First Selectman Weekly Update 5-15-2020

Hello North Stonington,

This week I wanted to share an update based on my perspective with everyone as it relates to the town finances and future planning. I have the good (or bad depending on how you look at it) fortune of attending many meetings in town on a weekly basis. Some topics continue to come up regularly as discussion points so I wanted to share my thoughts on some of them.

Having attended my weekly briefing on the Governors conference call this past Wednesday there is some good news at least financially. Though there is always much talk about the State of CT's finances, it appears given our healthy rainy day fund balance, the State will be able to weather the COVID-19 storm from a financial perspective this fiscal year. We were told that the towns will receive the aid they were promised for this fiscal year which is great. They are feeling like recovery will be V shaped and thus remain hopeful that this will reduce long-term economic impacts to the State. 

We also remain in a good financial position here locally in North Stonington. Through the good stewardship of our governing boards over the years, the town has built a healthy undesignated (rainy day) fund with over three million dollars or 15% of our budget. The Board of Finance past and present should be commended for this, in particular Chairman Dan Spring who spearheaded this initiative a decade ago when we had almost nothing in reserve and the catastrophic flooding hit our area with much damage to many bridges, businesses, and homes in town. Having these types of reserves are very helpful as we are able to borrow when necessary at historically low rates given the strong fiscal picture of the town. Having these reserves now is also helping us as we currently have some shortfalls which the Board of Finance is currently looking at utilizing some funds from this fund to help offset. One of the purposes of this fund has been to help keep us in strong financial shape and to have these funds available should there be times we need to use them such as this.

The Board of Selectmen recently sent a postcard about the water/sewer initiative in town that we are preparing to soon discuss in more detail. This has been met with support and resistance depending on who you talk to. I would like to summarize the reason that I feel this initiative is important...

We know that the State has slowly reduced the funding our town receives over the past decade. This funding continues to decline. We depend on approximately 5 million dollars in intergovernmental revenue from the State. We have very few businesses in town and thus any cuts from the state or increases in the budgets are felt sharply by individual taxpayers. Most taxpayers we hear from (vocal ones) do not want their taxes to increase... and who really does? In the event that the trend of reduced revenue from the State continues, we must have grand list growth to mitigate tax increases. Some would also say that we can simply reduce our spending if this happens. You may be surprised to know that over the last 3 general government budgets that have been approved and the current proposal for FY2021, they have been nearly flat with only an average of .25% increases per year. Only a couple of years ago the Board of Education was putting forth 0% increases in their budgets. What I have personally witnessed over the last decade is a commitment to keeping spending down. Where spending takes place it is an investment in the community. At times you must invest. This town made the smart decision over the last few years to invest in some very important things like our emergency services center, schools, fire trucks, ambulance, and  highway equipment to name a few. With historically low interest rates these were very smart investments at the time.

I mention all of this because our Plan of Conservation and Development talks about affordability as one of the main themes. Most people want things to remain affordable here in town. If we were to continue to lose our state funding it would force dramatic mil rate increases. In order for us to proactively offset this we are looking for some larger scale development in our Economic Development and Industrial zones (off of exit 92 area and around the Rotary). If the town does not want to have this, that can and certainly will be discussed at future meetings however it must be known and understood, without some larger scale development taxes will likely continue to rise. Our Planning and Zoning has been very thoughtful designating only certain areas (off exit 92, 93, & near foxwoods) as development areas. Chairman Lou Steinbrecher and the entire Planning and Zoning committees past and present should be commended for their forward thinking planning process. This planning puts the town in a position so if development comes, it is where the town has said we want it to be. These areas represent places that were designated so they do not hurt the character and charm of our town while also bringing more services and amenities to the area. 

There is no question our beautiful town is best known and appreciated for its open space and agricultural backbone. No one is looking to change this. We are simply looking to compliment it and find a way for the town to remain an affordable place to live while keeping with the character we have all come to know and love. 

As the budget process winds down and the town hearing will soon approach, please know that for the many years that I have been here, much work has gone into creating and following a roadmap that will benefit all of North Stonington. While it is never possible to please everyone, it is certainly possible to implement policies, procedures, & direction that benefits the greater good and the community as a whole. That is what we are striving for. Should anyone have questions or concerns feel free to call, email, message, or schedule a time to chat. 

Finally, someone said that we are not all in the same boat as it relates to COVID-19, but we are all in the same ocean. I hope those who are struggling are finding the help they need and if you are not, please call 211 and ask for help, it is out there. For those who are doing ok, I hope you have had the opportunity to find some way to enjoy the "pause" this has provided for many people. We in fact live in one of the greatest places for a pause, North Stonington CT!