Simsbury Boardof Selectmen Meeting December 18, 2023

Board of Selectmen Meeting December 18, 2023

The last Charter Revision Commission was convened in 2016.

There have been many changes over the years with respect to policy and governance that should be reviewed.

There are many committees, boards and commissions that are redundant in their mission statements and require staff to support services that should be eliminated.

The stipend for the First selectman is inconsistent with other towns that have Mayor – Council forms of government without any stipends to their elected officials.

In West Hartford the Mayor is chosen from the elected Council members at their first organizational meeting where they choose the Mayor and others for positions required to set policy for the Town.

Their form of government has served the town well over the years and should be reviewed by our Charter Revisin Commission.

The Board of Education policy of placing candidates that will automatically win, with no choice, appears to have the policy board in lock-step with the administration.

We should have diverse views and independent voices on the Board of Education to set policy that will challenge the status quo, all in the interest of student performance.

The Police Commission is appointed to serve the town.

Mike Long has served as Commissioner for decades and has politicized the position.

It is alleged that under Mike Long’s guidance, Public Audience was removed from the Police Commission agenda that was included for decades.

Many of the policies have been bifurcated with an MOU, a Memorandum of Understanding between the past Town Manager and the Police Commission should be reviewed.

Term limits should be reviewed to encourage public participation.

The Police Department is in need of a stand-alone building as the population grows and additional services are needed.

Over the years they have had issues with mold and flooding.

There is a need to have additional space for storage from many of the software devices, reports, evidence rooms and many support services needed to function as a professional organization.

The Police staff has looked at 507 Hopmeadow Street, the old South School, as a viable building that is now in private ownership.

There are several town owned land parcels that are vacant and there are large land parcels owned by the tobacco company that should be reviewed.

In order to lower costs, the town could swap land and buildings with the private sector or have land donated to the town.

I would like to report that Chief Boulter continues to limit my access to the Records Room and has continued with his Babysitting Service that is a childish display of his authoritarian rule of the Police Department.

As a result of Chief Boulter’s nonsensical edicts, I have used Freedom of Information requests for my inquiries that are time consuming.

Chief Boulter’s management style is not only a reflection of his failure to admit that his decision to institute a Babysitting Service is nonsensical but this is an indication of his inability to admit mistakes that is incorporated into his management of the Police Department.

Chief Boulter does not trust anyone to make decisions and refuses to listen to anyone and never admits when he is wrong.

Chief Boulter has edited the consultant report on scheduling with many drafts because he wasn’t satisfied with the original document.

Chief Boulter has single handly destroyed the morale of the department.

Chief Boulter is eligible for retirement in March 2024 with full benefits and should retire, leaving the department with a Deputy Chief that would be an asset not only to the Police Department but to the community.

Promoting Deputy Chief Chris Davis to Chief would change the management style to an open, knowledgeable and caring department.

When developing a budget for 2024 the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education should be required to implement a Zero-Based Budget.

Every bucket should be scrutinized as to a cost benefit analysis.

All staff should be scrutinized as to value added for their services.

There should be a list of all administrators to determine their direct or indirect value to the management of the Town, Board of Education and Police Department.

Should some of these services be eliminated or consolidated?

The budget should reflect that we are living ln an inflationary environment with talks of a recession, businesses downsizing, banks are stressed leading to a challenge when developing a budget.

The Volunteer Ambulance Service should not be supported with tax dollars.

There are software programs that can track all activities in delivery of services and can track insurance claims and collections.

AMR, a private ambulance service contracted with Avon and Farmington, is not supported with tax dollars.

The taxpayers cannot support a budget that incorporates discretionary services that could be eliminated.