To the Editor:

As a Legislative Council member, I have seen firsthand how the structure of Newtown’s government strains under the weight of a growing community. In his recent letter, former First Selectman Jeff Capeci suggested that revisiting this structure is unnecessary and implied that the current model is functioning well. The facts — including those from the bipartisan workgroup he chose not to bring forward — tell a different story.

In 2022, then-First Selectman Dan Rosenthal convened a bipartisan workgroup of former First Selectmen, Selectmen, and other officials with decades of institutional knowledge. Their charge: determine whether Newtown’s traditional First Selectman model still meets the needs of a modern municipality. They evaluated three options: (1) replace the elected First Selectman and Board of Selectmen with a non-elected professional Town Manager, (2) provide the First Selectman with the kind of management support routinely provided to the School Superintendent, the Parks & Rec Director, and others, or (3) do nothing.

The workgroup’s unanimous conclusion: the status quo is no longer adequate. Newtown today is not the Newtown of 20 or even 10 years ago. Our population has grown. Municipal services have expanded. State and federal requirements have multiplied. Capital projects are larger, emergency management demands are higher, and interdepartmental coordination is essential. The administrative load has increased dramatically — but our structure has not.

Every department in Newtown has deputies — except the one running the entire town. Under the current model, nearly 20 departmental employees and another 20 boards and commissions report directly to the First Selectman. The result is a workday consumed by internal check‑ins, departmental issues, and operational troubleshooting. That leaves too little time for meeting with constituents, setting long‑term strategy, ensuring residents receive maximum value for their tax dollars, and pursuing opportunities to address the disproportionate tax burden on residential property owners.

Former First Selectman Pat Llodra described spending much of her tenure “staying above the flood line,” overwhelmed by daily demands that left too little room for policy or planning. Dan Rosenthal has said he regrets not hiring an Operations Director, noting that even with strong department heads, the workload has become immense and unsustainable.

Adding a Director of Operations is the practical, incremental solution — improving coordination, strengthening oversight, and ensuring continuity, while keeping full democratic accountability with the elected First Selectman.

Let’s be candid about how we arrived here. Together, Mr. Rosenthal and Ms. Llodra held the office for 14 years, and both later acknowledged they could have served the community more effectively with an Operations Director. Yet Mr. Capeci never brought the workgroup’s report forward, keeping residents from seeing a bipartisan analysis that should have informed the public conversation. With new leadership, we finally have a chance to address the issue seriously.

Newtown has grown, and its government must evolve with it. A Town Administrator is a measured, responsible step forward — one that improves coordination, strengthens operations, and frees the First Selectman to focus on the strategic leadership residents expect.

It is time for Newtown to move ahead.

Arnie Berman

Sandy Hook