Rocky Hill Democrats logo - a kicking donkey

Category: Town Government

  • Hold Your Nose and Vote

    Hold Your Nose and Vote

    Sometimes when you vote, both choices are so noxious that you feel like holding your nose.  It happened to me last week, when I cast my vote as a Rocky Hill Town Council member for the Town’s 2025-2026 budget.

    If “kicking the can down the road” were an Olympic sport, this budget would be a gold-medal contender.  The Town Manager’s proposed budget was already very lean, but the Republican majority assembled a list of cuts that included a $300,000 reduction for road maintenance, a $732,000 reduction from the Town’s recommended contribution to its pension fund, a $300,000 reduction to the Board of Education, and a $150,000 reduction to building improvements.  This budget aims to hold the Town together with duct tape and zip ties.

    So, why, you may ask, did I vote yes?  I put my strong reservations on the record before I cast my vote.  As I explained, I realize that many of our homeowners are still reeling from the heavy tax increase they suffered a year ago after the townwide property revaluation.  People need another year to readjust.  I understand that the overriding priority this year was to keep any tax increase to a bare minimum.

    But as I also explained, we are setting ourselves up for a major course correction next year.  We can’t repeatedly underfund our pension plan.  We can’t indefinitely defer road maintenance and building improvements.  We can’t maintain a virtual hiring freeze in a growing town with growing demand for Town services.

    And we should not accept a zero-growth Grand List, which Rocky Hill has endured for at least four years now.  When a town fails to add taxable property to its base year after year, the existing taxpayers get slammed.

    So, weighing all of this, I held my nose and voted yes.  But, speaking as a lifelong Mets fan, I can only say – wait till next year.

    Opinion piece:This article reflects the position of the author and not necessarily those of the Democratic Town Committee.

  • Rocky Hill Budget Cuts: A Short-Term Win or Long-Term Gamble?

    Rocky Hill Budget Cuts: A Short-Term Win or Long-Term Gamble?

    Last night, the Rocky Hill Town Council ratified a new budget—but not without surprises.

    The original budget proposal called for a spending increase of just over 3.5%, totaling approximately $3.8 million. Given the town’s flat economic growth, this would have required a tax increase for all residents.

    In response, the council’s majority unveiled a last-minute proposal to slash that increase nearly in half, cutting about $1.9 million. On the surface, this sounds like good news—who doesn’t like lower taxes? But we need to ask: How were these cuts possible if the town manager had already presented a “tight” budget?

    The answer lies in the details.

    Roughly $1.3 million of the reductions came from major funding cuts to critical areas:

    • The town’s pension contributions
    • Public school improvements
    • Road maintenance

    The remaining cuts were spread across nearly every department, including:

    • Library services
    • Senior center staffing
    • Departmental overtime

    When questioned about the wisdom of cutting pension payments, both the town manager and finance director admitted they would not recommend it. Their plan? Simply “hope” that we can make it up next year.

    But hope is not a plan.

    For the past six years, this administration has relied on hope instead of action:

    • Hoping new businesses will come to town
    • Hoping school infrastructure holds up
    • Hoping for mild weather to save on seasonal costs

    What we need is a comprehensive plan:

    • A plan to grow our Grand List
    • A plan to fund future infrastructure and maintenance
    • A plan to preserve essential services for our residents

    Instead, the current approach is to blame the state for not providing enough aid—without showing how the town has used the funds we have received. Where are the new sidewalks? The composting program? The HVAC system for our elementary schools?

    What’s happening isn’t fiscal responsibility—it’s deferral. We’re not just kicking the can down the road—we’re kicking a snowball down a hill, and we all know how that ends in Connecticut.

    Let’s demand more than hope. Let’s institute a plan.

    Opinion piece:This article reflects the position of the author and not necessarily those of the Democratic Town Committee.