Dunn says Brookfield ‘doesn’t deserve’ threats of violence

(Story updated on Wednesday afternoon, April 3, to include comments from Fern Smenyak).

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – First Selectman Steve Dunn says that even with today’s vast digitization it is “very difficult” to track the recent “bomb threats” sent via e-mail and social media messages that have been directed at the local schools and municipal buildings, forcing them to close for one day.

He said in an interview with Patch.com that some of the messages have come from “anonymous web sites” and then the alleged perpetrators “erase all record of that e-mail address in Russia” as state and federal authorities seek to trace them.

What has prompted this activity?

“I think there is a national effort to ban books,” commented Dunn in an interview with Patch.com. “It has happened in Brookfield. The local rhetoric has been vociferous. It has generated some national attention.”

“My opinion is: Brookfield is better than this,” he added. “We don’t deserve those kinds of activities going on in our town.”

Dunn said that over the recent days that after evacuating the buildings and combing them for bombs following the first threats on Friday, March 8, state and federal authorities have indicated that the subsequent messages are “not credible.”

He remarked, “We never treat threats as idle,” noting that there has been “heightened security” by local police in the schools and municipal buildings.

“The expenses to address this are not {extreme]” the first selectman said. “We’re going to keep this town safe. However, we’re not going to let a few people with misguided intentions, at best, to dictate how we’re going to run our schools.”

On a separate issue. Dunn, a Democrat, said the Board of Selectmen is seeking to find an alternate location for the proposed communications tower on Long Meadow Hill Road that will be “further away” from Brookfield high School (BHS).

A number of residents, including some who live on Long Meadow Hill Road, expressed opposition to the tower placement during the March 4 regular meeting of the board. They cited potential health risks and lower property values.

Dunn commented that it was “too close” to the residents and BHS. “We’re looking at property behind the high school. The farther that you are from the tower the less risk you have from the radiation.”

He said the tower has to be built, noting that he agrees with comments by Police Chief John Puglisi and fire officials at the March 4 meeting that current communication system is inadequate.

“The emergency personnel do not have the coverage that they would like to have, particularly in being able to communicate with the hospital,” Dunn explained.

He noted that residents should be aware that by going to property not owned currently by the town the annual costs for the project would be about $90,000 higher.

On another subject, Dunn said he is pleased with the Board of Finance’s proposed $87.45 million budget, which will go to a public hearing in April, the special town meeting on Tuesday, May 7, and then to a referendum on Tuesday, May 21.

The proposal includes $22.749 million for town government services, $52.896 for the Board of Education, $8.779 million for debt service and $2.96 million for capital projects.

The package represents a 6.19 percent increase over current spending and would raise taxes by 3.87 percent for the fiscal year that starts on July 1.

“There is a very good chance of the budget being passed in the first referendum,” said Dunn, who was elected last November to his second tenure as first selectman. He previously served from 2015-2021.

He said that for decades the residents have approved budgets with tax increases of up to four percent. He praised the Board of Finance for doing a “phenomenal job” in assembling the spending plan.

In a phone interview, Other Selectmen, Bob Belden, who was Dunn’s running mate last fall, said. “The budget has been scrubbed about as well as I have ever seen it scrubbed between what the Board of Education did, what the Board of Selectmen did, what the town controller did and what the Board of Finance did.”

Belden is a former chairman of the Board of Finance and of the Board of Education.

Other Selectman Tarr Carr, a Republican, stated in an e-mail statement to Patch.com that she voted against the Board of Selectmen’s proposed budget in February and opposed the proposal approved by the Board of Finance since it made “very few changes.”

“It is still a significant increase and the hard-working taxpayers of this town who are already struggling should not be responsible for the large burden and debt that the town continues to take on,” Carr wrote. “Taxes at this point in time should not be increasing and our residents know that.”

Carr cited a recent report at the WRKI (I-95) FM radio web site by morning air personality Lou Milano on how the cost of living in Brookfield is higher than the national average.

The tax mill rate increased in each of Carr’s two years as first selectman.

She told Patch.com last August that the town had a re-evaluation of property values during her first two months in office. The tax increase for the fiscal year that ends in June was 3.786 percent on a budget that was approved during Carr’s final year in office.

Carr, who served as first selectman from 2021 to 2023, wrote that there were other parts of the proposed 2024-2025 fiscal year Board of Selectmen’s package that she disagreed with.

She stated that, ““Mr. Dunn is leaving our town at risk by firing our Human Resources Director. In theory this should have helped Mr. Dunn keep the budget in a place where taxes didn’t need to go up, but yet, here we are facing an increase.”

Longtime Human Resources Director Fern Smenyak was informed on December 7, the third day of Dunn's current term, that she was being terminated. She told Patch.com in an e-mail message that she was not given a reason for the termination.

Smenyak said during public comment at the January selectmen's meeting that it was done in response to efforts by Dunn near the end of 2021, during his previous tenure as first selectman, regarding pension benefits that he was seeking. Patch.com has reported that Smenyak said she only "enforced the rules."

Dunn has said at a selectmen's meeting that the termination was not done for political reasons.

Smenyak stated in the e-mail message that, "My position was eliminated in the 2024-2025 budget. Dunn stated previously in one of the news articles that my termination had nothing to do with the budgetary restraints. He once again refused to say why I was terminated but said it had nothing to do with the budget. Conveniently, my position is eliminated in the 2024-2025 budget."

There has been criticism during the public comment portion of some Board of Selectmen meetings on Dunn's decision. Some of those speakers also praised Smenyak’s work since she was hired under Republican former First Selectman Bill Tinsley in 2014.

Kendra Baker of The News-Times of Danbury has reported that Smenyak has filed a “wrongful termination” lawsuit regarding her dismissal.

Dunn said that, at least for the time being, he is helping to oversee the Human Resources Department in conjunction with long-time Human Resources assistant Lisa Delp, who, he added, “Is doing a great job.”

Carr stated that Dunn has not properly managed the municipal government.

“An example of a position removal a few years ago (Information Technology Director) now has Steve scrambling to get the help in the IT department he thinks is necessary,” she wrote. “His pattern is not a smart way to budget.”

In a separate e-mail interview, Dunn wrote, “The Town and Board of Education have agreed to merge their IT departments. The BOE Director of IT will be the new head of the combined team. The current Director of IT for the town will remain as head of IT for the town and will report to the new Director of IT for both the town and Board of Education. In addition, we will be hiring a part time IT technician who will work for both the town and the Board of Education.”

He added, “Given the increased awareness that we need to have very secure systems, the need to maintain those systems and most importantly, provide bench strength and redundancy in our staffing and always have staff on site and available to address emergencies that might arise.”

Said Belden, “I’ve been advocating for consolidating the Information Technology operation for five years.”

On another topic, Dunn said that since Brookfield has added more housing with the development of the 198-acre Brookfield Town Center near the Four Corners intersection of Federal Road, the town will add “a new patrol officer” in January. He indicated that there have been more calls to the municipal police. However, he said that the crime rate has not risen and Brookfield remains a safe community.

However, he said that under the revised federal Police Accountability Act there is, “Increased need for documentation from police officers.”

According to CT DATA, Brookfield was tied with Norwalk for the fifth highest per capita population growth in Connecticut from 2010 to 2020, increasing 6.5 percent from 16,452 to 17,528. The municipalities with larger increases were, in order, Salisbury at 12.1 percent; Stamford at 10.5 percent; Cornwall at 10.4 percent; and Danbury at 7 percent.

On other fiscal issues, Dunn said the town currently has a fund balance of more than 16 percent – perhaps the highest in its 236-year history. It has maintained its AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor’s.

He commented that the rating agencies are looking for municipal governments to maintain a fund balance of 15 to 20 percent. He said a generation ago the goal had been in the 10 to 12 percent range.

Dunn said the pensions for the municipal employees are 101 percent funded. He said 80 percent or above is considered excellent.

He praised the state government for installing fiscal guardrails that have helped reduce its pension debut. The March 2018 report from the state Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Competitiveness reported the pensions were only 29 percent funded, one of the lowest rates in the country.

State Comptroller Sean Scanlon (D-Guilford) told Patch.com last year that the state employee pensions were 52 percent funded.

However, Dunn said the state will likely continue to face fiscal challenges. He noted that its entertainment industry is not as vibrant as it was a generation ago. The two Native American casinos in the eastern part of state face competition from casinos in Yonkers, N.Y. and Springfield, Mass. ESPN remains strong but is facing the challenge of adapting to live-steaming options.

He also commented that some towns in Connecticut are not willing embrace increased economic development since people move there because they are “residential, rural and non-commercial.”

On a separate issue, Dunn said the Board of Selectmen will appoint a committee within months to study options for either building a new police headquarters or expanding the existing facility on Silvermine Road. That issue was a prime topic during the 2023 municipal election campaign.

He said it also will be forming a panel to study the future of Center Elementary School, which closed after the end of the last academic year and was ceded from the Board of Education to the town last September.

A previous ad-hoc panel spent more than a year studying future uses and recommended moving the public library into the building and using parts of the remainder of the space for Parks & Recreation Department programs. Dunn said the new panel would build upon those recommendations and work with a consultant on developing a more specific plan.

On another topic, Dunn said the selectmen will likely vote at the April 1 meeting on appointing a new town attorney.

Thomas Beecher of Collins Hannafin in Danbury has been the interim town attorney since the start of the new term in early December. He held that position on a permanent basis for all of the terms for former first selectmen Jerry Murphy, Bob Silvaggi and Bill Tinsley, as well as for Dunn’s previous six years in office and the first two months of former First Selectman Bill Davidson’s tenure.

Months ago the selectmen sent out requests for proposals and received four bids. Dunn said a committee of department managers selected Halloran Sage of Hartford and Collins Hannafin as the finalists.

Belden said his criteria for appointing a town attorney includes “credentials and depth of experience at the top of the list. Of course cost is a consideration. Also, the capacity of the law firm to help the town should the need arise.”

He said, for example, that following a referendum last year, the town has been consolidating its Planning and Zoning commissions, which is “a sizeable piece of work” that a town attorney can help facilitate.

Dunn said it is an important appointment, noting that he and Beecher are usually on the phone “three to four times a week.”

He said that, in particular, the town attorney devotes considerable time to issues related to the Board of Selectmen and the land-use boards and commissions.

“Municipal law is a very specific process,” remarked Dunn. He said having an experienced town attorney provides “more accurate and less-expensive answers.”

Resources:

Interview with Steve Dunn, Patch.com, on Monday, March 18, 2024.

E-mail statement from Tara Carr, Patch.com, on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.

E-mail interview with Steve Dunn, Patch.com, on Thursday, March 28, 2024.

Phone interview with Bob Belden, Patch.com, on Friday, March 29, 2024

https://wearedanbury.com/ixp/677/p/brookfield-household-expenses-breakdown/

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/scanlon-optimistic-connecticuts-economy

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/potter-carries-democratic-banner-30th-state-senate-district

https://www.ctdata.org/blog/population-changes-in-connecticut-2010-to-2020

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/carr-says-town-should-evaluate-pay-boost-municipal-staff

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/opposition-voiced-dunns-decision-dismiss-human-resources-head

https://www.newstimes.com/news...