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

Allan Smith

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.

Allan Smith

Allan Smith is a 2025 candidate for mayor of Rocky Hill. He shares his Old Main st, Rocky Hill home of over 10 years with his wife Arianna while actively serving his community through multiple civic roles. As vice chair of the Rocky Hill Democratic Town Committee, he also contributes his expertise to the town’s Affordable Housing Committee, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Economic Development Commission. Allan’s commitment to community improvement extends to his advocacy for expanding public art initiatives throughout Rocky Hill, by founding the non-profit “Rocky Hill Arts Now” in 2025. His professional background in real estate is complemented by his volunteer work with various local and statewide real estate and business trade organizations, demonstrating his deep investment in both the economic and cultural development of the Rocky Hill and surrounding areas.

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8 responses to “Rocky Hill Budget Cuts: A Short-Term Win or Long-Term Gamble?”

  1. Amy Avatar
    Amy

    Great article Allan, thanks for the transparency- it’s appreciated!

    Reply
    1. Allan Smith Avatar
      Allan Smith

      Thanks for reading Amy. I feel like we quickly forget how these decisions may affect us down the road, so when we all of a sudden have a crisis, we forget what caused it in the first place.

      Reply
  2. Ed Chiucarello Avatar
    Ed Chiucarello

    Thanks for this summary. We need to know what’s happening. Much appreciated.

    Reply
    1. Allan Smith Avatar
      Allan Smith

      Thanks for reading Ed. I know most people don’t have the time to watch all of these hours-long meetings!

      Reply
  3. Toni Palazzolo Avatar
    Toni Palazzolo

    I am glad someone knows the facts. I asked at the Mayors lunch how many new hires we have had since COVID. The answer: I don’t know! I would like to see where they hired and why they cut for the requested senior position. If anything we need a count of how many contacts a day are made at each area of service and the amount of workers in those areas. Ultimately this is a reflection of the health of our community. Toni Palazzolo

    Reply
    1. Allan Smith Avatar
      Allan Smith

      Hi Toni, It takes time to dig through the budget, and particularly to go back and figure out “headcount”, so it is hard to get a firm grasp, but I can say (because I did take the time to research in the past), that Rocky Hill has added at least one person to the PD every year until last year. In the 2019-2020 budget Rocky Hill had under 50 full-time uniformed and civilians. Now we have 54/55 depending on whether we are fully staffed as of today or not. That’s a 10% increase, while population growth has been flat. There is a good argument to be made that we needed some more officers to deal with post-COVID property crime, etc, but this is the department where headcount has had the most increase. Meanwhile the library, for instance, has had increased traffic, but a smaller budget than it had in 2018, and the senior center’s use has steadily increased, but their budget has struggled to keep up.

      Reply
  4. Toni Palazzolo Avatar
    Toni Palazzolo

    I have nothing against the pd because we are bringing in more with all the new apartments. I do question offices where I do not observe people at the windows while others are running their tails off with customers such as the library and the senior center. The question is what is being spent on each age group The seniors need their portion since they paid for schools for years. It’s now their time to have their “ school”. Their health reflects the community. Programmming keeps minds alive. I had a friend suggest today that we are in financial trouble!

    Reply
  5. Allan Smith Avatar
    Allan Smith

    I’m not necessarily objecting to the PD either. I do hope that we are not too top-heavy in administration, versus patrol though.
    Have you been to the library on a Saturday morning? It’s a madhouse it’s so busy. Much like the senior center for a Wednesday special lunch.
    Financially, my concern is that all we are doing is metaphorically making minimum payments with the town’s credit card. We’re spending money on the bare minimum, which is costing us more in the long-run. Especially while we’re looking at the next 3.5 years of economic turmoil.

    Reply

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