To the Editor,
The recent budget decisions emanating from Greenwich’s Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) represent not merely a fiscal miscalculation, but a profound betrayal of the community’s trust. A partisan majority, six Republican members wielding their narrow electoral advantage, enacted a budget that recklessly underfunds our schools, defunds Hamill Skating Rink project, delays critical repair to Hamilton Avenue School HVAC system, ignores RTM ordinance on the use of gas leaf blowers, and defers traffic and safety improvements. This Town deserves a finance board that works collaboratively with residents and other town officials and uses complete and accurate information to support decision-making. This budget proves that ideology and personal opinion are now the basis for budget appropriations.
The process itself was a travesty. Last-minute amendments, sprung. upon the board with scant time for due diligence, slashed funding for vital services and infrastructure with little justification. The demand for reasonable and customary review, for the exercise of our fiduciary responsibilities, was met with obstinate refusal. The result is a budget that dismisses safety improvements, preparedness for future storms, necessary infrastructure projects, and critical teachers. These are not luxuries; they are fundamental investments in the wellbeing and resilience of our community. The purpose for these cuts was never vocalized, so we can only surmise it was done for two reasons – hubris and a myopic pursuit of short-term tax relief which will boomerang with larger tax increases in future years.
What was incredible throughout the three days of meetings was the dismissive disregard for expert opinion and for the reasoned recommendations of town employees and engineers. There was no advance disclosure to senior management of the amendments or discussion of the impacts of those cutbacks. There was no discussion on what it means for future budgets – not in public meetings or behind closed doors. The fact that the First Selectman decried these cuts provides clear evidence of six people imposing their will and ignoring any other source of information. Equally important is their dismissiveness of public input expressed through public hearings and thousands of emails as if it was of no concern.
The assault on Greenwich Public Schools is particularly egregious. A $4 million reduction to their budget request leaves a budget that does not cover contractual wage increases for the current staff. How is this action justifiable when the budget was proposed with overwhelming bipartisan support from the Board of Education and our Republican First Selectman? Despite many opportunities to better understand the rationale of the proposed schools budget, Republicans instead returned to repeating old disproven data. Every year, the school’s administration provides data countering these false claims, yet they return nonetheless like weeds in a spring garden. BET Republicans clearly have no understanding of the impact of this cut. Instead, in their remarks, they chose to denigrate our teachers by questioning their commitment to the profession, to Greenwich, and to our children.
And make no mistake, compromise and negotiation was never on the table. Tossing out lower numbers for public consumption was all an act. They presented a facade of compromise, while the underlying damage remained. Republicans’ refusal to engage with school administrators, to understand the real-world impact of their decisions, is an abdication of responsible governance, and something none of us could endorse.
The BET is not a supreme authority. Its role is to scrutinize, to analyze, and to ensure fiscal prudence within a framework that recognizes the long-term needs of our town. The current economic climate, with its inherent uncertainties, demands a measured and strategic approach to budgeting. Instead, we have witnessed a display of ideological rigidity, a disregard for sound financial planning, and a prioritization of fleeting tax reductions over the enduring health of our community.
Maintaining our historic practice of keeping taxes among the lowest in the region is essential. We supported a budget that was significantly lower than the proposed First Selectman’s budget but supports projects our community values and funds the services necessary to operate our town safely. Budgets must balance short term tax rate considerations with longer term capital planning to reduce fiscal risks and large, unexpected tax increases down the road.
The residents of Greenwich deserve better. They deserve a government that listens, that respects expertise, and that prioritizes the well-being of the entire community. The opportunity to restore responsible governance will arrive on November 4th. Until then, the damage inflicted by this terrible partisan budget will reverberate through our town, a stark reminder of the cost of ideological intransigence.
Your Democratic BET Representatives for all Greenwich,
Elliot Alchek, Matt DesChamps, Scott Kalb, Leslie Moriarty, Stephen Selbst, David Weisbrod
