Borough Challenger Hopes To Inspire Greater Resident Involvement

By John Voket

Victor Krochta believes that for the Borough of Newtown to survive and thrive, its residents need to become more involved in its governmental processes. And he is leading by example.

On May 2, Mr Krochta will challenge incumbent Borough Warden Joan Crick for the $2,500-a-year post. He will be Ms Crick’s first viable challenger since she was duly elected to the position in 1980.

Connecticut’s last borough was incorporated in 1915, and there are less than a dozen of these governments left in the state including the one occupying a roughly two-square-mile jurisdiction encompassing most of Newtown center. For better or for worse, the Borough of Newtown operates with its own limited governmental staff that includes its warden or municipal leader, a Board of Burgesses, a clerk, an assessor, tax collector, building inspector, engineer, attorney, auditor, historic commission, tree warden, zoning commission and board of appeals, as well as a zoning enforcement officer.

While many daily operations within the borough depend on town agencies and employees like planning, probate, health, and police services for example, the borough still reaches into the pockets of its residents who pay annual borough taxes and fees to help sustain its independent operations. These charges are assessed in addition to any other taxes and fees payable to the town.

Mr Krochta told The Bee in a recent interview that the current budget, combined with last year’s borough tax increase, served as primary drivers for his seeking the top leadership position of warden. He said he is also discouraged by the level of taxpayer participation in borough government. And if he is elected, Mr Krochta said he is hoping to inspire a renewed sense of interest among the roughly 1,000 eligible voters who reside in the district.

“I’m not surprised there were only around 40 taxpayers who voted in the last borough election,” Mr Krochta said. “It’s very hard for the public to become interested and to participate unless you have an active leadership that reaches out to taxpayers to both educate and invite them to participate.”

He said most residents just write a check when their borough taxes come due, and in recent months, he is often the only person in the audience at the borough meetings he attends.

“By getting more people involved in this unique and historical form of government, more taxpayers will feel a sense of investment and they will be more likely to feel these extra tax dollars aren’t being wasted,” Mr Krochta said. “I think there has been little going on in the form of political challenges in our government until last year’s tax bills arrived. From my perspective, that tax increase made a lot more people take notice of the borough’s government. It certainly made me take notice.”

According to information Mr Krochta has been circulating among borough taxpayers, the 2003-04 budget for borough operations stood at $185,030. But in just one year, the operating budget jumped to $227,143.

“I do not want to see an assessment increase for borough residents, and whether or not I’m elected warden, I am calling for a moratorium on [increased] spending in the 2005-06 budget,” he said.

Mr Krochta related that his platform may sound like rhetoric, but his mission is simple and heartfelt.

“If elected, I want to establish a more open government allowing for a more informed resident,” he said. “I am also a big proponent of fiscal responsibility and responsible spending on meaningful projects for the borough.”

Mr Krochta cited two specific and recent examples of ways in which he said the current borough leadership has mismanaged projects, leaving taxpayers to pay the penalty.

He said a sidewalk improvement project that was taxed and funded in last year’s budget has yet to begin. And he pointed out the project to enclose the war memorial with heavy elaborate stone and chain barriers, which met with both public opposition and official obstacles once construction commenced.

“Borough taxpayers have been paying for sidewalks that were never completed,” he said. “It looks like a case of the project being budgeted [and awarded] without any real idea of the ultimate cost, and without any contractual stipulations or installation deadlines.”

He also pointed out that an $11,000 increase was budgeted on top of an existing $10,000 allocation for improvements to sidewalks and the war memorial, only to have the latter project discontinued after significant labor and material costs were already expended.

“There was a lot of public outcry and complaints about how it was going to look once the project was finished. But it was the DOT that shut the project down. If the borough is going to budget my tax dollars for projects, I would at least like to see the proper research done in advance so money isn’t expended only to have the project stopped because someone failed to get the necessary clearance to do it in the first place,” Mr Krochta said.

In terms of the overall borough government structure, the candidate would like to take a hard look at all the offices to see where other efficiencies may be developed in cooperation with the town.

“I’m not an advocate of dissolving the borough government, but we can certainly apply 21st Century business practices here behind the scenes without losing the quaint characteristics of the neighborhoods,” he said. “I would further recommend doing the same type of comprehensive review of all borough zoning rules and other policies, especially the updated zoning rules to be sure they can be legally and uniformly applied across the entire borough.”

He said he is willing to contribute to greater fiscal responsibility by taking a significant pay cut, restoring the borough warden’s salary to $1,000 a year from the current $2,500 salary.

Mr Krochta has already appeared on behalf of his borough neighbors at police commission hearings speaking in support of increased traffic control measures. He said he is also more than willing to provide greater borough representation before town boards when necessary.

“I want to be a strong advocate for residents,” he said.

In order to inspire more residents to get involved in borough activities, Mr Krochta said he would significantly enhance the ways in which those activities are promoted.

“I’d like to see more coverage of upcoming borough meetings in The Bee. I would recommend posting more complete agendas for meetings in public locations, not just the same agenda with the same outline of meeting activities month after month. And I would look seriously at adopting the same practices as the Legislative Council, allowing public participation at both the beginning and end of each meeting,” he said.

Mr Krochta is originally from Redding where he raised his two sons, now age 26 and 27. He spent 25 years as a GM certified auto technician before he retired from the field five years ago. He is now the second shift manager for a multimillion-dollar auto service business in Ridgefield.

In addition to his work, he is very dedicated to assisting his wife in rescuing and rehabilitating Siberian husky dogs.

“I’m more of a driver and my wife does most of the rescue work,” he said.  “But since we got involved in the effort, we’ve been able to rescue and place more than 50 adopted huskies, along with adopting a few of them ourselves.”

The candidate resides with his wife at 8 The Boulevard. He invites any interested borough or Newtown residents to contact him with other ideas about improving the borough at 270-8233 or via email at victorkrochta@aol.com.

All eligible residents may cast their votes in the borough election on May 2.