[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.

Representative Town Meeting (Regular Meeting) - 7/27/2026

Transcript