Patch Candidate Profile: Matt Hutvagner, Farmington Town Council

FARMINGTON, CT — Farmington Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Farmington resident Matt Hutvagner is running for the Farmington Town Council as a Democrat.

The following is Hutvagner's questionnaire sent to Patch:

Name

Matt Hutvagner

How old will you be as of Election Day?

40

Does your campaign have a website? If so, include the URL here.

https://farmingtondemocrats.or...

What city or town do you live in?

Farmington

What office are you seeking?

Town Council 2nd District

If you are running in a district, you can specify the district here.

2nd District

Please give us your party affiliation.

Democrat

Education

Bachelor of Science, Finance and Masters of Business Adminstration. Both from UConn

What is your occupation?

Senior Manager, Financial Accounting at The Walt Disney Company/ESPN. Approx. 17 years

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

I am a proud dad to twin boys who attend Farmington Public Schools. My amazing wife, Liz, is a nurse and works hard every day to ensure her patients have the best possible care.
In our free time, we enjoy Winding Trails, walking/biking on our rail trails or spending time with neighbors and friends.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

My family does not work for the Town of Farmington

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

I’m a Commissioner on the Plan and Zoning Commission. I previously served on the Board of Assessment Appeals.

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

On the Town Council, I will make sure everyone feels represented. I’m a thoughtful leader and decision-maker who wants to promote a world-class public school system where administrators and teachers feel empowered to make sure our students have the best chance for success. I want to provide for safe communities and support our first responders. I want to lower traffic through the support of a third bridge, and I will continue to support our low mill rate.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ___, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Maintaining our low property taxes. We all experienced a significant increase in property taxes this year. Farmington’s Town Council needs perspectives like mine to make sure our tax dollars are being spent efficiently. Seniors need to be able to age in their homes. At the same time, parents of school-age children need to know that they can continue to receive a world-class public education. This balance is possible by electing leaders who will make smart investments in our facilities, ensuring we have great services to continue to make Farmington a great place to live and work. We also need leaders to understand the balance of economic growth and development that will grow our town tax base to keep our mill rate low while also maintaining our historic, suburban setting.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My professional background is in finance, budgeting, and capital planning, giving Farmington taxpayers confidence that our tax dollars will be invested efficiently in essential services while reducing wasteful spending and keeping our taxes low.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

I do not agree with the current Town Council budget review and capital planning process. It lacks transparency and does not provide taxpayers with a full understanding of the needs of our community.

Currently, the Town Council assigns predetermined budget percentage increases to each department. This predetermination happens before members of the Town Council can fully understand what a department may need to serve our residents. This predetermined percentage forces town departments, including our schools, to fit into a number before a discussion occurs with the Town Council. What if a department or our schools gets assigned a 2% increase, but only needs 1%? Will an extra 1% of spending be added to try and meet the number? What if another department gets assigned 2%, but needs 3%? Will that department be able to provide services expected by our community and the taxpayers?

The Town Council’s main role is to oversee our town budget, keep costs under control, help eliminate wasteful spending, and make sure we’re making smart investments. On the Town Council, I will make it a priority to understand specific needs to ensure we are providing the resources and the services the taxpayers expect.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

Traffic and the health and safety of our schools.
Traffic is a major issue. I support continuing to move forward with the “Third Bridge” project to help alleviate traffic. Still, I want to see a comprehensive traffic study to make sure it will reduce traffic. This project will require collaborative leaders who can work with our state and federal representatives to secure the additional funding we’ll need.

I’m very concerned that our elementary schools do not have proper HVAC systems, which creates health and safety issues as well as learning loss. This deficiency results in a lack of air circulation in the buildings – whose importance was made clear to us during the pandemic. I continue to hear from teachers who struggle to teach, and from students who struggle to learn, on days of excessive heat, which are becoming more and more frequent, leading to a loss of learning.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I currently serve on the Plan & Zoning Commission and supported the expansion of several businesses, including the new location for Claudia’s Grinder Shop, the new Jordan’s Furniture at West Farms Mall, the Tractor Supply greenhouse addition, a new storage unit facility, and expansion of Mott Corp. and Trumpf Inc. These local businesses will grow our town tax base, which will help to reduce increases in the property tax burden for individual taxpayers.

Listening to voters’ concerns to make sure they feel represented is important to me. I previously served on the Board of Assessment Appeals where I heard from many voters who had issues with their property taxes.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Listening to others and understanding their perspective

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I want to make sure everyone in town feels represented by our community: ensuring taxpayers understand how the town budget, and investment decisions, will affect all of us, supporting our first responders with the resources they need and being an ally to members of our historically marginalized communities.