Next time you come to Town Hall, please stop by to say hello. Since I began my term in January 2024, I have met with many residents, businesses, and commercial property owners. I welcome the opportunity to hear from everyone in the Woodbridge community. Open communication is important to me, and I aim to keep everyone in our community informed. While the last several months have flown by, I have been busy taking steps toward key priorities that I believe are important to the future of Woodbridge.
To keep taxes in check, the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance worked diligently over several months to formulate the upcoming 2025 fiscal year budget—all expenditures and projects were carefully reviewed and considered. The budget, approved at the May 20 Annual Town Meeting, reflects a 3.6% budget increase and a 2.71% tax rate increase. Keep in mind that 64 % of the budget relates to Woodbridge Board of Education and the Amity Regional District expenses. The challenge is to minimize tax increases while maintaining our excellent, high-quality school systems, keeping existing Town services, and initiating necessary infrastructure projects. I will strive to find efficiencies to reduce expenses and seek State and Federal funding for needed projects. The adopted 2025 Budget can be found on the Annual Budgets page on the Town website.
Emphasis has been placed on the Business District. This is in line with my priority to grow our business and commercial tax base to offset residential taxes. Since 2022 with input from our community, the ad hoc 2030 Task Force has been working to improve Business District infrastructure and connectivity including sidewalks, pedestrian walkways, and other improvements. To help fund Business District projects, the Town applied for a Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program (LOTCIP) Grant. Awards are expected to be announced in the June/July timeframe. While this is a first step, there is a lot of work ahead. To help guide our community through its next stage of growth, the Town recently hired Goman & York for Town Planning services. The firm is expected to be on board this summer.
The former Country Club of Woodbridge has my attention. The Board of Selectmen are working toward hiring a Master Planner to create a comprehensive, long-term plan for the entire 155-acre property. The firm selected will conduct a thorough market analysis. Data collected will justify and help drive the best options for our community. It is expected that a firm will be hired sometime in late summer.
For Beecher Road School, steps are being taken to plan for projected population growth in our community to ensure appropriate educational learning spaces. I recently appointed additional members to the renamed Beecher Road School Infrastructure Upgrade Building Committee and expanded the group’s charge to take a holistic look toward the future of our elementary school. While addressing infrastructure needs, sustainable design along with energy efficiencies and green energy will be considered.
Finally, there is community. I was happy to meet new faces and mingle with neighbors at this year’s Woodbridge Earth Day event—it was a real community happening. I was also honored to meet veterans and family members at the recent Memorial Day Ceremony honoring fallen servicemen and servicewomen. With the warm weather here, I look forward to seeing everyone out and about and of course, at the July summer concerts on the Town Center Green.
To remain updated on the above projects and other activities, please Sign up for the Town’s E-news. My monthly communication may be viewed on the First Selectman Report page on the website. Stay tuned for new communication initiatives. And, once again don’t hesitate to reach out.