Fairfield First Selectwoman Kupchick Provides Update on First Steps

Fairfield, CT - Newly installed Fairfield First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick provided the following update about her first steps in office.

Fellow Fairfielders,

I want to take the opportunity to provide you with an update and announce some personnel decisions and controls that I have put into place to better serve our community.

On November 25th, I was sworn in as the First Selectwoman of Fairfield - a town that has over 60,000 residents and a budget of close to $400 million, including almost 500 full-time and close to 100 part-time town employees.

I have listened and learned from thousands of residents over this past year and for many years prior as a state legislator. The message is clear - our residents want a government that is accountable, efficient, and moving in a positive direction. The public trust was broken by the fill pile scandal and I promised our residents I would fully cooperate with law enforcement and environmental agencies to clean up this mess and restore their trust. Residents also want to see progress in other areas and have asked me repeatedly to make changes to the way our town government operates, build up our economic development, and grow our grand list to stabilize residential taxes.

After a comprehensive study of best practices and looking at other towns of our size, I requested and received a transfer of unused funds of $85,000 to help staff my office and accomplish our goals to serve our town. To be clear, the fund transfer came from two vacant positions - one in animal control and one in the library - that haven't been filled in several years. Both transfers were done with the support of the Chief of Police and the Town Librarian. This fund transfer does not cost the taxpayers any money, it does not cut services to either of these departments, and the reorganization actually cuts town employees by 1.5 positions. I am excited to have a new Chief of Staff and Chief Administrative Officer to help me with the work of modernizing our town government. One is a Republican and the other is a Democrat. As I said when I was running for office, I am committed to bipartisanship and doing what is best for our town.

I also think our town hall, which belongs to the citizens of Fairfield, needs to look more professional to attract new businesses and to be a building that reflects the beauty and desirability of our town. We cannot have chipped paint and floors coming up in offices. We will be using some of the funding to address these issues and other needed repairs. 

I formally requested the Board of Finance to transfer the unused funds and to hold a public meeting on the issue to ensure there was transparency. You can watch the portion of the Board of Finance meeting where the request is discussed starting at minute 28:00.