Board of Finance approves new fire truck; CFO trumpets transparency

The Board of Finance approved a $665,000 expenditure from the general fund for a new fire truck and a sidewalk at East School.

The meeting was marked by new procedures implemented by the Chief Financial Officer Dawn Norton in being more specific, and in her words "more transparent," about moving money between accounts and projects than previous CFO Gary Conrad during his tenure in New Canaan.

The majority of the special approval was for a new fire truck, a pumper for the Fire Department. The cost of the apparatus will depend on the specifications -- such as how big it can be and still fit in the firehouse and driveways, and how much weight the floor of the firehouse can bear -- but will not exceed $610,000.

The other $55,000 is for the construction of a sidewalk and redesigned parking spaces at East School.

"People are driving up on the curb (to park)," said Tiger Mann, assistant director of Public Works. "The grass is now a mud pit. They're also breaking the edge of the pavement. Our thought is to legitimize the parking area. We could put `no parking' signs, but I was there yesterday and on the other side of the street there are signs that were totally ignored. I think it's a cost-effective way to fix both things."

Norton introduced a new procedure intended to increase fiscal transparency that details the account from which money is to be withdrawn and for what purpose, as well as having three signatories vouch they have seen the transfer.

"Any budget item that is beyond what is approved in the budget will come in with account transfers and three signatures," Norton said.

At the conclusion of the meeting, resident Eric Bruhn, of Welles Lane, spoke to the board, asking members if they had reviewed procedures that allowed them to vote in favor of the pension amendments that benefitted Jeb Walker and Sally Hines in the way that the Town Council had in its last meeting.

Many members noted that they would spend more time reviewing such procedures after the official review by the town is completed this month.

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