Council adopts school bus camera law

Town Council · Meeting of June 9, 2026

Newington's Town Council adopted a new ordinance authorizing camera enforcement against drivers who pass stopped school buses, carrying a $250 fine per violation. Majority Leader Matthew Plourd read the resolution creating Chapter 339 of the town code; the vote was unanimous. Town Manager Jonathan said police data shows roughly 20 violations a month townwide, a load the department can absorb without new hires, with the system taking practical effect July 1.

The council separately approved $928,230 in supplemental state education aid and 3 percent administrative raises, both unanimously, but deferred a financing decision on a $2,587,500 replacement fire truck. Councilor A.J. Tiniakos called a referendum on emergency apparatus "silly," while officials warned the purchase could push the town close to its $50 million debt ceiling. An assessor's office staffer also outlined a proposed veterans tax exemption expansion covering 13 properties, at an estimated $48,471 cost to the town.

In the full story:

• Public Hearing: School Bus Violation Enforcement Ordinance
• Presentation: Girls Future Firefighter Camp
• Public Participation: Town Center Funding and Housing Density
• Public Participation: Straight Pride Flag Request
• Public Participation: Pool Replacement Committee
• Old Business: Supplemental Education Aid, Administrative Pay Plan, Tax Refunds
• New Business: Fire Station No. 4 Bond Language
• New Business: Veterans' Property Tax Exemptions
• New Business: Fire Truck No. 1 Financing
• New Business: FY2025-26 Year-End Budget Transfers
• Other Business: Appointments, Town Manager Report
• Remarks: Renewed Pride Flag Debate
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,655 words

Source: the Town Council meeting of June 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.

The Full Article

Public Hearing: School Bus Violation Enforcement Ordinance

The public hearing item brought the council to adopt Chapter 339 of the town code, authorizing a municipal school bus violation enforcement system under Connecticut General Statutes Section 14-279c. The proposed ordinance, published as a legal notice ahead of the meeting, sets a $250 fine for drivers who pass a stopped school bus displaying flashing red lights, directs camera systems to record license plates rather than occupants where practicable, and requires citations be mailed within 30 days (60 for out-of-state vehicles). The question before the council was straightforward: adopt the ordinance and a companion amendment to Chapter 13's citation-hearing procedures, or hold it back.

During the public hearing portion, resident Bill McCarthy of 206 Churchill Drive voiced conditional support. "The ordinance for the school bus violations for passing while the lights are flashing, I totally support them," he said, but added he worried the state was "abdicating their responsibility on the judiciary" by pushing a quasi-court function onto municipalities without resources. Town Manager Jonathan later told the council that police data shows an average of four to five violations per week — roughly 20 citations a month — a load he said the department could absorb without new hires, comparing the new citation-hearing-officer role to the town's existing blight appeals officer. He noted only a small percentage of citations are typically appealed.

Councilor Matthew Plourd asked about funding limits on fine revenue and confirmed with Jonathan it flows into the general fund like other fines, generating an estimated $5,000 a month that could offset staffing if a part-time officer is ever needed. Councilor A.J. Tiniakos asked whether the bus technology "only identifies violations" cleanly enough to transfer the same data the state DMV currently receives directly to police — Jonathan said he could not speak to the technical specifics but noted the installed hardware has handled DMV-issued citations for years. Tiniakos separately flagged the ordinance as a trial run ahead of a possible future red-light camera program, which he said could generate "hundreds" of monthly citations townwide and require a more developed appeals process. Councilor Kelly deHaas raised a practical wrinkle: Parks and Recreation summer camps and summer school still use buses on the road even when regular school is out, so violations would not disappear in July and August.

The motion, moved by Plourd and seconded by Deputy Mayor Kim Radda, carried unanimously on a voice vote. The ordinance takes legal effect 15 days after adoption but practically begins July 1; Jonathan said low bus traffic in early summer gives the town time to confirm the citation pipeline works before volume rises around Labor Day.

Presentation: Girls Future Firefighter Camp

Hamden Fire Chief Shelly Carter, invited by Newington's fire chief after the two met at a training event, presented plans for a Girls Future Firefighter Camp coming to Newington July 20-24 at the town's firehouse. Carter said the free, privately funded program (she said she and her husband cover costs out of pocket, supplemented by donations and grants) teaches girls ages 13 to 18 hands-on firefighting, EMS, arson investigation and emergency-management skills, with state police and multi-state fire personnel assisting. She said roughly 25 girls have signed up, including one traveling from Indiana, and that of the camp's alumni over 11 years, about seven have become firefighters, EMTs or paramedics, one became a police officer and others have entered a University of New Haven fire science program. Several councilors, including Nancy Cappello, Radda and Plourd, thanked Carter and asked how residents could support the program; no town funding or vote was involved, as this was an informational presentation.

Public Participation: Town Center Funding and Housing Density

Resident Elena Starr of 44 Windmill Lane raised concerns about a state grant supporting the town's town-center planning initiative, arguing that housing density drives up costs for existing taxpayers. "Newington homeowners already bear the brunt of 72.8 percent of town taxes and the costs are only rising," she said. [01:05:00] Resident Rose Lyons asked for a council update on the grant's intended use and on two unrelated streetscape projects — the Stoddard Avenue and New Britain Avenue/Maple Hill improvements — that she said have stalled for months.

Mayor Jon Trister and Majority Leader Plourd responded that the town-center funds, which Town Manager Jonathan later specified as a $2 million bond commission award, will be guided by the previously adopted Town Center Master Plan, developed through a community steering committee rather than any single "vision" for housing. Plourd said the plan is "not for housing or anything like that. This is for various little fixes to our Town Center to make it more attractive," and encouraged residents to bring concerns on the pending Keeney property development directly to the Town Plan and Zoning Commission, which he said has purview over approving or denying that specific application.

Public Participation: Straight Pride Flag Request

Resident Andre Andreas, giving his address alternately as 76 Fenton Drive and 76 Vincent Drive during the meeting, formally asked the council to fly a "straight pride flag" for the remainder of June and the full year, framing it as equal treatment alongside the Pride flag the town flies. He said he had purchased a flag to donate. Councilor Tiniakos, responding later in the meeting, said he would not support displacing an already-flying flag but credited Andreas for making a "formal request" rather than simply complaining, calling it "the most instructive thing that you could have done." No vote was taken on the request.

Resident Jacob Knowlton of 10 Hillside Street spoke in support of the town's Pride flag, describing being bullied, spat on and called slurs growing up gay in Newington, including an incident "this past fall" at a food truck festival. "It's not for them. It's not for you. It's for the kids that have those things said to them," he said, addressing council members directly but respectfully.

Public Participation: Pool Replacement Committee

Several speakers, including Dana Havens and Bill McCarthy, pressed the council on why the town's Pool Building Committee had paused monthly meetings. Havens argued the committee has enough design information from an earlier Weston & Sampson study to proceed and said continuing to meet carries no direct cost, contrary to what she characterized as committee chair A.J. Tiniakos' framing of the issue in a Facebook exchange. McCarthy, by contrast, said he supports pausing until a firm spending cap is set, recalling the earlier failed referendum proposal as "the Taj Mahal."

Tiniakos, addressing the council directly, said the committee has settled two points — the pools will stay in their current locations and use an updated version of the existing shell design — but cannot proceed further without money for conceptual design work through a request for proposals. He said that work, based on current estimates, would cost $60,000 to $75,000 per pool, or $120,000 to $150,000 total, which the council removed from this year's budget during a tight fiscal cycle. "It's not ready to hit the water yet," Tiniakos said of the plan. Majority Leader Plourd credited Tiniakos for transparency and said the budget cut was made "unanimously on a bipartisan basis." No vote was taken; the item remains paused pending funding.

Old Business: Supplemental Education Aid, Administrative Pay Plan, Tax Refunds

The council read and approved three routine resolutions without debate: a $928,230 increase in appropriations reflecting supplemental state education aid under Public Act 26-68, raising total town appropriations to $156,365,042; the 2026-2027 administrative pay plan reflecting 3 percent raises effective July 1; and $1,018.76 in certified property tax refunds. Councilor deHaas asked whether the supplemental aid becomes part of the state's minimum budget requirement for the schools; finance staff, referred to in the transcript only as Lynn, confirmed it does not. All three motions passed unanimously.

New Business: Fire Station No. 4 Bond Language

Town Manager Jonathan introduced draft bond language for improvements to Fire Station No. 4, explaining the council would formally introduce the resolution at its next meeting, hold a public hearing July 14, and could vote as soon as its second July meeting to place the question on a referendum ballot. He noted the town's financial advisor and an internal debt-capacity analysis both indicate the borrowing would keep the town within its bond rating and debt-capacity policy limits, though with little room to spare once authorized but unissued school debt is factored in. No vote was taken.

New Business: Veterans' Property Tax Exemptions

An assessor's office staff member, identified in discussion only as Danielle, walked the council through several local-option exemptions available under recent state legislation. The headline option would extend the existing 100 percent permanent-and-total veterans exemption to veterans rated "unemployable" due to service-connected disability (TDIU) even without a full disability rating — an estimated 13 Newington properties, with a town tax-revenue impact of about $48,471. Other options discussed included extending exemptions to up to two acres of land (27 properties, $48,178 impact), to surviving spouses of veterans who died before or after October 1, 2024 (about two properties, $10,751), capping total exemptions at the town's median assessed value ($27,130 in added revenue), and exempting Gold Star spouses (no current Newington cases identified). Councilor Matthew Plourd said he has heard from numerous constituents denied the exemption on what he called "semantics," and said the TDIU option "would be very important for us to provide." Deputy Mayor Radda and Councilor Nancy Cappello voiced support. No vote was scheduled; staff will return with further analysis.

New Business: Fire Truck No. 1 Financing

The council's longest substantive debate concerned replacing a 20-year-old ladder truck, now expected to be 24-25 years old by delivery, at a cost of $2,587,500 — about $2,387,500 over the charter's referendum threshold. Town Manager Jonathan laid out a choice between a voter referendum, which would secure a lower bond interest rate (he cited roughly 4 percent on current 20-year double-A municipal bonds) but expose the town to roughly 5 percent annual price escalation during what the fire chief said is now a four-year manufacturing lead time, and a lease-purchase agreement at an estimated 6 percent interest rate that locks in price immediately and does not count against the town's bonded debt capacity. Jonathan noted the town is nearing a self-imposed $50 million debt ceiling under its financial policies, with little room for additional bonded projects until existing debt matures.

Councilor Tiniakos and Majority Leader Plourd both said they favor the lease-purchase route for emergency apparatus. "I think it's silly to have to go to referendum for an emergency vehicle," Tiniakos said, arguing residents facing a fire or crash emergency are not weighing tax implications in the moment. [02:52:55] Plourd said a referendum would also require extensive public education on an unusual budget mechanism and would consume debt capacity he said the town might need elsewhere. No council member present recalled Newington ever taking fire apparatus to referendum before; lease-purchase has been the historical method. No vote was taken; the item returns as old business.

Implications: the financing choice does not change whether the truck is bought, but determines whether Newington voters get a direct say and whether the purchase counts against the town's bonding limits — a limit officials said is now close to being reached.

New Business: FY2025-26 Year-End Budget Transfers

Finance staff member Lauren presented a year-end transfer package covering overtime overruns in the highway department tied to two major winter storms, a retiree vacation payout in Parks administration, and transfers into the equipment reserve, radio-lease line, and tax-revaluation reserve, the latter running a deficit after 2025 revaluation bids exceeded budgeted amounts. The package also proposes a transfer of up to $175,000 into the town's pension fund, continuing a practice the council has followed the past two years. Councilor Plourd asked about a roughly $477,000 shortfall in state Education Cost Sharing (ECS) aid; Town Manager Jonathan said staff would investigate with the state to confirm it is not a systemic issue. No vote was taken; a formal transfer resolution is expected at the next meeting.

Other Business: Appointments, Town Manager Report

The council approved the May 26 minutes 8-0 with one abstention, then appointed Councilor Hilda Nieves, joined by Councilor Kelly deHaas at Minority Leader Gail Budrejko's request for bipartisan representation, as liaisons to the Board of Education's teacher-negotiating committee. Town Manager Jonathan's report covered a $2 million town-center bond commission award, a $617,600 LOTCIP grant to extend sidewalks connecting Vincent Drive to Maple Hill along Cedar Street, and a combined $250,000 regional nutrition-assistance grant shared with Rocky Hill and Wethersfield secured through the town's legislative delegation, including state Sen. Matthew Lesser. He also announced personnel changes: the town's fire marshal is departing after five years, two conditional police officer offers are out, and a new assistant town clerk is starting.

Remarks: Renewed Pride Flag Debate

Public comment on the Pride flag carried into councilor remarks. Majority Leader Plourd delivered an extended statement responding to comments made at the council's prior meeting, which he had missed, defending the flag-raising tradition and asking what distinguishes discomfort with a flag from discomfort encountering LGBTQ neighbors in daily life. Minority Leader Gail Budrejko responded that her objection "is not rooted in politics" but in differing family values around the symbol's current meaning, adding, "I can also treat people with respect... regardless of whether or not they understand something." Both indicated willingness to continue the conversation outside the meeting. No vote or formal action resulted.

WHO WAS THERE

• Mayor Jon Trister, presiding.
• Deputy Mayor Kim Radda, member, moved and seconded several motions.
• Majority Leader Matthew Plourd, member, read multiple resolutions.
• Minority Leader Gail Budrejko, member.
• Nancy Cappello, member.
• Kelly deHaas, member; appointed BOE negotiating-committee liaison.
• Kathy Gonzalez, member; seconded motions.
• Hilda Nieves, member; appointed BOE negotiating-committee liaison.
• A.J. Tiniakos, member; chairs the Pool Building Committee per council discussion.
• Timothy Newton, BOE Liaison per roster: not referenced in the transcript; attendance could not be confirmed.
• Town Manager, referred to only as "Jonathan" in the transcript: surname not given in any supplied source.
• Finance staff member referred to as "Lauren": presented budget transfer memo; title not specified in sources.
• Finance/comptroller staff member referred to as "Lynn": answered a budget question; title not specified.
• Assessor's office staff member referred to as "Danielle": presented veterans exemption data; title not specified.
• The town's fire chief: spoke extensively on fire truck specifications; surname not given in sources.
• Hamden Fire Chief Shelly Carter: outside presenter, Girls Future Firefighter Camp.
• Public commenters: Bill McCarthy (206 Churchill Drive), Elena Starr (44 Windmill Lane), Rose Lyons (46 Elton Drive), Andre Andreas (76 Fenton/Vincent Drive), Dana Havens (113 Stoddard Avenue), Jacob Knowlton (10 Hillside Street), a commenter referred to by council as "Mr. Voigt" whose self-introduction was not clearly captured, and a commenter identified only as "Luis," 482 Churchill Drive.

ORGANIZATIONS AND DOCUMENTS REFERENCED

• Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles: cited as the current issuer of school bus camera citations under existing state process, referenced in the ordinance discussion.
• Weston & Sampson: engineering/design vendor that produced the earlier pool conceptual study cited repeatedly in the pool committee debate.
• Town Plan and Zoning Commission (TPZ): cited by Majority Leader Plourd as the body with jurisdiction over the pending Keeney property development application.
• Public Act 26-68: state legislation cited as authorizing the $928,230 supplemental education aid appropriation and exempting it from the town charter's standard budget-amendment process.
• Public Act 24-46 and Public Act 25-168: state legislation cited by assessor's staff as creating and clarifying the 100 percent permanent-and-total veterans property tax exemption and related local options.
• Newington Town Center Master Plan: cited by multiple councilors as the community-developed document guiding use of the $2 million town-center grant.
• Chapter 13 of the Newington Code (citation hearings): amended alongside the new Chapter 339 school bus ordinance to govern hearing procedure.