Diana Stricker Photo
Jamie Cosgrove
Editor’s Note: The Eagle recently interviewed the candidates for first selectman, Jamie Cosgrove, the current Republican first selectman, and Lynda Mollow, the Democratic nominee, for their views on a variety of subjects. We interviewed them separately and asked each the same set of questions. The Mollow interview will be published Tuesday. The election takes place Tuesday, Nov. 7.
First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove hopes his four-year record will resonate with voters when they go to the polls.
Cosgrove, 44, a Republican, is seeking his third two-year term, running again with incumbent Selectman Joe Higgins Jr., a retired New York City fire official.
This is the first election since Cosgrove’s legendary grandfather Dan Cosgrove died in April 2016 at age 98. The elder Cosgrove was a former powerhouse in the Democratic Party before he founded the taxpayer’s party in Branford.
Jamie Cosgrove, a Branford native, attended local schools and graduated from the University of New Haven with a degree in finance. He has worked more than 20 years in his grandfather’s business, Cosgrove Construction, where he served as project manager. He and his wife Nicole have two young daughters.
The Eagle sat down with Cosgrove to ask some questions about local issues.
Eagle: What is one major goal if you are re-elected?
Cosgrove: “I want to continue the work we have been doing, which is addressing our infrastructure needs while also being sensitive to the burden placed on the taxpayers, and continuing to ensure that we follow prudent fiscal policies.”
Eagle: How can Branford continue to counter the state’s budget woes? To set the mill rate in June, the town borrowed $6.4 in funds from its $21 million undesignated fund balance. Will that become a way of life?
Cosgrove: “There’s obviously a lot of uncertainty with what’s going to happen with the state. For this particular year, we took some measures and did thoughtful planning in our budget to provide the level of service … that our residents depend on.
“Moving forward, certainly we’ve been positioning ourselves to not be over-reliant on state aid. For many years we’ve taken a conservative posture when estimating state aid, but for planning purposes, we’ve been dialing that back. I think we need to continue to do that. Branford is a role model in how municipalities should be run. Where we see other struggling municipalities and the state, we’ve avoided that path by wisely investing in our town and also funding our future liabilities.”
Eagle: There is concern among the public about the Walsh Intermediate School project. What happens if the $30 million in state funding is less? What is your position to the BOF and RTM who will have to review any new state decision? Would the project be downsized?
Cosgrove:“We have an overall appropriation in place for the project. If in fact we were to exceed that anticipated local share, we would then bring it back to the appropriating bodies for further consideration. The teams working on this project, from the building commission to the professionals involved, are all aware of managing a budget to anticipate what the local share was. For instance, we often talk about the $88 million dollars that was appropriated for this project, which we needed before we could move forward with the grant application. However, roughly $30 million of that is to be covered by the state. Our local share would be $58 million.
“Prior to actually beginning the project, we will hopefully have the grant commitment from the state … If for whatever reason that grant should not be what is currently our reimbursement rate, then the local share would exceed what was initially anticipated. I think at that point we would then look at the project and make a decision, and those appropriating bodies would have to make a decision about what to do. And that could be addressed in different ways; maybe we change something in the project perhaps. There’s a number of ways to address it, but it would be premature at this time to say what those remedies might be, without knowing the scale.
“The Walsh project has been discussed for decades — with previous administrations, and with previous boards of education, and with parent constituencies throughout the years. So this was a project that was identified many years ago. We have an opportunity now to address the needs.
“There are three things that are real, and I think everyone will agree on. Every year we wait we’re adding probably 4 1/2 to 5 percent to the cost of the project. The second thing, we’re at historically low interest rates…. The third thing is the uncertainty of the state. When we submitted our grant request, the legislature had in front of them a bill that funded this project at pretty much the full reimbursement rate. However, moving forward the legislature has considered adjusting those formulas. As we know, every time the state adjusts the formula, Branford doesn’t fare well. So I don’t think we’ll ever get more money from the state to do this project in the future. We need the state to make that commitment before we can go further.”
Eagle: You campaigned on bringing Costco to Branford to increase the commercial tax base, but Costco is gone. What are your plans to increase the tax base?
Cosgrove:“I think we do need to increase our commercial tax base. One of our strengths for decades has been a diverse tax base. We haven’t had any significant investment in that area in a number of years, and now that shift begins to fall more onto the homeowners. There needs to be growth and appropriate growth in the commercial tax base, and I’m still committed to that.” He did not reveal any specific plans to grow the tax base.
Eagle: Looking nationwide, there has been a backlash to actions taken by Trump and the Republican Congress. Do you think that will have any effect on the local elections?
Cosgrove: “I think here in Branford and on a local level, those national party issues don’t really come into play. I think everybody who’s running on a local level, we all want to achieve the same goal — a better quality of life within our town. The voters base their decisions on who would who best meet that end goal. I don’t see how national politics play into local elections.”
Eagle: Do you think it’s time to regionalize services? Can’t towns share police, or fire or some education services in order to help cut town budgets?
Cosgrove: I’m not opposed to it. I think there’s opportunity for us. We see it right now with some things like the Wastewater Treatment Plant — we provide service to North Branford. And the health department is regional, and the animal shelter is too. We have a well-run, highly respected animal shelter that is shared between two towns. I think we see the benefits of it. I think there would be more opportunities to do that. One of the things we have is a state-of-the-art communications center. There are some incentives right now to consolidate. The state is pushing it to be mandatory that we consolidate, and I would rather us be in control of our own destiny and choose who we consolidate with.”
Eagle:The town has been renting a building for Public Works since March 2011. A number of problems have developed as a result of the building and its condition. What is your plan for a new Public Works building? Why is it taking so long?
“We have a number of projects moving forward and it comes back to doing things in a prudent manner and being fiscally responsible and planning these out. We’re taking appropriate steps to make sure we are meeting the needs of the community and ensuring that we provide these services, but we’re also taking steps to be sensitive to the tax payer.
“There’s a number of factors. With a facility like that, there are limited locations. Where is the appropriate location for that type of activity? That is one of the factors — to identify an appropriate location and then it’s all about doing it in a budgetary manner.
“With the temporary facility … I will give the department credit where credit is due. They’ve been able to still perform their duties and responsibilities and I don’t think the residents have lost anything when it comes to snow removal or street maintenance.”
Eagle:What else would you like people to know?
Cosgrove:“I’m committed to this town and I want to continue to move forward in a positive way as we have in the last four years.
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