Simsbury Board of Selectmen Meeting June 12, 2023

Board of Selectmen Meeting June 12, 2023

Now that the Town has an Interim Town Manager, the issues before us have remained the same.

As a resident of the Town for over 50 years I have witnessed many changes in government.

The taxpayers of the government are similar to the people who own shares in various stocks. The shareholders are allowed to speak at the Board meetings as should the residents of Simsbury without any restrictions on speech.

Public Audience is an opportunity for the taxpayers to evaluate the government’s role and challenge issues that are inconsistent with their values and evaluate the employees that are paid with their tax money.

The government is owned by the people in the community and while the elected officials are representatives of the community they are chosen by the people.

It is the electors who should evaluate the conduct and principals of the elected officials and challenge the judgment and policies inconsistent with their own.

When the electors are self- serving with a disregard to the public good they should not be re-elected.

It appears the Democratic Party has policy issues that have divided the Town Committee.

There are the Woke left wingers that have tried to take over the Party and have divided the Town Committee.

It is alleged that Selectman Eric Wellman will challenge First Selectman Wendy Mackstusis for the position of First Selectman, which places the left-wing of the Party against the moderates.

If there is a Primary the Democratic electors of Simsbury will have their choice for representation.

The Planning Department has been dysfunctional under the leadership of George McGregor with another employe leaving the department.

The past Deputy Town Planner resigned from the position to return to her past employment and the recent employee resigned for another job.

Presently the Planning Department has 3 full-time employees, with the present Deputy Town Planner having previous employment as a Code Enforcement Officer.

A recent lawsuit, Dylan Gagne v. Town of Simsbury Conservation Commission alleges that the votes under the guidance of the Town Planner was illegal.

There have been public notices that were incorrect and other structural failures under the direction of the Town Planner.

The business community has been severely impacted with higher taxes and increased rents impacting their ability to remain in business.

Many tax appeals have been filed in lawsuits against the Town.

It is alleged that the Town Assessor has failed to send out to the business community the tax forms for personal property identification in a timely manner adding late fees for the filings.

The business community is the life-blood of the Simsbury community and has not been treated in a fair and equitable manner.

These increased taxes can determine the viability of the business community.

Recently the Town’s Community Farm was given to farmers under the Direction of Agricultural Department.

Gifts of Love managed the Town Farm previously and neglected the farm leaving damages between 20 and 30 thousand dollars.

The Town Farm is part of the Eno Trust given to the Town for the poor of Simsbury, under the direction of the Charities Division of the Attorney General’s Office.

Giving the land to farmers without approval from the Charities Division is in violation of the Eno Trust.

The Town has neglected to honor the trust over the years.

Presently, Town Attorney Bob Decrescenzo has been assigned to bring the Eno Farms Affordable Housing under compliance with the land records, for low and very low-income families under the direction of CHFA, the manager of the property.

The Eno Farms Affordable Housing has had a history of lawsuits and actions with a final vote to bring the complex into compliance with the Eno Trust.

When will the Town Attorney remove all the obstacles that have endured over the years and mandate a change to Eno Farms Affordable Housing into compliance as a legal entity.

I would like to report that Sgt. Jason TrombLy, the Officer terminated by Chief Boulter has been chosen to become a State Trooper, to fulfill his life dream of becoming a Police Officer.

After the termination of Sgt. Trombly, the Officers voted NO Confidence in Chief Boulter

Recently there have been 30,000 views on SCTV on the hearings leading to Sgt. Trombly’s termination.

The termination of Sgt. Trombly was created by a rumor about Officers that Chief Boulter wished would leave the department.

Presently, one of those Officers is number one on the list for promotion to Sergeant and should be chosen for the position.

Many months have passed since the consultant chosen to study the scheduling in the Police Department have been made public. There have been several drafts returned by Chief Boulter but no final report.

When will this report become public?