Focus on budget, not new park name

At the last regular Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, Jan. 5, the board devoted the majority of the meeting, over one hour, to a discussion of renaming East End Park.There was quite a division of opinions by residents and members of the board over potentially renaming the park to Veteran’s Memorial Park.However, at the meeting there was barely any discussion at all about the town’s finances, including the planning and development of the fiscal 2015-2016 budget.Furthermore, no one mentioned the current status of the fiscal 2013-2014 audit.At previous meetings town officials said that the audit would be completed by this month, yet there was no discussion of its current status at the Jan. 5 meeting.Considering all of the fiscal responsibilities of the town, including meeting the needs of the residents and municipal departments, it is important for the selectmen and Town Manager Dale Martin to focus on developing the budget.At a special selectmen’s meeting in December, the leaders of various municipal departments discussed various pressing needs, from computer technology needs, to staffing and equipment needs.In weeks after the meeting not once has any member of the board mentioned any ideas on how to meet these needs.Furthermore, the town is still in very bad financial straits due to the crimes committed against the town by Former Finance Director Henry Centrella.The town still has not seen the full amount, $2.7 million, that Centella was ordered by Judge James Ginocchio of Litchfield Superior Court to pay back to the town in April when Centrella was sentenced to jail.The town still must deal with a lack of credit rating because it was withdrawn by Moody’s Investors Service back in 2013.There are still issues that need to be dealt with in the school district when it comes to funding programs.With all of these fiscal issues, the town, including its municipal employees, should be focused squarely on developing the upcoming fiscal-year budget.While there may be some residents who repeat Jay Budahazy’s claim that the town does not do anything for veterans, that is simply not true.According to a list provided by Town Historian Milly Hudak there are 13 veterans memorials throughout Winsted, a lot for a small town.Unless something changes, the renaming of the park will continue to be a distraction that takes away from focusing on developing and formulating a fiscal budget.