Letter: BET's Goldrick Has 'Right Ideas to Reduce Pressure on Taxes'

I strongly support Sean Goldrick for re-election to the BET.  Sean has taken a stand to reform our pension fund system, which has badly underperformed for years and is costing the town millions.  Sean was a staunch supporter of building a new auditorium (MISA) for Greenwich High School.  Indeed, it was the fact that all six BET Democrats held together in their support for MISA that the project is getting built. 

Sean advocates for improving our parks and facilities.  He supports rebuilding the old, inadequate, and leaking Byram pool with a Greenwich Municipal Pool that we can all use and be proud of.  He wants to renovate Binney Park and restore it to the beauty it once had by dredging Binney Pond.  He also believes it's time to build a new Eastern Greenwich Civic Center that will meet the needs of the community, instead of spending millions on repairs to the old and inadequate facility we have now.  

Sean has also taken a stand in support of the current public-private funding system for our library system, which Republicans are trying to alter substantially.  He also voted against Republican guidelines that included substantial cuts in maintenance of our public schools.  

Sean has also supported implementing a rational debt policy that would reduce the upward pressure on our mill rate, while permitting the town to improve its long-neglected facilities.  Greg Carey, municipal finance expert at Goldman Sachs, termed the current debt policy as "risky," "inequitable," and "unfair to current taxpayers."  The requirement that the town pay off all principal within five years means that all of the costs of major capital projects like the central fire station and MISA are paid by current taxpayers, while future taxpayers get the use of those facilities for free.  No other AAA-rated municipality in the state so burdens its taxpayers in that manner.  The early pay-down also prevents the town from locking in near-record low municipal bond rates, that would help us finance these and future projects at low or negative real interest rates.  

Sean Goldrick and the BET Democrats have the right ideas for improving our facilities, supporting our schools, and implementing common sense fiscal policies that will reduce pressure on taxes.  That's why it is time for a change, and why I will be voting for them in November.

Howard Richman

Greenwich

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