Our Branford town planner is retiring after decades of excellent and distinguished work on our behalf. The individual has made Branford a better place to live in.
This letter provides a suggestion for Branford to consider. Before we rush into hiring a new full-time town planner replacement, I request the town review Branford Planning and Zoning Commission operations. In today’s poor economic times, we need to review all town functions on a continuous basis in getting the best bang for our taxpayer bucks, while still providing residents their essential services.
Less building is now going on in Branford. Can we provide Branford residents with the same function in a different way for fewer tax dollars? We need to discuss the continued need for the full-time town planner position and review alternatives.
The town planner salary is $95,678. The assistant town planner salary is $62,965. These salaries are expected to increase with new union contracts under negotiations. Benefits are generally 40 percent additional for government employees. We are spending roughly $222,000 on their salaries and benefits.
I understand that the Branford town planners do handle development applications in-house. Over the years, some planning work has been contracted out at additional taxpayer cost, including drafting the new zoning regulations. There may be major savings to Branford taxpayers by using an outside planning consultant to review development plans and eliminate the need for our town planners. Branford has done so in the past. A contract could be awarded to a consultant planner after negotiations. Branford residents could have significant savings in their tax dollars by such an arrangement and we would still have the essential services in place. Let’s review and discuss this subject before hiring. That would make good and responsible government.
Frank Twohill
Branford
Member, Branford Representative Town Meeting, 1st District