When I took office in 2011 I promised to move Seymour forward. Looking back at 2014, our efforts at achieving progress for Seymour have begun to hit full stride.
I have tried to bring a more businesslike approach to local government and to establish sound fundamentals that would set Seymour on a path to sustained growth and stabilized taxes.
2014 represents a turning point in our efforts.
Many of our achievements in 2014 established a sound financial foundation for the future.
The most important was receiving a AA+ bond rating, the second highest rating possible, and two grades better than we had previously. The impact may not be obvious, but it will allow us to borrow money at lower interest rates, making major investments significantly cheaper to the taxpayer.
For example, we will save substantial money over the life of the bond for the $5.6 million in critical road work scheduled to begin this spring.
We also reached 8.5 percent on our way to establishing a 10 percent fund balance for added financial security.
The establishment of the 10-Year Strategic Planning Committee was a major contributor to our improved bond rating and they are working to find effective strategies and create a proactive culture of planning in local government that will produce lasting benefits.
Other financial achievements in 2014 were more concrete and focus on increasing efficiency.
Successful negotiations of union contracts with municipal employees will save taxpayers over $300,000 on healthcare in 2015.
Further, the transition to automated garbage and recycling pickup, which I realize is not universally loved, saved taxpayers $13,000 in its first month and is projected to save as much as $150,000 in 2015, as well as double the town’s recycling rate.
The proceeds from the pending sale of LoPresti School will be reinvested into municipal buildings to increase efficiency and save on operating costs.
As much as possible, we seek to receive funding from outside sources and 2014 was a banner year for grants in Seymour.
To start, we won awards from two major development organizations, the Main Street Investment Fund and the Connecticut Economic Resource Center.
These awards are great honors and will help us receive more funding in the future.
We received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state for various projects.
We received $375,000 from the Main Street Investment Fund for improvements to downtown, $200,000 from the STEAP program for the fourth phase of our sidewalk replacement program and over $35,000 to connect schools and municipal buildings to a high-speed network, among others.
Finally, we worked to strengthen the community in 2014.
One major complaint from residents has been lack of communication.
Early in 2014, we debuted our new website which hosts videos of town meetings and offers residents various avenues of communication with town officials including the ​“report an issue” function and further upgrades are planned for 2015.
We have also begun to use the town’s Code Red reverse 911 system to target specific areas of Seymour when localized construction or updates occur.
We also saw the completion of the long-awaited Pawl Pawlak Sr. Bypass Channel and Park, a variety of ADA compliance upgrades to downtown Seymour and the approval of the Seymour Greenway Trail, the first phase of which is scheduled to begin in 2015.
We accomplished a lot in 2014. We have never been stronger financially, we secured more grant money than we have in recent memory and we completed several project and initiatives designed to make Seymour a better place to work and live, but we’re not done yet.
2015 will see the continuance of several existing initiatives and the beginning of others.
We will be undertaking several demographic and marketability studies to determine the best use of several long-vacant properties in town. We’re investigating infrastructure upgrades to increase efficiency and save money including converting street lamps to LED, which can save 70 percent on energy.
We’re considering charter revisions to remove outdated and extraneous portions.
I appreciate the opportunity you’ve given me to work with and for you to guide Seymour to a better future.
I appreciate all the input and assistance you’ve given and I ask for your continued cooperation as we move Seymour forward together.
The writer is the First Selectman of Seymour.