LYME — UPDATED 5/18: The Town of Lyme will hold its Annual Budget Meeting Wednesday, May 19, at 5 p.m., in person and outside Lyme Town Hall at 480 Hamburg Rd. in Lyme.
Due to COVID restrictions, attendees are requested to bring a folding chair or umbrella if needed. Masks must be worn, and social distancing is required.
The proposed budget can be viewed at this link.
The following agenda items will be discussed and may be voted on:
- Acknowledge receipt of the Town of Lyme Annual Reports for the Fiscal Years ending June 30, 2019 and June 30, 2020.
- Consider and act on an Ordinance to repeal and replace Town of Lyme Code 157-23(c) to adjust the process for applying for mooring permits in the waters of the Town of Lyme.
- Consider and act on an Ordinance concerning the appointment of the Treasurer.
- Consider and act on a Resolution accepting North Lyme Cemetery and the assets of the North Lyme Cemetery Association.
- Consider and act on a Resolution to require the Board of Finance to set a minimum goal of $1,000,000 for the Open Space Reserve Fund.
- Consider and act on estimates of the Board of Finance for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2022.
Concern have been raised both directly with LymeLine.com, via email announcements, and on social media regarding the decision by the Lyme Board of Finance to reduce the Town’s Open Space Reserve Fund by 50 percent from $1 million to $500,000. The Lyme Democratic Town Committee has also been actively encouraging residents to attend the meeting via e-blasts and social media posts..
On April 27, around 60 people attended the board of finance’s virtual Public Hearing on the budget to express their concerns verbally, while a number of others wrote letters that were read into the record.
A subsequent board of finance Special Meeting held April 29, confirmed the reduction in the size of the fund. Since then several groups have been actively spreading awareness of the change to their members and other townspeople.
First Selectman Steven Mattson has introduced a Resolution requiring the board of finance to set a minimum goal of $1 million for the Open Space Reserve Fund.
Mattson explained to LymeLine.com in a phone conversation on Sunday that the Resolution has, in fact, three objectives as follows, “to reset the [Open Space Fund] goal, to budget next year (financial year 2022-23) to reach one million [dollars in the Fund], and then [if it is depleted to make a land acquisition] to replenish it as soon as possible.”
Mattson stressed that residents cannot vote to increase the allocation to the Open Space Fund for the upcoming budget year (2021-22), which has already been determined by the Lyme Board of Finance. The Resolution — if approved — will change the Open Space Fund goal and its funding in the 2022-23 financial year.
All eligible Town of Lyme voters will be able to vote at the meeting.
Editor’s Note: The full text of the First Selectman’s Resolution is as follows:
A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE LYME BOARD OF FINANCE TO SET A MINIMUM GOAL FOR THE OPEN SPACE RESERVE FUND OF $1,000,000
Whereas: The Plan of Conservation and Development has consistently supported Open Space acquisition as one of the prime objectives of the town residents, and,
Whereas: The Board of Finance is responsible for adopting financial plans and policies that meet the objectives of the Plan of Conservation and Development, and,
Whereas: The Lyme community has expressed its overwhelming desire for the Open Space Reserve Fund to be supported by appropriations in the annual budget to grow this fund to an amount that will allow the town to be in a strong position to acquire large critical properties that further the goals of the town and the Open Space Committee,
Now, Therefore: Be it resolved by the Town of Lyme in Town Meeting convened, that the Board of Finance be required to set a minimum goal of $1,000,000 for the Open Space Reserve Fund, take all measures to achieve this goal in the 2022/23 budget plan, and replenish this fund to this goal level in a timely fashion following the use of any of the Open Space Reserve Funds for property acquisitions.