Submitted by Sam Rosenfeld, Greenwich
To the six BET Republicans “keeping Greenwich affordable”,
You were elected to responsibly wield immense power to maintain, as well as enhance, Greenwich’s desirability as a place to live and raise a family. We have world class public schools that draw people to move here from all over, and we only ask that you help us keep them that way. We live in a safe town with excellent police, fire, and emergency professionals, and we only ask that you provide them the resources needed to do their jobs well.
Instead, you have chosen yet again to propose severe budget cuts that leave nearly every major department in town worse than you found it. Many of us can no longer believe that you are only trying to be fiscally responsible; clearly, you place your own political beliefs above the will of the people we were elected to serve.
You say that you are working “smartly” to keep the town affordable, but all of your delays and inactions have led to rising costs to do the same projects being proposed year after year. Fiscal responsibility implies that you have some sense of responsibility for the town functioning properly, which you’ve made clear is not your priority. The priority for you six individuals is your feeling that any budget, even one that barely keeps up with the rate of inflation, is too large.
You sit listening to hundreds of citizens express their concerns for safer sidewalks, functioning fire trucks, and the jobs of public school teachers, and leave us feeling unheard and neglected as you callously cut crucial services that protect and educate people.
You deliver significant budget cuts to nearly every department in town mere hours before a meeting with your Democratic colleagues, leaving them no time to review the changes and creating unnecessary tension that hinders productive discussion. Then, you accuse them of being theatrical when you could just as easily be accused of acting like children, treating our entire budget with the same attention as a late night essay submission before class the next day.
You watch the Republican First Selectman publish popular budget drafts that generate hope for positive change, only to later introduce cuts that leave the broader community feeling misled and disillusioned.
You observe a nearly unanimous bipartisan vote on the Board of Education budget, then proceed to implement public school funding cuts that will force our board to consider cutting programs like athletics, arts, and even academics for the first time anyone can remember.
You obstruct funding for common sense projects supported by voters and passed by hundreds of elected citizens serving on the Representative Town Meeting, leaving many feeling unheard and disregarded.
The good news is, all of these people will have the opportunity to rectify the damage that you’ve done and find ways to prevent such detrimental actions from occurring in the future when they go to the ballot box this year.