"Clinton Can Be Turned Around"

This opinion piece, a letter to the Editor, is written by Phil Sengle:

We can have anything, but we can’t have everything.  Just as in our personal lives, the town must prioritize.  There has been little of that in recent years. 

We go on as if the gravy train will keep rolling - one town budget surplus after another, creating a “slush” fund to be used with little oversight, with no corresponding economic development to pay the bills.  Even a casual observer can see the train is grinding to a stop. 

The next “big thing” is the state mandated waste water treatment project, estimated at $55 million.  We should be thinking about how to pay for this.  But spending money is easy, feels good and is more fun, until the bill comes due.  Think Christmas bills in January, only much larger.  

Our culture is now based on instant gratification whenever possible.  Making money to pay for things is hard, takes determination and is a long term proposition. 

This may explain why town hall kicks the can down the road, just like Hartford and Washington.  I’m fearful we will soon reach a point where town budgets are routinely defeated at referenda.  No one should want this result.  But sometimes this is the only tool left to the frustrated voter, who uses it as their last resort.  It should be used only when necessary as it’s akin to the “nuclear option”. 

Since 2010 there have been 15 budget votes which included 7 defeats.  This is no way to manage Clinton and benefits no one.  The failure of a budget is a failure of leadership to build consensus.  But slashing budgets and failure at referenda does not have to be in our future if we act now.  

While we should be cautious with our money, we can’t cut our way to prosperity.  We should grow our way to prosperity by expanding our tax base, especially on the commercial side. 

Our leaders have done nothing, but watch how fast they will take credit for the development of the old Morgan Site to prove they have done something.  But this is not credit that belongs to them.  It fell in their lap by a town vote to approve a new high school.  Let’s hope they don’t foul up this opportunity with secret deals and favoritism. 

Openness is not a hallmark of the Selectman’s Office.  What we need is competition for the Morgan site, created by advertising, not the usual process of giving the inside track to the first developer who walks through the door or to one who knows the “right people”. 

I hope the process is different this time, otherwise we will never know if the economic benefit to Clinton is maximized.  The sad reality is that, so far, town hall has done nothing for economic development and has no staff to work on it.   Clinton must elect candidates who will take the steps necessary to pay for our spending with a strong program of economic development.  Failing to do this will increase the residential tax burden, further depressing our housing values. 

Falling values is an additional tax all homeowners will pay when they sell.  And when values fall, the town hall response will be to raise the tax rate yet again. 

This spiral will continue in a “negative feedback loop” as no business will move here, others will leave and some will close like Cashman’s Hardware.  With no professional staff at town hall to work on economic development or town planning, our prospects do not look good. 

Let’s leverage our new high school combined with economic development to create a bright new future for Clinton!  

I hope someday to see a town manager form of government in Clinton.  Is it a perfect system – no, but it will bring additional professionalism and continuity to town government. 

But old habits die hard.  People with power almost never give it up willingly.  We can start down the road to renewal by hiring a combination Town Planner and Economic Development Coordinator based on their qualifications, not on their connections. 

The good news is that we can turn Clinton around if we act now.  It will be hard work, but definitely worth the effort – nothing good comes easy.  If it was ever time for a change – this is it.    

--Phil Sengle