LETTER: Brookfield Referendum: Confusing Numbers, Fuzzy Math

When residents of Brookfield go to the polls on February 7th, they should think about the numbers that Town officials have asked them to vote on and vote NO on this referendum.

All the confusion aside whether or not the vote is for $1.7 or $1.95 million, the bottom line is simple math. The Town says the Four Corners project's total cost is $3.5 million, and grants will pay for $2.2 million of that which, using simple subtraction, leaves an actual cost to the taxpayers of $1.3 million. Why then are we being asked to approve an additional $650,000 beyond this number? Aren't contingency and borrowing costs considered in the total cost - and if not, what might they be? How/why does any project, properly and professionally administered, need to add 50% more than the actual costs?

There does not appear to be a real explanation for this, other than a weak 'maybe we won't need that much' rationale. That should not be good enough for residents to support this kind of fuzzy math. A NO vote does not have to be against the Four Corners project, but a demand for more appropriate and accurate communication and accountability.

Rich Saluga

Editor's Note: The information above was submitted to Patch by a community member. The views expressed above are those of the author's. Have a town topic you would like to discuss? Send a letter to the editor to joe.lipovich@patch.com.