Board of Selectmen Meeting April 27, 2020

Board of Selectmen Meeting April 27, 2020

Members of the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance are totally clueless about the long-term financial impact the Covid-19 has on the State, Town, Businesses and Residents.

These are challenging times and the budget reflects business as usual.

While everyone is impacted by the Covid-19 virus financially, the budgets of the Board of Selectmen and Board of Education reflect wage increases across the boards.

The Board of Finance had a Public Hearing on the budgets on April 21, 2020, that was a charade since the budgets were already “baked in stone.”

At the Board of Finance Public Hearing on May 7, 2020, the charade will continue with all the developers of the budgets giving themselves kudos for proposing a budget that has been manipulated through increasing long-term debt and using the one-time increase in revenues to encumber long-term debt and increasing the longevity benefits with increases in salary. The public’s input had no impact on the proposed budgets.

The State gives the Town about $6 million which can be taken away by pressing the delete button.

The State could revisit having the Town’s pay for pension benefits of Town employees.

Many Simsbury residents are unemployed and businesses are looking at bankruptcy.

Simsbury’s Main Street could have shuttered businesses without any means to pay taxes.

The expenses associated with the Covid-19 virus is astronomical with no bail-outs forthcoming.

We are in a financial depression and the Board of Selectmen, Board of Education and the Board of Finance congratulate themselves on a $50 decrease in taxes, oblivious to long-term planning by “kicking the can down the road.”

The May 7, 2020 Board of Finance Public Hearing charade will be more of the same with more kudos to everyone and a business as usual attitude in approving the proposed budgets.

With businesses tittering on bankruptcy, Town Manager Maria Capriola at the Public Safety Meeting on April 23, 2020, stated that she was concerned about the violations of signage on businesses property. Town Manager Maria Capriola should have stated that she will ask the Zoning Commission to have a moratorium on sign violations until the businesses can return to normal. We have to help our businesses as much as we can, not place impediments on ingenuity for survival.

Town Manager Maria Capriola has Amended the Declaration of Local State of Emergency for the Town on wearing mask violations.

The amendment states,” through the exercise of police discretion, through the issuance of a citation for the infraction of violation of a Town ordinance carrying a fine of up to $250…in the case of someone who willfully interferes or obstructs any lawful civil preparedness function or activity…shall be guilty of a Class D felony.”

This amendment was prepared and approved by First Selectman Eric Wellman and Town Manager Maria Capriola without any input from the Police Commission.

With all these enforcement procedures for the Police Department we will need officers on the front line, not in management positions, with a Deputy Police Chief and a Lieutenant replacement for a Sergeant in the budget. This is an expense to place image over substance.

It is alleged that Chief Boulter stated that he would like to have certain Officers leave. Officer Jeremy Cormier has taken Chief Boulter’s statements and resigned from the Simsbury Police Department for a position in another town. He might be one of many.

Since Officer Cormier was leaving, allegedly there was an email from Sgt. Matt Christian to other Sergeants stating that since Cormier was leaving, he should not be issued a N-95 mask from the day he resigned.

I would like to report that I still have 8 outstanding Freedom of Information requests that have not been completed and are violations of the Freedom of Information Act.

I have sent an email to First Selectman Eric Wellman, Deputy First Selectman Sean Askham, and the Farmington Valley Health Department registering my concern about the Simsbury Golf Couse violating the Covid-19 distancing violations with pictures and have not had any response.

Janell Mullen is past Zoning Officer with the Town. I received her Personnel File.

Janell Mullen’s Personnel File appears to have omissions. There are no time sheets and Personnel Action Forms reflecting her time off from work.

Janell Mullen’s resignation letter was dated August 26, 2019 and her last day of work was September 6, 2019. Allegedly her last day of work was August 26, 2019 since she never returned to work, although the Town’s calculations for financial disbursement is from September 6, 2019.

There are 10 days that she did not work. Did she get paid for those ten days?

I have not heard anything from the Town on my inquiry.