A reduction to the final approved allocation for the two regional lake authorities in the 2022-23 municipal budget may be overturned because they were state mandated assessments to the town and not budget requests according to First Selectman Dan Rosenthal.

Rosenthal reported the development at the November 7 Board of Selectmen meeting saying he had been contacted by the Lake Authorities about the reduction, and they had confirmed what he expected at the time the council made the reduction — that it was not permissible. The council on April 6, voted to reduce a request by the Lake Authorities to match the 2021-22 budget requests, essentially holding the line item flat rather than granting a requested increase.

According to the April 6 meeting minutes, Councilman Ryan Knapp moved to amend the line item Lake Authorities to $53,735 — seconded by Councilman Matt Mihalcik. Following a failed attempted amendment by Mihalcik, the requested reduction passed 7-5 with Mihalcik and council members Chris Gardner, Tom Long, Michelle Embree Ku, and Dan Honan voting against the motion.

The prior reduction of $11,157, which the BOS voted to restore to the Lake Authorities line item at its November 7 meeting, took into account approximately $3,000 of the request for the Lake Zoar Authority, with the balance for the Lake Lillinonah Authority.

“Quasi-town agencies like Edmond Town Hall and the library make requests, that none of the town bodies are under any obligation to fund in the amount asked,” said Rosenthal. “In this case, the authority is a creature of the state. It’s not a luxury we have [to reduce its request].”

By State Statute Section 7-151b, “Each town shall pay to the authority its respective share of the expenses of the commission prorated on the basis of linear footage of shore line or any other formula agreed on and adopted by a majority of the legislative bodies of all member towns.”

Knapp said he justified his motion to reduce the budget request after noticing the original line item request for the Lake Authorities of $64,982 was a 20% increase over the previous year’s request of $53,735. He said that the Lake Authorities had received a large increase the previous year and suggested holding them flat, an idea that passed on a split vote of 7-5.

“The Lake Authorities are now following up, and we looked into it,” said Rosenthal. “Our view is that we need to true up the account.”

Rosenthal said that the treasurer of the Lake Zoar Authority would be in attendance at the November 16 council meeting, as well as the chairman on the Lake Lillinonah Authority. See further details in the print edition of November 25.

Rosenthal said they would give an account of how the budget increases are figured, how the money is used, and “where things are headed, to help folks understand why they needed the money.”

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.