Simsbury Board of Selectmen Meeting March 3,2025

Board of Selectmen Meeting March 3, 2025

The taxpayers of Simsbury have supported budgets that have escalated over the years without questioning the contents of the expenditures and the choices that were added without any value added.

In a rush to judgement, the Board of Education has renovated a Junior High without any thought of adding the 6th Grade to the school and redistricting the other schools for efficiencies

The ARPA funds in 2022/23 was to use as a one-time expenditure and would be phased out.

However, this was not true since we are incorporating these expenditures into the operating budgets, increasing the budgets.

How can we trust our elected and appointed officials when they lie when marketing the people’s expenditures.

The Simsbury taxpayers have been indoctrinated into believing the mantra, “spend to save.”

This is voodoo economics and should be rejected.

The ultimate control of the budgets are the taxing public who should reject this untenable spending with an open checkbook.

JUST SAY NO

The ARPA funds that were to be phased out, now have been incorporated into the budget.

The ARPA Funds were to be used for Pickleball Courts at Tariffville Park at $350,000 has been delayed over the years due to permits to be approved to develop the courts with cement and rebars to strengthen the courts from cracking in a floodplain.

However, due to lobbying efforts from a group of Pickleball groups, the Town decided to go with asphalt courts that are not only cheaper, but will not last with cracks and buckling, to be filled, making the courts unsafe.

A perfect example of a rush to judgement are the Junior High tennis/pickleball courts that were cheap to renovate and continued to have buckling and cracks that were repaired year after year, with added expenses.

These courts are shared with the school and the community.

If the Junior High tennis/pickleball courts were budgeted originally for the cement and rebar courts the 25-year warrantee would have benefited the taxpayers.

The Junior High courts are dangerous and are being used with great risk to the tennis /pickleball players.

The Capital Expenditure budget with a price of $650,000 for cement and rebars to replace the Junior High Courts is noted in 2029 that will last for 25 years.

Given the condition of the courts at the Junior High this expenditure will have to be included in the 2025/26 Capital Expenditure budget to continue the use of the courts.

The Town should apply for a Grant for this expenditure as it used by the community for exercise.

The DEI Council has continued to hold meetings in total disregard to the Federal Government edict to eliminate DEI or lose funding.

Is the Town ready to take that risk?

The tennis/pickleball courts at Simsbury Farms is showing large cracks on the courts that will eventually need a major renovation.

These are examples of doing the job on the cheap.

Eventually the costs double and the results are a patchwork of fixes.

The EV charging station at the Town Hall parking lot is closed.

This is a step in the right direction of evaluating expenditures, inconsistent to the value to the community.

Another expenditure is the Comfort Dog, an experiment that was instituted with ARPA funds and should be eliminated.

Along with eliminating the funding for the Comfort Dog, there is value added with the Police Vehicle for the Dog added to the fleet, reducing the cost of paying for a new car.

Officer Ball can be added to patrol, eliminating some overtime since the Police Department needs more Officers on patrol.

This expense is a public relations gimmick and should be eliminated from the budget.

The Simsbury Farms Special Revenue Fund has an additional $151,715 added from the General Fund for the short-fall.

Since there is an infusion of revenue year after year, there should be a discussion on increasing the costs for services.

Another option is to contract out the Golf Course to a management company as other towns and clubs have done with good results.

According to the Town Website the budget in 2007-2008 is $84,564,331.

The budget for 2021-2022 is $105,975,017, a difference of $21, 410l 686.

What has been added to the budgets over the years that expenditures accelerated to that extent?

The population has not increased over the years to increase the expenditures.

Town Manager Marc Nelson stated that he was working on a zero-based budget.

Perhaps he should take a deep dive into the expenditures added over the years to reduce the budget.

With a projected cost of $171,000 for legal fees, the Town should review the option of having an in-house attorney with additional duties as a Grant writer to bring in revenue to the Town.