Goshen Board of Selectmen

9/9/2025
Present:  Todd Carusillo, Scott Olson, Dexter Kinsella

Note: This article includes a correction from the print edition, which misidentified Region 20 Supt. Jeffrey Villar. 

A flurry of longstanding issues received major updates in the meeting.

Carusullo said he met earlier in the day with Region 6 superintendent Jeffrey Villar to deliver the first check from the Memorandum of Understanding to pay down outstanding debt from the transition. 

Additionally, Olson relayed an encouraging update on the situation after talking to Region 20 CFO Julia Cardillo. “She let me know that all of the outstanding debt that we had been concerned about has actually been paid off. She’s been very creative in how she’s been able to go about doing that. … We’re not 100 percent out of the woods, but right now things are a lot better than they were.”

Olson also noted, “I would anticipate seeing all of that debt showing as a zero balance.”

The Library Board (LB) authority issue was also discussed, ultimately resulting in needed clarification as to who holds the supervisory authority over the Library Director. A vote earlier in the summer gave the responsibility to the First Selectman, as opposed to the LB. The LB sought to reverse the change so wording could be clarified. Collectively the LB supervises the director, not the BOS. Jones, clarified this in a conversation with GN after the meeting saying, “the LB has the responsibility to make recommendations of hiring and firing to the first selectman who then…..(may) implement those recommendations. The 1st Selectman is the CEO of the town, and therefore ex -officio on every single board. He is the HR of the town, and he has the ultimate hiring and firing responsibility.

“Let the minutes clearly reflect that we are not giving any authority to the LB president. Because that authority never existed to begin with,” Olson said.

Ground was also finally gained on the School Hill Road tank farm project. Residents Sarah and Michael Leonard, as well as Melissa Wright, had been fighting against the permit, in part because of wetlands concerns. The board admitted there had been an oversight.

“The application had been approved by our building inspector for upgrades to the tank property … but Spencer (Musselman) told (the owners) over a month ago, sometime in mid-to-late July, that it was going to have to go before Inland Wetlands before the application could proceed,” Olson said. “You’re correct that the application should not have been approved until that was done.

To prevent similar issues in the future, Musselman is going to be working with “PermitLink,” which will build a checks and balances system with permitting.

“I started this journey in June, and I got here now in September and finally got the information” Sarah Leonard said. “Residents of Goshen should not be the ones pointing out that we need a wetlands permit for certain properties.

Mike Leonard stated “There’s no accountability…(between) town officials and boards … people just making decisions without proper protocol.”

9/16/2025
Present:  Todd Carusillo, Scott Olson
Absent: Dexter Kinsella

The meeting devolved at the end, with Carusillo abruptly ending things after Library board member Lynette Miller took exception to comments the First Selectman had made to The Goshen News (GN).

Miller took the podium during public comment. At one point, claiming Carusillo gave a “creative story” to GN about Linda Benedict’s removal as Library Director.

She initially asked for more than the two minutes allotted for public comment, which Carusillo wouldn’t allow. She then began asking other participants if they would lend their time to her, because she needed “at least 12 minutes.”

Once Carusillo reiterated she had two minutes, she began speaking. “So we all heard last week from Scott Tillman, who attested to Mr. Carusillo’s creative story about what actually occurred and what was untrue and what was presented publicly. Today, it is my opportunity to point out some lies from our First Selectman.”

It was at that point Carusillo cut her off and said “That's enough for that. I'm not gonna have –” before he cut the audio and video for the Zoom feed.

The draft meeting minutes stated that "Lynette Miller at this time, became unruly using vulgar disrespectful language. The audience then became unruly, wherein First Selectman, Todd Carusillo, was forced to ‘adjourn’ the meeting to regain some uniformity, order.” (GN has independently corroborated Carusillo’s narrative regarding the firing of Benedict and his meeting with members of the LB following Benedict’s termination).

9/23/2025
Present:  Todd Carusillo, Scott Olson, Dexter Kinsella

The meeting minutes from Sept. 16 drew a contentious debate over free speech, with the motion to approve ultimately failing. Olson read aloud how the interaction between Miller and Carusillo unfolded according to the minutes. He then disputed them.

Olson then offered his assessment of what took place.

“I don't recall at any time (Miller) becoming unruly. I certainly know, with absolute certainty, that there was no vulgar or disrespectful language. I can't imagine that any language she used could be misinterpreted as being vulgar or disrespectful…

The audience was exceptional. Textbook behavior from people who attend public meetings. Where it says you were forced to adjourn the meeting after you shut off the audio portion, but the video remained: I remember, and correct me if I'm wrong, I remember explicitly you asking for a motion to adjourn. And I said to you, ‘I'm not going to give you a motion to adjourn.’

Carusillo responded: “I disagree with you. She did use disrespectful language.” Kinsella ultimately abstained from voting on minutes approval because he was absent on the 16th, but did agree with Olson. The motion failed because Olson and Carusillo disagreed on how to change verbiage in the Sept. 16 minutes..

Public comment followed shortly thereafter, in which Miller shared the remarks she planned to read the week before.

Her statement said, in part, that Carusillo “has a track record of presenting and publishing falsehoods about me and others. His videotape from the camera in his office will bear out his false statements about my husband, as well.” She wrapped up her comments by saying, “Lastly, Mr. Carusillo, you are a liar.” “There goes the language again,” Carusillo responded.

9/30/2025
Present:  Todd Carusillo, Scott Olson, Dexter Kinsella

A debate, albeit a far briefer one, over the previous week’s minutes kicked off the meeting for the second straight week.

Kinsella disagreed with the use of quotation marks that said Miller “continued to be rude and disrespectful” during her public comment remarks.

The minutes were approved unanimously after it agreed to remove the quotation remarks.

Miller would later return during public comment to criticize Carusillo, saying she would continue to do so until the election.

Carusillo reported a payment of $215,501.85 that was the result of the September Town Meeting to approve the repayment of Region 6 liabilities. The funds get paid to Region 20, Carusillo explained, which then pays the Region 6 bills. Town attorney Chip Roraback is drafting an ordinance needed for Goshen to enter into an interlocal agreement with Warren and Morris. The ordinance would formalize how the towns fund Region 6 legacy pension obligations.

“We have to make an ordinance that we are going to pay this debt down, or pay the pension debt and the future debt,” Carusillo said. “Chip will rewrite it to protect Goshen, and then we’ll go from there. We’ll have to go to a town meeting and vote on that again.” Roraback is also nearing the end of his term as town attorney. There had been multiple responses to the RFP (request for proposal) for a replacement. Carusillo ultimately appointed Kevin Nelligan, who has offices in Winsted and Canaan, to a one-year term.

Though Olson initially asked for more time to review the proposed contract, Carusillo said it mirrored Roraback’s, with the term being the only difference. The motion then passed unanimously.

“Provided that that’s the case,” Olson said of the contract, “And it will be Kevin Nelligan – not an associate in his office that would be representing us – but it would certainly be Kevin Nelligan, I will certainly second and support that.”