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Council tables $15,000 BATV appropriation after heated public comment and council debate; Chamber funding also questioned
Summary
Councilors and residents clashed over using unassigned fund balance to pay for Bloomfield Access Television’s move ($15,000 requested) and a proposed $7,500 chamber allocation; a motion to table the BATV appropriation passed and the meeting was recessed and postponed amid acrimony. A separate $6,000 historic-preservation grant was approved.
The Bloomfield Town Council paused and ultimately tabled consideration of an appropriation from the town’s unassigned fund balance for Bloomfield Access Television (BATV) after hours of public comment and a heated council debate on July 13.
Deputy Mayor Cindy Lloyd moved the item on behalf of staff, presenting council procedures for appropriating leftover council contingency funds into the new fiscal year rather than performing 4th-quarter transfers. "Supporting a public service such as VATV does not make us thusly irresponsible," Lloyd said, adding that BATV streams council meetings and town events for residents who cannot attend in person.
Opponents raised process and timing concerns. "I cannot, in any good conscience, assign unassigned — add anything to this budget," Councilor Suzette DeBethan Brown said, calling the $15,000 move inappropriate outside the usual budget deliberations. Councilor Mahan echoed residents’ frustration, saying the transfer felt "irresponsible" given recent budget cuts and calls from residents for fiscal restraint.
Several residents urged caution before appropriating funds. "We have not finished our 2025 audit," Donna Hubbs told the council, asking that undesignated funds remain in savings until the town’s financial position is clear. Erin Behringer, who had raised a similar concern at a prior meeting, said she would "urge you to vote no tonight" unless the council provided more information about why the funds were needed and how they would be spent.
Director Hill explained the mechanics: unspent council contingency (~$148,000) fell to fund balance at the close of FY26 and, under the charter and fund-balance policy, the council may appropriate those funds without triggering a charter vote threshold. Hill said combined requests were below the 0.1% budget threshold (about $118,000) that would trigger additional charter requirements.
As debate continued, councilors pressed for an itemized list of BATV’s needs and questioned whether other funding sources existed. Several councilors suggested tabling the item to allow an itemized budget and alternatives to be developed; a motion to table carried in a roll-call confirmation of councilors present, and Mayor Anthony C. Harrington announced the item was tabled.
Councilors then discussed a separate appropriation request to the Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce (reported in the packet at $7,500). Chamber director Vera Smith Winfrey told the council the chamber brings thousands to town events and requested, in addition to operating funds, consideration of a town-owned space to increase visibility. Some councilors supported a modest allocation and exploration of space; others again asked for an itemized request and a transparent process for distributing public funds.
The meeting became disorderly during the Chamber discussion; after procedural points and raised voices, Mayor Harrington recessed and said the council would caucus and regroup — he postponed the remainder of several agenda items. Before adjournment, the council did take one additional action: it approved a FY27 Connecticut State Library historic documents preservation grant for $6,000 and authorized the town manager to execute the grant contract to allow the town clerk to proceed with records management work.
Outcome: the BATV appropriation was tabled for future consideration; the Chamber request remained under discussion and the grant for historic records was approved.
