The Public needs to be heard

March 2, 2009 

The Public needs to be heard!

It's Budget season and Fairfield like every local municipality is going through our version of the Budget Approval process.  I sometimes hear from friends and neighbors that they feel left out of the process or that nobody cares about their thoughts and concerns.  Speaking as an elected official, nothing could be further from the truth.  We want and need to hear from the public.  Let's take a look at the different ways to provide feedback to the Town of Fairfield's Paid and Volunteer Officials.

Email or Write Letters. Go to the web and find www.fairfieldct.org  From the list on the left, select Elected Officials.  The next page will provide a list of Names, Mailing Addresses, Emails and Phone numbers.  Mail and Email are great ways to provide feedback to your representatives. 

1. Letters to the Editor.  You may wonder if anyone reads these but I promise you - as Elected Officials, we do.  So get those letters in to the Fairfield Citizen, the Fairfield Minuteman, the Fairfield Sun and the CT Post. 
2. Attend Board of Finance Meetings.  All the Budget sessions by the Board of Finance and the RTM are open to the public and most allow for public comment.  Here is an important one to highlight on your calendar: Board of Finance - Saturday, March 21^st 10:00AM at the Senior Center.  This one is particularly good since there are no other topics on the agenda other than to hear from the public.  The Board of Finance votes on the budget on March 30^th and 31^st but there is no public comment either evening.
3. Attend RTM Meetings.  Once the Board of Finance has passed their version of the budget, it goes to the RTM.  The RTM discusses the budget on the evenings of April 27^th and May 4^th.  Public comment is allowed on both evenings. The RTM votes on the budget on May 4^th.
4. The next evening on May 5^th, the Board of Finance votes on the Mill Rate or tax increase for the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year.
5. There is one last exceptional step for the public to be heard.  If a large enough segment of the public is not happy with the budget passed, they can petition for a Referendum. The rules and guidelines for the proper filing of a petition are available from Fairfield's Town Clerk.

So, all in all, there are a lot of ways for the public to be heard.  And this year more than ever, we need you to speak up.  In this economy, there are very difficult challenges to preparing the budget to meet the needs of the Town and its citizens.  Your opinion counts.  Don't miss this opportunity to be heard.

Sincerely,

Mike Tetreau

Member - Board of Finance