Don Lowe First Selectman Column 8/12/24
Sherman Summer Camp, over last week, was a great success this summer. The camp was well managed and full of fun activities and field trips for the young people who attended. Thank you, Park and Rec Commission. This year broke last year’s attendance record and last year was a record year. When I asked John Wrenn, Park and Recreations director, how many children attended he responded by informing me that the closing party took 840 slices of pizza to feed everyone! Maybe next year we will shoot for a 1000 slices.
I’d like to remind you that Farm Day will taking place this year up at our treasurable Happy Acres Farm on Saturday, Oct. 5 from 11 to 3pm. All are welcome to this free event. There will be tractor rides, pumpkin picking, farm tours, an arts show, business booths, food, live music, and more! It’s been so nice to see this become an important event and a gathering place for our community.
Our Special Board of Selectman (BOS) meeting last Tuesday to discuss and decide about a Sherman School project bonding plan was a success. We chose a strategy of two note issues with 25 year terms at a net borrowing amount of $31.9 million. All coordinating calculations such as Grand List growth were estimated at the most conservative (0%) projections. In actuality, we nearly always have Grand List growth and, when we do, that can be used to lower costs. But we decided not to anticipate that type of favorable outcome in our projections.
I want a little more time to verify what the expected cost to taxpayers is before I report it in this column. I can tell you that we plan to use portions of our surplus in each years’ budgets to offset tax ramifications in the early years of this debt. We have seven well-managed and productive years of budgeting to thank for that surplus, along with unexpected Grand List growth during the covid years; now, we can leverage some of that surplus money to the tangible advantage of taxpayers. This is what “rainy day” funds (surplus) are designed for.
All of the numbers, including the dollar amount in surplus, use of surplus, and the dollar-effect for taxpayers, will be part of the presentations for the Sherman School project. I will also include that info in this column in the coming weeks and also on our Town website. On another note, I’m happy to report that our 2023/24 Town budget came “in the black” again. (Black is good; red is bad for budgets.)
The Sherman Opry is kicking up again after a few years of absence this Saturday night, August 17, at the Sherman Playhouse. Show starts at 8pm and features the most talented of local talent -- and there’s a lot of musical talent in this area. This is always an amazing event and the proceeds go towards the Sherman Playhouse. Don’t miss the fun!
