Madison faces many short- and long-term financial challenges. Hartford’s continued efforts to redistribute our tax dollars, the building of the new library, decisions on the Academy school, the capital needs of our school system, and the needs and desires of our aging community require solid leadership and good planning.

I would like to thank First Selectman Tom Banisch and the Board of Selectmen (BOS) for providing for both transparency and inclusiveness in clarifying the problems, developing recommendations, setting priorities, and creating solutions. Over the past year, there have been a number of town meetings, workshops for community input, a survey on what to do with Academy, along with work to develop the town’s 10-year strategic plan. In response to the $100 million proposals floated for the next 10 years of capital requirements for school maintenance, a tri-board school facilities working group (members from the Board of Education, Board of Finance, and BOS) has been formed to find additional, more cost effective, solutions for our aging school facilities.

These are major decisions that will impact both the quality of life and affordability for our entire community. We are fortunate to have Tom Banisch and our current BOS team leading us through these challenges.

Ruth Doina

Madison