Newtown Must Adhere

To The Law

To the Editor:

It is ironic that Herb Rosenthal would ask for an apology and call for my resignation for the debacle at Fairfield Hills [“Orchestrated False Allegations,” Letter Hive, 3/6/09]. It is Mr Rosenthal who has led the charge in mishandling over $20 million of taxpayer money. He supports circumventing the state law and the voters to find more money for FFH redevelopment. What remains of the 2001 bond money he has squandered is likely not enough to complete the new town hall.

Mr Rosenthal and other municipal leaders in Connecticut are fully aware of the Connecticut prevailing wage law that was adopted in 1933. While Mr Rosenthal may disagree, it is my firm belief that government officials must protect the town from possible legal and financial liabilities by adhering to all state/federal laws. We must do all we can to strengthen the town’s integrity and credibility with the state and federal agencies.

In order for Fairfield Hills redevelopment to be successful without bankrupting the town, it will be necessary to seek financial assistance from the state and the federal government. Connecticut is expected to receive nearly $3 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. There are also two pots of discretionary money ($5 billion and $1.5 billion) that may be available for Connecticut via a very competitive grant application process. Governor Rell has assembled the Connecticut Recovery Working Group to identify priority projects for the disbursement of the federal stimulus dollars.

The federal prevailing wage policy adherence is a mandatory provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Recovery and Accountability and Transparency Board has been created to conduct and coordinate oversight of covered funds to prevent “waste, fraud and abuse.”

Governor Rell has reviewed the $11 billion of submitted infrastructure requests from the municipalities and eliminated duplicates and non-shovel-ready projects and reduced the value of the projects to $6 billion. There are $89 million identified for Newtown projects with ~$7 million or more for Fairfield Hills. Attempts to skirt the prevailing wage law could compromise Newtown’s ability to obtain this stimulus money.

Whether or not we agree with the Connecticut prevailing wage law, we must adhere to the law. Possible financial penalties for skirting this law would only increase the cost of Fairfield Hills redevelopment. Mr Rosenthal and other Newtown leaders must begin to acknowledge the realities of the financial burden of redeveloping Fairfield Hills. Fairfield Hills cannot continue to be treated as an island in Newtown. We have more than ten dilapidated buildings to abate and demolish.

I was delighted when the Legislative Council unanimously endorsed the creation of a long-term planning group. I have continuously advocated for the Board of Selectmen to follow through with the Legislative Council recommendation to commission a long-term planning group to begin to strategically map out a vision and a plan for the long-term needs of Newtown. I urge Mr Rosenthal to help in this endeavor by encouraging the other selectmen to initiate this process necessary to make a long-term plan a reality. I believe Fairfield Hills will play a key role in Newtown’s strategic long-term plan.

Po Murray

Legislative Council Member

38 Charter Ridge, Sandy Hook                                    March 11, 2009