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MaryHelen Melnick is a Fairfield resident and a supporter of We the People of Fairfield, a taxpayer advocacy group. She submitted this letter to the editor in regards to talks over the 2011-2012 town budget.
I have been a Fairfield resident most of my life here and to be very honest I like it here. My children are fifth generation in my church which that alone is something. However Fairfield has changed so that it is not the Fairfield I knew when growing up here. We do have a revitalization of the downtown area which is good and there are new stores do to come along too with a new metro station but besides that much has changed.
When our selectman campaigned for office one of the things that stood out in my mind was that he was not going to raise taxes and that he was going to make Fairfield affordable for the senior population in town. Well once he got the vote and the trust of the people especially the senior population something seemed to change. Was there a hidden agenda all along that none of us knew about especially the senior citizens of this town?
Now we have a senior population struggling to survive to live here in homes they worked all their life to look forward to enjoying their retirement in and now they have to struggle even more with the rising cost of both the town and the board of education budgets. How many of you residents here in town have given a look at both the town and board of education budget. If you have not done so I suggest you do because it is an eye opener. With the rising cost of everything and the poor economy you would think the officials here in town think the residents here have their own personal money trees growing in their backyard just to satisfy any whim of town officials for more money!
The middle class here in town are also struggling to remain just that. Do you know how many middle class families are frequenting food banks to make ends meet? Did that fact ever occur to any of you town officials when making up the town budget or Dr. Title when requesting those percentage raises to your already inflated salaries? Yes while those percentage raises in your contracts or those bonuses in the town budget are being planned for there are families who will have to sacrifice so your people can have what you ask for all the while why many middle class families scrimp and save and not have enough food to feed their families. Thats no joke! How fair is that?
The middle class families here in town were the ones who both parents went to college to provide a better life for their families. With the constant rise in the budgets how can these families do this? Fairfield should be affordable for all classes of individuals. The young families who have homes have the right to look forward to living their retirement in them as well as the middle class who have lived here longer and are getting closer to retirement and also yes the senior population who have the God given right to live in the homes they worked all their life to live in until God calls them home. That is their rights along with every resident here rights but it might not be possible if the town budgets are so out of control!
I use to console myself since I do not have my own children in school now that my taxes were going to well educate the children. Well that was until I really took a good look at the board of education budget. Did you know that 64% goes to salaries? Then another 14% goes to benefits? The smallest percentage actually goes to textbooks and supplies for the students. Something has to be done about the contracted raises the board of education receives. I feel which I am most certainly not alone on feeling this way that these contracts need to rewritten and a cap put on how high the salaries can go and the percentages of raises changed with a clause in their contracts that in a poor economy etc. these and percentages are frozen or changed to a lower percentage rate or even taken out of the contract depending on the need. When the top of the pay scale is reached well then it is time to either retire or leave to find another job! If you administrators can not live on the inflated salaries you get and raises then something is very wrong with your style of living and it is time to learn along with other town officials what the word no means. This also should include changes in the benefits packages for town employees also. Major corporations have been known to freeze benefits so why cant Fairfield . It seems to have become the notion that Fairfield has become the land of good and plenty to those of administrator level and with tenure and this has to change.
When I began to read and look over the board of education budget I was amazed at how much the school pays for utilities. When the schools here in town were at the blueprint stage did it not occur to those in charge to look into energy saving light fixtures and structures? We can not keep at the pace we are going and keep expecting the taxpayers to keep shelling out time and time again with out getting just a little angry. We also need to change how the board of education administrator is chosen. Not by a committee of individuals who know how to choose someone who will play the educational political game but by the vote of the citizens of Fairfield whose tax money goes to support these administrators salaries.
I then took a look at the town of Fairfield budget and well like the board of Education I was again amazed at what was thought the taxpayer should pay for. Did you ever get a bonus for just attending work every day? Well, Fairfield gives one and mind you this is while many families are finding it hard to make ends meet and some just about eating! Some town employees also get paid for transportation and to attend meetings. Now while the rest of us are living on a fixed income and some have been let go from their jobs or have no health insurance certain town departments are most certainly living the good life in the land of good and plenty of sweat of the taxpayer who are struggling to survive here in a poor economy. Now how fair is that?
There also has been talk about cutting waste and that is something we need to look into.
However I can give an account of gross waste when the Ludlow building was being changed from a high school to a Jr. High. I do not think many residents know this or lets say the administration would not want the residents to know of how many good school desks, teachers desks and equipment was broken up and trucked where to the town dump that taxpayer money paid for and then to again to use taxpayer money again to buy similar things again. This is most certainly NOT fair. It is also not fair not to expect us not to be just a little angry at gross waste and inflated salaries and increases.
We as taxpayers need to stand up and express our views on how our money is used. The town officials and board of education administrators answer to us and not the other way around and we have the right to expect accountability on all levels. I strongly urge all Fairfield to look at the town and board of Education budgets and speak up. It your money that is being used.
MaryHelen Melnick
Supporter of We the People
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