James Millington is the majority leader and Edward Bateson is deputy majority leader of Fairfield's Representative Town Meeting. They submitted the following in response to Democratic First Selectman Kenneth Flatto's State of the Town address Monday night.
The Republican caucus is proud of what it has accomplished this past year. This has been one of the busiest legislative sessions the RTM has ever undertaken. Tonight is a time to reflect upon our accomplishments of this past year and establish our goals for the coming year.
This past year, the RTM had asked for regular updates on the Fairfield Metro Center from the first selectman, and we have been following that project closely. We are happy to see the development progress rapidly. Unfortunately, plans only got back on the tracks after the state of Connecticut infused $20 million taxpayer into the project. What has been most important to us is to ensure that Fairfield's taxpayer contribution to the project does not go beyond what was contractually agreed to. We and the commuting public anxiously await the ribbon cutting. We also hope that future commercial development does take place, as it will help to provide much-needed tax revenue for the town.
At this time last year, we were told the elementary school population would stabilize. Contrary to this belief, enrollment projections received from MGT last month predict a strong growth in the K-5 population of 10.5 percent over the next 10 years.
Many neighborhoods received "improved streets" this year. Unfortunately, the only way offered to pay for these streets was to bond them over decades. This practice seems illogical when the average life of a roadway is seven years to 10 years. The Republican-controlled RTM put an end to the practice of bonding routine road maintenance by issuing a stop limit order on bonding for recurring road maintenance.
Addressing energy efficiency efforts last year, the Republican-controlled RTM, in a bipartisan effort, developed and passed a comprehensive property tax credit for people who invest in solar and geothermal alternatives for their homes.
The RTM narrowly approved a softball field project on Hoyden's Hill. Tax-weary residents took this appropriation to referendum. Voter turnout was significantly below the threshold to repeal the appropriation. However, ballots cast overwhelmingly disagreed with the appropriation; the message was received.
Looking forward to this year, we have commenced planning for the upcoming municipal budget. Constituent concerns vary, but there is one universal message we receive: control spending.
Republican leadership has met and developed a comprehensive plan to address the proposed budget. We divided the budget into segments and are tasking focus groups to take an in-depth analysis and review of the budget. The majority of our efforts will be expended upon education spending as well as town-side operations.
We were sincerely disheartened at the release of the superintendent of schools' proposed Board of Education budget. The proposed increase of almost 5 percent is going to face significant challenges by the first selectman, Board of Finance and this Republican-controlled RTM. We strongly urge the Board of Education to incorporate recommendation of savings that were highlighted in the operational audit performed by Prismatic.
This Wednesday evening, the Board of Finance will discuss the state of the town's pension and other post retirement benefit funds. Due to market conditions and the recognition of the $30 million-plus Madoff loss, there are serious concerns about fund deficiencies. The cost to taxpayers next budget year is expected to be in the millions.
As of today, most of the town's labor agreements have expired. First Selectman Flatto presented two contracts for approval to the RTM this past year. Both contracts were rejected based upon cost considerations. Following a nationwide trend, we are asking that the administration consider that all newly hired employees be placed under a defined contribution plan.
The costs of carrying post-retirement liabilities on the town's balance sheet are at the mercy of the financial markets. Any real dollar value loss in our portfolio of investments is directly guaranteed by the local taxpayer. This was made abundantly clear over the past two years when a combination of the financial market meltdowns and the perpetrated Madoff scheme caused the town, and its taxpayers, to immediately commence funding the millions of underfunded liabilities.
We must ensure the financial well being of the town and its pension funds. These funds are our commitment to our existing employees and pensioners. We strongly urge First Selectman Flatto to present the RTM with a long-term financial impact study of defined benefit versus defined contribution plans for newly hired employees.
Capital spending will continue to grow over the next few years. Recently, the Board of Selectmen/Board of Finance and RTM participated in a joint capital spending workshop. This list for capital improvements is long and varies by urgency and department. In the next months, the RTM will address an appropriation for core facility improvements at Sherman School, windows at Ludlowe, a roof at Warde, and, down the road, we see a significant appropriation for Riverfield School.
While our town's credit remains strong, it is a finite resource. Our annual debt service is projected to grow over the next few years and additional bonding will only increase this annual expense. All bond appropriations submitted to the RTM will have to be considered in relation to an overall capital project plan, budgetary impact, and, most importantly, the taxpayer.
We look forward to a productive budget season and ask that all interested residents contact us to express their opinions. We thank First Selectman Flatto for his continued service to the town; all the elected volunteers of the Board of Finance and Board of Education for their seemingly endless service to the town.
We wish our colleagues across the aisle a Happy New Year, and we look forward to working with them over the remainder of our term to better serve the residents of our town.
James Millington, R-9
RTM Majority Leader
Edward J. Bateson, R-3
RTM Deputy Majority Leader
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