Officials are close to adopting a new “gift policy” that’s designed to streamline the process by which individuals and companies write checks or otherwise donate to the town, bringing full transparency and order to a practice that some say has grown difficult to track and manage.
As it is, New Canaan has scores of what are called “special funds” which hold “hundreds of thousands of dollars—money all over town—and it was becoming unwieldy” with “a plethora of funds unnecessarily,” Selectman Nick Williams said Tuesday.
“At the very least we need full transparency,” Williams said at a special meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department. “There should be a list of every dollar, every piece of stock given to this town during the course of the year.”
The selectmen reviewed a draft policy that would see: monetary donations up to $5,000 (or gifts of equal value) accepted by the first selectman and reported to the Board of Selectmen; $5,001 to $50,000 approved by the selectmen; and more than $50,000 approved by the Town Council following recommendation by the selectmen.
It also specifies a process by which a naming or dedication is attached to a gift, and includes this sentence: “Any gifts to the Board of Education which directly impact on Town-owned property shall be reviewed in accordance with this policy and its administrative procedures.”
First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said the draft policy emerged with help from the town’s finance director and legal counsel, and highlighted that it would ensure “that the groups that are donating can feel confident that if in fact these funds not used in a pd of time they just don’t go away, they actually come before us and we have the right to keep them directed toward what their intention was.”
The selectmen postponed to a future meeting their formal adoption of the policy, following some recommendations by Selectman Beth Jones. Namely, Jones said that if special funds themselves are approved by the selectmen, then department heads—rather than selectmen—should be empowered to accept the gifts and report (say, quarterly) back to the town. She also emphasized that, even if donors who wish to remain anonymous do not have their names made public, a committee must be in a position to know just who is giving what to the town, so as to avoid impropriety in appearance or practice.
“I think there should be some kind of wording that says, especially for established funds that have already been approved—maybe they have to be approved by the selectmen to establish them—but once maybe once they’re established and approved, then the money should be acceptable to those funds without having to go through the first selectman,” Jones said.
The selectmen are scheduled to meet Aug. 18.