Great news! The Town Council passed the proposed Ethics Ordinance on October 8, 2025! This huge accomplishment was a direct result of engaged public support, constructive input, and the Councilors' commitment to doing what is best for the town. Thank you for your hard work and diligence!

The next step for the ordinance to become effective is for the Mayor to sign it. We urge him to do so, and we ask our supporters to join us in urging its final approval.

Q: Why do we need an Ordinance and a Commission? Does the Town Charter cover us in these situations?
A: The Town Charter has provisions which cover Investigation and Conflicts of Interest. The Charter does not outline specifically what constitutes a Conflict of Interest, and also requires the Town Council to vote to perform an Investigation. 

Nearly 80% of towns in Connecticut have an Ethics ordinance or Code of Ethics, but Ledyard has not. 
Establishing a Code of Ethics to protect our town, as many of our neighboring towns have done, will safeguard us from future unscrupulous behavior and set the standard for what our town considers financial benefit and conflict of interest.

Q: Who does this Ordinance apply to?
A. As it is written, this Ordinance applies to all Town officials, elected or appointed, including all members of committees, commissions, and boards, and all Town employees, including Board of Education members and employees. Some provisions, such as the disclosure statement in Section 6, only apply to Town Councilors, Board of Education members, and the Mayor.

The Ordinance only pertains to ethical misconduct relating to financial benefit of the Respondent. Complaints are filed under penalty of false statement. The Ordinance cannot be used to file a complaint against someone if they are unhappy with a decision or unhappy with the service they have received at a town office or event. After a complaint is received, the process to determine Probable Cause is entirely confidential, and any complaints that are unwarranted and have no Probable Cause will be dismissed and remain confidential.

You can view letters sent to town council at the Admin Committee 9/10 Agenda.
​

Why is the upgrade needed? 

The police department has moved to the statewide digital system. The fire departments are currently trying to do the same. Most of Ledyard's mutual aid partners in the region either have or are in the process of migrating to that system. The fire departments already received grant-funded radios to move to the system. The dispatch side of the department was not eligible under the same grant. 

The move to the digital system will provide better radio coverage to the fire departments and allow seamless interface with mutual aid responses both into and out of town, which are essential during larger incidents, such as building fires and larger rescues.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health cites poor communication abilities as one of the leading contributing factors to firefighter line-of-duty injuries and deaths. An improved communication system will help improve the safety of our town's emergency response personnel.

From Councilor Jessica Buhle: "The system is very outdated and requires a lot of redundant entries to include all required information for reporting. The new requested system would be up to date, more efficient for officers and dispatch, and collaborate with other local departments. It is a need that was requested in the Police Capital funding that we tried to address through Congressionally Directed Spending instead of taxpayer levy, and our application was selected for funding and passed appropriations.


What happens next?
From Councilor Jessica Buhle:
"I have reached out to Senator Murphy’s office to see if there are any plans to fund this in the future. It was included in last year's budget. We funded $45,000 last year as insurance in case we weren’t awarded the grant. We will discuss adding the needed funding to this year’s budget after there is a chance to discuss with Chief Rich and the finance committee."

Exciting things are happening at #LedyardTownCouncil!

​Thank you to Town Councilor Carmen Garcia Irizarry for her hard work to bring the Food Scrap Recycling Pilot Program to Ledyard!

The new, free food scrap recycling pilot program began July 30th, 2024.

Residents can bring their food waste to the Transfer Station and deposit them in one of the bins specifically marked for food waste. Blue Earth will pick up the food waste weekly.

The program is free to all town residents with a proof of residency.

Starter kits are available at the Transfer Station and during the Ledyard Farmers Market on Wednesday, August 21st, 2024 from 4-7pm on the Town Green.

The first 100 residents will get a roll of 25 compostable bags and a larger 6-gallon bin to place food scraps for free by visiting the Transfer Station (www.ledyardct.org/191/Transfer-Station).

Starter kits are not required in order to participate.

Let’s make this program a success and let’s divert out of the regular waste stream as much food as possible. Thank you for your participation!

​More information:
Ledyard spends more than $1,000,000 per year on trash pick up and that number is only going to increase as time goes on. With the closure of some of the waste-to-energy plants in the state, CT sends out to other states 800 to 900 thousand tons of trash, due to lack of capacity available on the remaining waste to energy plants. Food waste is a big portion of our trash and it adds a lot of weight. We can all help address this problem!

More information:
Read more at the Day
or at LedyardCT.org

1. Article Ten of CT's State Constitution deals with Home Rule, and establishes that the Assembly
shall “delegate such legislative authority as from time to time it deems appropriate to towns, cities and
boroughs relative to the powers, organization, and form of government”. This includes telling the
towns how they can tax to generate revenue. Currently, Property Taxes are the only form of tax town
governments are allowed to levy to generate revenue for themselves. This tax comes in 2 forms: Real
Property (like your house) and Motor Vehicles.

2. Connecticut General Statutes, Title 12, Taxation, covers the process by which property assessment
and taxation occurs. CT’s Fiscal Year runs from 7/1/2023 to 6/30/2024.

a. Chapter 203, §12-55 requires the Assessor to “publish the grand list for their respective towns”
by 31 January each year following the assessment process. §12-62a tells assessors to use 70% of
the property value as the assessed value.

b. Chapter 204, §12-122 requires that, “Upon completion of the work of the board of assessment
appeals and of the final assessment list, the town shall levy a tax on such list…” Ledyard’s Town
Council fixed the Mill Rate on 6/14 of this year, after the budget passed.

c. “Municipal Authority to Tax Property," a report by the Office of Legislative Research is a
great summary of how this system got to be the way it is and how it works (5 pages).

d. The maximum Mill Rate for Motor Vehicles is 32.46. It is set by statute. This OLR report is a
great quick history on the Motor Vehicle Tax.

4. A Mill is $1 for every $1,000 assessed. Think ‘milli’, as in ‘thousandth’ in the metric system. For
example, if my house was appraised at $250,000, the assessment would be for 70% of that, or
$175,000. With a Mill Rate of 34.56 (or 34.56 dollars per 1,000 dollars), the property tax on my
house would be: ($175,000) x (34.56/1000) = $6048. And if my car is assessed at $10,000, I will get
a tax bill of (10,000) x (32.46/1000) = $324.60.

Sources:
Estimated Populations in Connecticut as of July 1, 2021. State of Connecticut, Department of Public
Health, Health Statistics and Surveillance, Surveillance Analysis and Reporting Unit. This is a town
by-town population count, based off the 2020 Census.
Mill Rates. State of Connecticut, Office of Policy Management. This is a town-by-town listing of Mill
Rates. This page also has the definition of Mill Rate.

This week, four signs belonging to a known white supremacist group, Patriot Front, were found attached to utility poles along route 12 (two in Ledyard and two in Preston near the Ledyard town line). We thank the residents who removed the signs, reported them to law enforcement, and notified the Ledyard Town Council.

These signs, and the groups they represent, have no place in Ledyard. We appreciate Town Councilor Naomi Rodriguez's statement at Wednesday's meeting. Rodriguez’s statement was the strongest, clearest message on the subject that we've heard from any elected official in town.

However, we were painfully disappointed by Mayor Allyn and the Council Chair, whose weak response did not address the issue. Mayor Allyn said nothing about the matter at the meeting. Council Chair Kevin Dombrowski lamented that he "didn’t know what else" the Council could do, and lost his temper when a resident spoke up. 

MUST-WATCH VIDEO OF THE MEETING IS AVAILABLE AT LEDYARDCT.ORG.

Additionally, when the attendees left the meeting, they heard the shocking news that State Representative Maryam Khan was physically assaulted in front of her family following an Eid al-Adha service. We thank the Hartford Police for quickly apprehending the suspect and wish Representative Khan a speedy recovery.

When local governments fail to act and project a false sense of powerlessness, they create a climate where groups like Patriot Front feel emboldened, residents feel unsafe, and attacks like the one in Hartford are more likely to occur. Other towns across the state have also recently encountered similar incidents and their local governments have acted in powerful ways to take further action (e.g., Middletown). They provided educational opportunities for residents, coordinated with law enforcement agencies, and sent a clear, public message that such behavior is unwelcome there, even if the content of the materials does not strictly violate any laws. We expect a better response, and so should the residents of Ledyard. In the meantime, we encourage residents who discover such materials to document their appearance and promptly report them to local law enforcement.

UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES 
May 15: Town Meeting, 7 pm in the Town Hall Annex Council Chambers: gathered residents will vote to approve the budget and send it to referendum
May 16: Referendum  ️VOTE️ on the budget, at Town Hall Annex, 6 am - 8 pm 

Ledyard's proposed budget for the next fiscal year is available for viewing on the Town website at: ledyardct.org/proposed-annual-budget. It is also available in the Town Clerks’ Office at Town Hall. 

For questions or comments, you may send your input, ideas, questions, and thoughts to: BOE@ledyard.net, mayor@ledyardct.org, council@ledyardct.org, and towncouncil@ledyardct.org.

The Ledyard Democratic Town Committee thanks all who worked on this year’s town budget and encourages all residents to vote in favor of it on Tuesday, May 16th, 2023! 

Eligible residents may also vote by absentee ballot and are encouraged to contact the Town Clerk at 860-464-3229 for information about obtaining an absentee ballot. 

• Creating this budget is a difficult and lengthy process due to competing demands and limited resources. 
• We are grateful for the efforts of the School District and Town employees in drafting a responsible budget. 
• We appreciate the BOE members and Town Councilors who carefully reviewed and explained it. 
• We are especially thankful to Senator Cathy Osten and State Representative Kevin Ryan, whose support of state budgets ensures that we can continue to receive essential services and plan for future improvements. 

For years, Ledyard has failed to aggressively broaden its tax base. This year, 95% of our revenue is solely from residential property tax, with no relief in sight. 

️Our taxes continue to go up while much-needed improvements in education and infrastructure are left below the cut-off line and dependent almost entirely upon state aid. 

️We are paying more, while dreams of a better vision for Ledyard are often left until the next budget cycle. 

It is a cycle that punishes current homeowners and disincentivizes people from moving here. 
️We must find ways to broaden our revenue streams and attract new residents if we are to grow and thrive as a community.

️Despite the proposed budget’s shortcomings, *it will be cut even more if the vote fails*. For the moment, the bump in taxes to ensure we receive critical services is worth it. 

️Moving forward, we must rethink our revenue to build a more attractive, affordable Ledyard.

Did you miss the Ledyard Budget Hearing? 
Watch the meeting video at this link!
​
Find Ledyard Budget Hearing meeting minutes here 
​(scroll down to Town Council-April 17)

GALES FERRY INTERMODAL
CASHMAN DREDGING AND MARINE CONTRACTING CO., LLC
1761 ROUTE 12
GALES FERRY, CONNECTICUT
OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC
AN INFORMATIONAL MEETING REGARDING THE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF A SOLID WASTE FACILITY WILL BE HELD AT:
LEDYARD HIGH SCHOOL, 24 GALLUP HILL ROAD,
LEDYARD, CT 06339
IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND IN THE PERSON THEN YOU CAN USE THE FOLLOWING INTERNET ADDRESS (ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM):
https://loureiro.zoom.us/.../tZEscu...
ON
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2022 7:30 pm
RSVP IS OPTIONAL. YOU CAN EMAIL ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO Susan Marquardt AT srmarquardt@loureiro.com AND CHASE DAVIS AT CDAVIS@JAYCASHMAN.COM
THE PROJECT WEBSITE, www.galesferryintermodal.com, HAS MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT.
AGENDA FOR THE INFORMATIONAL MEETING WILL BE:
(1) GENERAL INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
(2) INTENDED PURPOSE AND NEED FOR GALES FERRY INTERMODAL FACILITY
(3) PROPOSED OPERATION AND LAYOUT OF FACILITY
(4) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
(Emailed from: Laurie Briggs
Administrative Assistant
Loureiro Engineering Associates, Inc. | An Employee Owned Company
100 Fort Hill Road, Suite 3, Groton, CT 06340 | O:860.448.0400)

The CT League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV) recently released its annual scorecard, grading all CT legislators on bills considered important to the CTLCV. The results were summarized in a recent article from The Day.

Local Democrats: 

•  Senator Cathy Osten scored 93%
•  Representative Chris Conley scored 90%
•  Rep. Kevin Ryan scored 100%

Local Republicans: 

•  Rep. Greg Howard scored 73%
•  Rep. Brian Lanoue received a dismal score of 17%
•  Rep. Mike France earned a score of 18% and a spot in the ‘Out of Sync With the Environment’ group

Representatives Howard, France, and Lanoue all voted against the CT Clean Air Act - one of the biggest steps the state has ever taken to combat climate change. (Read more in The CT Mirror) 

Working at the state level to combat climate change and protect our natural resources with smart policies like those highlighted by CTLCV is a goal we can all share, especially in light of the recent heat wave that swept the state. 

Joanne Kelley, Ledyard BOE member, said “Since the beginning of Covid in March 2020, I have heard from concerned parents, educators and medical professionals about the impact that the pandemic has had on the emotional well-being of our children…The existing resources in this area are not adequate - we must create something that does not exist. There is not one thing on the current proposed list that I think is as important as this or more appropriate for use of these funds.”

Dr. Adrienne Parad, Ledyard parent, said “We have an opportunity to utilize the ARPA funds to make a meaningful positive impact on our community for years to come…We need to delegate these special funds to invest in our future…For our town to continue to thrive, we need to invest in our health and well-being.”

Read more about this issue: 

• Children with psychiatric needs are overwhelming hospital emergency departments in CT (CT Mirror)
• Stories of the year: In midst of pandemic, many children were in a mental health crisis (Courant)
• ‘They’re deeper into crisis:’ Doctors worry about mental health toll of pandemic isolation on children and teens, increased risk of suicide (Courant)

Councilor Mary McGrattan reported that the walkway between the senior center and senior housing is no longer safe.  The Ledyard Rotary will be replacing it! 

Mary also reported from Ledyard Interchurch Emergency Assistance Fund - the board approved grants for 9 Ledyard families last year to help with rent and household necessities. Unite CT and other government programs are ending, while there is an uptick in need for rental assistance. 

Councilor Naomi Rodriguez noted that there will be a celebration of life ceremony honoring Linda Davis on April 2, at Ledyard High School, 12-3 pm. 

Councilor Marshall recognized the work of Gales Ferry Fire Chief Tony Saccone for his advocacy that succeeded in the passage of a new law that protects fire police. Read about it here:

• Fire police celebrate new law, with local roots, that expands first responder protections

 
Much more was discussed! 
Click here to watch the video of the full meeting.

​Send your input, ideas, questions, and thoughts to: BOE@ledyard.net, jhartling@ledyard.net, mayor@ledyardct.org, council@ledyardct.org, and towncouncil@ledyardct.org.