A Call to Action
Please Vote
Tuesday, November 7th
Please Vote
Tuesday, November 7th
VOTING HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER OR MORE IMPORTANT
In case you haven’t noticed all the lawn signs and mailers, there is a municipal election on Tuesday, November 7th. Fairfield Taxpayer urges you to vote either in person or by absentee ballot (see below), and when you do, to consider the following:
In addition, the new State budget was "balanced" only by relying heavily on one-time revenues like "fund sweeps" (e.g., $175 million from the Energy Conservation Fund), and so there are already predictions of multi-billion-dollar deficits for the next biennium (fiscal years '20 and '21).
For all these reasons, Fairfield Taxpayer urges you to vote for candidates whose only loyalty is to the best long-term interests of our Town as a whole, and who will oppose any increases in our tax rate that is greater than the rate of inflation (currently 1.5%-2.0%). This applies particularly to candidates for the BOF and the RTM because of the critical roles they play in the budget process in holding the line on spending and taxes. The RTM is also responsible for approving all labor contracts.
It is also important to remember that although only 30% of its members are residents of Fairfield, the Teachers’ Union (the “FEA”) spearheaded the petition effort to force a special election for the Board of Selectmen in June, and, at that time, in his own words, the Union president told his members: “we need to do everything we can to help the democrats . . . because our new contract will be coming up for a vote this fall . . . and “the democrats will put up a very pro-education candidate.” FEA-endorsed candidates already control Fairfield’s Board of Education, the body that negotiates and approves teacher and other school salaries, benefits and work rules that determine almost half of Fairfield’s total spending. This is exactly the kind of union influence that has led our State into its growing fiscal crisis.
What Municipal Offices Will You Be Voting For?
There are no seats open on the Board of Selectmen, whose three members are all elected at the same time every four years. The elections this year are for five of the nine seats on the Board of Finance (BOF), four of the nine seats on the Board of Education (BOE), all 40 of the seats on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), and four of the seven seats on the Town Plan & Zoning Commission (TPZ).
Absentee Voting is Very Easy
If you will not be able to make it to the polls on Election Day, you can vote by “absentee ballot,“ either in person or by mail. The Town of Fairfield website provides easy instructions as to how to do this using the following link:
http://www.fairfieldct.org/absenteevoting
You can also call Betsy Browne, Fairfield Town Clerk, at 203-256-3090.
If You Don’t Know Your Voting District Number or Polling Place
If you don’t know your voting district or polling place, you can find out on the Town’s website using the following link:
http://www.fairfieldct.org/wheredoivote
*An earlier version of this message incorrectly stated that it would have been possible for the Democrats to win control of the Board of Finance if they had nominated five candidates and won all of the open seats. We were wrong. We relied on the “minority-representation” rule in the Town Charter (8.3.A), and overlooked another clause (2.2.B) that says “when an uneven number of members of a board or commission is to be elected, no political party shall nominate . . . more than a bare majority of the number of persons to be elected.” Since there are three BOF six-years seats open in the coming election (along with two additional seats for members who were appointed to fill vacancies), each party can nominate and win only two of those three seats. Thanks to an alert reader for holding us to the highest standards of accuracy.
In case you haven’t noticed all the lawn signs and mailers, there is a municipal election on Tuesday, November 7th. Fairfield Taxpayer urges you to vote either in person or by absentee ballot (see below), and when you do, to consider the following:
- Fairfield is facing the greatest challenge to its future prosperity since British warships appeared off its coast in 1779. Although the State Assembly finally managed to pass a budget for the current fiscal year and did so with veto-proof majorities in both houses, Connecticut still faces a serious and deepening financial crisis that threatens our future. Although the new State budget avoids immediate further cuts in municipal aid and the transfer of any teacher pension costs, it is only a matter of time before these or similar threats to Fairfield return because the new State budget does not address any of the “elephants in the room,” which are:
- Size of Government -- CT still provides more public services than it can afford to pay for with predictable, recurring revenues, in part because it pays its public employees a substantial premium over what they could make in the private sector; see Unequal Pay: Public Vs. Private Sector Compensation in Connecticut, Yankee Institute
- Unfunded Retirement Liabilities -- CT still has huge unfunded retirement liabilities and rising debt service costs (as its debt mounts and its credit rating deteriorates), the cost of which will continue to escalate, resulting in chronic budget crises in coming years; and
- Infrastructure Needs -- CT still faces huge deferred costs to maintain and improve its neglected infrastructure, without which it cannot generate the strong economic growth and job creation (no job growth in 28 years) that it needs to reverse its declining tax base (measured in both incomes and property values).
In addition, the new State budget was "balanced" only by relying heavily on one-time revenues like "fund sweeps" (e.g., $175 million from the Energy Conservation Fund), and so there are already predictions of multi-billion-dollar deficits for the next biennium (fiscal years '20 and '21).
- Meanwhile, at a time when Social Security recipients received no cost-of-living increase in their 2016 benefits and only a 0.3% increase in 2017 (i.e., less than one-third of one percent), the cost of teachers, administrators, police officers, firefighters and other public employees in Fairfield continues to rise 3%-4% annually, driven by 2%-2.5% increases in salaries and so-called “steps” (longevity awards), and ~8% increases in healthcare costs.
- Not surprisingly, our home values remain weak, particularly at the higher end of the market, and Fairfield’s tax base, already down 10% from its 2011 peak (even without accounting for the further erosion in home prices since the last revaluation in 2015), will be essentially flat in FY 2018 and FY 2019 as the benefit from new construction is offset by the sale of the G.E. property to Sacred Heart.
- Finally, the winners in “off-year” municipal elections, when voter turnout has been as low as 28% (2009), can easily be determined by the education lobby, which is by far the most powerful special interest group in Town, led by the Teachers’ Union (the Fairfield Education Association) and benefiting from the natural organization of school PTAs. This powerful lobby appeals to the 30% of voters who have children in our public schools – voters who may not be inclined to challenge as rigorously as they should the appeals from the BOE, from the PTA, and from teachers, administrators and coaches to spend more than Fairfield can afford on our schools given the growing fiscal challenges we face. We all understand the importance of good schools to our children and our property values, but we must also consider the long-term consequences of spending more than we can afford on any of our public services, particularly at a time like this.
For all these reasons, Fairfield Taxpayer urges you to vote for candidates whose only loyalty is to the best long-term interests of our Town as a whole, and who will oppose any increases in our tax rate that is greater than the rate of inflation (currently 1.5%-2.0%). This applies particularly to candidates for the BOF and the RTM because of the critical roles they play in the budget process in holding the line on spending and taxes. The RTM is also responsible for approving all labor contracts.
It is also important to remember that although only 30% of its members are residents of Fairfield, the Teachers’ Union (the “FEA”) spearheaded the petition effort to force a special election for the Board of Selectmen in June, and, at that time, in his own words, the Union president told his members: “we need to do everything we can to help the democrats . . . because our new contract will be coming up for a vote this fall . . . and “the democrats will put up a very pro-education candidate.” FEA-endorsed candidates already control Fairfield’s Board of Education, the body that negotiates and approves teacher and other school salaries, benefits and work rules that determine almost half of Fairfield’s total spending. This is exactly the kind of union influence that has led our State into its growing fiscal crisis.
What Municipal Offices Will You Be Voting For?
There are no seats open on the Board of Selectmen, whose three members are all elected at the same time every four years. The elections this year are for five of the nine seats on the Board of Finance (BOF), four of the nine seats on the Board of Education (BOE), all 40 of the seats on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), and four of the seven seats on the Town Plan & Zoning Commission (TPZ).
- Board of Finance: Republicans currently hold six of the nine seats (which is the maximum allowed under the Town Charter), four of which are NOT up for election (Becker, Brown, LeClerc and Walsh). With five seats open, one might think control of this board could have changed after this election, but the Town Charter allows each party to run only two candidates for the three 6-year seats that are open, and thus even if all Democrat candidates win, the Republicans would still have a 5/4 majority.*
- Board of Education: Democrats currently hold five of the nine seats, three of which are NOT up for election (Dwyer, Gerber and Maxon-Kennelly). With two Democrat seats and three Republican seats up for election, control of this board could have changed after this election, but under the Town Charter each party is allowed to win only two of the four open four-year seats (the other open seat is a two-year seat because it was filled by appointment after a resignation). Thus, even if the Democrats lose all three of the other open seats, with their guaranteed two seats they will retain a 5/4 majority.
- Representative Town Meeting: Republicans currently hold 21 of the 40 seats, a narrow one-seat majority, and all 40 seats are up for election. The RTM is the last line of defense for restraining the Town’s spending and taxes.
- Town Plan and Zoning: Republicans currently hold five of the seven regular TPZ seats, and two of its three alternate seats. Two of the Republican seats (Francis and Wagner) and one of the Democrat seats (McAleese) are NOT up for election, but with four regular seats open (three Republican and one Democrat), control of the TPZ could change if the Democrats win three of the four open seats. Keep in mind that the TPZ is responsible for balancing the competing demands to increase our tax base and to preserve the character of our Town at a time when major changes will have to be considered if Fairfield wants to continue to prosper in a state that is in perpetual fiscal crisis. In addition to the four open regular seats, all three alternate seats are open because they are for terms of only two years.
Absentee Voting is Very Easy
If you will not be able to make it to the polls on Election Day, you can vote by “absentee ballot,“ either in person or by mail. The Town of Fairfield website provides easy instructions as to how to do this using the following link:
http://www.fairfieldct.org/absenteevoting
You can also call Betsy Browne, Fairfield Town Clerk, at 203-256-3090.
If You Don’t Know Your Voting District Number or Polling Place
If you don’t know your voting district or polling place, you can find out on the Town’s website using the following link:
http://www.fairfieldct.org/wheredoivote
*An earlier version of this message incorrectly stated that it would have been possible for the Democrats to win control of the Board of Finance if they had nominated five candidates and won all of the open seats. We were wrong. We relied on the “minority-representation” rule in the Town Charter (8.3.A), and overlooked another clause (2.2.B) that says “when an uneven number of members of a board or commission is to be elected, no political party shall nominate . . . more than a bare majority of the number of persons to be elected.” Since there are three BOF six-years seats open in the coming election (along with two additional seats for members who were appointed to fill vacancies), each party can nominate and win only two of those three seats. Thanks to an alert reader for holding us to the highest standards of accuracy.
