Board of Selectmen Meeting March 13, 2017

Board of Selectmen Meeting March 13, 2017

On Wednesday, March 8, at about 11 AM, I was in Town Hall having a conversation with the Greeter at the entrance. Jamie Rabbitt, the Town Planner interrupted my conversation to berate me for talking to his staff during working hours and trying to communicate with him. Jamie told me that he could talk to a judge about my interruptions with him and his staff. Jamie stated that he would ask his staff to communicate with the judge on my interaction with his staff. With the increase in development in town and the change in the character of Simsbury forever, I check with the professional staff for their expert advice when I have concerns about various developments and compliance in town. Both the Zoning Enforcement Officer and the Assistant to the Town Planner are professionals with years of experience and have a wealth of knowledge. They have both encouraged me to share my concerns and get expert advice into my inquiries with them. Jamie Rabbitt told me that he would tell the Judge that I could not interact with him because he cannot be distracted with questions as it would take him awhile to gather his thoughts to continue his work. If Jamie Rabbitt has a Judge in his pocket, I would like to know who this Judge is and when he expects to institute a lawsuit under the direction of this unknown Judge. According to an article in the Hartford Courant, “Simsbury Hires James Rabbitt as Director of Planning,” it states, “Rabbitt has a bachelor’s in accounting ……and took graduate courses in community planning and area development.” He worked for Southern Connecticut Council of Governments in Norwich with a parting salary of $72,000.. There was an article in The Bulletin, September 23, 2015, “Pomfret town planner banned from working for town until he gets insurance.” Jamie Rabbitt was hired as Simsbury’s Town Planner, November 2015 with a starting salary of $112,750 and presently has a salary of $115,569. However, his professional staff is capable of interacting with the public and performing their workload. A highly paid professional public employee should be able to find time to interact with the public. The taxpayers who pay his salary is not the enemy.

Recently the town has hired Great Blue to implement a survey, asking residents about their interaction with the town. I received a call from the consultant and was told, after asking me my age that I could not participate in the survey because my age group was complete. I would like to know, is this survey a random sample of residents or targeted to certain age groups?

Recently Hartford Mayor, Luke Bronin had a Town Hall meeting with residents of Simsbury in the Library asking for funding. At that time, along with other concerns, I asked him why he did not ask the Insurance Companies to increase their revenue to the City since they would be recipients of a vibrant community. At that time he responded by saying, don’t you think I asked them. I stated that he should ask them again. A recent article in the Hartford Courant stated that , “ CEO’s Donate $50M To City.” I guess he took my advice.

The Town of West Hartford is presently looking for a Town Manager and has developed a brochure on their website that gives the background history of West Hartford, Form of Government, Ideal Candidate, Qualifications, Application and Selection Process, Compensation, Organizational Chart and timeline for replacement of their Town Manager. This is a very valuable document and should be used as a guide in Simsbury’s search for a Town Manager.

I have recently asked Social Services to give me the number of people who use the services for the needy of Simsbury.

These are numbers for 2016: Food 7,327 people, Energy Assistance 209 families, total client contact 7,169 people. The services are offset with donations of $112,946. Everyone should realize that there are families in Simsbury in need.

The need will increase as MetLife, MassMutual and The Hartford Financial Services are reducing middle-management employees. All insurance companies in Connecticut are on the radar for mergers and acquisitions as their profitability declines. Where are all these families going to live when they can no longer meet their financial obligations without employment opportunities?

I would also encourage this Board to place SCTV in the basement of the library and move the Friends of the Library’s materials to the Betty Hudson property which is vacant. This will make room in Eno Hall with 1,600 sq.ft. of useable space for the seniors.

Why is the town required to pay for a tent at Septemberfest when we paid $15,000 for Dave Ryan’s golf cart? Will there be an entry fee for this event?