Lyme — A conversation about open space among Lyme officials and the public alike has yielded "philosophical" differences between those who want to save taxpayers money now and those who want to save land for posterity.

A Tuesday public hearing on the $10.97 million proposed 2021-22 town budget also revealed differing priorities among the open space proponents themselves. Some talked about town-owned property as a way to keep out residential developments they say are a drain on services, while others emphasized that it could be used as a way to make room for affordable housing.

Remote attendance by roughly 60 people at the contentious yet polite public hearing was spurred by a Board of Finance decision to reduce the cap on the open space reserve fund from $1 million to $500,000 in the proposed budget.

Board of Finance Chairman Dan Hagan defended the decision by pointing to $4.5 million in savings contained in the general fund balance and several specific reserve funds.

He explained that while the finance board is not against open space — "heavens, no" — its members also acknowledge the coronavirus pandemic has created difficult financial circumstances for some residents.

"And when we looked at how much taxpayer money the town is holding, we thought it excessive for the times we're in right now," he said.

The finance board's budget proposal would pay off the remaining debt from the library and town hall campus project two years early and would keep the 19.95 mill rate unchanged.

Lyme currently boasts 12,000-plus acres of preserved space — a number that represents more than half of the town's land mass.

In a Thursday phone call with The Day, Hagan said lowering the cap and the proposed allocation isn't about being against open space. "It was a philosophical discussion about how much money should the town hold from the taxpayers," he said.

First Selectman Steven Mattson on Thursday also used the word "philosophical" to describe the debate about how much money to keep in savings.

He said one wing believes the town should not keep any more of the taxpayers' money than necessary, while the other wing — which includes the Board of Selectmen — believes more savings is better — "until we reach a point where it's overkill, and we do not think we've reached that point."

About two dozen residents and taxpayers at the public hearing, held to two minutes per speaker by Hagan, gave their perspectives on open space over the course of an hour. Almost all were against lowering the cap. There were eleven letters submitted prior to the meeting in opposition to the reduction.

Carol House, a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Affordable Housing Commission, described the open space reserve fund as "highly valued" by the residents of Lyme.

"This is both a year when some important parcels may come on the market and a year without excessive budgetary shortfalls. In such a year, I think a change of this size in the targeted goal for open space appears to be fairly arbitrary and perhaps capricious," she said.

Several residents said they did not believe it is the finance board's place to make strategic decisions about land use in town.

Melvin Woody put it this way to the finance board: "Seems to me that's the business of the planning commission ... It doesn't seem to be any of your business."

The open space fund as of June 2020 was at $299,619, Mattson said.

According to Mattson, the recommended contribution to the open space fund went through multiple variations throughout this year's budget process. Ultimately, the finance board decided to reduce the allocation from $479,000 to $75,000.

Mattson told The Day that the $1 million cap was discussed by the selectmen three years ago and passed down to the finance board. "There were no concerns expressed for it and we've used it every year since, until this subject came up this year," he said.

Hagan on Thursday said the selectmen set the cap "arbitrarily" and that it was never voted on by the finance board.

"We have not seen any basis for how they derived those amounts and we're going to have those discussions at our first meeting in the new fiscal year in August," he said. He added that the finance board will review the various reserve funds, examine the selectmen's reasoning for the caps, and may increase or lower them.

The public hearing revealed various rationales among residents for keeping the cap at $1 million, including maintaining enough of a savings to be able to jump on key properties in a hot real estate market.

Tina West described current real estate prices as "sky high." She said "even a million dollars as the goal for open space doesn't seem like it would be high enough to respond quickly" when property becomes available that could benefit affordable housing opportunities and the watershed.

Diana Fiske said Lyme's reputation for conservation and its miles of trails was a key consideration when she moved to town seven years ago, describing it as a benefit that has become even more apparent during the pandemic. "A lot of people have taken advantage of getting out of the house by using our open space. And people are coming from other towns to do it because they know about Lyme," she said.

Others looked at the town buying up land as a way to ward off development.

Humphrey Tyler cited the preservation of open space as one of the reasons for low taxes in Lyme. "The average residential house with 2.3 children never produces enough tax revenue to pay for the services it consumes," he said. "The more Lyme grows residentially ... the more services we're going to need. And all we need to do is look at the towns around us that have had to create police departments and that sort of thing, and that's the reason their taxes are higher than ours."

Anthony Irving reiterated the idea of open space as a way to save money in the long run by controlling residential growth. "Now, some folks may not feel it's our responsibility to take on that load, but we have chosen to do it because we as a town feel that is what our character is and how we want to express our character, both now and going into the future," he said.

Though the public hearing agenda included an item for forwarding the budget to town meeting, it was adjourned abruptly after all residents had their chance to speak.

Instead, the finance board held a special meeting Thursday. Hagan said a vote to increase the open space cap to $750,000 and to allocate $220,000 in the proposed budget failed due to a tie vote. Democrats Judith Duran, Jarrod Leonardo and Susan Tyler voted in favor, according to Hagan. The nay votes came from Republicans Hagan, Peter Evankow and Bruce Anderson.

Hagan said the finance board ultimately voted to send the proposed budget to a May 19 annual town meeting with three members in favor and three abstaining. The aye votes came from Hagan, Evankow and Anderson. Duran, Leonardo and Tyler abstained.

The time for the town meeting has not been set. Mattson said state statute allows for motions from the floor during the budget meeting. Items from the budget can be removed but no additions can be made.

e.regan@theday.com