Opinion: Let's Talk About What's Best For Fairfield

The following open letter to the Fairfield Board of Selectman is by resident Judy Ewing:

To the Fairfield Board of Selectmen:

On Tuesday, July 5th, some comments were made about the Model City Charter which is a report involving cities with populations of over 100,000 and favoring a council-management form of government. What does that have to do with the size of Fairfield’s Representative Town Meeting form of government? Absolutely nothing!

A reference was made to the practice of “log-rolling.” Now there’s a term I haven’t heard since HS Social Studies. Even when I served on an RTM of over 50 members that kind of “wheeler-dealing” would have been impossible because the agendas proposed by the First Selectman were always presented as being “what’s best for the town” – not for a district, a ward, or a precinct.

Another comment was made that only eight representatives spoke at an RTM meeting on June 27th. The meeting minutes reported that of the fourteen business items five were on the consent calendar, two were passed unanimously, and a third was passed with one abstention. The other six items required no action. The meeting only lasted twenty-eight minutes. What was the point?

A comment was also made that people don’t know who their representatives are. Well, they can look on the Town Website.

Comments were also made about the Strategic Plan Committee findings through selective citizen interviews. That plan was never implemented. It sits on a shelf somewhere.

Forget about the Model City Charter and the SPC. Let’s talk about what’s best for Fairfield. Let’s compare apples to apples.

The fact is that it makes perfect sense to have 40 members if you compare Fairfield to other towns that have both an RTM and a BOS:

Branford 28,273 30 (Good!)

Darien 21,499 100 (Too many!)

Fairfield 61,512 40 (Adequate for its size!)

Greenwich 63,578 230 (Too many!)

Watertown 19,571 25 (Good !)

Westport 27,141 36 (Good!)

- REASONS FOR MAINTAINING 40 REPRESENTATIVES INCLUDE:

*The 10 districts are very large. Therefore, the odds of knowing one of your four reps from your PTA, your place of worship, or your neighborhood are greatly increased.

*The odds of having a quorum present at committee meetings are even greater.

*The opportunity to create new committees are a real possibility.

*The opportunities for political and civic participation are greatly increased.

When citizens emailed the CRC and spoke out against the idea of minority representation for the RTM, the CRC became alarmed and dropped the idea. Many of the same people, as well as others, spoke against reducing the size of the RTM. The large numbers of citizens expressing concern should weigh heavily in your decision making, as well.

The reasons given by the CRC for having 30 members instead of 40 were highly speculative and unsubstantiated. More effective? More efficient? The fact is, we just don’t know. Other studies have concluded otherwise: that effectiveness and efficiencies are determined by the quality of the leadership – not by the size of the organization.

The point is this: The citizens of Fairfield deserve to be adequately represented by forty RTM members. Please maintain a forty member RTM.

Judy Ewing
Fairfield, CT