A special town meeting will be held on Monday, Aug. 28, at 6 p.m. at the Vicki Duffy Pavilion, 155 College Street, for Old Saybrook voters to approve several budgetary moves recommended by the Board of Selectmen (BOS) and Board of Finance (BOF).

This year, Old Saybrook had a surplus of over $3 million. Now, the town is looking to spend some of that money on needed projects.

“This year, the town was fortunate enough to have a large surplus. The town surplus was over $3 million; 20% of that was one property that owed back taxes. Another significant component of the surplus is the tax collection rate. We assume that we will collect 99% of our property taxes. When we collect 99.3 or 99.5 or more, like we did this year, that makes a big difference in the revenue side surplus,” First Selectman Carl Fortuna explained.

The surplus has led to the BOS and BOF recommending a number of projects that can be funded using the surplus money.

One of the big highlights recommended by the two boards is appropriating $110,000 from the town’s surplus and transferring it to an off-budget fund called “APL Generator” for the purpose of purchasing a generator at the Acton Public Library. Another big move that residents can approve is an appropriation of $32,000 from the town’s 2023 surplus and its transfer to an off-budget fund called “Proximity Readers.” The purchase of proximity readers and door strikes for 19 locations in Town Hall is something that the town’s safety committee recommended.

“Over the years, we have continually made efforts on safety in the building, and this is just another way to have full public access in the building but yet allowing for office doors to be locked. For instance, the general public is not allowed in the tax collector’s office, but there is a window for service. The proximity readers will fob all employees back into their offices as opposed to using keys, making it easier for them to move around the building for business and personal reasons while the doors lock behind them,” Fortuna explained.

Another key item on the meeting agenda is the recommended appropriation of $85,000 from the town’s 2023 surplus and its transfer to a new fund entitled “Resiliency Efforts” for the purpose of funding the town’s ongoing resiliency efforts.

“[Town Planner] Chris Costa is working on several resiliency projects that require either seed funding or matching grants. The town takes its shoreline resiliency efforts seriously, and this represents funding to allow for that to continue,” Fortuna explained.

The largest item on the agenda is the recommended appropriation of $525,000 from the Town’s 2023 surplus and transfer to the existing off-budget fund “Beaver Dam Trail.”

“Beaver Dam Trail had a culvert blow out in Tropical Storm Ida a few years ago. The replacement is estimated at $1.5 to $2.3 million and will likely take place in 2025,” Fortuna explained. “The town has been awarded 50% funding through the state local bridge program, so this $500,000 represents a down payment towards half the town’s obligation.”

When asked if there were other projects on the meeting agenda that he was particularly excited about, Fortuna pointed to the planned purchase of a generator at the Acton Public Library.

“I think getting a generator at the Acton Library is critical: It is a shelter for the Goodwin School in times of emergency and a heating and cooling center,” he said.

Another project the first selectman mentioned was the continued improvement of Main Street through parking upgrades and crosswalk improvements. A proposed $50,000 is suggested for paving, and $125,000 is proposed for crosswalk upgrades.

Earlier this summer, the inaugural Celebrate Saybrook event was held in downtown Old Saybrook. The event was such a success that Fortuna said the town will begin planning for the 2024 event and is proposing appropriating $25,000 from the town’s 2023 surplus for that purpose.

Finally, Fortuna also highlighted the appropriation of $68,000 for planned Park & Recreation improvements, including resurfacing the Vin Baker Courts ($30,000), irrigation at the Maple Avenue pocket park ($15,000), installing new bleachers at Trask Park ($12,860) and a new scoreboard at McMurray Field ($9,631).

“We are investing more money in Parks and Recreation to finish some projects and upgrade our parks. So many people use our parks, and we have been making significant progress towards upgrades,” Fortuna said.

“Many of these projects are funding capital needs that we will now not have to budget for. In addition, we will be adding significant funding to the Town’s capital non-recurring account, a capital projects savings account — so that we have funding when we need it for future projects,” Fortuna added.

Fortuna said that Old Saybrook was in a unique scenario to be able to spend the money as proposed.

“Less than 25% of the towns in the State of Connecticut assume collection rates at 99%, which is the highest any town assumes. Most assume less. The building department revenue collections were exceeded by several hundred thousand dollars, which does not happen every year. Lastly, the state revenues came in higher than anticipated by a couple hundred thousand. Not every tax year is as solid as 2023 was. We are always monitoring revenues and expenditures in an effort to match them as closely as possible,” Fortuna said.

Other projects on the agenda for the town meeting include:

The appropriation of $150,000 for the town’s share of grant-related expenses for fiscal year 2023.

The appropriation of $250,000 for Sidewalk Construction

The appropriation of $30,000 for vegetation management.

The appropriation of $50,000 for funding excess revaluation costs as a result of the town-wide revaluation that will take place on the October 1, 2023 Grand List.

The appropriation of $50,000 for paving and road maintenance.

The appropriation of $30 for the newly legislated early voting program.

The appropriation of $70,000 for Town Hall HVAC replacement.

The appropriation of $8,000 for Gateway Rent.

The appropriation of $28,027 for the creation of a Gas Boy pump at the Town Garage.

The appropriation of $5,046 for a light pole in the Ambulance parking lot.

The appropriation of $5,400 for purchasing two waste recycle bins.

The appropriation of $340,787.77 for the Town of Old Saybrook Public Schools, which amount represents the surplus in the education budget for fiscal year 2022-’23.