For once, and perhaps not for the last time if we are lucky, the news from Greenwich’s Town Hall sounds less like the muffled beat of partisan drums and more like a tuning fork struck with precision. The swearing-in of the new Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) on January 7 marked not just the beginning of a term, but the arrival—at last—of a new season of cooperation.
David Weisbrod, now Chair of the BET, did not trumpet personal ambition in his opening remarks. He thanked his predecessor, Harry Fisher, and spoke of duty—not dominance. “We are all, all of us, partners in this endeavor,” he said. These were not ceremonial words. They were the reintroduction of something old and reliable in government: civility.
Greenwich has seen sharper days on the BET dais. Moments when the chamber felt less like a boardroom and more like a battlefield, with budgets becoming proxy wars for political posturing. There were years when the votes split down party lines, when logic lost to loyalty, and when constituents, the real stakeholders in town government, were left to wonder why reason had been exiled. That, it seems, may be changing.
This Board arrived with an unusual sign of maturity: unanimous votes for leadership positions. In today’s polarized world, that unanimity is not quaint. It is instructive. It says to the community, “We are not here to perform; we are here to govern.” Greenwich residents—many of whom have worked in finance, law, education, and infrastructure—recognize the difference.
The BET is not ornamental. It is powerful, perhaps more so than any other board in town. It controls the town’s checkbook and its purse strings, approving every dollar before it flows into classrooms, firehouses, roads, and parks. Its decisions shape how we live and what we can afford. In such a position, trust among its members is not optional; it is foundational.
Weisbrod’s remarks deserve a second reading. “We will strive to engage collaboratively with other elected officials… We will listen carefully to their voices.” The keyword there is listen. For many years, governance in Greenwich has felt like a room full of people waiting for their turn to speak. Listening—true listening—was rare. But in a town as capable as this, where private sector resumes read like symphonies of achievement, it is public sector humility that we’ve needed.
The new Vice Chair, Matt DesChamps, and committee members such as Laura Erickson, Elliot Alchek, and Steven Selbst bring serious credentials. But more than résumés, they bring relationships. They have served not just on committees, but as liaisons—those sometimes-overlooked roles that require presence more than prominence. Their work has connected the BET to schools, infrastructure projects, and sustainability efforts not as overlords but as partners. That spirit matters.
One hears echoes of Lincoln in Weisbrod’s tone. “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present,” Lincoln said. “As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.” Though Greenwich is not in crisis, it is navigating complexity— aging school buildings, rising energy costs, and the challenge of keeping taxes predictable while preserving the excellence that defines this town. These are not problems solved by slogans, but by spreadsheets and open minds.
The public should be encouraged, not just by the composition of the BET, but by the attitude it signals. Trust may still be fragile, but it is being repaired. The votes were unanimous. The tone was respectful. The charge was clear.
Let this be remembered as the year when Greenwich’s most powerful board chose to sit not at opposite ends of a long table, but side by side, shoulder to shoulder, in service to a town they all call home.
