Town Council Votes to Participate in CEN Program

WATERTOWN — The Town Council voted to participate in the Connecticut Education Network ConneCT (CEN) program for infrastructure upgrades and expanded internet access capabilities for Town Hall during its Tuesday, February 18, 2025 meeting.

Town Manager Mark Raimo said the town currently uses Frontier at a cost of about $1100 per month, and there are some reliability issues with the service. It is not a fiber optic line.

The vote to participate in CEN followed a brief presentation on CEN and the ConneCT program by Paul Tarsa, CEN Service Manager. Mr. Tarsa explained CEN was established by the state legislature in 2000.

It is governed by the Commission for Education Technology (CET). It provides K-12 school districts, public universities, and participating municipalities and libraries with a fiber option network. It currently includes 750 members, representing an estimated $30 million in cost avoidance, he said.

CEN’s ConneCT program is currently being offered to municipalities, schools and libraries that are not presently connected to a fiber network.

There are 160 eligible entities, who, if approved for the grant of up to $100,000, would have a fiber optic line built to the specified location using the grant money. This is a limited time offer, Mr. Tarsa said, with money coming from state ARPA funds

CEN provides a minimum of 1 gig service, but can also provide 10 gigs or 100 gigs if necessary. Monthly fees are determined by the level of service being used, The lowest level of bandwidth service is presently priced at $123 monthly, plus a $35 maintenance fee.

The next highest level costs $440 per month, with a $35 maintenance fee. That is the level Mr. Tarsa feels Watertown would use in Town Hall. If the town decided to build out to other municipal locations, those locations would likely use the lower level, but grant funding may or may not be available for fiber connections depending on how many other municipalities choose to sign up under this arrangement.

Town Manager Mark Raimo said the commitment would be for 20 years. The Board of Education has been using CEN for several years and is happy with the service.

During public participation, State Rep. Joseph Polletta updated the council on his intention to try and gather support from other legislators to reverse PA 24-1, a public act that was signed into law last summer. That act provided that motor vehicles would be assessed and taxed at 85% value, rather than the previous rate of 90%.

He said he was one of the legislators who voted against PA 24-1 when it came to a vote, and he is concerned that towns such as Watertown may be losing up to $1 million in taxes on motor vehicles as a result.

PA 24-1 does not impact some municipalities in the same way, as there is still a cap on taxing motor vehicles, set at 32.46. The impact comes when a town’s mill rate is lower than the cap, as does Watertown’s.

Then, vehicles are taxed at the same rate as real estate, and now at the 85% assessment as opposed to the previous 90%.

In other action, the council agreed to have the town participate in the Regional Natural Hazard Mitigation Planning Grant Program through a partnership with the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments.

The town’s cash match amount is $5,300, with $2,632 committed to be funded in both the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years.

The council agreed to apply for a 2025 Connecticut STEAP Grant in an amount up to $1 million for the HVAC system replacement and generator for the police department. The council also agreed to fund the town’s share of the work at $142,325.72.

The council approved the appropriation of $1,136.16 from the General Fund into the Police Overtime Account, with those funds coming from the department’s participation in Homeland Security activities.

The council also appropriated $963.84 from the General Fund into the Police Overtime Account, with those funds received from the State of Connecticut DOT for Click-It-Or-Ticket enforcement.