Money Ill Spent

To the Editor:

Joe Borst is guiltily patting himself on the back for his role in the completion of the fiasco that Herb Rosenthal staked his career on: the new town hall. Borrowing and spending tens of millions of dollars (how much it appears nobody really knows) for a new town hall that we didn’t need or want, and that doesn’t hold a candle to the old one, was a selfish and shortsighted boondoggle.

Politicians like Joe and Herb act like we will never have to pay the principal amount of our mountain of debt on any of these projects. They prefer to look at capital projects from the “can we make the payments” perspective. Principal comes due on all of this and that day is coming. Low rates won’t last forever and that is the last time we want to have a load of debt on. Taxes will necessarily skyrocket when the municipal “refi” becomes as difficult as the residential mortgage one. We are running up the town’s credit card at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons, and recovering from it is going to be painful for those who remain in town.

The new town hall was not money well spent; it is a result of our dysfunctional town government.

Eric Steinkraus

22 Walker Hill Road, Sandy Hook                        December 9, 2009