Tag Archives: Board of Selectmen

Op-Ed: Can Old Lyme Government Make Better, Faster Decisions? Thinking Outside The Box

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Editor’s Note: This op-ed was submitted by George Frampton Jr. of Old Lyme.

The unusual partisan political divisiveness that crept into the elections in Old Lyme last week seems to have been laden, at least in part, with charges on both sides (and some public concern) about how Town government operates. 

These charges include complaints that local officials don’t move important issues forward diligently, that decisions sometimes take place ‘behind closed doors’, that the public is not provided with enough of the factual information key to those decisions, and finally, that officials omit how that information is being evaluated and processed to reach final decisions. 

Any such local disaffection can hardly be a matter of partisan ideology, however, since Republican, Democratic and unaffiliated voters in Old Lyme all favor strikingly similar goals and policies for the Town. What is more clearly responsible are the limitations imposed by the structure of the government itself.

As a resident who visited family here for decades and moved here permanently five years ago, and started off in a dispute with Town government, I have had an opportunity to observe intensively how Old Lyme government actually works (or rather, doesn’t work).  I have seen, in particular, how it has addressed two major issues facing the community over the past decade — beach sewers, and the development/zoning of Hall’s Road.

As it turns out, local government in Connecticut often doesn’t work well because state public meeting laws and traditions dating to colonial times make it extremely difficult for the main body of the community’s elected decision-makers — the Board of Selectmen (BOS) — even to communicate with one another about difficult policy decisions except at publicly noticed formal board meetings. 

In turn, the BOS struggles to communicate with the slew of semi-independent ‘commissions’ that also have an important and decentralized (even balkanized) role in final decisions. This situation creates a dynamic in which it is even harder for government officials easily to share their analysis or have robust discussions with the public. These antiquated legal restrictions seriously impede voters’ ability to review and evaluate how public officials are marshaling and analyzing the information necessary to make sound choices. 

There are some potential fixes for these built-in handicaps. But they don’t lie in partisan politics. Rather, they require leadership and innovation to institute workarounds that could at least marginally improve the decision-making process, facilitate internal and external communication, and foster a greater sense of transparency in Town government.

For major issues facing the Town, two workarounds involve centralizing leadership and making sure boards with authority work together. To accomplish both goals as they relate to major Town projects, a single ‘project director’ should be engaged — hired part-time or full-time — to manage and oversee the Town’s work under the supervision of the First Selectperson (who generally does not have the time or bandwidth to develop deep understanding or manage the necessary coordination to move such issues forward). The project manager would be working, however, on behalf of and reporting to the full Board of Selectmen and, when appropriate, to the public. 

This is an idea that has been put forward before, most articulately in an article by Howard Margules published in olwenonline.com/ last year. Given the rhetoric of the last election, now is clearly the right time to embrace it. 

For example, the future of Hall’s Road clearly requires a complete Town reset and is an important enough long-term issue — key to the Town’s personality and economy for many future decades — to justify hiring and empowering a project director. 

Then, rather than tasking the Zoning, Planning and Economic Development commissions with working together on the challenge (a necessary but virtually impossible task), the project director could engage flexibly and in alignment with each, and as the connecting link between all of these committees and the BOS —take the lead in engaging and reporting the outcome of these discussions to the public.

The first job of the Hall’s Road project manager should be simply to sketch out roughly three or four different preferred ‘visions’ for what the north side of Halls Road should look like, then conduct a quick Town survey and a workshop or two to identify the most attractive alternatives, or possibly the top two approaches. This is initially a planning issue and an economic development issue more than a zoning issue. 

The project manager would then be able to steer collaboration between all three commissions and the BOS in the upcoming overall Town-wide zoning review to design a template that maximizes the incentives for any owner-developers to implement the Town’s vision for the north side of Hall’s Road and consider more creative alternatives that might be available to ensure that the Town’s vision is realized.

Should the beach community sewer issue also require a reset, a project manager would be essential in considering the bewildering slew of bodies that have some jurisdiction over ultimate decision-making. These include several independent water/sewer bodies for the Town and beaches, the state Department of Environment (DEEP), the finance commission, the BOS, and others. 

To explore a whole new set of options is certainly going to require much more involvement with DEEP and probably other state agencies, new pollution studies and serious exploration of the new technology that has come available in the past ten years. 

A new project director would be essential to work with the relevant local boards and authorities as well as the State of Connecticut, to develop new alternatives and ensure both decision-makers and the public receive transparent information necessary to make final decisions. 

There are other more detailed ways to adjust and even revise current procedures for how Town boards bodies operate to increase public engagement, efficiency and public transparency that are well within the bounds of existing state open meeting laws. Now is the time for an administration that has just retained its mandate but needs to continue to merit public support to assess and adopt such steps. 

If Old Lyme voters want more effective Town government, the best route is not to complain and blame those in either political party, who devote substantial parts of their lives to public service in this effort, but to support innovative ways to enable them to do their jobs better.

Letter to the Editor: Former First Selectman Griswold Endorses Mesham, Read for Old Lyme Board of Selectmen

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To the Editor:

Having served as your First Selectman for 18 years, as member of the Board of Finance for 15 years and currently as a member of the Board of Assessment Appeals for 12 years, I am proud to whole heartedly endorse John Mesham to be our next First Selectman and Jude Read to continue as our Selectwoman. Both John and Jude are extremely well qualified to lead our Town.

John has been deeply involved in our community for decades as a State Police Officer, a Boy Scout Leader, a member of the Inland Wetlands Commission and a Deputy Registrar of Voters.  He and his wife Nancy have resided in Old Lyme for 31 years and their three children have graduated from our outstanding Lyme/Old Lyme schools. John is a proven leader and manager and he is a person of impeccable integrity. John has been a key leader in supporting the Town’s right to access our Tantummaheag Landing, a leader in the fight to stop the HROD debacle, and played a vital role in bringing Town commissions together to oversee the Horseneck Creek Open Space parcel. John has significant supervisory and management experience of multiple state police barracks and personnel. His responsibilities included day-to-day management and oversight of over 100 people. This included scheduling, performance reviews, facilities management, vehicle assignments and upkeep, and a multitude of reporting requirements.  John was also a local police union president with collective bargaining and negotiating experience. John knows how to manage people and is dedicated to supporting the needs and wishes of the majority of Old Lyme’s citizens.  These skills and attributes make John the ideal First Selectman choice for Old Lyme in November.

Jude has resided in Old Lyme for 43 years, along with her husband, Sloan Danenhower, and both of their children graduated from our Lyme/Old Lyme schools.  Jude has owned several small business and she is currently a business management consultant.  She is deeply involved in Old Lyme, both politically and with local non-profits.  She currently serves as one of the three members of the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen.  She also served on the Board of Finance and the Lyme/Old Lyme Board of Education. She is a member and past Treasurer of the MacCurdy Salisbury Educational Foundation and has been a Board member of the Old Lyme Historical Society.  She has been affiliated with the Girl Scouts and the Lymes’ Senior Center Meals on Wheels program.

John and Jude are willing and able to serve as our First Selectman and Selectwoman and they have excellent credentials to do so.

Please join me in voting for John Mesham as our First Selectman and Jude Read as our Selectwoman in the upcoming municipal election and please encourage your family and friends to do the same.

Sincerely,

Timothy Griswold,
Old Lyme.

Editor’s Note: The author is a candidate for the Old Lyme Board of Assessment Appeals in the upcoming election.

Letter to the Editor: Checks and Balances are Important for Lyme

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To the Editor

I’m writing as a neighbor who appreciates anyone willing to serve our town—and as a 20-year Lyme resident, who hopes that our local government stays balanced and transparent.

With that in mind, I’m concerned about a married couple, Mary Powell-St. Louis (“MARY”) and Tom St. Louis (“TOM”), seeking two of our three top seats (First Selectman and Selectman). Concentrating that much authority in one household can weaken the checks and balances small towns like Lyme rely on. Even the appearance of that concentration (of potential power) is troubling. National politics may be beyond our control; our local choices aren’t.

I attended the Republican Town Committee Open Forum hoping to hear two independent voices. Aside from a difference over how to address hydrilla in Hamburg Cove, I heard no meaningful policy distinctions between these husband and wife candidates. Several times, Mary interrupted Tom to display greater subject-matter familiarity—not to disagree on policy. When I asked what significant town issues they differed on, Mary replied, “good question,” but neither candidate was able to identify any substantive policy differences.

This matters for civic discourse. Healthy government needs open, independent debate—ideas tested in public, not settled privately. If domestic partners hold two of three seats, dissent can feel domestic rather than civic, which may chill participation, narrow options, and weaken accountability.

Relatives sometimes serve together in small towns; that’s part of community life, and I value that spirit of service, particularly when it is multi-generational. But granting two executive seats to spouses is different: it concentrates power, increases the likelihood of conflicts and recusals, and reduces the chance for genuine pushback.

This isn’t about party politics, it is about principle. And it would be the same for couples of either red or blue stripe; it’s about our town. Lyme deserves multiple, independent voices—people free to disagree and compelled to persuade. For balance, accountability, and healthy public discourse, please support independent representation, not a household slate.

Sincerely,

Sarah Crisp,
Lyme, CT.

Letter to the Editor: Shoemaker, Lampos Have Achieved Much in Short Time, Deserve Re-election

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To the Editor:

Two years is a brief time for any town leader to accomplish ambitious goals, yet First Selectman Martha Shoemaker and Selectman Jim Lampos have made noteworthy progress in their first term. Their achievements include enabling online meeting access, addressing deferred maintenance, tackling flood and erosion issues, repairing the Hawk’s Nest sluice gate, using grants for our emergency operations center, supporting Senior Center renovations, and improving accessibility and safety at Sound View.

Martha and Jim put Old Lyme first—let’s re-elect them on Nov. 4.

Sincerely,

Mary Jo Nosal,
Old Lyme.

Editor’s Notes: Mary Jo Nosal is a member of the Old Lyme Democratic Town Committee. She is also a financial supporter of olwenonline.com/, but has no input to the editorial process, which remains completely independent.

Old Lyme Town Budget Hearing Uncontentious Despite Proposed 7.8% Increase Over Current Spending

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OLD LYME – Board of Finance Chairman Bennett J. Bernblum on Monday presented the proposed $45.39 million budget along with its potential implications on taxes in this and coming years. 

The proposed $45.39 million 2025-26 budget – which includes town operations and capital expenses as well as the town’s share of the regional Lyme-Old Lyme school district – represents an increase of $3.28 million, or 7.8%, over current spending. It is heavily influenced by large-scale renovation projects affecting the schools and the Lymes’ Senior Center. 

The public hearing on the budget lasted just over a half hour in front of roughly two dozen people in the Town Hall meeting room. Bernblum opened with the acknowledgement that it was not the kind of “sell out crowd” that drew more than 550 people to the Lyme-Old Lyme High School earlier this month to discuss for more than three hours a controversial proposal to allow apartments on the commercial strip of Halls Road. 

Amid the apparent lack of controversy Monday night, Bernblum laid out the budget proposal he said would likely raise tax bills for the average property owner by around 4.7% based on the recent townwide property revaluation. But residents whose home values increased more than the average will see a heftier hike in their tax bills. 

He said the projected tax rate, which won’t be set until immediately after the proposed budget is approved by voters, will be 16.2 mills.

A mill represents $1 in tax per $1,000 of assessed property value.  

Bernblum has said the tax rate would be going up 6.8% if the finance board didn’t offset the increase by taking $800,000 out of the undesignated fund balance, or Rainy Day Fund.

The current tax rate is 24.4 mills. After taking the revaluation into account – and if spending did not change at all in the coming year – the tax rate would be 15.5 mills. 

The town’s grand list of taxable property grew by 57.4% as a result of the revaluation, according to final assessor’s data that takes into account adjustments by the Board of Assessment Appeals. The board finished its final hearings earlier this month. 

That means a house appraised at $400,000 with a valuation mirroring the average 57.4% increase to the grand list is now worth $629,600, according to Bernblum’s presentation. The tax bill for that homeowner based on the proposed budget would be $7,153 – an increase of $321, or 4.7%, over the current tax bill. 

Illustrating the complexity of a revaluation year, Bernblum said a house valued at $600,000 that went up 65% in value due to the revaluation is now worth $990,000. The owner of such a home can expect a $11,247 tax bill if the proposed budget goes through. That’s an increase of $999, or 9.8%, over the current tax bill. 

Old Lyme’s government operations expenses come in at $11.39 million, an increase of $835,260 million, or 7.9%, over the current budget. That includes debt service amounting to $702,350, which is up $271,168, or 62.9%, over current payments. The increase is driven largely by debt payments on the Lymes’ Senior Center renovation project.

The proposal includes an additional $107,000 increase in health insurance expenses over the current year.

The budget proposal, along with new language related to several town ordinances, will go to voters at a town meeting on May 19. 

The Impact of Education

The proposed budget in Old Lyme includes education costs of $31.52 million, which is up $1.99 million, or 6.72%, from the town’s current share of the regional school district budget. The increase is driven by debt payments on a multi-building renovation project approved by voters at a cost of $57.5 million. 

A referendum on the $39.7 million Region 18 budget proposal – which represents an increase of $2.7 million, or 7.39%, over the current spending plan for the district – is scheduled for May 6 in Lyme and Old Lyme.

The Region 18 Board of Education earlier this month voted unanimously to send the budget proposal to referendum.

Earlier objections to a decision to cut an elementary music teacher from the proposed budget were muted after the school board agreed to put the position back into the spending plan. The district will find savings elsewhere in the proposed budget to cover the cost, according to Superintendent of Schools Ian Neviaser. 

Neviaser in a Tuesday email said the regional school board has opted not to use any of its $3.1 million undesignated fund balance to offset the spending increase despite calls to explore the option.

“The board has not chosen to make any changes to the current proposed budget and plans to go to referendum with what we believe is a fiscally responsible and reasonable request of a 2.69% increase in the operating budget coupled with a 4.7% increase in debt service, which is the main driver for the overall 7.39% increase,” he said. 

School board Chairman Jason Kemp, who said he was speaking for himself rather than the full board, wrote in an email Tuesday that the undesignated fund is generally used for projects that might be too large for an annual budget, but too small to go to referendum and bonding. 

“While nothing is planned at the moment, an example of such a project would be to replace the track which we are told can’t really be resurfaced again. It would be fiscally irresponsible to spend that down significantly to cover a year of debt service on the PK-8 school project,” he said. 

He noted the proposed budget is less than the projected 10% increase for the coming year that had been presented to the towns prior to the referendum vote on that project. He cited lower than expected interest rates and grant funding that helped defray costs.

Rainy Days in Old Lyme 

On the town side, the finance board on April 15 voted to use $800,000 from its own undesignated fund balance to soften the impact of the proposed budget increase on taxpayers. 

Budget figures from Finance Director Anita Mancini show the allocation will bring the predicted $14.2 million Rainy Day Fund from 35.15% of the total operating budget at the end of this budget year to an estimated 29.6% in the coming budget year.

Bernblum said maintaining a healthy undesignated fund balance will help the town mitigate the effect of increasing budgets on taxpayers going forward. 

“And that will still leave (a) surplus of a significant amount to hedge against future needs,” he said. 

He emphasized that debt payments from the schools’ renovation project will continue to increase through the 2028-29 budget year. 

“So debt service for Region 18 is going to continue to go up significantly, but not astronomically, over the next several years, and then finally it will begin to come down,” he said. 

A philosophical schism between the two major parties on the finance board has pitted Democrats against Republicans. The decision to dip into the Rainy Day Fund for $800,000 represented a compromise among the three Democrats, who wanted to use more of the surplus to mitigate tax increases, and the three Republicans, who would have preferred to use less in order to save for the future. 

Some finance board members at the time said the town could be facing costs in coming years related to a years-long effort to bring sewers to several beach communities under pressure from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. 

While town officials have long said the expense would be covered by property owners in the affected beach areas, Bernblum on Monday acknowledged there could be costs to residents at large. 

State law specifies towns cannot assess property owners for any amount higher than the percent increase in the property value attributed to the sewers.

“It is possible that something could go wrong in the formula and that…the (Old Lyme Water Pollution Control Authority) won’t be able to bill the homeowners all of the costs necessary to recover 100%, in which case then the town could have some liability,” he said. 

Shoemaker said costs related to connecting town-owned properties to the sewer system, including the Old Lyme Police Department on Shore Road and a planned bathroom facility at Sound View Beach, would also be covered by the town. 

She said the town’s proposed capital plan includes $20,000 for initial engineering designs related to the Sound View bathrooms and contemplates spending an additional $20,000 on designs the following year. 

Uncertain Expenses

Proposed capital costs come in at $2.49 million in the proposed budget. That’s up $456,792, or 22.5%, from the current budget.

The capital spending plan includes $443,500 to save for the purchase of three fire department apparatuses over the next several years. Also included in the budget is an additional $200,000 for road-paving projects, bringing the total line item to $1 million.

The plan earmarks $70,200 toward architectural designs sought by the Halls Road Improvements Committee (HRIC) for a plan to add a pedestrian bridge, sidewalks and other amenities, according to Bernblum. 

But the Board of Selectmen last week agreed to put the work of the HRIC on hold in the wake of a groundswell of opposition to a separate proposal to amend the town’s zoning regulations and the subsequent resignation of HRIC Chairwoman Edie Twining. 

“What is going to happen with Halls Road is in the hands of the Board of Selectmen primarily at this point,” Bernblum said. “So what they decide to do, or we decide to do, with respect to Halls Road at the moment has not been decided.” 

Proposed capital expenses also include $80,000 to supplement $95,000 approved last year at a town meeting for the design and construction of a replacement gazebo at White Sands Beach. 

First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker said the town engineer’s original estimates were upended when it was discovered the town would have to follow state and federal flood zone requirements in updating the structure. 

Subsequent estimates came in at $173,000 for the project, according to Feb. 24 Board of Selectmen meeting minutes. 

Shoemaker attributed the steep increase to more stringent guidelines for installing the footings and holding the gazebo in place. 

Shoemaker said the plan is to complete the engineering designs using last year’s allocation so the project can go out to bid. 

Bernblum put it this way: “We’ll go out to bid when the designs are completed and cross our fingers that there’s enough money. And if not, we’re going to have to come back to you guys and beg for more.” 

Bernblum said the finance board remains open to public feedback on the proposed budget through the May 19 town meeting. 

“Historically, we haven’t gotten negative feedback in regards to it, but we certainly invite that,” he said.

Editor’s Notes: i) Bennett Bernblum is a financial supporter of LymeLine.com, but has no input to the editorial process, which remains completely independent.
ii) A reminder of Our Policy on Comments.