Herbst: Silence Trumbull's False Alarms

While Trumbull is facing critical issues such as sewer regionalization, keeping taxes low, all-day kindergarten and economic development, there is a more pressing, immediate issue at hand: false alarms.

First Selectman Tim Herbst addressed the issue in the first page of his second inaugural address at Monday night, where the Town Council and others were also installed.

Herbst said,

"In the area of public safety, we have been challenged by more than just the weather. Over the past several months we have seen a rise in residential burglaries. Chief Kiely and our police department have been aggressive in stepping up neighborhood patrols and working with area police departments that are plagued with the same problem.

But here is the real problem. Over the last year, Trumbull has had 2,681 home alarms that our police have responded to and less than one half of those were were credible. The remainder have been false alarms. Every time two police officers respond to a false burglar alarm ... means two less officers patrolling the streets and patrolling neighborhoods."

Herbst added that a proposed ordinance stopped in a Town Council committee.

Deputy Police Chief Glenn Byrnes later said the details of the proposal are still being debated, from when fines should be imposed to registering alarm systems with the town.

He also called for:

• Returning civility to politics and starting the budget process with a common goal of avoiding the "blame game"
• Establishing all-day kindergarten
• Funding education while keeping taxes affordable
• Providing incentives to attract new businesses and grow the Grand List (the list of all taxable property in town)
• Reopening the 2006 Plan of Conservation and Development to re-examine the town's business centers
• Regionalizing several areas, such as purchasing, health care, emergency dispatching, recycling and sewage treatment.

Herbst, a THS alumnus who played football, concluded with THS' football motto: P.A.D.S.: Pride, Attitude, Desire and Sacrifice.

"These four words mean so much more than the game of football. These four words should guide all of us as we move forward on behalf of our town," Herbst said.

The THS Chambers Singers and Marching Band provided the ceremony's music.

Afterward, the new Town Council convened on the auditorium stage and re-elected Carl Massaro Jr. as council chairman; Suzanne Testani as vice chairwoman; Chadwick Ciocci as majority leader and Martha Jankovic Mark as minority leader.

A tri-board meeting of the boards of Finance and Education and the Town Council is scheduled for this month regarding the budget.