Resident: New Canaan Boards Listen to Citizens

NEW CANAAN, Conn. – Tanya Bickley likes to see New Canaan residents come forward to ask questions at town meetings but understands it can be difficult for some.

“You can be apprehensive, frightened or nervous,” said Bickley, a frequent presence at meetings. “If it’s on an important subject, you don’t want to make a fool of yourself.”

Nearly every town board and commission typically has a public comment period. A few town bodies, including the Board of Education, have two public comment sections to allow for discussion after the bulk of an agenda is finished. Attendance by the public at most meetings is small, though residents have shown up to Town Council, Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen meetings to comment on creation of a townwide plan for future growth and the possible installation of sidewalks on Main Street.

Bickley said most boards have done a good job of listening to the public, but she was not pleased with the Town Council as it considered the Long Range Planning Committee’s request for funds for townwide master plan. She said the board seemed already set on approving the funding.

Town board, commission or ad-hoc committee agenda, minutes and voting results summaries are on file at Town Hall. The most recent meeting agendas or voting results are on a bulletin board just outside of Town Clerk Claudia Weber’s office. Although Board of Education agendas and minutes are also there, the board of education is required to post its notices at the Board of Ed offices on Locust Avenue.

Weber said special meeting notices and agendas, including those from the school board, must be filed with her office and placed on the town’s website no less than 24 hours before the meeting. A review of recent meeting agendas shows that meeting notices are submitted on time.

Weber said only a few boards and commissions were complying with state Freedom of Information requirements for filing when she first took office. Now, most of the 40-plus public bodies are in line, except for a few newer commissions that might be unfamiliar with the rules. “It’s still not 100 percent, but I am pleased with the progress,” she said.

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