Town/Govt

GOVERNOR’S BUDGET PULLS FUNDING FROM TOWN

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By Michael B. Guarco, Jr.,Chair, Board of FinanceIn early February, the governor sent his biennial budget proposal to the legislature. Facing a $1.7 billion dollar gap in each of the next two years—even after the historically massive tax increases over the past four years—his proposal shifts a significant burden onto the towns. While closing the state budget gap and bailing out the cities, the change hurts the towns financially and is influenced by the belief that the towns are fisca […]

Town/Govt

P&Z PUBLIC HEARING JAN. 24

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The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on a resubmitted application seeking a change of zone from Residential 30 (R30) to Planned Development Multifamily (PDM) for properties located at 91 and 85R Salmon Brook Street. The proposal was unchanged from a previous application. Brian Smith, Attorney with Robinson and Cole, represented Upstream Properties, LLC. Smith used a PowerPoint presentation to review maps and the Plan of Conservation and Development objectives and goals relate […]

Town/Govt

ATHLETIC, MUSIC, LANGUAGE PROGRAMS COULD SUFFER UNDER GOVERNOR’S PROPOSAL

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By Kim BeckerGovernor Malloy, in an effort to revive the sinking teachers’ pension fund, has proposed that school districts statewide contribute $400 million to the State. Granby’s share amounts to $1.5 million plus the loss of $224,000 from other grants. The board of finance reacted to this news by demanding that the boards of selectmen and education keep their budgets flat, resulting in a 3 percent mill rate increase. If the governor’s proposal is adopted and the boards recei […]

Town/Govt

CABE recognizes Granby BOE

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The Granby Board of Education received the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) Board of Distinction Award – Level II at the CABE/Convention in November. The award was given for exhibiting a unique ability to work collaboratively and supportively with the community and town officials in a non-partisan fashion as strong advocates for students and education. In addition, the board was also recognized for its successful completion of district building projects, high return on educa […]

Town/Govt

Potential cuts in services and increase in taxes, town manager warns

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By Shirley MurthaAs the town prepared for the annual Three Board Meeting (Education, Finance and Selectmen) on Jan. 23, Town Manager Bill Smith noted that with the state budget in deficit, aid to towns will be greatly curtailed. For example, mid-2016 saw $50,000 worth of cuts to the Educational Cost Sharing program. Similar cuts will be seen across the board; towns will have to make up the differences by increasing local taxes and/or by cutting services.In preparing for the development of the Pl […]

Town/Govt

State uncertainty clouds FY18 budget picture

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Michael B Guarco Jr., Chairman, Board of FinanceOnce again Connecticut faces a $1.5 billion deficit in each of the next two fiscal years. How it is handled with respect to state aid monies allocated to the municipalities will have a significant impact on local operations and taxation. The reluctance on the part of the state to tackle real structural budget reform continues to just kick the can down the road. Every two years, the state legislature’s majority party leadership and the governo […]

Town/Govt

BOS student liaison a girl for all seasons

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By Shirley MurthaThis year’s student representative to the Granby Board of Selectmen is Kelly-Anne Moffa, a senior at Granby Memorial High School. Having attended the school for three-plus, she felt she could do a good job bringing the student perspective to the board while becoming more connected with the Granby community in general. She intends to become involved with government in the future, planning to study both environmental science and political science in college. Being the liaiso […]

Town/Govt

BOE begins budget process

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By Kim BeckerThe new year rings in the beginning of the budget process for the board of education. Superintendent of Granby Public Schools Alan Addley presented the BOE with the Plus One, a five-year budget projection.Given the sharp decline in state funding, including cuts to Education Cost Sharing and the Academic and Social Support grant, Granby will lose $180,000. This funding directly supported programs like all-day kindergarten, summer school, and integrated preschool. Though the board has […]

Town/Govt

BOE studies achievement gap issues

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By Kim BeckerThe Board of Education heard from new Director of Teaching and Talent Development Christopher Tranberg regarding new achievement gap data. The data was viewed by program: regular education students and special education students and by residence (Granby, Hartford, and Hartland). Because the 2014-15 report was given in the spring and the 2015-16 data was compiled early, little improvement was seen in the numbers. However, four areas bucked that trend are graduation rate, college cour […]

Town/Govt

Granby set some voting records in 2016

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So many records were broken during this tumultuous election season, here a few highlights:• Most new voter registrations processed in one year: 1,177 new voters• Most voter removals processed in one year: 689 removals• Most poll worker and moderator training sessions: 25 classes held, over 100 participants• Most voter registrations, new and changes, received in one day, on Nov. 1: 204(Includes the most online voter registrations received in one day, Nov. 1: 152)•Highest […]