Chamber of Commerce Backs Referendum

The Board of Directors issued a statement on Thursday night that said they have decided to support the 45 million , when previously members of the board wanted to stay neutral on the issue.

, president Ric Valliere said he did not "feel it's appropriate if we were to take a position either way" on the upcoming referendum. The president said the chamber would "honor all the different viewpoints" and get "the best information possible" to his members.

The issue was "thoroughly reviewed and discussed" at board of directors' meetings in May and April and in the end, the board decided to support the referendum.

"I think we have an obligation to our membership to advise the business community what we think is best for the business community and the town as a whole," he said in an email to Patch Friday afternoon.

Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone every day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.

In the middle of April, the Town Council of whether to renovate and expand the 30-year-old high school to the voters, asking them to decide the project's future at a June 5 town-wide referendum. The state is expected to reimburse the town about 44 percent of the project's costs, leaving taxpayers here to pay the remaining $28.55 million.

"Although this project will have an impact of approximately 1 mill, this impact will not felt until 2014 and it declines as existing is paid off, this new debt is paid down, and the grand list expands," the statement said.

According to documents handed out by the town and school system, the average increase in property taxes for a resident with a home valued at $200,000 is between $210 to $254 per year (with a cost of $17.50 to $21.17 per month). The amount of the tax increase is expected to drop each year.

The Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors stated the following reasons for its decision:

• Risk of the high school losing of accreditation or being
• Possible impact on
• The high school, which is more than 30 years old,
• Possible impact on the "health and growth of Rocky Hill’s business community"
• The fact that the high school is "the most used building in town"

"We tried as best we can to lay out the reasons we are supporting the referendum so our membership can fully understand the impact to their businesses, and be able to vote appropriately," Valliere said Friday afternoon.

Local business owner Scott Coleman is and said that according to CNN Money, the number one reason that people move into a new town is affordability, not the school system.

“Test scores drive people to a community not accreditation,” he previously told Patch.

Coleman had planned on joining the chamber, but after the decision by the board, he had them "tear up my application." He added that there is "no logic for the chamber members" to support the referendum and added the business community would not be negatively affected by the high school being placed on probation.

"There is no validity to it. If anything, they (businesses) will move out of town if  taxes increase," he previously said. "I am aware of no study that supports the referendum from a business perspective."

Coleman said in an email Saturday morning that a business such as t whose property is valued at about $3 million would cost the owner $60,000 over the life of the bond.

"These costs must either be absorbed by the business owner or passed onto local and state residents in the form of higher prices," Coleman said in his email.

A "non-resident business owner" can vote in the referendum, according to the statement by the chamber. He or she must meet the following requirements:

• Own "real property" in Rocky Hill
• Property must be valued at more than $1,000
• Property must be under the business owner (not an LLC, partnership, or corporation).

Business owners who qualify can contact Registrar of Voters at 860-258-2715 or 860-258-2760 to receive further information about voting in the referendum.

The political action committee "" was also discussed in the statement by the chamber as the organization .

The PAC is in favor of supporting any referendum question that keeps the high school accredited and addresses the . However, the chamber will not be directly support "Stay Accredited," according to the statement. 

"That choice will be left to the individual members," the statement said.

Enjoy reading Patch? Show us some love! Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.