Municipal officials: Long hours, low pay, open to criticism

By Scott Benjamin

Reportedly, the late former Republican Gov. Thomas Meskill – who was mayor of New Britain and congressman from the now-defunct Sixth District before ascending to the executive mansion – told friends that the toughest job he ever had was being mayor, partly because you are so close to your constituents.

Former U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-5), who started her government career on the Cheshire Town Council, was quoted in CTNewsJunkie in 2011 as saying that “the phone rings and people stop you in the grocery store. It is where the rubber hits the road.”

Shelton Republican Mayor Mark Lauretti told Patch.com in 2017 that he usually only shops at the local Home Depot at either 6:30 a.m. or 8:30 p.m. since if he arrives any other time of the day he can’t get to the check-out counter with all the constituents that want to talk to him.

During a 2013 talk, then-Danbury Republican Mayor Mark Boughton said, “When it is snowing, there is no Republican way or Democratic way to plow those streets. It either gets done or it doesn’t.”

Former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Schlesinger, who was mayor of Derby for four years in the 1990s, once told The Litchfield County Times, “You cannot use rhetoric in that job.”

Sacred Heart University Government Department Chairman Gary Rose laments that too often people read daily about President Joe Biden on their mobile device but can’t name the chief elected official in their hometown.

The Associated Press reported that nearly 80 percent of the Nutmeg State’s eligible voters turned out in last November’s presidential election. A 49 percent turnout is considered excellent for a municipal election in a suburban town, even though some candidates engage in door-to-door canvassing at least with persuadable voters.

“Barely a day goes by when residents of a local community, whether in Connecticut or California , are not in one way or another impacted by the politics and decisions of their local governments,” Rose wrote in his recent book, “New England Local Government: The Case of Connecticut,” (Academica Press, 112 pages). It is his 14th book.

He stated, “What transpires in legislative chambers at state capitols and within the United States Congress may not at times bear resemblance to popular sentiment, but this is not the case at the local level of government.”

Rose also said in a phone interview with Patch.com that more colleges should require their Government majors to take a class in American State & Local Government.

“The opportunity for citizens to challenge the decisions of government are substantially greater at the local level than at higher levels of polity,” Rose wrote.

That is apparently even more the case in Connecticut, which is one of only two states that doesn’t have some form of county government.

Yet, Rose noted in the interview, in some towns and cities the chief elected official is paid less than several of the municipal employees that work for them.

The News-Times of Danbury reported in 2019 that Boughton was in 11th place with a salary of $122,000.

Patch.com has reported that in 2019 the Brookfield Board of Finance approved increasing the salary for the first selectman from $90,691 to $100,346.

First Selectman Steve Dunn told Brookfield Patch that it was principally done so that the position would attract better candidates. He said that before the increase took effect that out of the 120 employees that he oversees, 25 of them had higher salaries than the first selectman. Dunn said that he typically works 60 to 70 hours a week.

Said Rose, “These are demanding positions, and even in the small towns you are subject to lawsuits and development pressures.”

Regardless of the population, many chief elected municipal officials have to coordinate the work of volunteer board members who often hold their meetings at night. The first selectmen and mayors also have to work with the superintendent of schools in the local education district. Often, about two-thirds of the municipal budget is devoted to the schools.

The professor said he supports having a four-year term for mayor or first selectman instead of the two-year model that is exercised by most municipalities across Connecticut.

“You need more stability at all levels of government,” he explained.

Most municipal chief elected officials do not ascend to higher office. For example, none of the seven current members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation have been a mayor or first selectman.

However, four of the last nine governors had previously been a chief municipal elected official – John Dempsey in Preston, Meskill in New Britain, Lowell Weicker in Greenwich and Dannel Malloy in Stamford.

Rose said the job of mayor or first selectman provides better training for being governor than serving previously in Congress.

“Executive decisions at the municipal level regarding the formulation of budgets, raising revenue and making personnel decisions are essential skill sets for statewide leadership. Such experience can only help when one steps into the governor’s office,” he explained.

Rose wrote that just under 20 percent of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities have a town or city manager form of government. That compares to 59 percent nationally. In Texas it is about 80 percent.

Rose lauded the town managers: “You need to have an adept skill set in areas such as fiscal policy and public administration.” In the book, he stated that according to figures from Zip Recruiter the average salary for a town manager in Connecticut is $98,697, almost identical to the national average of $98,613.

He said that often they are most effective in upper-middle income municipalities where the residents are more interested in professional performance instead of pure political considerations.

Rose said what is often overlooked by voters that one of the most important appointments made by a municipal governing body is the selection of a town attorney.

Some first selectmen have said they are on the phone at least four times a week with the municipal legal counsel.

Rose remarked, “When people think of lawyers it’s doubtful they have in mind their town attorney. Yet it’s the town attorney’s advice and knowledge regarding the interface between state law and local policies and the legality of local ordinances which protects towns from litigation.”

Many municipalities also have an attorney assigned to land-use issues.

“So much of a town’s character is reflected in the decisions made by a town’s planning and zoning commission,” Rose wrote.

Connecticut is not just a small state – it ranks third among the 50 states in land – but much of its land is not available for housing or economic development.

Sharon, for example, with 58.8 square miles of land – the second highest figure in the state – only has a population of 2,782

“People become attached to their beautiful town and don’t want it developed,” Rose declared. “There are traditions that go back centuries. They want open space and they don’t want their town to change.”

He said that since the pandemic some municipalities have added population since residents of New York City and Westchester County have found the well-groomed suburban Fairfield County Gold coast attractive. Over the previous decade the state had been losing population.

Said Rose, “The problem is that a lot of Connecticut cities are not appealing to younger people, except for Stamford. The lack of attractive cities for the young people is why GE left Fairfield” and moved a lot of its Connecticut operations to Boston.