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Veto HB 5002 !!!!!
Dear Governor Lamont,
We, the undersigned Mayors and First Selectmen of Connecticut’s cities and towns, respectfully urge you to veto HB 5002, An Act Concerning Housing and the Needs of Homeless Persons.
While we share your commitment to addressing Connecticut’s housing challenges, this bill imposes sweeping, unfunded state mandates that undermine Pomfret's local governance, economic vitality, and thoughtful planning—goals we know you deeply value. The significant opposition from moderate Democrats, with 17 voting against it alongside Republicans in the House (84-67 vote), reflects the bill’s departure from Connecticut’s approach to pragmatic and collaborative solutions that reflect the realities of our small towns.
Your leadership has consistently emphasized housing solutions that balance affordability with economic growth and local empowerment. In your 2023 remarks at the Connecticut Association of Realtors conference, you highlighted the need to attract residents by making housing accessible while preserving community character. At the 2024 CT Housing Conference, you advocated for local solutions to the housing crisis, noting that top-down approaches often fail to account for unique municipal needs.
This bill presents a myriad of issues and is contrary to your focus on practical, community-driven housing solutions. Instead, your formation of the Connecticut Interagency Council on Homelessness reflects a collaborative, multi-faceted approach to housing challenges. This bill’s top-down mandates undermine such partnerships.
We commend your efforts to address housing needs through targeted investments, like the Brownfield Remediation Program and CT Home Funds, which empower communities. A veto of this bill would signal your commitment to working with municipalities to craft incentivized, locally-led solutions that align with your vision of sustainable, affordable and rational housing growth.
We respectfully request that you veto this bill and partner with us to develop housing policies that respect local governance, support economic vitality, and deliver meaningful affordability for all Connecticut residents.
Memorial Day Parade 2025
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Pomfret Annual Town Meeting: Budget Vote!!
Annual Town Meeting Tuesday May 27,2025 6:30 PM Pomfret Community School
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Pomfret’s 2025 Budget has too many unanswered questions
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Vote No and Let’s ensure we have our Questions Answered
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Connecticut is already one of the most expensive states to live in (Top 5)
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Pomfret’s steady increase in costs and taxes needs to be addressed now
Why should we vote NO? You deserve to have all the facts and a budget you can afford. Here are some considerations that should be discussed;
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The average increase for BOE and BOS since FY 2022 is over 3% each. Is this affordable considering Connecticut is one of the top 5 most expensive states in the U.S. and we suffer from the highest electrical rates in the nation? [1]
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Our residents over retirement age comprise almost 1/3 of our town.[2] Many are on or will be on fixed income. Never-ending tax increases will be a challenge.
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Did you know, our surrounding Towns voted “No” on the town’s proposed budgets (e.g. Killingly and Plainfield). They are demanding more information and reductions in spending.
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From 2006 – 2023, the national average of elementary school students to administrators was 230 – 252/1. PCS’s average is about 330/3. With a decreasing PCS student population, can more work be done to reduce the PCS cost to town? [3]
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We need to know more about unknown costs like the Library construction and operational costs. [4]
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[1] Page 7 of Town of Pomfret General Budget 2025-2026
[1] Based on Town data from file:///C:/Users/ccoyl/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/2HQRHN20/Pomfret%20Stats%202025.pdf
[1] See 1. https://www.dpeaflcio.org/factsheets/school-administrators-an-occupational-overview
[1] The Town and Library have not explained who is responsible for cost overruns and the projected annual cost of the new addition.
Voting “NO” sends a clear message that more work is needed. Your vote against the proposed budget will require the Town to do the hard work you expect and deserve to create a budget for all our residents. A budget everyone can afford.
As Pomfret Taxpayers consider the new budget, we should all remember that the higher costs and taxes in Pomfret are added to the taxes from the State.
Here are the latest new tax proposals from CT’s Governor and the Democrat controlled Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee:
▪ New 2% tax Capital Gains, Property tax credit removed with a scheduled expansion, tax for Ride share
▪ Increase in sales tax on meals, 10% increase on alcohol, increase on Movies, eliminate 5 year $500 credit for STEM college graduates, tax on interior design services, dry cleaning and laundry services include coin operated, tax parking, tax digital downloads from 1.0$ to standard 6.35 %, tax safety apparel, tax e cigarettes …
▪ Surcharge on plastic bags of 10 cents, increase annual filing fee for LL and LL from $20 to $100…
▪ Eliminate exemption for pension and annuity income, eliminate increased exemption for social security income…
▪ Tax services; legal, accounting, architectural, engineering, tax on real estate activities and agents/brokers, tax veterinary services, barbers and beauty salons, massage therapists and electrologist services, sports and recreation instruction and industries, horse boarding and training, travel arrangement and scenic transportation, tax on services to buildings and dwellings, waste collection, tax renovation and repair of residential property, change state law from paying 1/3 of teacher insurance to ¼, tax repair or maintenance of vessels, winter boat storage, increase tax on boats from 2.99% to standard 6.35% rate,
▪ Hotel occupancy tax from 15% to 17%...
▪ Tax on trade ins for vehicles, tax on text books, college and professional schools, newspapers and magazines, CT credit unions, campground rentals, child car seats, vegetable seeds…
▪ New 25 cent deposit on wine/liquor glass bottles, on nips…
The first-year tax increase is estimated to be around $395 million or about 1.9% percent more than the current level of spending. Add that increase to the Pomfret increase and we all could face a 4 – 5% increase in our taxes.
Key Details for the Pomfret Budget:
Why did the Board of Finance Reinstate $61,000 dollars after the Board of Education removed it?
We need to understand what considerations led to the decision to not implement the BoE recommended cuts.
The Town is increasing costs for unfunded state mandates. Who is pushing back and asking for more State funding?
Why is the Administrative to pupil cost so high at PCS?
The most current national data indicate that the average student-to-administrator ratio in U.S. elementary and secondary schools for the 2022–2023 school year is 252:1
https://www.dpeaflcio.org/factsheets/school-administrators-an-occupational-overview
With 330 students, PCS has 3 administrators, and the costs keep increasing.
Why are the costs for the Town management increasing?
We are hiring experienced new town managers that are shared with other towns. This sounds like an interesting idea, but what is the total cost to the town now and in the future?
The Selectman cost is increased $10,000 over past 3 years. Plus a full time assistant and now we have town managers.
Is the Town responsible for the cost of overruns for the Library addition?
Did the Town give away over $100,000 to this project without informing taxpayers or considering other uses?
Could these funds be used for the Town’s vital services and costs?
Can the Town afford to fund private organizations like the Abbington Social Library and Pomfret Historical Society $20,500 annual cost?
These are wonderful additions to our Town. Private organizations typically do regular fund raisers and seek donations from the public who support their work. Can residents who use the library donate directly? Funding is provided to these organizations without any limitations on what they can spend the with the money. Should funding be based on specific and special need?
The Town can help but to what level? This should be discussed in public!
How is the undesignated fund funded? What processes and checks and balances are in place to ensure full transparency on how undesignated funds are used?
A reserve fund for emergencies (e.g. “Rainy Day Fund”) makes sense and is prudent. What is the history, current status, and future plans for undesignated funds?
Do the taxpayers have any voice or vote on how these funds are used?
Who is looking out for our Senior residents?
Approximately 30% of our Town residents are retirement age while 24% are under 19 years old. The increase in Town costs and taxes hits those on fixed incomes hardest.
Due consideration should be given to this part of our population.
Why isn’t the Town looking for new sources of revenue like the Private Schools and use of the Pomfret Forest, etc.
The Private Schools own significant real estate and benefit from Town services. It has been estimated their tax revenue would exceed $300,000.
The organization that uses the Pomfret Forest has a $1 million dollar budget but pays the Town $0.
What is the economic development committee doing? Can this be relaunched
The use of Town land for a bike obstacle course (Considered an extreme sport) may be subjecting the Town to liability?
The Pomfret Registrar of Voters, is a public service required by the state. It is underfunded.
The ROV’s office will continue to have funding problems because the SOTS office is constantly introducing software changes and procedural requirements that required significant unbudgeted expenditures. This not much of an issue for towns with Full time Staff. Part Time offices must increase hours worked by ROV’s
The ROV budget was developed based on information known at the time. Added requirements will cause significant budget variations.
How can Pomfret’s recreation department generate revenue for services not provided through the schools and Community Center?
Pomfret has a population of approximately 4200 and 25% are under 19 years old and recreation is provided through the school system. The Senior citizens recreation should be provided through the Community Center.
Given the rising costs and increased taxes how do we make up for the new full time salary? It does not appear to enhance property values so does this engage a significant amount of the residents?
Conclusion:
We need Pomfret residents to be more informed and involved. We must remember that the cost of living on Pomfret is additive to the cost of living in Connecticut.
Things like political ideology spending like Connecticut’s sanctuary state status for illegal aliens cost the taxpayers $1.3 billion dollars last year and is projected to increase this year.
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[1] Page 7 of Town of Pomfret General Budget 2025-2026
[2] Based on Town data from file:///C:/Users/ccoyl/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/2HQRHN20/Pomfret%20Stats%202025.pdf
[3] See 1. https://www.dpeaflcio.org/factsheets/school-administrators-an-occupational-overview
[4] The Town and Library have not explained who is responsible for cost overruns and the projected annual cost of the new addition.
The Annual Town Meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday May 27th at 6:30 PM at Pomfret Community School Annual business of the Town will be presented and acted upon including the FY 2025/2026 budgets. Both the General Government and the Board of Education budgets will be voted this year by paper ballot. Find proposed budgets, the Call of the Meeting and more. Click on the link below for more information.
Call of Annual Town Meeting
Proposed General Government Budget
Proposed Board of Education Budget
