BOF Budget Vote Tonight April 2
- Laura Devlin
- Apr 2
- 3 min read
Dear Fairfielders,
Fairfield’s Budget in Crisis: Mismanagement, Reckless Spending, and a Troubling Future
We are now nearing the conclusion of the Board of Finance’s portion of the Town budget process. Tonight, the Board of Finance (BOF) will vote on the budget recommendation to be sent to the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) for adoption.
We're far beyond 'pencils down' and the Gerber administration's mismanagement failure has left Fairfield in financial disarray. Instead of responsible governance, we are witnessing reckless spending, ill-conceived budget decisions, and an alarming lack of discipline that threatens the town’s future.
The budget process should be a transparent and well-structured effort, but under First Selectman Gerber, it has become chaotic and dysfunctional. New budget proposals should have been finalized in February when the administration submitted its plan to the Board of Selectmen. Instead, we are seeing last-minute additions, unprecedented maneuvering, and a glaring lack of due diligence that is undermining the process.
A PATTERN OF RECKLESS AND MISLEADING BUDGETING
Irresponsible Spending and False Claims: The administration introduced a $80,000+ salaried office manager position for the Registrar of Voters—six weeks into the budget process. Worse, Chief Operating Officer David Becker falsely claimed to the BOF that both registrars supported the role. Republican Registrar Cathy Politi, however, confirmed to the Board she neither requested nor endorsed it and had been ignored by the Human Resources department when seeking clarification about this new role, posted without her knowledge or input.
Unstable Financial Planning: The administration is now making arbitrary staffing changes, including eliminating a finance department role despite presenting an organizational structure just one week earlier that retained the position. These inconsistencies highlight a serious lack of strategic planning.
Unjustified Bureaucratic Expansion: A newly proposed $160,000 Chief of Community Services position was pushed forward without a clear job description or rationale. When rightly pressed by Republican Board of Finance member Jim Walsh, Mr. Becker, speaking on behalf of the administration, failed to articulate the role’s responsibilities and instead resorted to unprofessional public criticism of the Human Services Director. This administration appears to be focused on expanding bureaucracy to settle personal grievances, as evidenced by Democrat BOF Chair Lori Charlton’s recent criticism of a long-vetted social service program designed to help struggling residents during the holidays.
Questionable Fiscal Maneuvers: In a stunning display of incompetence, the administration attempted to prop up budget revenue to pay for all this spending with a $1 million money grab from the Parking Authority—only to backtrack when Republican RTM Minority Leader Jeff Steele confirmed with the State of Connecticut that redirecting those funds violated lease terms. Basic due diligence should have flagged this issue long before the proposal even reached the table.
FAIRFIELD DESERVES BETTER
Instead of responsible budgeting, we see reckless financial decisions that expand bureaucracy, erode trust, and set the stage for a fiscal crisis that will burden taxpayers for years to come. This is not leadership—it’s amateur hour.
Fairfield deserves a government that plans ahead and makes careful, honest choices, not one that scrambles at the last minute with empty excuses. We need fiscal responsibility and long-term planning, not last-minute mismanagement and misleading claims. Fairfield residents deserve a government that does its homework and makes thoughtful, well-vetted financial decisions.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Write to the Board of Finance. Demand they reject this budget and vote no on reckless spending and poor governance. Fairfield deserves better leadership and accountability.
We hope you find this information helpful. Please contact us at rtc@fairfieldrtc.com with any questions, we always welcome hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Laura M. Devlin
RTC Chair
Mike Grant
RTC Vice Chair
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