Daily Five: Budget Discussions Begin Shortly

1.  Today is Thursday, Jan. 19.  We may get a dusting of snow tonight.  The National Weather Service predicts increasing clouds, a high temperature of 37 degrees and a chance of rain and snow showers before 3 a.m. The low will fall to 29 degrees, and the chance of precipitation is 50 percent.

2.  The Board of Education will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. on Jan. 30 in the Town Hall Annex, to review the proposed 2012-13 budget.  The school board has asked to meet jointly with the Town Council immediately prior to the budget meeting. During the last couple of years, the council has also held a pre-budget public hearing to hear from residents. The hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 in the Town Hall Annex.

3.  The where Businesses can buy parking vouchers for their customers at a cost of $1 per hour, plus tax. People leaving the lot then swipe the credit card they used to get in, then swipe the voucher to take time off the ticket.

4.  has won the 2012 Excellence in Public Library Service Award from the Connecticut Library Association and Connecticut State Library. The award judged nominations across the state in areas like service to community, creativity in programs and leadership through creation of programs that can be used by other libraries. Bill Memorial is the smallest and oldest of Groton's three libraries, and has a staff of two full-time employees and a budget of less than $200,000. The library will receive the award at the library association conference on May 8 at the Mystic Marriott.

5.  R. Peter Ledger, Groton's former Director of Parks and Recreation, has died. Ledger served as director of the department from 1965 until 1984, and as acting town manager from Sept. 24, 1977 until Feb. 27, 1978.  "He was an absolute joy to work with," Town Manager Mark Oefinger told the Town Council Tuesday. Ledger died on Nov. 19 at age 75.