Weekend Agenda — Connecticut Citizens' Assembly

Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC)

63 High Street, New Haven, CT
on the Yale Campus

OMNI New Haven Hotel

155 Temple Street, New Haven, CT

Day 1

Saturday, July 11, 2026

8:00 AM	Parking at the OMNI New Haven Hotel (overnight and day parking)
8:30 AM	Arrival, Registration and Breakfast LC Room 102
9:00 AM	Session 1: Welcome, Introductions and Opening Remarks LC Room 102 Kenya Rutland, Lead Facilitator, KJR Consulting Sean Scanlon, Connecticut State Comptroller State Representative Maria Horn, Co-Chair, Finance Revenue & Bonding Committee State Representative Vincent Candelora, House Republican Leader Michael E. Morrell, Associate Professor of Political Science, UCONN Hélène Landemore, Professor of Political Science, Yale University
10:25 AM	Break LC Room 196
10:45 AM	Session 2: Overview of Local Government & the Property Tax System LC Room 102 Joe DeLong, Executive Director & CEO, Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM)
11:30 AM	Transition to OMNI Hotel and Lunch OMNI Hotel Ballroom, Mezzanine Level
1:00 PM	Session 3A · Plenary Assembly Self-Governance Selection Kenya Rutland, Lead Facilitator, KJR Consulting Session 3B · Plenary Local Government and Tax Basics OMNI Ballroom Presentation: Property Tax Basics Stephen Ross, Professor of Economics, UCONN Panel Discussion: Municipal Finance and State Policy – Cost Pressures Ben Barnes, Director of Administration & CFO, Stamford; Former Secretary, CT Office of Policy and Management (OPM) Vincent Cervoni, Mayor of Wallingford Kurt Miller, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Seymour Moderated by Jennifer Lineaweaver, Stonington Assessor/CAO President-Elect
2:20 PM	Break OMNI Hotel Ballroom
2:35 PM	Session 4: Expert Engagement OMNI Ballroom – Plenary Kenya Rutland and the KJR Facilitation Team Invited experts onsite
3:30 PM	Session 5: Assembly Values OMNI Ballroom – Plenary Kenya Rutland and the KJR Facilitation Team
4:30 PM	Session 6: Wrap-Up and Preview for Day 2 OMNI Ballroom – Plenary Kenya Rutland, Lead Facilitator, KJR Consulting
5:00 PM	Break for overnight guests to check into hotel rooms Bridge activity for those not staying overnight
6:00 PM	Dinner at BAR New Haven 254 Crown Street, New Haven, CT

Day 2

Sunday, July 12, 2026

8:00 AM	Parking at the OMNI New Haven Hotel (day parking)
8:30 AM	Arrival and Breakfast OMNI Hotel Ballroom
9:00 AM	Opening Remarks and Day 2 Orientation OMNI Hotel Ballroom – Plenary
9:30 AM	Session 1: Expert Perspectives Breakout Sessions OMNI Breakout Rooms Subgroup 1 Revenue Tools and Local Funding Systems – Panel Discussion Neil Ayers, Director of the Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA) Matt Knickerbocker, Former First Selectman, Bethel; Former Town Administrator, Wilton Moderated by Ron Thomas, Former Deputy Director and COO, Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) Subgroup 2 Municipal Services and Service Delivery – Panel Discussion Laura Francis, Executive Director, South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG); Former First Selectwoman, Durham Steve Stephanou, Town Manager, Manchester Mike Walsh, Town Manager, Granby; Former Mayor of East Hartford Moderated by Dustin Nord, Director, CBIA Foundation of Economic Growth & Opportunity
11:00 AM	Break OMNI Hotel Ballroom
11:15 AM	Session 2: The View from Municipalities OMNI Ballroom – Plenary Panel Discussion Mike Freda, First Selectman, North Haven Catherine Iino, Former First Selectwoman, Killingworth Mike Passero, Mayor of New London Moderated by Danielle Chesebrough, Former First Selectwoman, Stonington
12:30 PM	Lunch OMNI Hotel Ballroom
1:30 PM	Session 3: Taking Stock – Mapping What We've Learned and Reviewing Values Kenya Rutland and the KJR Facilitation Team
2:30 PM	Session 4: Assembly Engagement and Make.org Overview Hélène Landemore, Professor of Political Science, Yale University Sulekha Kishore, Ph.D. Student in Social and Engineering Systems, MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS)
3:00 PM	Session 5: Weekend Wrap-Up and Assembly Feedback Kenya Rutland, Lead Facilitator, KJR Consulting Michael E. Morrell, Associate Professor of Political Science, UCONN
3:45 PM	Adjourn: Ice Cream at Ben & Jerry's 159 Temple Street, next door to OMNI

Questions

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