Tolland Election: Lou Luba For Tolland Town Council

TOLLAND, CT — Republican Lou Luba, 54, is running for Tolland Town Council.

Occupation: Senior Assistant State's Attorney - State Of Connecticut Division Of Criminal Justice

Family: Angela L.J. - 23 Abigail - 22 Isabelle - 21

Experience: Town Council (incumbent)

Family in government: No

The single biggest issue in town is ______, and I plan to do this about it:

The single most pressing issue facing our town is controlling our spending and taxing. Currently, homeowners carry the majority of tax burden in town, and face the possibility of increased state taxes and “fees” while simultaneously dealing with cuts in state funding to the town. Uncontrolled spending without appropriate checks and balances is unsustainable and will only harm the town. We need to control taxes to keep our town affordable and attract business development to help defray the incredible tax burden being borne by homeowners, and not chase potential business and other development to other, more affordable towns. To accomplish this, we need to take a critical look at spending across the board, and focus on what expenditures produce the greatest return on investment. This doesn’t mean cutting budgets just to cut costs – investment in our schools and town services are necessary to ensure we maintain the high level of education and services our residents deserve. What it means is conducting a careful and detailed examination of all expenses, to make sure the programs and products we invest in yield the highest level of performance our residents rightfully expect. Investing in our town is necessary, and but accepting proposed budgets and spending money without scrutiny or challenging expenditures is just foolish and an abdication of the fiscally responsible stewardship our town residents warrant.

Critical differences between me and my opponents:

While other candidates and slates may focus on certain social platitudes, I feel that as a Town Council we need to focus on the pressing day to day issues that truly affect our residents – providing for their families and ensuring their safety and security. We need to focus on maintaining a sound and fiscally responsible town budget that minimizes tax impact on families, providing for public safety to protect our residents and their families, advocating for those affected by crumbling foundations and tainted wells, and working to help families resume a normal life post-COVID. Nothing else matters to families if they struggle to pay the mortgage because of overwhelming tax burdens or cutback in hours due to COVID restrictions, fear about their safety because of increases in crime, or are unable to live in their home securely because of crumbling foundations or tainted wells. We need to focus on supporting the true needs of Tolland, not the failed policies implemented by Hartford and other towns. Over the past two years, the Republican led Town Council has accomplished that - providing for a zero mil rate increase in property taxes when families needed it the most, ensuring funding for reinvestment in town firehouse renovations and approving the renewal of the Resident State Trooper contract to provide protection to our residents, working with state agencies to make sure our residents are covered for crumbling foundation repairs and examining issues regarding tainted well to make sure they are secure in their own homes. Focusing on these essential needs, not social platitudes, and is the critical difference.

Accomplishments:

An accomplishment I am extremely proud of is serving as a current Tolland Town Council member. As an incumbent, I have had the opportunity to work with a great Republican majority team that faced and successfully tackled a multitude of challenging issues - difficult budgets during fiscal shortfalls, crumbling foundations, operating and reopening through COVID, crucial reinvestments in town services and others - proven experience and knowledge on how to successfully navigate these issues and other obstacles you face in local governance truly matters. Other achievements I am proud of include: - proven leadership as a retired military officer, successfully leading units over 20 years and three deployments; - a solid educational background, with a Law degree and Masters in Public Administration, that allows me to recognize potential legal, fiscal and organizational issues; - sound business experience, having helped run a family business in operation for over 60 years, that allows me to understand the difficulty of keeping a business running during tough fiscal times, and and how even minor increases in taxes and changes in regulations can significantly impact small businesses. But the greatest accomplishment I can cite is raising a family in Tolland - getting to know Tolland and all of the great things that makes it the town we all love.

Other issues:

One issue that defines my platform is the belief in a “whole of government” approach in attacking issues confronting the town. Individual elected officials and individual boards can have an impact on certain issues, but when you have a unified approach that incorporates a multifaceted attack involving a concerted effort across elected boards, that is when local government is truly effective. This is not to say that any board should abdicate authority over their purview – each board has its own authority and responsibility to the town, and should faithfully execute those duties accordingly. But when you have multiple boards that share the same vision and goals, and work effectively together to achieve those goals as presented in their platforms and endorsed by the voters, outstanding results occur. While serving as an officer overseas, I was fortunate to have worked with many different units from many different countries – we each had our own missions and responsibilities, but when we joined forces with a common vision and common goal to achieve an objective, we were unstoppable. The same holds true in town governance. Two years ago, voters elected a Republican majority across the board, and presented a mandate to govern to these boards. Over the past two years, these boards have followed that mandate, and working effectively with one another and yielded outstanding results. That is why it is crucial to keep these boards intact and allow them to continue this whole of government approach.

What else would you like voters to know about you?

I love Tolland, and I am honored to have served Tolland as a Town Council member for the past two years. Serving as a public servant is a matter of public trust - voters must trust their representatives to be responsible in their decisions and responsive to the needs of the town. I have strived to be both during over the past two years. I promise to carry out this incredible responsibility with the serious concern and deliberation it deserves, and and I respectfully ask for your vote to allow me to continue to serve the residents of Tolland for another term.