Board of Selectmen November 13, 2013 My Comments

Board of Selectmen November 13, 2013

Now that the elections are over and the Republicans have the majority vote  on the board with Mike Paine, I would like to have the Ethics Board give guidance to this board on the challenges Mike Paine will have when voting for the budget and discussing various issues that come before this board. Mike Paine has a financial arrangement with the town as the trash provider and the use and management of the town dump as a Transfer Station.  A letter from this board should be forwarded ASAP to the Ethics Board so the issue of conflict of interest will be resolved before Mike Paine takes office.

First Selectman Mary Glassman, in her final two years should fulfill her promise to have a professional Town Manger as the CEO of Simsbury. Since the Selectmen’s Office is being reconfigured as Sean Kimball will be acting as Finance Director, Tom Cooke has evolved into a pseudo Town Manager and the First Selectman has greatly reduced responsibility.  We need professional management to make sure that with diminished staff,   the loss of seasoned staff, the town will continue to deliver services to the residents who pay the taxes.  The finance department is a specialized position and it is imprudent to just get a risk manager, Sean Kimball,  to step into the position. Now we will have a risk manager creating a risk to our finances. The budget cannot reflect special interests over core services.  It is time for a professional Town Manager to guide the town with diminished revenues is most important task for the new board.

First Selectman Mary Glassman stated in a recent article that it’s the Finance Board that sets the Mill Rate, answering a question on the high mill rate that is true. Glassman forgot to state that the mill rate is determined by all the anticipated revenues and expenditures from the town.  The mill rate is set high because we spend more than the surrounding towns and in order to meet our appetite to satisfy all the lobbyists and political entities that are using taxpayer money for their special demands, we have a high mill rate. Since we are a bedroom town without a large commercial base to offset expenditures, we have to pay more for our services.  However, if we reduce expenditures we might become more competitive with the surrounding towns. Simsbury has the reputation as a tax and spend community, losing our competitive edge.

The new board should  eliminate the Main Street Partnership, a non-profit organization in the town’s operating budget.

The idea that the town should run a Triathlon is as nutty as a Snickers Bar. We are told that the town has a skeletal staff with reduced services and this board has voted to add to town employees work load by asking them to run a Triathlon.  This offer should be rescinded.

The golf course has lost money year after year as reflected with to town publishing in the Hartford Courant a deal with 53% off two 18-hole rounds of golf with cart and more at Simsbury Farms Golf Course.  Testimony from Gerald Toner, Director of Simsbury Farms stated that most revenues come from out of town people.   The golf course is not self-sufficient and has not been self sufficient for years. Why should our taxes support non-residents use of our golf course? An article in the Hartford Courant reflecting the loss of revenue from East Hartford Golf  states that East Hartford has contracted the operation of the golf course to the Casper Group to stem their financial losses.   Toner also stated that the revenues are diminishing as the rounds of golf are reduced. It is time that this board reviews all the revenues and expenditures associated with the operation of the Golf Course and decide whether the taxpayers should fund the losses or the golf course should be contracted to others.  Golf rounds are down not only in Simsbury but all golf courses in the area.  This board should decide whether the Golf Course should continually sustain losses or use the property for a park with low overhead expenses.

Now that it has been determined that the Performing Arts Board will become a non-profit organization, they should include in their budget the costs of all time and resources used by the PAC, including the town employees.  Stating that the PAC had a $5,000 profit did not include the time and resources from the Recreation Department, Public Works and Administrative staff is disingenuous and wrong lkpo. Since this property was purchased with tax dollars we should expect a realistic accounting of all expenditures, whether real or imputed.  Since the property was paid by taxpayer’s dollars for the enjoyment and use of taxpayers’, the town should not give away the ownership to the PAC and the Hartford Symphony with the sole purpose of excluding the Simsbury residents.  The taxpayers paid for a consultant to review the use of the Performing Arts Center and this board has ignored their findings.

The taxes will increase when The Hartford Financial Services will be leaving a vacant building on Hop Meadow Street and reducing our Grand list by $1.7 million dollars.

The promise for a Big Y putting a shovel in the ground seems more like a wish than a reality. 

There should be a greatly reduced budget from the Board of Education as the enrollment is reduced year after year. There should be consolidation of services and the board of education should reconfigure the schools by having a Pre- Kindergarten through second grade in one building. The future projections are for a continual reduction in enrollment  leading to a closing of a school and a reduction in administrative support.

As a result of the actions of staff and students during spirit week at the high School, I have not heard of any actions taken by Superintendent Matt Curtis and the Board of Education to make anyone accountable for their actions.  What were the consequences for the administrator that was swearing at the students? It appears that Neil Sullivan; Principal of the school has lost all respect from the students,   showed poor leadership abilities and should be removed from his position. It is the responsibility of the Principal to provide a safe environment for students and staff and hold people accountable for their actions.  This issue should not be swept under the rug and ignored, hoping that the issue will go away.