When Trumbull First Selectman Vicki A. Tesoro made her State of the Town address in 2019, she closed her remarks by observing, “I respect our past. I have pride in our present, and I”™m confident in our future. Trumbull truly is the place to be.”
In this year”™s address, delivered by video through the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, Tesoro repeated her message from two years earlier, stating her words have even greater resonance following the Covid-19 health crisis.
“As we recover from a pandemic, the likes of which has not been seen in a century, Trumbull is still is the place to be,” she said.
“While some will speak in grandiose terms about their vision for the future, my vision for our community is a simple one: a safe community welcoming to all, affordable to all with excellent schools, ample recreation opportunities and quality comprehensive services delivered in a fiscally conservative manner.
“In other words,” she added, “the kind of community where people want to live, raise their families and conduct business ”” not an extravagant vision, but a real one.”
Tesoro claimed that Trumbull ranked second among Connecticut”™s 169 municipalities as the destination attracting new residents to the state.
While praising the town”™s residents, government employees and first responders for their actions during the pandemic to ensure public safety and welfare, she also gave thanks to her office”™s economic and community development team for establishing “a proactive approach with our businesses by providing daily assistance in the form of resources, technical assistance, marketing and other supports during this difficult time.”
Tesoro said the town government responded to the economic tumult that businesses felt during the pandemic by modifying tax deadlines, implementing a tax deferment program and conducting job fairs to assist unemployed residents.
She stressed that while the worst of the pandemic appears to be over ”” more than 60% of residents are fully vaccinated ”” there is still a “need to maintain discipline and restraint” while the crisis plays out.
At a time when many municipalities struggled financially during the pandemic, Tesoro said Trumbull allocated $2.8 million from its rainy day fund to cover lost revenue and expenses, without the need to raise taxes.
“The good news is that by exercising spending restraint, there appears to be a surplus in both the town and board of education budgets that will reduce the amount we will need to draw from the rainy day fund and leave us with an estimated $22 million in that fund,” she said. “That is a healthy 12% of our annual operating budget.”
During this period, she continued, Trumbull”™s residential and commercial property markets continued to flourish, with new retail businesses and medical offices setting up shop and three new corporate tenants ”” most notably Amazon ”” arriving in town.
Still, she warned that challenges remain, particularly in regard to traffic, which has become busier as the town”™s business community blooms. She also highlighted that Trumbull”™s largest taxpayer, the Westfield mall, shares the woes of other shopping centers around the country with “significant problems due to the impact of online shopping and the pandemic.”
But Tesoro also called attention to the promise of Trumbull”™s next generation and how their schooling is preparing the town for a brighter future.
“Our education system is a cornerstone of our community,” she said. “The excellence of our teachers, coupled with outstanding administrators, gives Trumbull a reputation for excellence in education. That well-earned reputation acts as a magnet for families looking for a system that will allow their children to reach their potential.”
