Annual Report 2014
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ANNUAL REPORT for the TOWN OF HADDAM Fiscal Year July 2014 - June 2015 Town of Haddam 2014-2015 Annual Report Table of Contents Department/Agency Page Department/Agency Page Animal Control Officer 30 Haddam Public Health 33-34 Assessor 5-7 Haddam Municipal Agent/Senior 16-17 Auditors’ Report 52-54 Center Board of Assessment Appeals 7 Haddam Veterans’ Museum 19-20 Board of Finance 4-5 Haddam Volunteer Fire Company 28-29 Board of Selectmen 1-2 Haddam Volunteer Fire 27-28 Brainerd Memorial Library 42-43 Department/Board of Directors Building Department 32 Health District/Chatham Health 21-23 Capital [Improvement] Planning 15-16 District Committee Higganum Cemetery Association 44-45 CT River Gateway Commission 49-51 Land Use Department/Town Planner 25-26 Conservation Commission 26-27 Lower Connecticut River Valley 48-49 Economic Development Commission 24-25 Council of Governments (RiverCOG) Fire Marshal 31 Planning & Zoning Commission 13-14 Haddam Ambulance Services 37-38 Probate – District Court 2-3 Haddam Club 60 17-18 Public Works 33 Haddam Committee on Aging 18-19 Registrars of Voters 3-4 Haddam Historical Society 45-48 Tax Collector 7-8 Haddam-Killingworth Recreation 40 Town Clerk 8-13 Authority Village Parks Society of Haddam, 41 Haddam Neck Volunteer Fire 29 Inc. Department Wetlands Commission 15 Haddam Parade Committee 20-21 Youth & Family Services of Haddam- 35-37 Haddam Park & Recreation 39 Killingworth, Inc. Zoning Board of Appeals 14 Town Office Building Hours Monday - Wednesday: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm Thursday: 8:30 am - 6:30 pm. Friday: 8:30 am - 12 noon Transfer Station Hours Wednesday & Saturday: 8:00 am - 3:45 pm, Sunday: 8:00 am - 11:45 am Please Note: The Charter of the Town of Haddam gives the Board of Finance responsibility for compiling and publishing the Annual Report. It does not, however, give the Board any authorization to see that reports of various agencies and departments are either submitted when requested or that the reports include all of the information required by the Charter or State Statutes. The reports are entered into the Annual Report substantially as submitted. All reports received are included in this Report. Board of Selectmen____________________________________________________________ Melissa J. Schlag, First Selectman It was another busy year for Haddam with reduced government spending for the second year in a row, productive grants, many new infrastructure improvements and some fun projects! Infrastructure We were finally able to pave the top of Plains Road and make it accessible in the winter to all residents in that area and the entire road is now open to through traffic from one end to the other. Park Road engineering has been finalized, easements obtained and construction should begin in early 2016. McTigh Road continues to be a tough project but we were able to finalize engineering for culvert design and reconstruction and started negotiations to acquire property in order to implement the water runoff improvements. Grants Haddam won a hard-earned $300,000 Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) grant to investigate remediation costs and perform a market study on our historic Haddam Jail. This grant will allow us to fight for larger state and federal grants to clean up and decide the best future use without overburdening the taxpayers with the Jail’s revival. We also were the lucky recipients of the Nutmeg Grant which will put our Town Office Building on the information superhighway and allow us to hook up to the State’s fiber optic intranet, allowing us to share large files and programs with other municipalities and the state, saving us money through sharing of resources. Last year we educated our legislators for the first time about Haddam’s unfair Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant funding. We lobbied the state during the legislative session to rectify the fact that we are the tenth worst ECS-funded town in the state. Having our fair share of the ECS funding would bring our mill rate down by 2 mills, allowing us to once again be competitive with neighboring municipalities. As a result of our lobbying efforts, we were able to secure an additional $100,000 for Haddam while other towns were flat funded. We were accepted into UConn’s Internship of Public Policy program (IPP), which will allow us to inventory and perform a business analysis and survey of our commercial entities, enhancing our economic future. Energy Savings As a result of the Energy Task Force’s record-breaking SolarizeCT campaign, Haddam earned enough free solar panels to cover the electricity costs at our transfer station and became one of only a few towns in the state to win the EnergizeCT Silver award. 1 Board of Selectmen, cont. The task force also began investigating a performance contract to upgrade our municipal building and street lighting to LED fixtures and received a grant to perform an energy audit on the firehouse to help save money on electricity and fuel usage in the future. This year we approved the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program, which will allow commercial building owners to access affordable, long-term financing for clean energy upgrades through a voluntary assessment on their property tax bill. The business benefits from lower energy costs and the community wins, due to reduced electricity demand and new clean energy generation. Environment The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized remediation and rehabilitation of the Higganum Cove superfund site, which now is a safe and beautiful connection to the Connecticut River. We also began the legal foreclosure process to transfer the property to the town and turn it into a park. In Tylerville, the town is continuing to support the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) with its ongoing investigation and study of the pollution in that area. The comprehensive DEEP study will be finalized in early 2016. The town also continued discussions with the Department of Public Health (DPH) and DEEP on a plan for the contamination issues in Tylerville and a community well solution was discussed as a possible, more cost effective solution. Board of Selectmen Meetings Attendance First Selectman Melissa Schlag - 32 of 32 Meetings Selectman Robert Duval - 31 of 32 Selectman Sean Donlan - 30 of 32 Selectmen Assistant Alice Zanelli - 18 of 32 Finance Coordinator Georgia Emanuel - 8 of 9 budget meetings Respectfully submitted, Melissa J. Schlag, First Selectman District Probate Court__________________________________________________________ Terrance D. Lomme, Judge of Probate - Saybrook District The regional probate court serves the following towns in addition to Haddam: Chester, Clinton, Deep River, Essex, Killingworth, Lyme, Old Saybrook, and Westbrook. The total population of these towns is over 62,000 citizens, generating approximately one thousand new matters of all types, per year. The court is full time from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is located on the second floor of the Old Saybrook Town Hall at 302 Main Street. 2 Probate, cont. We handle all aspects of decedent estates and a variety of other matters. The court spends a substantial amount of its time on children’s matters. Many times, the child’s parents are unable or unwilling to care for their children and frequently it is the child’s grandparents who apply to the Court for guidance. Grandparents, or other relatives, are usually appointed to take care of the child under the Court’s supervision. If the parent or parents become capable and willing to take care of the child, their guardianship rights can be restored. There is usually an investigation by the Department of Children and Families. These can be difficult matters but the Court’s focus is always on what is in the best interest of the child. We have also had the pleasure of approving adoptions, which is always an uplifting event. The legislature passed new laws in 2015 which will raise probate fees effective January 1, 2016. The entry fees will increase from $150 to $225 on January 1, 2016. Filing fees for financial reports and accounts will also change. Forms for filing probate matters can be found online at http://www.ctprobate.gov. Most of these forms are fill-able for the convenience of the public. Someone filing documents with the Court must certify that they have sent copies of the documents that they are filing to all of the other interested parties. Thanks to the efforts of Chief Clerk Valerie Shickel, and the other clerks and assistant clerks, Sharon Tiezzi, Marjorie Calltharp, Stella Beaudoin, Helene Yates, Peggy Schroeder, and Jackie Craco, the court continues to operate smoothly and efficiently. Respectfully submitted, Terrance D. Lomme, Judge Saybrook Probate Court District Registrars of Voters____________________________________________________________ Raymond Skarsten and Saralyn Twomey, Haddam Registrars of Voters Mission: The Registrars of Voters are the Election Administrators and are responsible for upholding Connecticut State Laws regarding the electoral process, conducting all elections and referenda, training election workers, keeping voters informed through the news and the Town’s website, maintaining and programming voting machines, and maintaining voter records. Accomplishments/Achievements: The Registrars administered a Republican Primary 8/12/14, a Gubernatorial Election 11/4/2014 and 2 Regional #17 School Budget Referenda 5/2/15 and 6/2/15; also we administered a recount on the 5/2/15 Referendum; In conjunction with The Elections, the Registrars administered voting sessions at “The Saybrook at Haddam”, Haddam, CT; 3 Registrars of Voters, cont. The Registrars held legislatively required “voter registration sessions”; The Registrars attended 2 conferences and training sessions to update Registrars and Deputies on new technologies and legislative requirements of the Connecticut General Assembly and Secretary of the State’s Office, so we can achieve our required CEU’s and continue training our poll workers with the most up-to-date information; The Registrars maintained and updated voter registration and history files, including conducting the annual town wide canvass.