Reader asks: Is Groton distressed or is it not?

Under the governor’s proposed budget the Town of Groton is slated to lose $14 million in state education dollars, in part because the state perceives the town as being wealthy. As rebuttal, the town manager in February noted that Groton has urban poor and one of the lowest per-capita incomes in the region, “Malloy budget proposal hits Groton harder than comparable towns,” (Feb. 19). He also expressed an inability to reconcile how Groton could be characterized as “distressed” in 2012 (reference to a 2012 report that characterized the town as “economically distressed”) and “now all of the sudden, seemingly is pushed to a pretty far extreme in the wealth community.”

One month later, however, and apparently without hesitation, the manager proposed a budget calling for a 15.4 percent tax-rate increase, “Groton considers tax agreement to support upgrade of low-income housing complex,” (March 16). His proposed spending increase to $125 million seemingly contradicts his earlier claim that Groton is not wealthy.

Surely that inconsistency will be noted by state officials such as Benjamin Barnes, secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. And interestingly, the manager’s proposed budget was in preparation at the same time he was lamenting the financial exigencies of the town and its citizens.

“Truthiness,” an interesting concept! Richard A. Voyer Mystic