Groton Voters May See Two Referendums In November

The Groton Town Council decided Tuesday to go forward with sending two multi-million bond referendums to voters in November.

Councilors voted on the referendum proposals separately.

The first would bond $8 million to $12 million over several years to pay for road projects. A proposed amount will be presented to the council next month. Councilors voted 5-3 to support moving forward, with Councilors Bill Johnson, Bruce Flax and Dean Antipas against. Councilor Rita Schmidt was absent.

The second referendum would bond . Councilors voted 6-2 to send the police department referendum forward, with Mayor Heather Bond Somers and Councilor James Streeter against.

Part of the debate Tuesday was whether the council should wait until it has a united front before seeking voter approval.

Councilor Deborah Peruzzotti said if the council waits for a unanimous vote, it may not get one.

“We owe it to the town to give them choices on what they want to invest their money in,” she said.

The road referendum would seek bonding authority from voters for a certain amount, then borrow that money over time to pay for maintenance and projects.

“I think it’s a better way of doing business,” Town Manager Mark Oefinger said.

Peruzzotti said she believes such a plan would spread the burden out over time and allow taxpayers who live and drive on the roads for the next 20 years to share the cost.

Others disagreed with the approach.

Councilor Flax said the council and Representative Town Meeting vote on whether to pay for roads annually, and if they cut a project, they’ve made their decision.

“That’s the political process at work, and that’s how it’s supposed to go,” he said.

Councilors were also split on whether the town should seek voter approval for the police station renovation.

Mayor Somers said she believes it’s premature to go forward; that more time is needed for the public to learn about the project.

But Flax said if the town is paying for modernization plans, it should use them.

“We’re approving money to do these plans and then we get stalled when we’re trying to move it forward,” he said. “It’s crazy.”