#MiddleburyCT #POCD #Republicans #Democrats
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
In a move that Middlebury First Selectwoman Jennifer Mahr described as taking away the people’s choice to choose, three Republicans – Board of Finance Chairman Vincent Cipriano, Rita Smith and Dawn Calabrese – blocked a vote to place a question on additional funding for Middlebury’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) on the May 6, 2026, budget referendum ballot. This happened at the joint Board of Selectmen/Board of Finance meeting on March 18, 2026.
The Republicans had already unanimously agreed to place a question on a $13.9 million town budget and a $585,000 question on appropriations for “PAY AS YOU GO” projects on the ballot, but they balked at adding $50,000 to the funds to update the town’s POCD. Three Democrats – George Flaherty Jr., Don Andrews, and Casey Larkin – voted for placing the question on the ballot.
The selectmen voted for the POCD motion, but the vote was not unanimous. Selectman J. Paul Vance Jr. made the motion and Selectman Brian Shaban seconded it. When it came time to vote, First Selectwoman Jennifer Mahr and Shaban voted for it while Vance voted against it. Highlights from the discussion of this agenda item, which lasted more than a half hour, follow.
Mahr introduced the question to both boards by explaining she had met with the town’s current consultant, Hiram Peck, land use attorney Dana D’Angelo and Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Terry Smith to discuss Middlebury’s POCD. It expired October 1, 2025, leaving the town out of compliance with the state. As a result, Mahr has to send an explanatory letter to the state because, to get any discretionary grant money from the state, the town would have to apply or a waiver. Mahr said, “This is not something that we can put off. For a town our size, Hiram Peck said the cost of updating the POCD would likely run $80 to $100,000.”
The town will have $55,000 for this, so adding another $50,000 to that would fund the POCD work. An RFP for the work will be issued with the Naugatuck Valley Council of Government’s help
Board of Finance member Rita Smith asked if the NVCOG would do the work. Mahr said she couldn’t use them because they are booked out something like two years.
Smith then asked if Hiram Peck had finished revising the zoning regulations. Mahr said he had not, but to be fair, the POCD needs to be updated before the regulations are rewritten because you plan first and then you do the regulations. She said that’s why the POCD update should not be delayed.
Smith asked if the town issued an RFP would they possibly have to pay less than $80 to $100,000 and suggested telling people the town would pay $50,000 for them to start it and they would get the rest when they finish. Mahr said payment would be detailed in the contract, but she wouldn’t give money up front before they do the job.
Smith asked if there was another revenue account to use, but CFO Seth Bernstein said there was nothing in the general fund. Mahr said she didn’t think so, that they had squeezed every account they could. Smith asked Bernstein about revenue accounts again. Mahr said if they don’t pursue funding for the fire department sprinkler system, they could use some of the money planned for that.
During discussion by Board of Finance members, Don Andrews said from what he’d seen of the POCD, it is really the guiding light for how we want to develop our town and he thought the POCD was one way for the town to come together with one plan for the town.
After the BoF failed to pass the motion, Larkin asked what not having the $50,000 meant. Mahr said it doesn’t get a survey of residents and it doesn’t give people an opportunity to give their feedback and have that be part of the Plan. She said you can probably spruce up the current document a bit for $50,000, but what this does is cut out residents’ voices telling officials what kind of town they want to have.
She said the recently passed housing bill allows developers to build residences on commercial property, so if the town doesn’t come up with other ways to recoup, the burden on residential may increase due to the loss of commercial space. “My recommendation, for no political reason at all, is we need to have really good planning around what the state has dropped in our lap. So that’s why I think we need to spend the money,” she said.
Flaherty suggested, since the RFP wouldn’t call for all the money to be paid up front, the town could start the process with the $55,000 it had. Mahr asked him, “Would you sign a contract with me for $100,000 if you knew I didn’t know if somebody was going to give me the next 50?”
Flaherty said the only option since the motion failed, was for those who voted no to make a motion to reconsider. However, Cipriano, Smith and Calabrese did not act.
BoF member Brendan Browne said he didn’t think the lack of $50,000 would keep the town from starting the process. He said they weren’t blocking out the people.
Mahr said Peck told her a survey of the residents would cost $25,000. That would leave $25,000 to pay for all the writing. “You get what you pay for,” Mahr said. “If you really truly care about residents’ voices for what this town looks like, you need to give them the opportunity to do that.” She said if all the $50,000 wasn’t spent, it would go back to the town.
After urging a motion to reconsider, Mahr said, “Think of the political consequences of this story going to the public that we didn’t want to give them the opportunity to have (a say in) a plan of conservation and development.”
Cipriano said that would be a negative story, but they have boards in place that meet with developers to get these projects approved. He said the tools were there already.
Mahr said she is for the people deciding and having this question on the ballot lets them do so. “It’s the people’s money that would be spent and they have the right to decide how it’s spent, so officials should ask them by having this question on the ballot.”
Discussion returned to finding existing funds instead of having the motion on the ballot. It was left that work on the POCD would begin with the current $55,000. Browne said, “So we’ll definitely have input from the town, right?”
Mahr responded, “It depends what I can get out of an RFP.” She said she would need to run it by companies that do this.
Browne said, “Right now, we have money to support a survey, right?”
Mahr asked if once $25,000 was spent on the survey, could you then rewrite the POCD for $25,000? She didn’t think so.
Browne said, “So the process will be started with a survey.”
Mahr said, “No, I can’t promise that because I have to go to an RFP and see what it costs to do the things we want to do. So, I don’t know if we can have a $25,000 survey and finish all the rest of the process for $55,000.”
Browne said, “I understand. All I’m saying is that’s going to get the ball rolling. We have other avenues going forward. Nothing’s getting blocked. Nothing’s getting stopped. I don’t like hearing the townspeople aren’t going to be heard because ‘it’s not political’ sounds political. The motion failed. Let’s get the ball rolling.”
Mahr responded if anyone asked her why this motion failed, she would say it was because Cipriano said he didn’t think it was worth spending that much money on this project.” Cipriano said, “I did vote ‘no.’”
