut offered some of the least
[36:00] meaningful property tax relief for
disabled veterans in the country. Over
[36:05] the last five years, a group of us have
worked with legislators, veterans
[36:08] organizations, and municipal leaders
across the state to change that. And
[36:12] Fairfield played a critical role. Jim
Leaper was a sponsor in 23 and 24, and
[36:18] she created the path that led to this
bill's approval. Former first select
[36:23] persons Brenda Cupchek and Bill Gerber
both submitted powerful testimony
[36:26] supporting the tax exemptions that you
all are voting on tonight.
[36:30] These resolutions before you will
provide significant
[36:35] will significantly expand tax relief for
most eligible veterans or all eligible
[36:39] veterans and it is a meaningful and
fiscally prudent first step. I just
[36:44] wanted to say thank you to all of you
for the work that you've done for your
[36:48] support of Fairfield veterans.
[36:52] » Thank you Mr. Bowen. Any other comments?
All right, I'd like to call the
[36:59] question. All those in favor of the
amended motion, please signify by saying
[37:05] I.
Any opposed?
[37:09] » Any opposed? Okay. And any abstensions?
Wonderful.
[37:14] Okay. Moving on
to item 12.
[37:21] To hear and consider to hear, consider,
and act upon the following resolution.
[37:27] Yes.
[37:30] Um, Representative Zesma,
Representative Carson. Surprising.
[37:40] All those in favor of waving the
reading.
[37:43] All those opposed.
Thank you. Okay. Uh, on item number 12,
[37:51] um, do I have a motion to approve the
item?
[37:58] Representative McCabe. Seconded by
Representative Baron. Is there any
[38:04] comment?
Yes, Eric.
[38:14] Eric Trushik, District 9. As I
mentioned, I will be making a motion to
[38:19] uh further request that the tax assessor
report annually to the RTM concerning
[38:23] the administration of this program.
You're going to have to give us that
[38:29] motion again.
>> Okay. So, um I move that the RTM further
[38:34] request the tax assessor that the tax
assessor report annually to the RTM
[38:38] concerning the administration of this
program. Do I have a second to that?
[38:43] Representative McCabe.
[38:50] Is there any discussion on the amendment
to the motion?
[38:55] Okay. All those in favor of the amend
amendment, please signify by saying I.
[39:01] All those opposed,
any abstensions?
[39:05] Okay. I will call the question. Uh, do I
need a new motion? Um, yeah, I need a
[39:12] motion for the amended
uh motion here.
[39:16] Yes.
Representative Mike,
[39:23] do I have a second? Representative
Barretts.
[39:30] Any discussion?
Any discussion from the public online?
[39:36] No. Okay. All those in favor signify by
saying I. All those opposed. Any
[39:43] abstensions?
That motion passes.
[39:47] Okay. Uh, moving on to item number 13
to hear and consider
[39:57] and act upon the following resolution as
recommended by Peter Britain, District 1
[40:02] and Michelle McCabe, District 4. Whereas
public act 25-168241
[40:09] establishes a municipal option.
Yes, Representative McCabe.
[40:14] » I'd like to make a motion.
Okay. Do I have a second?
[40:18] Representative Carson. All those in
favor of waving the reading signify by
[40:23] saying I. All those opposed.
Okay. We will move then to
[40:30] um do I have a motion for item number
13?
[40:36] Representative Carson. Second by
Representative Baron.
[40:43] Is there any discussion? Representative
Treek's
[40:52] already writing what you're going to
say.
[40:53] » Eric Treshek, uh, representative from
district 9. Uh, so I will be making a
[40:58] motion related to both the reporting but
also the two eligible individuals. Just
[41:03] for clarity sake, the two eligible
eligible individuals motion was not made
[41:08] on the previous resolution because it
dealt with spouses. So obviously didn't
[41:12] apply in that situation. But I so move
that the RTM uh or sorry I so move that
[41:19] in situations where two or more eligible
eligible individuals own qualifying
[41:23] shares of the same real property, the
share of each eligible individual be
[41:28] applied to the full assessed value of
the real property and then the full
[41:32] value of the qualified exemptions for
each eligible individual will be
[41:36] applied. Furthermore, the RTM further
requests that the tax assessor report
[41:41] annually to the RTM concerning the
administration of this program.
[41:48] Do I have a second? Representative
Carson.
[41:55] Any discussion further on this MO on
this motion to amend? All right. All
[42:00] those in favor signify by saying I. All
those opposed?
[42:05] Thank you. Any abstensions? Okay.
Um, do I have a motion to approve uh the
[42:12] amended item?
Representative Pierre.
[42:20] Do I have a second?
Representative Britain.
[42:26] Any discussion?
All those in favor signify by saying I.
[42:32] All those opposed.
Any abstensions?
[42:37] Passes.
Motion.
[42:41] Lastly, our final item to consider and
act upon any other matters present uh
[42:46] presented to said meeting and which may
be properly acted upon by the rules of
[42:50] the representative town meeting. Are
there any discussions on any items?
[42:56] Perfect. Seeing none, I will entertain a
motion to adjurnn. Representative Wal.
[43:01] Do I have a second? Representative
Rodriguez. Thank you very much. This
[43:06] meeting is adjourned at 8:46 p.m.