First Selectman's Report - July 14, 2014

First Selectman’s Report

July 14, 2014

Vote for Simsbury in the Fan Favorite Town Contest!

The State of Connecticut is conducting a “Fan-Favorite Town” contest as part of an effort to increase tourism throughout the State.  The Town of Simsbury has a chance to be selected as the “Fan-Favorite” town, provided we get the vote out!  There are two ways to do this:

First, you can go to the state tourism Facebook page at www.facebook.com/VisitConnecticut and click on the tab #CTFanFavorite.  Or, you can go to our website and click the “Vote for Simsbury” link under News and Announcements and our webpage will walk you through voting.

And here’s the good news:  you can vote early and often!  You can vote once a day until July 25th, and by voting you will also enter to win a four-night getaway in Niantic.

This is a great way to help our Town get the attention it deserves.  Please make sure you vote for Simsbury in the Fan Favorite Town Contest!

Taxes Due No Later Than August 1, 2014

I just want to remind residents that August 1, 2014 is the last day to pay taxes.  Postmarks of August 1st will be accepted.  Remember that if you are paying taxes in person, our new office hours for Friday are from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm.  This is a good time to take advantage of our on-line tax bill payment option.  Just go to the Town’s website at www.simsbury-ct.gov, click on the Tax Collector department and follow the easy step-by-step instructions.  On-line payments are free for those who pay with an electronic check.

If you want to pay by mail, just mail your payment to the Town of Simsbury Tax office, PO Box 495, Simsbury, CT 06070 or Town of Simsbury, PO Box 4156, Woburn, MA 01888-4156 which is Simsbury Bank’s processing center for the Town.  If you need any help with online bill pay or you have a question about your account, please call the Tax Collector’s office at (860) 658-3238.

Simsbury Ranked as Top Bicycle Friendly Town in Connecticut  

I’m pleased to report that the Town of Simsbury was just ranked as the top Bicycle Friendly Town in the state by Bike Walk Connecticut in a first-of-its-kind ranking of the state’s cities and towns on how bike and walk friendly they are.   The rankings are part of a new “complete streets” initiative designed to make it safer and easier to walk and bike in Connecticut towns.  Complete Streets are streets designed to be safe for everyone to use – the state’s complete streets law requires pedestrians, cyclists and transit users to be routinely considered in the planning, design, construction and operation of all roads.

The top five communities include Simsbury, New Haven, New Britain, Glastonbury and Middletown.  This ranking is the direct result of lots of hard work and dedication from Town staff, the Bicycle Advisory Committee volunteers and the support of our residents.  The scorecard and rankings are based on an online, statewide public opinion survey that was conducted by Bike Walk Connecticut. The rankings are also based on municipal leadership and engagement efforts. If you’re interested in getting more information on the Compete Streets initiative, visit www.bikewalkct.org.

Simsbury Residents Continue to Save with CCM Prescription Discount Card Program

Since we launched the program in 2012, qualified residents have submitted 1,743 claims using the cards for a total savings of $93,200.  The Program is available to Simsbury residents who are without health insurance, who do not have a traditional pharmacy benefit plan or who have prescriptions which are not covered by insurance, and it gives them the opportunity to purchase medications at reduced rates.  When we started the program, CCM told us that the program would provide an average savings of 45% off the retail price of prescriptions.  To date, the average savings have been 48%.

Cards are available at local drugstores.  If you are having trouble obtaining a card, please contact my office at (860) 658-3230 and we will make arrangements to get you one.  I would like to thank CCM for their part in coordinating this important benefit for our residents.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection a Success

Our Department of Public Works, in conjunction with the Towns of Avon, Canton and Granby, conducted a Household Hazardous Waste Collection at Simsbury’s Public Works Facility on June 14, 2014.  Our residents were well-served – of 508 vehicles taking advantage of the service, 299 were from Simsbury.

We started this regional initiative in 2013 in the face of increasing costs from the prior program which was run by the MDC.  In 2011 under the MDC program, the cost to the Town was $31,263.  This went up to $36,568 in 2012.  This year, running the program in conjunction with our neighboring Towns, our cost was reduced to $25,100 – a savings of over $10,000 from 2012.

I would like to thank Tom Roy, the Public Works Department and our neighbors for making this program a real success.