Board of Selectmen Meeting April 23, 2018

Board of Selectmen Meeting April 23, 2018

Tuesday, May 1, Simsbury residents will be voting on a Referendum that will determine the increase in taxes.

This year the Board of Finance has come ill prepared to vet the submitted budgets and used a phone hook-up to vote on a gimmicky $96,518,369 budget approval.

It appears that the Board of Finance is unqualified to forward budgets that are fiscally responsible. With fewer people volunteering for Boards and Commissions the brain trust of Simsbury has disappeared. All four questions on the Referendum vote should be voted down to allow the Board of Finance to reconfigure the budget needs of Simsbury eliminating political patronage.

Having a $23,985,820 for a renovation of Henry James Middle School before completing a feasibility study with decreasing enrollment is irresponsible and should be voted down. Omissions on operating expenditures with the expansion.

All money taken from the General Fund for Capital Expenditures will increase future budgets.

Your ballot should reflect your distaste for an irresponsible increase in taxes with an increase in home and car assessments with a “NO” Vote as seen on this Sample Ballot.

The Economic Development Work Group assembled on Tuesday April 17, 2018 recommended that an Ordinance be developed. The Charter Revision Commission voted in a 10-1 vote to eliminate Economic Development Commission. It states, “The current Commission has been ineffective in its current form. The Commission agreed to add the responsibility of economic development to the job responsibilities of the Town Manager.” Selectman Cheryl Cook spent the time of the Workshop to champion her friend, Kristen Barnett from the defunct Economic Commission as the savior of economic development and Tom Frank who has appointed himself to various Boards and Commissions as the most knowledgeable person in all of Simsbury. Sarah Nielsen, Executive Director of Main Street Partnership gave positive comments. The meeting highlighted the reason why the Economic Development Commission was ineffective with these personalities on the Commission.

Under Sec. 15-45 Membership of the Bloomfield Economic Commission Ordinance states, “The economic development commission shall consist of seven (7) members appointed by the town manager, provided, however, no member of the town council shall serve on said commission.” This model should be adopted by Simsbury. The Town Manager is sole appointee for membership in the Commission.

The Open Space Committee according to Sec. 615 of the Charter states, “ The Board of Selectmen shall appoint an Open Space Committee to assist and advise the Board of Selectmen in identifying and evaluating land deemed suitable for acquisition and preservation. “ There is nothing in the Charter giving the Forrest Management to the Commission. Therefore, all the members must come before the Board of Selectmen individually without the authority of the Open Space Commission.

During the Budget process the Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance Association asked and was approved for a budget submission of $80,000 by the Board of Selectmen although I had alerted them that AMR should replace the Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance Association.

These were my remarks at the November 27, 2017 meeting.

“I question whether the Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance Association should ask for money to continue their service when Mike Delehanty is receiving a salary of $141,788 and assets of $1,660,948 according to their tax filing.

Over the years there has been an increase in volume for ambulance services.

Occasionally there is a time delay during several calls for an ambulance and prioritization of services is required when Granby and Canton cannot supply the services because volunteers are not available or on another call.

Simsbury Police are First Responders and report to the incident in a timely manner.

Since it is difficult to find volunteers for services and volume has increased, I would like to have AMR come before the Board of Selectmen to discuss an overview of their services.

AMR is used by Avon and Farmington with paid staff.

According to Brandon Robertson, Avon Town Manager, AMR has a good response time. There are no complaints and they do not receive any money from the Town. AMR only requires a building supplied by the Town for equipment.”

I would once again suggest that the Board of Selectmen have a representative from AMR come before the Board to discuss their services to the various towns.

I have reviewed Jamie Rabbitt’s Personnel File and found many omissions that Town Manager Maria Capriola will try to produce. Jamie Rabbitt is the Director and Planning and Community Development. There were no Personal Action Forms, permission for out of office trips and conventions, comp time approvals, verified complaints from staff of inappropriate conduct and no performance evaluations.

I urge everyone to go to the Referendum vote on May 1 to vote “NO” on all budgets. With only 6% of the residents voting, you’re “NO” vote will count.