February 17, 2011
Community Shines During Storms
I want to personally thank the residents of Colchester for their patience and understanding during the past few weeks as Town crews and staff worked tirelessly to clear roads, move snow, salt and sand the roads, and clear snow off roofs from public buildings.
The road crews have, on average, worked twenty to thirty hours of overtime each week for the past few weeks making sure that roads were clear, sightlines were acceptable, and hazardous conditions were eliminated to the best of their ability.
Colchester really showed its true colors throughout this whole ordeal. Residents loaned snow blowers to the town to get the schools open. Contractors cleared snow from roofs for free on the houses of those who couldn’t pay. Driveways and sidewalks were anonymously plowed.
Everyone pitched in and ensured that we got through this as a community. I can’t thank everyone enough for their understanding and concern as we dealt with this unprecedented weather. I’m hopeful we’re past the worst of it and that all of our buildings are out of danger.
The harsh weather also serves to remind us that there are those less fortunate in the community that need help to make it through the winter. The Colchester Fuel Bank provides assistance for those who can’t afford to heat their homes.
As we did last year, Jack Faski, Fred Brown, and myself camped out on the town green to raise money for the Colchester Fuel Bank. The support we received was unbelievable and we several thousand dollars. I want to thank everyone who donated money, supplies, or food for the event. Among those businesses donating food and supplies were Towne Auction Sales, REI, Hung Won, Subway, Family Pizza, Starbucks, Home Designs by Bruno, Wendy’s and Illianos.
Budget Process Continuing
Due to the weather, the Budget Forum was rescheduled to Wednesday, March 2nd at Town Hall at 7PM. I hope many of you can make it in order to give us your input as we craft next year’s budget.
One piece of good news that we have received is that the governor has pledged to preserve our current level of Educational Cost Share (ECS) funding. Colchester schools receive over $14 million dollars in state aid and a cut to those funds would have been devastating.
We are still concerned over the other aid the state gives Colchester. We receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in aid that could be in jeopardy. The governor has recently released his proposed budget and I am analyzing it to see what the impact to Colchester may be.
As always, I urge everyone to participate in the budget process. There are multiple meetings, workshops, and forums to attend. All the schedules and information can be found on the town website at www.colchesterct.gov .
- Gregg Schuster
First Selectman
Previous Selectman Notes can be viewed at
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