The Legislative Council conducted a public hearing over Zoom on March 17, before its regularly scheduled meeting, to hear voter’s comments on the 2021-2022 Annual Budget of The Town of Newtown.

Legislative Council Chair Paul Lundquist explained how residents could unmute their devices to talk and asked that all speakers give their name and address for the record.

Sandy Hook resident Laura Duffy was the first to speak. She informed the council that she voiced her concerns to the Board of Education (BOE) when she originally saw the proposed budget increase.

Duffy said that she calculated there were 4,212 students in the Newtown school system as of June 2020 and that there was a decrease of 109 students in the school system as of February 2021.

“I don’t see how we can justify raising the budget [and] hiring four new teachers,” she said.

Duffy added that she had concerns also pertaining to town employees’ salaries receiving a paycheck increase during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After a few minutes of waiting for another speaker and Lundquist reminding participants how to unmute themselves on the phone, the session for the public hearing was about to close until Sandy Hook resident Robert Katrinak could be heard.

He shared that it was frustrating having difficulties unmuting and that others may be having similar technology issues.

Voicing his opinion of the budget, he said, “I think this whole budget is irresponsible. I don’t think the COVID situation is being recognized at all. I think many people have lost jobs and health insurance, the economy is poor — I realize this isn’t the case for everybody, but it is the case for many in the town, and I feel like the budget with an increase has no connection whatsoever with the reality of what’s going on for many of the taxpayers.”

He pointed out specific items in the budget that were a concern, including new employee hires, a radio system, a permanent memorial, and salary increases — the latter of which he acknowledged may be union positions with guaranteed increases.

“I just feel that this is all inappropriate this year,” Katrinak said. “There should be decreases, for sure, and I just feel like the taxpayers are losing with this budget.”

After another lull between speakers, Lundquist reminded everyone that if they were having trouble unmuting to speak, they could go to the town website and send an e-mail. He also gave out his town e-mail for people on the line to contact him directly, so he could unmute them manually if they were continuing to have trouble.

Sandy Hook resident Jennifer Larkin spoke next and stated that she was in support of the budget. She noted she is a mother of two children in the Newtown school system and that she does understand the sentiment of the first two callers.

“It was a difficult year for students, teachers, and administration who really did pull together to do some incredible things to keep our learners learning at the best of their ability, but I do believe there was some learning loss experienced,” Larkin said.

She says she has been following the BOE meetings and supports where there is extra spending this year.

“I think there are going to be children who might need a little extra catching up next year. I do see that the Board of Ed has put together a budget to focus on some of these areas, and I think it is important to continue to invest in our kids here,” Larkin said.

The last speaker of the evening’s public hearing was Sandy Hook resident Jennifer Salinger, who said she feels Larkin summed it up well. She, too, is a mother of two children in the Newtown public school system and has been following town meetings virtually.

“I’ve been pretty intricately involved with COVID care last year at Griffin Hospital, so I’ve seen the effects of COVID, but I’ve also seen what’s going on with the kids in the schools,” Salinger said. “I guess I’m deeply concerned of the direction this year has taken, particularly with our kids’ education. Being in health care and seeing what’s happened, I’m concerned about their futures.”

She added that she is in full support of the budget and believes the town needs to anticipate possible related needs in the future.

After waiting a few minutes for comments, no more speakers came forward and Lundquist closed the public hearing.

He said that the Legislative Council would be having their meeting at 7:30 pm and there would be a public comment portion for those who still wished to speak about the 2021-2022 budget.

For more information about upcoming Legislative Council meetings, visit newtown-ct.gov/legislative-council.