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.
