Opinion: Brookfield Resident Supports Steve Dunn and Row A For Change

A Letter to the Editor Written By Mark J Ferry

There has been a lot of talk this election over experience in town government versus inexperience. We have on one side, Row A, with little experience. Then we have Row B, which is, for the most part, made up of a number of people who have been in town government for years; Bill Tinsley, Marty Flynn, Phil Kurtz, Bob Belden, all good public servants.

Experience can be a great thing. Unfortunately in Brookfield we have a big problem. We have a town that, despite what Mr. Tinsley claimed in the debate, used the same auditor for close to 12 years. The Board of Finance bylaws have called for an RFP no more than every five.

The Student Activity Fund, which was allegedly robbed of $124,000 by Art Colley and Liz Kerekes, has been used incorrectly since 1994. That is 21 years and several Boards of Finance and Education. There is not one elected official that blames the current Board of Education who was not on the boards responsible during the last 21 years; Tinsley, Flynn, Grimes, Kurtz, O’Reilly, DeVaux, and the list goes on and on.

The reason why this election has been so nasty is because not one of them will take responsibility for their part in this missing money. They hold on to the $124,000 mark and say they want to move on. Doesn’t it make you wonder why?

According to BOE policy, the account should not have leftover monies, and is to be zeroed every year. It is to be done so by transferring the balance into the Student Council account. Policies from 1992 also show that there is to be a close accounting of monies taken in from gate receipts. Add to this boosters, pay to play and parking places.

I’m not saying that any of these people stole the money or are guilty of malfeasance. I believe they created A Brookfield Party to control every board in town so that the mistakes of the past stay hidden. They have filled the candidate seats with their own wives. They pawn the fault off on the outgoing BOE, who inherited 20 years of poor accounting and did not cover it up as well as their predecessors.

All of this could have been avoided if we stopped re-electing tradesmen to run a $64 million dollar budget, when they clearly did not know how to do so.

Candidates want you to believe this is a party issue. But it transcends party. We’ve been governed by the same people so long that we (and our money) are embroiled in some chess game between the Republicans and the Democrats. For every fault that is blamed on the BOE or the Democrats, there are faults we aren’t told, you can believe that.

It is time that Brookfield begins a clean sweep so our accounting procedures can be fixed, our monies accounted for, and trust can be restored. It’s time to begin turnover on every board and commission, and yes on every Town Committee. It’s time to thank the men and women who have run this town for twenty years, and move on to new ideas and modern ways of thinking.

I look at Row A and I see step one. Steve Dunn had a career in finance. Mark Zerbe as well. Susan Slater is a successful businesswoman. John Lucas, my friend of 38 years, works in Finance. Sean Hathorn is a CPA. The BOE candidates are a fine assortment of former Republicans and Unaffiliated. I don’t see a weakness in this slate.

Neither slate will be successful without the watchful eye of the townspeople. But Row A is the best chance we have to lay to bed the mistakes of the past, and start building on our future.

-Mark J Ferry