A Response To The First Selectman

To the Editor:

Herb Rosenthal recently wrote a letter to The Newtown Bee taking exception to my characterization of the Fairfield Hills Authority (FHA) as being created by “legislative sleight of hand.” [“First Selectman Addresses ‘Misrepresentations,’” October 12]Let’s take a look at the facts.

The original enabling legislation requested by Mr Rosenthal and passed by the State Legislature was intentionally drafted so that it would apply only to Newtown (the bill only affects towns with a population between 25,000 and 30,000, are larger than 59 square miles and in which a correctional institution was located; the only language that would have made it more restrictive would be limiting to it to those towns starting with the letters N-E-W and ending with the letters T-O-W-N.)

The Public Act that was passed by the State Legislature (Public Act No. 5-33) empowered the Legislative Council with the discretion, not the obligation, to create FHA. The Legislative Council, as it has done so many times in recent years, ignored more taxpayer-friendly alternatives and simply acceded to Mr Rosenthal’s wishes and created the authority. The Legislative Council also gave Mr Rosenthal the power to designate all the individuals that would comprise FHA.

Mr Rosenthal asserts that FHA’s responsibility is limited to overseeing the development of Fairfield Hills. What he doesn’t tell you are that he and the finance director are the only two individuals to have the power to spend the $21 million in bond funds in any way they deem appropriate, and we doubt Ben Spragg is authorizing anything without Mr Rosenthal’s approval. Do you think Mr. Rosenthal’s handpicked team at the authority is going to object?

So in the end, Mr Rosenthal gets the State Legislature to authorize the creation of a mechanism that, coupled with his powers as first selectman, lets him control not only the expenditure of money at Fairfield Hills, but also the composition of the authority and thus oversight of the entire development with no interference from the Legislative Council. Talk about a lack of checks and balances in government — I’m beginning to think “legislative sleight of hand” isn’t a strong enough description.

Mr Rosenthal suggested that the creation of Fairfield Hills Authority was necessitated by a concern that any alternative would leave too much control with the town. Ask yourself a simple question. If Mr Rosenthal had, as the Independent Party of Newtown has advocated, created a board of managers comprised of a diverse group of our town’s professionals, with oversight from a truly independent Legislative Council, do you think we would be spending $10 million on a new town hall? Not a chance.

Robert Murray

Independent Party of Newtown

Candidate for Legislative Council

District 3

19 Farm Meadow Road, Newtown                         October 17, 2007