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Town Planner a Focus of Clinton Budget Discussions

As Clinton officials and voters turn their attention to the town’s proposed budget, the much-discussed role of the fulltime town planner could once again be at the forefront of the discussions.

The town has been looking to hire a fulltime town planner since summer 2018. Speaking at the Feb. 28 Board of Finance (BOF) budget workshop and a Feb 27 Board of Selectmen meeting (BOS), First Selectman Christine Goupil explained the importance of the position and encouraged the BOF to keep the line item in the proposed budget.

In the past, Goupil described the planner as someone who would be in town hall and available day-to-day to answer the multitude of questions developers have and to help them through the development process. The planner would seek to implement the town’s Plan of Conservation & Development and help the town apply for available grants.

Due to the demands of the first selectman position, Goupil has said she is sometimes in meetings when the developers call and is unable to assist them right away. Currently the town has a consultant planner.

At the Feb. 28 meeting, Goupil said the presence of a town planner would be a benefit as it projects a sense of professionalism in town hall. In November 2019, the town will transition from a selectmen-based government to a government where a hired professional town manager will take on many of the duties currently handled by the First Selectman.

“As I transition out, you’ll need some continuity in town hall,” Goupil said.

Goupil also said that many of the questions asked at Planning & Zoning Commission meetings would be better answered by a fulltime planner.

At the BOS meeting, Goupil said, “It’s so apparent we need a planner.”

While speaking in front of the BOF, Goupil also shed some light on the town’s struggle to fill the position that has been posted since July. Goupil said the town has received applications for the position, but the applicants chose other opportunities in part due to their concerns over the stability of the position.

“If you google ‘Clinton’ and ‘planners,’ you see the previous planner was let go during budget concerns,” Goupil said.

An additional factor Goupil cited was the fact that the town couldn’t start advertising for the position right away as the town had to wait until the budgets were passed before posting the job.

During the budget battles of 2018, the inclusion of a town planner at a cost of $75,000 was source of contention for some in town. Proponents pointed to the hope that the position could the help the town tackle opportunities for economic development and town improvements, while opponents felt that adding a new position and cost during a time that other town employees faced reduced hours or layoffs was unwise.

Currently, the BOF is in the process of reviewing the BOS’s proposed town budget of $18,944,370, a 4.98 percent increase over last year’s budget. After hearing from the town department heads, the BOF will set its proposed budget on Monday, March 11. A public hearing on the proposed town and education budgets will be held in April.