Dear Fairfielders,
TOWN TAXPAYERS ALERT: WHO'S REALLY RUNNING OUR GOVERNMENT?
Fairfield’s Town budget process is underway, and on Thursday, the Board of Finance held its first hearing. The Board’s deliberations raised serious questions about the leadership structure in our local government and the costly, potentially illegal changes being made behind closed doors. It’s time for taxpayers to demand transparency.
A Charter-Defying Reorganization
At the heart of the controversy is First Selectman Bill Gerber’s move to reorganize Town Departments in a way that directly violates the Town Charter. The supposed goal? More efficient operations. But with no clear explanation of the benefits or savings to taxpayers, all we see is added bureaucracy and confusion.
During the meeting, Republican Board of Finance member James Walsh questioned Gerber about why department organizational charts were eliminated from the budget book—charts that have historically provided transparency on the town’s structure. Gerber’s response? He “saw no value added.” Even Democratic Chairwoman Lori Charlton admitted that the Board had requested these charts under the previous administration and found them useful, but she stopped short of demanding their full reinstatement. Only after pressure from the Board of Selectmen last week was one single leadership chart reluctantly provided, excluding the department charts.
Blatant Charter Violations
That chart revealed an alarming disregard for Town law:
A new Chief of Community Services position has been created, inserting a needless management layer between the First Selectman, the Parks and Recreation Director, and the Health and Human Services Director—despite section 9.10. b of the Charter explicitly stating that these roles report directly to the First Selectman.
The Conservation Director, who is also mandated by section 9.25.c of the Charter to report directly to the First Selectman, has instead been placed under the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
The Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA), which is supposed to operate under the Department of Public Works, has been pulled out of DPW and now reports to the COO, contradicting 10.8.a and 10.13.c.(1) of the Charter language.
Why were these changes made? What benefit do they bring to taxpayers? There are no clear answers—just a growing price tag. If First Selectman Gerber wants these changes, they should be appropriately placed on the ballot in November during the Charter reform process to let the public decide.
If that organization chart revealed an alarming disregard of Town law, what would the charts not produced show?
The Rise of Civilian COO David Becker
Perhaps the most troubling revelation of the night was Gerber’s justification for creating a new Emergency Management Director position, stating that police and fire departments suffer from a “lack of coordinated communication.”
This new position has been inserted above both the Police and Fire Chiefs, who, per the Charter report to the First Selectman and their respective commissions, yet are shown with a dotted line reporting structure to the Emergency Management Director. And who has taken on this new role? None other than COO David Becker, a civilian official already embroiled in controversy, and with what credentials to justify this?
As a reward for his expanded influence, Becker has been granted a $100,000 specially outfitted command SUV—a drastic increase from the previous arrangement where the Fire Chief previously managed emergency response for just a small stipend.
Seven departments, not including the “dotted line” reporting of Police, Fire, and Regional Dispatch, now fall under Mr. Becker, including DPW, which accounts for the largest portion of the Town budget. Who is running our town?
Taxpayers Deserve Answers
This reckless restructuring raises urgent questions:
Why is Town leadership being restructured in violation of our governing laws and consolidating power under one individual?
Why are taxpayer dollars being spent on unnecessary new positions and expensive perks?
Why is the administration reluctant to provide organizational charts to clearly explain and demonstrate organizational changes?
Who is truly running the Town government—our elected officials or appointed administrators?
The First Selectman and his administration owe taxpayers a transparent explanation. Until we get it, we must continue to demand accountability and insist that our government operates within the law, for the benefit of the people—not for the benefit of bureaucrats.
STAY ENGAGED
The Board of Finance meets again next week, beginning Tuesday, March 11th, at 7 pm to continue budget deliberations. You may find more details here.
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