Simsbury Board of Selectmen Meeting February 26, 2024

Board of Selectmen Meeting February 26, 2024

At the February 14, 2024 Board of Selectmen Meeting, First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis rudely interrupted me when I was finishing my comments by immediately asking Lori Boyko to speak, the only indication that she might speak, being her attendance at the meeting. The only reason for her immediate interjection was to intimidate and bully me in front of the SCTV cameras and her board.

It appears that First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis is unable and unqualified to Chair the Board of Selectmen Meeting and has displayed her disdain for public comments.

First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis has become unhinged at meetings during public audience and presenting agenda items when she appears not able to grasp the agenda items that she is presenting to the public.

First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis is an advocate for the Police Comfort Dog and added $70,000 to the budget for the Police Officer and all expenditures attributed to maintain the dog.

It appears that the person most in need of comfort is First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis.

Therefore, I would suggest that the Comfort Dog and the Officer attend all Board of Selectman meetings to comfort Wendy Mackstutis and have the dog rest under the desk where the panic button is situated under Wendy Mackstutis’s seat.

This might relieve First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis of her anxiety during the meetings and have a more congenial meeting between the board and the public.

Since First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis voted for the expenditures for the Comfort Dog, has she attained a worksheet for the times, hours, places and attendance at meetings that the Comfort Dog attended?

Is First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis aware that the Officer in charge of the Comfort Dog has been assigned to fingerprinting in the Records Room, a clerical job, in violation of the union contract while placing the dog in a crate during the fingerprinting process?

It appears that the Comfort Dog spends much of the time being uncomfortable.

According to a Police Incident Report, the Officer and Comfort Dog was dispatched to a house to comfort a lady with asthma who called Police on several occasions due to her neighbor smoking outside and causing her to have an asthma attack.

The Comfort Dog might create more issues than anticipated since the lady has asthma and probably is allergic to dog hairs.

It is alleged that according to Chief Boulter any person over the age of 60 years, living alone that calls the Police should have the Comfort Dog dispatched to the home.

This appears to be unduly excessive use of the Comfort Dog and not using the resources effectively.

First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis should contact Chief Boulter for the policy directive for the use of the Comfort Dog.

Chief Boulter recently received a final report from the CERTUS company tasked to establish a Staffing and Scheduling report after a thorough interview process within the Police Department.

These are some of the recommendations to Chief Boulter:

Build authentic rapport with ranks and file officers

Seek department input for implementing fair selection processes

Consider term limits for special assignments and/or implement opportunities for job rotation

Develop debriefing procedures for those who apply for assignments or promotions but, do not receive them

A task force consisting of primarily patrol officers should be developed to seek officer input or challenges and solutions to increase job satisfaction

These are very serious issues addressing the Simsbury police Department under the management of Chief Boulter.

Has Chief Boulter implemented any of these recommendations or is this just another report to file away with all other past consultant reports?

These failures in management probably was the reasoning behind the No Confidence vote for the Chief.

First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis recently stated that she will call the ACLU to discuss their determination that the Rules and Procedures for Public Audience are in violation of the Constitution.

Will First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis discuss with the public her conversation with the ACLU and produce any written documentation as a result of her conversation?

Both Selectmen Diana Yeisley and Curtis Looney displayed poor judgement by leaving a Board of Selectmen meeting at the library to protest against Mom’s for Liberty in front of the library.

Selectmen Diana Yeisley and Curtis Looney should explain to the public the reasoning behind their dereliction of duty.

Budgets are being drafted by the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education that should reflect the present and future economic climate that everyone is dealing with daily.

The delivery of services should be regionalized to share expenditures and reduce redundancies. Expenditures must be reduced as the Grand List is not keeping up with the increases in budgets.