May 13, 2010
Volunteers Needed
Colchester is a community truly run by volunteers. Whether it is serving for a particular issue, sitting on one of the many town boards, or holding elected office, volunteers set the direction of this town and conduct much of the work needed. The town owes a huge debt of gratitude to those who have served in the past or who are serving today. Their accomplishments can be seen everyday around town.
Colchester is now asking again for some people to step up and serve their community through some of the several vacancies open right now. There is a wide variety of positions available that cover a range of areas. For instance, we have an opening on the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for an alternate. The ZBA is a land use board that hears appeals on administrative decisions and decides on requests for variances from applicants. It’s a great board to learn more about zoning regulations and land usage which I can personally attest to as I was once an alternate myself.
Another board with a vacancy is the Police Commission. The Police Commission is responsible for the general management and supervision of the local officers in conjunction with the Resident State Trooper program. Typical duties of the commission include the hiring, firing, discipline, and promotion of officers. Additionally, they enact policies that govern the officers.
Finally, we recently lost Board of Assessment Appeals member Gary Harris. Gary was an integral part of this community. He volunteered countless hours for the town and once was a candidate for First Selectman. His passing is a great loss to Colchester. Per the town charter, the vacancy must be filled by someone of the same party as Gary (Republican) and within 60 days of the vacancy. These are some big shoes to fill, but I’m hopeful someone will step up to serve.
State Budget
Recently, the state budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year was passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Rell. The budget included a .9% increase in spending and held municipal aid flat as was expected. Not increasing municipal aid obviously hurts the town, but we are thankful that next year we won’t have to deal with a decrease in municipal aid.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the 2011-2012 state budget. I am gravely concerned at the fiscal direction the state is going. The projected deficit in 2011-2012 is over $3 billion. The state is paying for operations through securitization of revenue streams and taking on more debt. This has the potential to severely cripple the state and in turn, towns like Colchester. Without a change in direction, I am very fearful of what will happen in the next couple of years.
Besides the budget, other pending legislation was dealt with. The Real Estate Conveyance Tax was allowed to expire which will cost the town between $10-15,000 in revenue (although we’re told that it will be passed in special session). Also, some minor mandates were lifted by the General Assembly around posting of materials to the town website and the storage of property of evicted tenants. The in-school suspension mandate was allowed to remain as were other costly mandates.
- Gregg Schuster
First Selectman
Previous Selectman Notes can be viewed at
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